Imagine a place where diverse viewpoints are seldom discussed.

Imagine a place where people are not accountable for their lack of abilities.

Imagine a place where the leaders answer to no one and have free reign over all they purvey, and the masses have little or no say in their own affairs.

There’s no need to imagine anymore, since we already exist in such a place.

Iowa State, and most colleges and universities, exist in a microcosm of socialism.

If you disagree with that point, take a minute to think about what freedoms you might think we have.

Here are some rights taken straight from the Constitution. Let’s see how colleges measure up:

Think we have freedom of expression (1st Amendment)? Schools have “free speech areas” that confine speech to certain areas of campus.

Those who fail to obey those areas are subject to a judicial system where few are made aware of their rights during the procedure.

It isn’t even safe to speak freely in the classroom. Some students are forced to submit to their instructor’s system of beliefs.

If they don’t agree with the instructor, then they will be graded much more harshly than if they did.

Another example: dormitory students were subjected to an egregious violation of their free-speech rights that only ended this semester.

They were prohibited for over three years from placing anything on the outside of their doors for the reason that they might offend someone.

Think we have the right to redress grievances (1st Amendment)?

With the current system, students have little or no course of action to take if they have a bad professor who happens to be tenured.

Even our president has what amounts to a contract for life from the Iowa Board of Regents.

That brings me to another barrier of student’s rights: the Board of Regents.

The regents are appointed for a limited term by the governor and can only be removed by action of the Iowa Senate.

Even that can be bypassed, though.

Even when Marvin Pomerantz was voted out by the senate, Governor Branstad reappointed him when another regent resigned.

So in other words, the regents are basically the governor’s cronies, and cannot be removed by anything short of an act of God.

Think we have the right to trial by jury (6th Amendment)? Ask the September 29th Movement about that one.

Although I disagree with both their message and their methods, it’s plain to see they were railroaded by a questionable set of judicial rules.

Think we have freedom from excessive bail or unusual punishment (8th Amendment)?

Next time you get a parking ticket, look at the fine you have to pay.

Most parking tickets are $12 to $15, while the usual ticket the City of Ames hands out is $5.

Don’t park in certain privileged spots though, or your car will find its way to the impound lot.

That will cost you around $60.

Each of these freedoms that we should have are outlined at various points in the Bill of Rights.

It’s hard to believe a society that prides itself on freedom places so little importance on freedom in higher education.

If this isn’t socialism, then I don’t know what is.

In what are supposed to be places for the free and open exchange of all ideas, colleges and universities are becoming places of oppression and political correctness.

The rights of students have little or no importance in the current schemes of university policies.

They are now seen as dollar signs in the bottom line, not as individuals who, taken together, can add tremendous intellectual wealth to their particular school.

ISU is no different.

We could be concentrating our time into how we could improve the academic environment and how students could play a bigger part in the academic process.

Instead we worry about how much money we can make in our latest fundraising campaign.

The university sees students as a hindrance to the school business and makes absurd regulations meant to whip students in line, but really just stunt their intellectual growth.

Colleges and universities could really be great places for people to learn.

Things don’t have to be the way they are now.

Students need to stand up instead of sitting idly by and change things for the better.

Only then can we start to change college from a bastion of socialism into truly a place of higher learning.

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Rob Zeis is a senior in finance from Des Moines.