“We live in a democracy, and this is what democracy looks like,” said Peace Action member Emil Totonchi (SFS ‘06) yesterday to appoximately 15 students crammed into a mock prison made of chicken-wire. These students were joined by several others at a rally to the protest infringements on civil liberties by the Patriot Act.
The Patriot Act, passed in 2001 as part of the War on Terror, expands the ability of certain law enforcement agencies to conduct secret searches and investigate American citizens and residents without probable cause.
A total of 10 Georgetown organizations, including Campaign Civil Rights, the Muslim Student Association and the International Student Association sponsored the event. While only a small number of students participated in the rally, many looked on while passing through Red Square. A number of students rushing to class in the rain stopped to listen to the speakers and watched as the imprisoned students chanted for freedom.
Totonchi said that the mock jail symbolized the indefinite detention of immigrants and prisoners of war by the United States, and limits placed on civil liberties in the past two years.
The organizations sponsoring the rally feel that the Patriot Act violates the rights of students, faculty and administration at Georgetown by threatening academic freedom. “It has put a lot of pressures on campuses. The privacy of faculty and students is in jeopardy now”, he said.
Speakers at the rally urged students to use their education and resourses to protest the injustices produced by the legislation. “Peace is patriotic. Questioning the government is something that we should do as good citizens,” said Sasha Kinney (SFS ‘06), a member of Amnesty International.
Students also distributed information on the Patriot Act and buttons that bore the names of people who have disappeared since Congress passed the Patriot Act. According to protestors, the government has been holding several U.S. citizens without charge.
“We want students to be as involved as they want to be, whether that means putting on a button or getting in the jail,” said Kinney.
“This is primarily a visual event to draw attention to the state of civil liberty,” said Kinney.
The rally was held between classes from 12:50 to 1:15 yesterday afternoon, so that as many students as possible could be involved in the event, said Kinney.
