2008 Woodie Awards
Questions roused after attending "Busted"
Duncan McGregor
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: Opinion
On Thursday, March 20th, Pacific's Pre-law club hosted a presentation they called "Know Your Rights." It included a presentation of American Civil Liberties Union's short film "Busted" and a question and answer session with a retired police chief, an acting police chief, and a judge from Washington County.
Perhaps the most useful piece of advise to come out of it was to state "I do not consent to any searches" whenever pressured by policemen as if it were a mantra to protect yourself from evil. Or at least from prosecution for possession of marijuana-not that anyone in Oregon has that to fear.
What really struck me about the presentation, is how few people showed up. It seemed to me to be no less publicized than many other events on campus. It had a well informed panel and free cookies, and still practically no one came. Not even the lure of free snacks could rouse us!
It leaves me with three reasons why. The first was the event's timing-the Thursday before Spring break does not strike me as the best time for event of this sort. Although, given many student's inclination for recreational activities during spring break, it might have been wise to have a greater understanding of what our rights are.
The second strikes me as plausible, this is after all Oregon, but a little unlikely. Perhaps most students already know that they have the right to deny searches of their persons or vehicles. Maybe we all know that cops have to jump through hoops to go through our stuff, because the burden of proof is upon law enforcement, not on citizens.
The third and most likely in my mind is apathy. Why should we care what rights we have? As useful as the information might be to a United States where the fourth, fifth, and eighth amendments to the constitution remain intact, perhaps it is significantly less useful in a post P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act United States. In a country which is progressively moving towards an institution that redefines what rules it has to play by whenever it sees fit, perhaps its citizens have no need for exaggerations of their actual rights.
Perhaps the most useful piece of advise to come out of it was to state "I do not consent to any searches" whenever pressured by policemen as if it were a mantra to protect yourself from evil. Or at least from prosecution for possession of marijuana-not that anyone in Oregon has that to fear.
What really struck me about the presentation, is how few people showed up. It seemed to me to be no less publicized than many other events on campus. It had a well informed panel and free cookies, and still practically no one came. Not even the lure of free snacks could rouse us!
It leaves me with three reasons why. The first was the event's timing-the Thursday before Spring break does not strike me as the best time for event of this sort. Although, given many student's inclination for recreational activities during spring break, it might have been wise to have a greater understanding of what our rights are.
The second strikes me as plausible, this is after all Oregon, but a little unlikely. Perhaps most students already know that they have the right to deny searches of their persons or vehicles. Maybe we all know that cops have to jump through hoops to go through our stuff, because the burden of proof is upon law enforcement, not on citizens.
The third and most likely in my mind is apathy. Why should we care what rights we have? As useful as the information might be to a United States where the fourth, fifth, and eighth amendments to the constitution remain intact, perhaps it is significantly less useful in a post P.A.T.R.I.O.T. Act United States. In a country which is progressively moving towards an institution that redefines what rules it has to play by whenever it sees fit, perhaps its citizens have no need for exaggerations of their actual rights.
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