During the course of World War II, the National German Workers’ Party (or Nazis, for short) murdered over one million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals and communists. These people were killed because the Nazi party believed that they were the inferior creatures, just slightly better than rats, who were at the root of Germany’s economic and social problems.

But we are not in Germany and this is 1998, not 1944. Why should we even care about events that happened a half century ago clear across the globe? If we are not Jewish, Gypsy, homosexual or communist, why should we care that these people were systematically hunted and killed in an effort to bring them to extinction?

The answer to that question is simple — because they were all human beings, most of whom had done nothing wrong in the eyes of God. Each and every single one of those millions of people had the right to live. But this right was taken from them by the Nazis, a political party that just happened to have the view that they were perfectly divine.

But I still haven’t told you why this is relevant to every student at Iowa State University today. Earlier this week, three members of The September 29th Movement were arrested for sitting in front of President Jischke’s office. The purpose of this civil disobedience was to try to force Jischke into setting up another meeting between The Movement and the administration.

What does this have to do with the Nazi party? Good question; let me elaborate.

Before the Nazis started shipping people off to the concentration camps to be gassed and burnt to a crisp at the rate of 25,000 people per day (in Auschwitz), they dehumanized the Jews for several years. This made it easier for the Nazis to kill them further down the line, and it also made it easier for the rest of the German people to ignore the situation.

One of the most important steps in this dehumanization was taking away all of the Jews’ rights and convincing them that they shouldn’t be allowed to have these rights. The Jews were no longer allowed to attend German schools, theaters, restaurants or official buildings. The Jews were no longer allowed to own businesses or personal property. The Jews were no longer allowed to speak out freely about the situation they found themselves engulfed in, they could no longer freely gather in large groups, and they could no longer do what they wanted.

All of this reminds me of some of our university’s policies. The administration has designated free speech zones all over campus. Outside of these zones, speech is restricted. Isn’t that a violation of the First Amendment and our personal rights?

The administration has stated that students will not be allowed to protest in university buildings. Any violation of this edict leads to arrest by the Department of Public Safety (who show striking similarities to the SS). Isn’t that a violation of the First Amendment and our personal rights?

The administration has declared that nobody can drink alcohol over Veishea weekend. Frat parties, keggers, small dorm room gatherings and private gatherings off of campus have all been condemned and forbidden.

Who the hell does the administration think they are to tell adults, most of whom are coughing up a small fortune in tuition to attend this university (and keep in mind that our tuition money pays their salaries), what we can and cannot do?

We should all be keeping a really close eye on the administration, and in particular President Jischke. They have demonstrated time and time again that they do not give a damn about the First Amendment or our personal rights.

And the next time that you see people on this campus arrested for exercising their Constitutional rights, think about how the Jews were slowly relieved of all of their rights. Think about how the Jews were systematically executed by the Nazis. Then take a good, hard look into the future at this university.

How long, will it be before Jischke and the administration decide that the quickest, easiest way to deal with the multiculturalism problem on this campus is to load up all of the minorities, activists and dissidents on a Cy-Ride bus and haul them over to the power plant?

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Ben Jones is a sophomore in English from Ankeny.