Roger Newman, journalism professor at Columbia University, came to IU Southeast on Feb. 15 to speak about civil liberties.
Newman teaches journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He’s also the author of “Hugo Black: A Biography,” co-author of “Banned Films: Movies, Censors and the First Amendment” and editor-in-chief of the “Yale Biographical Dictionary of American Law.”
Newman came to IU Southeast 10 years ago to speak on Internet censorship.
On his return to IU Southeast, he talked about civil liberties and the way the U.S. government has been restricting them for American citizens since 9/11.
“One of the hidden casualties of 9/11 was information,” Newman said. “Literally hundreds of millions of documents were restricted from the public.”
The big focus during Newman’s presentation was the government’s crackdown on regular citizens.
He also talked about the government tapping phone lines, texts, e-mails or other form of communication without the person knowing.
Communication
Newman said he believes it’s likely Congress will allow all communication companies to keep an archive of their communications that go in and out of their networks.
“Privacy is one of our nation’s buzzwords,” Newman said. “The Bush and Obama administrations have both said the Constitution does not guarantee it.”
He said the government could easily invade a person’s privacy.
“Any agency of the government can search and/or copy the files on your hard drive with or without a warrant,” Newman said. “This is almost like giving the police keys to your house.”
Other than the technology aspects he discussed, he also brought up issues on airport security.
Newman said he bought plane tickets for him and his party and because of the way he did this, they flagged his ticket “SSSS,” meaning he was subject to a secondary search at security.
“If you leave anything in your pocket, even a tissue, you can be searched until they hit resistance,” Newman said.
Newman said there are about 500 security scanners in airports that are able to look through your clothing to detect if you are carrying any bombs.
He also said, in the next few years, the government plans to double these scanners in all the states.
Tracking devices
Newman went on to explain the government can put tracking devices on any person’s car without needing to apply for a warrant to do so.
The government’s justification for this is anyone can walk up to a vehicle and touch it, so the government could track a person without them knowing.
“How can you defend against what you cannot see?” Newman said.
Throughout the presentation, Newman brought up the fact that people can’t defend themselves against a superpower as powerful as the U.S. government because they have the power to restrict the citizens.
“If a FBI agent came to a university library, the librarian can’t tell anyone that they are there,” Newman said. “If they do, then they are in direct violation of the Patriot Act and can be sent to a federal prison.”
Newman spoke about how the citizens of the U.S. are harmed due to the restrictions the government has put on immigrants.
“We are losing future leaders who could help end the war on terrorism,” Newman said. “They are over here taking our ideas back to their home country.”
Newman was asked by a member of the audience if he was scared of being sent to jail.
“If they come after me, then they will take a lot of people like me,” Newman said. “I will be in a jail cell with my best friends.”
By BRYAN JONES
Staff
jonesbry@umail.iu.edu