The date of the conference could have as easily been in November 1973. On a fall day, peace activists gathered at a prestigious college campus in the Midwest for morning workshops on topics such as U.S. foreign policy and the economic roots of terrorism.

The next day, the activists demonstrated outside of a nearby National Guard headquarters. Twelve were arrested. Subpoenas were served on three of these activists on Feb. 3, and the prestigious university where the conference was held was also served one.

On Feb. 5, a fourth activist was subpoenaed, and the university was issued a secret order from a federal judge barring employee comments on the subpoena. Five days later, all four peace activists and a university administrator were set to appear before a federal grand jury. This scene conjures images of grainy film footage from the 1970s with peace activists protesting the Vietnam War and later investigated by grand juries.

But these peace activists weren’t gathering in the 1970s. They were gathering on Nov. 15, 2003.

They weren’t protesting the Vietnam War. They were protesting the ongoing occupation of Iraq by U.S. forces. They weren’t gathering on some far-away, liberal campus. They were gathering at Drake University in Des Moines.

Today, the vast majority of the Drake University campus is still silent about the ongoing federal investigation into the conference. They aren’t talking about the document search and investigation that is associated with the National Lawyers Guild, a legal group that hosted the conference.

What is most troubling about this incident is the fact it began at a university, an institution that should be a marketplace of ideas and an open forum of discussion for students, faculty, staff and members of the greater community.

As Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, mentioned in a Feb. 7 Des Moines Register article, the incident is reminiscent of the Vietnam War protests, “when people were rounded up, when grand juries were convened to investigate people who were protesting the war.”

The government should consider these historical similarities and halt its throwback to 1970s-era rhetoric.

The peace activists who attended the Nov. 15 conference at Drake University were involved in a peaceful opposition to the war. There was no violence. Their conference was called “Stop the Occupation! Bring the Iowa Guard Home.”

Forcing them to appear before a federal grand jury would have a chilling effect on the First Amendment rights of any group that wants to assemble to discuss U.S. foreign policy — whether the group convenes at Drake University or at Iowa State. You don’t have to agree with the activists’ message to understand the possible precedent the government’s actions could set.