Amnesty International heads to Van Hollen's office

Blair's Amnesty International will travel to the office of Congressman Chris Van Hollen on Friday, May 13 in hopes of discussing the Patriot Act and Safe Act.

The group finds some aspects of the Patriot Act "unconstitutional" and wants to ensure that those portions of the Patriot Act under the Sunset provision do expire. Amnesty International will also be lobbying for Van Hollen to vote for the Safe Act, which will amend many of the facets of the Patriot Act that the group believes infringes on the private rights of citizens. They will be presenting case studies of people who have been wrongfully accused of terrorism in accordance with the Patriot Act. "People have had their homes searched without knowing," said freshman Jasleen Salwan, who will be attending the meeting on Friday. She added that since the Patriot Act allows the government to see your library records, theoretically a person who borrows a book about flying could become a suspect of the FBI.

Salwan will be accompanied by senior Melissa Michel, juniors Jahnavi Bhaskar and Samira Farah and freshman Yi Yuan. Although the group made an appointment to speak with Van Hollen, they are unsure as to whether they will be speaking to him in person or to someone representing him. The members are hopeful that he will be present and are excited about getting their points across. "I feel like it's really important that he knows that his constituents are not only concerned about [the Patriot Act] but care about what he votes for," said Bhaskar.