Students protest Patriot Act, circulate petition for repeal

According to some, the Bush administration is violating both the civil liberties of Americans and the Constitution.

Penn chapters of the College Democrats, American Civil Liberties Union, Muslim Students Association and Amnesty International held a protest on College Green yesterday afternoon against the USA Patriot Act.

The groups claim that the act, passed shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, infringes on the civil liberties of Americans and violates the Constitution.

The act went through Congress with little dissent, but as time passed, several newspapers, communities and state legislations have denounced it, calling for serious revisions or repeal.

The rally was the culmination of the College Democrats' month-long campaign against the Patriot Act and part of the ACLU's national week of protest.

"It uses fear to trample on the civil liberties of all Americans," said College senior David Herman, vice president of the Penn College Democrats. "This act violates [several] amendments."

The protesters claim that the act breaches the right to privacy of information, allowing government agencies to search several private records without a warrant and indefinitely detain "suspected" terrorists.

"The Patriot Act does not stop terrorism," said Daniel DeRosa, the College Democrats issues director. "It allows the government to spy on people."

Speakers specifically railed against the government's right to demand library and medical records and then place a gag order on the person who turned over the information.

"John Ashcroft has declared librarians a threat to our nation," Herman said.

While only about 20 people stayed at the protest for a significant period of time, the energy and verbosity of the speakers attracted many people strolling down Locust Walk.

"I think the University's been touched by us today," Herman said.

The groups obtained 150 signatures on the petition to repeal the act.

"The petition's being sent to all members of Congress and President Bush," DeRosa said. "We need to get congressmen to start thinking about their actions."

As well as inciting action against the legislation, the College Democrats and ACLU also wanted to address the lack of awareness on campus about the ramifications of the Patriot Act.

"A lot of people on campus don't know what the Patriot Act is," said Penn's ACLU President Michael Patterson, calling student awareness "non-existent."

"It's violating so many of our rights, yet people don't know enough about it," College sophomore Carley Williams said, adding that she thought the protest could help educate students.

Several people said that the act had a broad impact on the majority of people in the United States.

"I think people seem to think foreigners are mostly affected," College senior Edward McKenna said. "I think they should be extremely concerned."

"Everyone's affected by this," Patterson said. "A violation of one person's civil rights is a violation of everyone's."

Organizers said they think most students at Penn are against the act, even if they are only vaguely aware of the details. Yet there are some who see it as a justified and necessary empowerment of law enforcement agencies.

"Before the Patriot Act, the FBI and CIA were handcuffed," said David Copley, chairman of the Pennsylvania Federation of College Republicans and a former Daily Pennsylvanian columnist. "The Patriot Act corrects a lot of deficiencies... the cost of [no Patriot Act] is too great."

Copley said that the act was essential for maintaining the national security needed to protect Americans.

"I'd like to see the Democrats and ACLU propose some alternatives," he said. "They don't seem concerned about fighting terrorism."

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