I was very disappointed to read Brian Stillman’s recent column urging students not to vote. Many students seem to think the results of the coming election won’t affect them. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Issues such as keeping Social Security healthy and whether to give giant targeted tax breaks to those who are already benefitting the most from the current economic boom will affect all of us. But they aren’t what make this election the most important in over 30 years.

The extreme right wing is very close to owning the Supreme Court and deciding what rights and protections we will enjoy for years to come.

During the next president’s term, anywhere from two to four vacancies are expected. When asked who he would appoint, George W. Bush said he admired Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas. To call these two Justices “conservative” would be an understatement. There are conservatives on the Bench (e.g. Kennedy and Rehnquist), and Scalia’s and Thomas’ “states rights” philosophy makes them look liberal by comparison.

Several organizations have published analyses of Scalia’s and Thomas’ legal opinions, and have painted a grim picture of what would happen with a few more of them on the bench.

Do you care about getting money out of politics? A Scalia-Thomas Supreme Court would put reform completely out of reach for perhaps decades.

Do you think women should have the right to reproductive choice? Roe vs. Wade will be the first thing to go. But even state laws forbidding the sale of contraceptives could be found Constitutional.

Do you believe racist state practices in drawing voting districts (gerrymandering) and discrimination in making appointments to state judiciaries should be allowed? Scalia and Thomas have made it clear they do.

Do you want local laws designed to indirectly limit controversial free speech or the freedom to assemble? These Justices seem to have no problem with them.

What about equal opportunity in the workplace and federal prohibitions against sexual harassment or discrimination against people with disabilities? Scalia and Thomas would make these protections much harder to come by.

Do you think your tax dollars should be used to promote religion? Do you want the Christian Coalition determining what gets taught in schools?

These two Justices even believe the warrantless beating of helpless, handcuffed prisoners, as long as there is no “significant injury” as a result, doesn’t constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.”

Appointing more judges with similar views isn’t an idle threat. There are Scalia/Thomas-type judges such as Michael Luttig, Emilio Garza and Edith Jones on deck for the job.

Democracy isn’t always about blindly advocating exactly what you want. Sometimes, it’s about preventing what you don’t. Even if you don’t like the two major candidates, the coming election is bigger than Al Gore’s lack of charisma or George W. Bush’s charming inexperience.

There’s a reason the far right has been remarkably quiet regarding Bush’s “moderate stands” on issues. If Bush is elected and he follows through on his preferences, we could see the clock turned back to the 19th Century on many notions of rights. According to their own words, those in the extreme right wing are fully aware of this.

I urge everyone to familiarize themselves with what’s at stake in the coming election, register, and vote! The consequences will far outlast the next president’s term.

Jonathan WilliamsGraduate StudentElectrical Engineering