A minor controversy erupted in Clevelend, Ohio recently, where a teachers union and school board are at odds with how one area principal handled the removal of the November issue of Nintendo Power from a middle school library. The issue in question features a character from Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars on the cover prominently holding a handgun.
Upon its release, the principal deemed the "violent figure" as inappropriate for children in the sixth to eight grade (noting that the game carries a mature rating) and promptly removed the magazine without following protocol, which states that all staff must put in a formal request to the school board before a publication can be removed.
After the fact, the school board sided with the principal. Meanwhile the librarian, teachers union, and even the American Civil Liberties Union demanded the issue be reinstated.
While referring to the magazine as "literature," the ACLU argues, "The principal doesn't get to say, 'Whatever I say goes.' There's got to be some mechanism by which decisions are made and a process of review. Or maybe tomorrow it'll be Hamlet." According to a district spokesman, litigation has been threatened against the school.
In no way a stranger to controversy surrounding its games, developer Rockstar was not immediately available for comment when contacted by Ars on Tuesday.
