So, the Department of Public Safety can search any residence just because there is a pizza box in view? Well, I have a bunch of soda cans sitting on my counter top right now, so maybe they should rush right over.It is absolutely absurd that the search and seizure rules are that lax.If that is the case, then they can take almost anything and use it as an indication that something is going on and should be investigated.The whole reason that we have that provision in the Constitution is to avoid the police state, “we can look into anything we want,” mentality.Probable cause does not mean that the police can take any item and use it to say that something is probably going on.I’m not saying that DPS doesn’t do good work (they must, Iowa State is a pretty safe campus), but there needs to be more stringent controls on their search policies.That pizza box could be from a party with underage drinking, or it could be that the neighbor’s dog took it out of the garbage and left it there.If the only requirement for a search is that the box be there, that’s a very scary thought. Dr. Reed L. Riddle

Assistant director

Whole Earth Telescope Operations