Waving flags displaying the peace symbol and carrying signs with slogans such as, “Defend Your Rights!” and “Save our civil liberties,” local high school students held a rally on Library Mall Saturday to protest the U.S.A. Patriot Act.
Organized by Students for an Informed Response, the rally featured various speakers and music performances.
Madison West High School student Alix Gould helped organize the event.
“We are protesting the infringements the government has made on our civil liberties in the wake of the September 11 attacks,” Gould said. “Right after the attacks, the government passed this amendment in a very short time, and there are several things in it that groups have found fault with.”
Gould said the act, which was passed in the wake of Sept. 11 as an additional security measure, infringes on civil liberties by allowing such things as “roving wire taps,” which allow phone calls to be listened to, and “Magic Lanterns,” which are able to trace private computers and search files without a warrant. The act was passed almost unanimously in the U.S. Senate, with the only dissenting vote from Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.
“Also, the U.S.A. Patriot Act now defines domestic terrorists,” Gould said. “Anyone who goes against the government can be defined as a terrorist.”
Supporters of the act say it is a necessary precaution in avoiding another event like Sept. 11.
“I think President Bush is doing it in the country’s best interest and to protect Americans,” said Julia Kraschnewski, UW-Madison junior and vice chair of the UW College Republicans.
Kraschnewski said she thinks the high point of the act is that it makes it easier for law enforcement to prevent a future attack.
Sol Kelley-Jones, a student at Madison West High School, said she spoke at the rally to promote activism.
“At a time when common dialogue is more important than ever, our government is taking away that right and saying it is being done in the name of defending democracy,” Kelley-Jones said. “The U.S.A. Patriot Act creates a climate chilling to speech, dissent and debate.”
Kelley-Jones urged high school students to get involved.
“We may not have the right to vote, but we have a responsibility to think critically,” she said, urging students to do things like attend rallies, organize teach-ins and write letters to newspaper editors.
John Nichols, opinion editor for The Capital Times, also spoke, praising the high school students for organizing the rally and speaking disparagingly of the media coverage of recent events.
“The media in the United States does not get it right — it gets it wrong,” Nichols said. “It does not lift us up — it gets us down. Since September 11, the country has not suffered another attack from outside. The trauma has been within our borders.”
Nichols also urged those present to stay active in political issues.
Editor Matthew Rothschild of The Progressive, a locally produced liberal magazine, was also in attendance.
“It’s scary, because a lot of our fellow citizens don’t have the love of liberty in their hearts,” Rothschild said, criticizing the government’s actions.
Lorien Draeger, a Madison East High School student, said he attended the rally to lend his support.
“I think it’s pathetic what the government is trying to do,” Draeger said. “I want the Patriot Act repealed.”
High school students were not the only ones to attend the rally. Many UW-Madison students showed up as well.
“I’m loving it,” said UW sophomore Matt Buttin. “I’m just glad a bunch of kids from high school were able to get organized like this. They did a great job.”
