ORONO – The school board unanimously upheld Monday a decision to keep the book “Girl, Interrupted” part of the curriculum at Orono High School. It has been deemed inappropriate by some parents and a valuable educational tool by others.

More than 50 parents and community members gathered at the Orono High School cafeteria to voice their opinions on the book that has been a controversial topic in town for the last few weeks. The memoir, written by Susanna Kaysen, describes the experiences of an 18-year-old woman committed to a psychiatric hospital. It contains vivid descriptions of suicide, incest and sexual acts.

One parent who wanted the book taken off the required reading list for his son was particularly upset with the outcome.

If David Quimby has his way, his son Alex no longer will be an Orono Red Riot. Quimby’s son lives with his ex-wife Sherry Williams in Veazie and is a tuition student at OHS.

“I prefer that my son not be subjected to certain parts of this book,” Williams said, adding that students are dismissed or given detention for using the same language in the hallways of the school.

“I’m embarrassed to say that my son goes here,” Williams said.

On Jan. 26 Quimby complained to Superintendent Kelly Clenchy about strong language and vivid descriptions used in “Girl, Interrupted” and requested that the book be removed from the curriculum.

“I’m not one bit surprised,” Quimby said of the board’s decision. “I think we’re going to pull him out of here at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning.”

Had Quimby known Orono supported the book, which he referred to in a previous interview as “vulgar,” he said his son never would have attended OHS.

Per school policy, the book immediately was removed from the classroom pending review.

The review committee was made up of English teacher Jim Bulteel, ninth-grade geography teacher Shana Goodall, school librarian M. Jane Van Arsdale, high school Principal Cathy Knox, and community member and father of two Orono students Mike Boyle.

Claire Moriarty, the teacher who was using the book in her ninth-grade English classes, also was present at the time of the review.

She said after hearing the board’s decision Monday that the support she saw from parents, teachers and board members made her proud to work in Orono.

“If I didn’t select this book, I would have had to select one like it,” Moriarty said, adding that she owes it to her students to expose them to a variety of literature.

Although this is her first year teaching at OHS and the first year she has taught this particular book, Moriarty said she has a long history of teaching English and other subjects at the high school and college levels.

The book was part of the curriculum at Orono before Moriarty arrived, and the review committee and school board found it to be properly aligned with the Maine Learning Results.

Moriarty said she tells her students that “reading and writing should float on a sea of talk,” meaning that after students read a book and make annotations, all of which she reads, they talk about its contents, listen to others’ thoughts, then learn to express themselves in writing.

The review committee agreed with Moriarty’s use of the text and last week approved its use in the classroom. The issue went before the school board because there was still concern about its use from some parents.

“The book is an example of how situations that our students likely are aware of such as suicide attempts, teenage sexual activity, drug use … are brought out in a way that they can be discussed in context with an adult,” the review committee’s report said.

“It would be silly of us to pretend that the issues discussed in this book do not exist,” Bulteel said at Monday’s meeting. “They’re out there, they exist, and the students will come across them.”

Bulteel, along with several parents, said that portions of the book had been taken out of context.

“This is not a vulgar book,” said Julie Balaban, parent of a recent Orono graduate and two other Orono students. “One needs to look at the book as a whole piece of work.”

She said that in her opinion the book was an important and appropriate teaching tool because it requires students to become critical consumers of literature.

“It will stimulate discussion, but does not cause discipline problems,” Balaban said.

Several in the audience, however, opposed the book. Those included parents of current and graduated OHS students, as well as a representative from the Christian Civic League of Maine.

“The ones of you who agree with this book have been hoodwinked by the liberals,” Fritz Spencer, a member of the Christian Civic League, said Monday. Loudly making comments from the back of the room, he was found out of order by board Chairman Robert Swindlehurst several times during the meeting.

A few students also spoke to the board, all urging it to keep the book in the curriculum.

Lisa Batuski, OHS senior, said she read the book last year on her own after borrowing it from a teacher.

“Life is about learning,” she said. “And I love learning from these books.”