Welcome to the United States of America, the home of the free and the brave – or is it? With all the recent events in our nation’s history, we have spent the last year focused on the events of Sept. 11, ignoring some very important changes in our nation’s rights.

For instance, we all remember from history class that unreasonable search and seizure without a search warrant is unconstitutional. What most people don’t know is that the “Patriot Act” passed by Congress and signed by President Bush allows search and seizure without probable cause if the FBI labels it a “terrorist” investigation. This means that if a government official finds this commentary offensive, they would have the legal basis from which to march into the DC offices and start taking files, so long as they say the words “terrorist investigation.”

In addition, they could arrest any member of the DC staff who is not an American citizen and hold them indefinitely without a trial, even deporting them without a public hearing if they say the magic word. Perhaps the most frightening change allows government agencies to monitor any and all Internet traffic of any user, at any time, whether or not they are the target of a terrorist investigation or not. The agency is not required to report to a judge who and what was monitored (as in the case of a search warrant) nor are they required to notify the person being monitored.

Ed Board is concerned that the American people have largely ignored what has happened in our government during the months following last September.

As Americans, it is our duty to preserve the freedoms of our nation. Ed Board encourages other students to pay attention to the world around us.

Our nation gives us the unique right to speak out against the injustices we face. We must use that voice to preserve the freedom of our country.