Reaction to Patriot Act Readings

The excerpt from the "USA Patriot Act: How to be Response Ready" article showed how difficult it is for schools to provide protection and privacy from the Patriot Act. With the great length of the Patriot Act, 342 pages, and how unclear it is, schools are having difficult where to begin with no existing models. The Patriot Act centers around avoiding terrorism and monitoring terrorist activity. However, what comes into question is the definition of terrorism. Also school administrators struggle with helping the war on terrorism while at the same time maintaining the civil liberties of the institution, faculty, staff, and students.

Although I understood that the Patriot Act compromised many of our rights, I didn't realize how it affected me as a college student. Reading the article written by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah really surprise me. I would have never thought that as college students I would be on the radar as a potential terrorists. I had heard previously that the government could seize our library records and understood that the government would probably have access to our student records. In fact I know that in my hometown library the librarians have begun to shred library records to avoid these records from being seized by the government. I never imagined the scope of the actions the government could take.

Monitoring our Internet and E-mail seems very invasive and makes a person wonder what they might have mentioned or discussed in E-mails or searched on the web that could cause them to be a victim of government investigation. I was also stunned that campus security was permitted, due to rights granted by the FBI and CIA, to gather information from religions and political meetings on campus. This could then lead to these groups being deemed potential terrorists threats

After reading that article it was a relief to read the fact sheet provided by Student Peace Action Network. In this article the author provides students with a list of things they can do to protect their civil liberties. I would have never guessed that you would have to ask the Registrar's Office not to release information about your student records. I assumed that would already be the case given the amount of information colleges collect on students. I also liked the idea of posting signs in the library warning students of the Patriot Act.

Reaction to V for Vendetta (first half)

In the movie V for Vendetta social order is maintained through the use of fear. The fascist government control of the society was established based on the threats of disease and war. The chancellor was given the power of control when people surrendered to him, instead of facing what they feared. The chancellor, knowing that the society was motivated by fear to follow him, enforced strict regulations and censoring to avoid defiance. The military and law enforcement was used to maintain order and make sure people didn't disobey the laws of the chancellor. The chancellor desired silent obedient consent from the society.

An important concept for the chancellor and the government was to avoid doubt. They believed that doubt in the government would cause chaos among the citizens. The chancellor and government insisted on stricter regulations and censorship to avoid any possibility of doubt that the government was not working properly. When a famous news anchor was killed by V the government insisted on covering up the true death. This would keep people feeling safe under the control of the government. The less doubt there was, the less people questioned the motives and overbearing control of the government.

One of the slogans the chancellor and government was "Strength through unity, unity through faith." This was very fitting for the society in V for Vendetta. The chancellor stressed that through obedience the community would work for the better good of everybody. The strength they received through unity was based of faith that what the chancellor was doing was for the best. If the community maintained their faith that the chancellor would protect them and keep them safe from what they feared, the chancellor would be able to maintain power. By asking for the society's faith, the chancellor was ensuring that he would remain in power with obedient citizens. It was only until a deviant, who could not be silenced or stopped, questioned the authority and rallied the society that the government fell.