"American Connections" is a dual course at North Bend High School in North Bend, Oregon, consisting of Advanced Placement U.S. History and Honors English 3. The course is taught by Dustin Hood and Scott Peters. On May 9, 2014, the class began a unit on postmodern literature in America and was assigned to read Toni Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye. The following Monday, NBHS principal Bill Lucero came to the class with a box and asked the rest of the students to hand over their copies of the book, pulling the novel from the English curriculum. The book deals with racism, incest, and child molestation, and has been frequently challenged in schools across the nation. Nonetheless, Morrison's writing, which won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1993, remains praised in literary circles for its excellent representation of marginalized groups in American society.

Though it has been said that proper procedures were not followed in gaining approval for the book, "The purchase of the books was approved by administration earlier this year," according to Peters. Additionally, Peters said that very few are even aware that the policy exists. The teachers did give students advance warning of the controversial topics found in the book, and students were given the option to opt out if they didn't want to read it. Six students chose to opt out and read a different book. The teaching of opposing and sometimes controversial points of view is a cornerstone of the "American Connections" class, which is set up to prepare students for college-level coursework and for which students can receive college credit. In the past, the course has included such books as Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Grapes of Wrath, and The Catcher in the Rye.

We oppose the administration's removal of The Bluest Eye from the Honors English 3 curriculum. We believe that the removal of controversial material from students who did express interest in reading it is an unjustified form of censorship. Furthermore, the manner in which the book was removed from students' hands was irresponsible and created confusion among both the teachers and students involved. We call upon the administration to allow the book to be reinstated in next year's curriculum, as well as to formally clarify its policies regarding the teaching of controversial materials in the classroom.