Upon reading "Faculty test the system" in The Daily Collegian on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 1995, I was compelled to respond and write a letter. The injustices that John Nichols experienced when he arrived in Miami from a trip to Cuba does not surprise me in the least bit. Disturbing, yes, but not all that surprising. Most people within this Univeristy are probably wondering what is going on, so imagine me on my personal soapbox if you will.

The Constitution of the United States grants each citizen certain basic rights that most of us take far too much for granted. The United States is less than 250 years old, yet in recent years, the government has slowly begun to attack our civil liberties. Not many people have noticed this fact at all. The Fourth Amendment of the Constitution has been under constant attack by all levels of government and law enforcement due to one thing, drugs. The United States' "War on Drugs" has yet to significantly reduce the amount of drugs that enter our country, and at the same time it has seriously damaged our quality of life given to us under the Constitution. Most people are not aware or do not care what is going on with this issue because it involves drug and its victims are usually involved with the drug trade. I believe that drugs are no good and they are detrimental to all societies, but the manner in which the government has decided to deal with it is completely out of tune. Illegal search and seizures, false imprisonment and entrapment are only a few of the techniques used by the government.

The point I am trying to get across is that every citizen of this great nation must stop and realize what is going on and do something about it. One might say, "Oh, I don't use drugs," but it does not matter because sooner or later that person's civil liberties will be infringed upon, possibly without them even knowing about it. Case in point, Professor Nichols' trip to Cuba. All that I ask of the readers is to know what your rights are and stand up for them because who can you count on to do it? Politicians?!? A big part of all of this is that there is not enough voter participation, so get out and vote and stand up for what you believe in and fight for your rights! Just remember, today it is John Nichols, tomorrow it could be you!