In a community where arguments about freedom of speech are limited to whether the Primary Source should be able to publish articles or not, we overlook serious violations of our First Amendment rights.
I am referring to the incident at the University of Florida, where a student named Andrew Mayer was taken down and Tasered a little over a week ago merely for asking a question of Senator John Kerry.
In all fairness, the "question" was more of a rant criticizing Senator Kerry for conceding the presidential election of 2004 too soon and not waiting for African-American votes in the critical state of Ohio.
I could understand police escorting the student away from the microphone if he were making violent threats. I could also begin to understand taking him away for disorderly conduct.
Neither was the case. The student in question was passionately criticizing Kerry for both conceding the election and not moving to impeach Bush.
Kerry's reaction to the student was calm and understanding. Although he was ready to answer the student's comments, the police who were watching were not prepared to let the student finish. In the middle of the student's statements, the police grabbed him and dragged him away.
In response, Mayer pushed the police officers away, demanding to know why he was being arrested. The more police officers that arrived to drag the student away, the more he kept resisting and shouting, "What did I do?" Finally, the police resorted to a Taser in order to stop the student from moving. They Tasered him and took him away.
At first, I thought Mayer must have made some violent gestures, but after seeing the video on NBC.com it is clear that he was simply expressing his opinion.
The beauty of this country comes out of our Bill of Rights, and more importantly, the sanctity of our Bill of Rights. Thirty years ago, if such an event happened, college students all over the country would be out in the streets boycotting, demonstrating and demanding the restoration of our freedom of speech.
What concerns me is not only the incident itself, but also the reaction around the country. Although the news networks have been reporting about this incident, it has not shocked society enough to encourage protests of this blatant violation of what the United States stands for.
Mayer himself does not seem to have noticed the gravity of the incident. At least, he is not suing the state like the UCLA student who was Tasered last year did. CNN reported that Mayer understood that the police were doing their jobs. I've even heard speculation that the entire incident was an organized prank to make the situation awkward for Kerry.
Whatever his intentions, Mayer's right to express his opinions was seriously violated. However, the biggest problem with what happened to Mayer is the absence of discussion and protest by students like us around the country.
I am also guilty. I admit it. I am not out there with signs showing my rage for this injustice. But I realize and acknowledge that this issue involves all citizens of this country.
While trying to stimulate discussion amongst my peers, I have noticed that the students at Tufts do not seem to take the incident seriously. The blowjob article a couple of days ago has sparked enormous discussion. Arguments about the Primary Source issue from almost a year ago have still not been exhausted. Yet, no one seems concerned about the fact that a student just like us, who attended a lecture by an important political figure and asked a question just like many of us have done, was arrested and physically harmed for expressing his opinion.
It seems that we overlook the fact that this issue is vital to what the United States stands for. I might not be out there picketing with signs, but I am writing in order to spark crucial discourse among the members of the Tufts community and hopefully to spark enough awareness in the community regarding this violation of our rights as American citizens and residents.
Alex Akhavan is a sophomore majoring in international relations.
