A crisis is here and now, and it's time for you to recognize it. I'm a terrorist.
You're a terrorist.
Richard Brodhead is definitely a terrorist.
If the more publicized aspects of George W. Bush's war on the American people-the domestic wiretappings, secret searches, indefinite detainments-have not persuaded you of our government's recent waywardness, then it's time to convince you that you're the next target.
As college students, we are in a particularly precarious position. Our engagement with the world, our open reflection of ideas and our propensity to speak out have historically made us targets of government ire, especially in times of conflict. Since Sept. 11, the Bush administration has soiled the memories of our dead, manipulated our own paranoia and bullied dissenters in an effort to drastically expand the government's ability to put Americans and foreign nationals under surveillance. The "War on Terror" has created a circumstance that places college students in the center of a struggle over the nature of our society, a circumstance that allows dissenters and activists to be as easily targeted as threats in foreign lands.
Utilizing powers granted within the Patriot Act, and therefore not needing any sort of evidence of criminal activity or intent, our leaders have confiscated hundreds of students' files from universities across the nation. These files, in olden times, were considered confidential.
In 2004, students at North Carolina State University participating in an anti-war protest were interrogated for suspected "terrorist activity." Campus Greens, an activist group that many of the protesters belonged to, was subsequently infiltrated, its membership was intimidated and the group was effectively disbanded.
The FIB is at this moment working to place "joint terrorism task force" agents on as many university campuses as possible. The Universities of Illinois, Massachusetts, Texas, Florida, Michigan State and even Yale have already allowed the agents on campus. These agents maintain constant surveillance over student activities and are intended to identify potential "threats."
In recent weeks the true Orwellian nature of Bush's vision of a safe society has become even clearer. Google made public the administration's attempt to access the content of millions of user searches. Yahoo! admitted it had already turned over its files.
If the administration will take it from Google, why not Duke?
How long before they ask to place an agent on Duke's campus?
How long before students are being asked to make a choice between being silent or being harassed?
Our situation as a self-contained community completely lends itself to government monitoring.
Just think about the interconnectedness of Duke. The vast majority of us are required to live together, use the same Internet server and have our personal information stored in a single database. Our social, political and intellectual endeavors are all centralized on this one campus and are already under significant video, police and administrative surveillance. The government need only plug in.
Our commander-in-chief and countless Republican pundits have responded to these fears: "If you're not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about."
Well, isn't that assuring!
As much as Bush is portraying his interpretation of "wrong" as being as clear-cut as receiving a collect call from Osama bin Laden, it is increasingly evident that that is not the nature of the beast. In reality, the administration's idea of "wrong" is broad and has no ties to good or evil. "Wrong" is checking out a book on Islamic culture, pursuing unduly flagged research or speaking out against the decisions of Bush. Such "wrongs"-in the past mistakenly protected as academic freedom and free speech-are now enough to have you placed on a list as a terrorist threat.
Whatever your beliefs on the intent of the Bush administration, it is necessary that you speak out to ensure that our freedoms and liberties are maintained. Duke is nothing without the freedom of inquiry and open access to research. These are absolute values that are wilting under the scrutiny of the Patriot Act.
We must refuse joint terrorism task force agents' access to our campus. Library records must be destroyed as soon as the librarians no longer need them, and students must be warned of the risk they take when accessing the Internet. It is particularly imperative that when a Duke student or faculty member is investigated or interrogated, the incident is documented and publicized within our community.
I, for one, will do all that I can to confront policies that undermine my freedoms.
So go ahead, add me to the list.
C-H-R-I-S-T-O-P-H-E-R D-A-N-I-E-L B-O-W-E-S
Daniel Bowes is a Trinity junior. His column runs every other Monday.
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