Middletown Northgraduate returns

Shilique Calhoun and his Michigan Stateteammates coming to face Rutgers. 1C

Required-reading novels about sex and rape questioned

by parents at Rumson-Fair Haven

RUMSON How many obscenities should a seniorbe given to read for English class in public school? Isreading about “dusting off a diaphragm” too muchfor juniors?

Or are explicit passages simply small parts ofcomplex literary works that help expand how stu-dents in one of the state’s elite school districts thinkcritically?

Those are the questions being debated in theRumson-Fair Haven Regional School District,where there are competing petitions over the re-quired reading lists for students. Some say the pas-sages are too sexually explicit for high school teens.Others say striking these books from required-read-ing lists is censorship.

At the center of the discussion is the 1983 novel“Cal” by Bernard MacLaverty, described by USA To-day as “a love story as affecting and tragic as youcould want,” and the Ariel Dorfman play “Death and

SHOULD THESE BOOKS BE

See BANNED, Page 4A

SUSANNE CERVENKA @SCERVENKA

“ ‘Cal’ is not

‘Hamlet.’ There

are other books

about oppression.

There comes a

time when it’s

time to make a

better choice.”

SIOBHAN FALLONHOGAN,

THE MOTHER WHO DISCOVERED

THE PASSAGES

“You need

challenging

ideas. You need to

be challenged. At

what point does

that start? High

school? College?

When?”

NORM DANNEN,2005 RUMSON-FAIR HAVEN

GRADUATE

TOM SPADER/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

“Cal” by Bernard MacLaverty and “Death and the Maiden” by Ariel Dorfman are the two books that some parents wantremoved from required-reading lists for students at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.

FREEHOLD A former Marlboro camp counselor isseeking to avoid a criminal record when he is sen-tenced Friday for sending sexually explicit messagesto children in the township’s summer recreation pro-gram.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed on behalf of one of thecampers alleges that township officials permittedcounselor Matthew J. Kleinstein to remain in his postfor weeks after they discovered he sent lewd photo-graphs and messages to pre-adolescent girls.

After the discovery, the 20-year-old was “trans-ferred to supervise younger children in the second andthird grades,” according to the lawsuit.

Kleinstein, who lives in Marlboro, admitted in thecriminal case that he sent the materials to four girlsaround June 28, 2014, while he was working as a campcounselor for the Marlboro Township Recreation De-partment, said Charles Webster, a spokesman for theMonmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.

Kleinstein, however, applied for entry into thecourt’s pretrial intervention program, which would en-able him to avoid a criminal record if he is accepted andsuccessfully completes the program, according toWebster.

The ex-counselor is scheduled to be sentenced by

Marlboro counselorfaces sentence Fri.for sexting childrenKATHLEEN HOPKINS @KHOPKINSAPP

See SEXTING, Page 8A

Greek Eats restaurant prepares to open in Shrewsbury.Your Money, 16A

What’s Going There?

Fast, casual &Mediterranean

ASBURY PARK PRESS :: MONMOUTH EDITION APP.COM $1.00

THURSDAY 10.08.15

VOLUME 136

NUMBER 241

SINCE 1879

ADVICE 5DCLASSIFIED 1ECOMICS 4DLOCAL 3ALUXURY LIVING 1D

OBITUARIES 9AOPINION 17ASPORTS 1CWEATHER 10CYOUR MONEY 16A

RUSSIA LAUNCHES CRUISE MISSILES TO AID SYRIAN GOVERNMENT PAGE 1B

TRENTON State lawmakers are pushing a big taxcut — but you have to be a crowd-drawing, A-list enter-tainer and be willing to play a string of performances inAtlantic City to qualify.

Under the plan, qualifying performers would be eli-gible for a 100 percent credit on any income taxes owedto the state if they play four shows in Atlantic City in acalendar year.

That break would apply to income from any showsthat year in New Jersey, such as at the PNC Bank ArtsCenter in Holmdel, the Susquehanna Bank Center inCamden or the Prudential Center or MetLife Stadium inEast Rutherford.

The bill was approved by the Senate State Govern-ment, Wagering, Tourism & Historic PreservationCommittee.

Senate Minority Leader Thomas Kean Jr., R-Union,said concerts create retail, restaurant and hospitalitybusiness far beyond what an entertainer is paid and

AP

Maroon 5 performs during a beach concert in Atlantic City inAugust that reportedly drew more than 50,000 people.

Tax cutpossible —for A-listentertainers Bill touted as incentiveto lure acts to play A.C.MICHAEL SYMONS @MICHAELSYMONS_

Coming Sunday

New Jersey has the highest average property tax in the nation.It rises $540 million a year each year. Who is profiting fromyour misery, and why can’t this tax be fixed? Read our exclu-sive investigation, starting Sunday.

See A-LIST, Page 14A