2008 Woodie Awards
"Know Your Rights"
Issue date: 3/4/08 Section: Letters to the Editor
Dear Editor,
I am writing you to discuss an issue of a very critical matter-the issue of the protection of our constitutional rights. I want you to know that I believe that the police that are employed here on this campus do not understand our constitutional rights. I sat on the board of the EMERGENCY FREE SPEECH COMMITTEE and two SSU police officers and one [man] that claimed that he had served in the military showed up and sat and listened to our discussion and took notes. When they were asked what their interest was in being there, they replied that they were under the impression that is was an open forum. Then, Peter Phillips asked them if they were on duty (one was in uniform, the other plain clothes) they said yes. He asked if they were going to report our discussion, she was vague, but basically confessed that she would answer any questions imposed on he by her authorities. So, we asked her to leave because we felt uncomfortable. She refused at first. She continued to listen. She said, "What is this Free Speech your talkin' about? I wanna know about this Free Speech. What is it, this Free Speech?" They eventually all got up and left, but not before they tried to interrogate us about what tactics we were going to use. We are all about peace and freedom, but they seemed to imply otherwise. My main complaint is that I don't want people working on this campus that have not read or understand the United States Constitution. I remember reading it and being tested on it very thoroughly in the 8th grade. I used to think it was a mandatory assignment, but apparently not. Some people don't know about it, apparently. The thing is, the police officers who have not read it or understand it are not competent in their jobs of protecting our rights because they don't know what they are. Students should realize, that we have more rights then regular citizens and we should be taken seriously. Know your rights. Anyway, I walked up to military recruiters and told the exactly, precisely what I think about this war. An officer from the Sonoma County Sheriffs Department monitored the conversation with very aggressive body language. I feel compelled to say that I think that their behavior is very fascist. She was trying to intimidate me and silence me. I know my rights and I used them and I know that I am perfectly right to do so.
~Michelle Salvail (ESA Social Chair/Project Censored Writing Team Member/Emergency Free Speech Committee Member)
I am writing you to discuss an issue of a very critical matter-the issue of the protection of our constitutional rights. I want you to know that I believe that the police that are employed here on this campus do not understand our constitutional rights. I sat on the board of the EMERGENCY FREE SPEECH COMMITTEE and two SSU police officers and one [man] that claimed that he had served in the military showed up and sat and listened to our discussion and took notes. When they were asked what their interest was in being there, they replied that they were under the impression that is was an open forum. Then, Peter Phillips asked them if they were on duty (one was in uniform, the other plain clothes) they said yes. He asked if they were going to report our discussion, she was vague, but basically confessed that she would answer any questions imposed on he by her authorities. So, we asked her to leave because we felt uncomfortable. She refused at first. She continued to listen. She said, "What is this Free Speech your talkin' about? I wanna know about this Free Speech. What is it, this Free Speech?" They eventually all got up and left, but not before they tried to interrogate us about what tactics we were going to use. We are all about peace and freedom, but they seemed to imply otherwise. My main complaint is that I don't want people working on this campus that have not read or understand the United States Constitution. I remember reading it and being tested on it very thoroughly in the 8th grade. I used to think it was a mandatory assignment, but apparently not. Some people don't know about it, apparently. The thing is, the police officers who have not read it or understand it are not competent in their jobs of protecting our rights because they don't know what they are. Students should realize, that we have more rights then regular citizens and we should be taken seriously. Know your rights. Anyway, I walked up to military recruiters and told the exactly, precisely what I think about this war. An officer from the Sonoma County Sheriffs Department monitored the conversation with very aggressive body language. I feel compelled to say that I think that their behavior is very fascist. She was trying to intimidate me and silence me. I know my rights and I used them and I know that I am perfectly right to do so.
~Michelle Salvail (ESA Social Chair/Project Censored Writing Team Member/Emergency Free Speech Committee Member)
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