Parents say school censored students' 'Snow White' adaptation | Arts & Culture

Does Snow White need to be censored?  

That's the question from parents at Kirkland's Robert Frost Elementary school who say the district is crossing the line when it comes to an adaptation of the fairy tale.

Administrators and teachers say the modernized version of the play runs afoul of the district's human dignity and anti-bullying policies.

They asked for changes, including the removal of several lines where characters call each other "stupid," one character whose name is "Dim Witty," and two songs: one that includes lines about being proud of being curvy, and another that referred to people as being "too short."

The district's Katherine Reith says the play crossed the line in several areas, and clashed with school values.

"The situation is one of teachers and parents who were concerned about a script that is a modern adaptation of a fairy tale, that they felt included excessive put downs of people," she said. "The issue is really that it was not just villains who were making fun of other people, but villains and heroes and in some places seemed a little bit excessive. So a few minor changes were asked for."

But parents like John Stubb say it's nothing more than censorship.  

"I think we're kind of raising our kids to be wussies, to put it quite frankly," he says. "When they get to the real world they have to learn how to deal with stuff.

"I understand that the school has peace rules and that type of thing, but I really believe that we've kind of gone over the edge with this one. Our kids aren't going to learn anything about reality and growing up and how to deal with people that might say the word 'stupid.'"

In addition, the New York City-based National Coalition Against Censorship says the district may have violated constitutional guidelines.