USA Patriotic Act and Academic Freedom

Outline: Applied Ethics Essay
Student's Name
Institutional Affiliation
Instructor
Date
U.S.A Patriotic Act and Academic Freedom
1 A clear position on the moral question presented
It was morally acceptable for the Patriotic Act to infringe Dartmouth's freedom of speech, which prohibits the search order recipients from informing others of the order even without being sworn to secrecy.
2 Relevant facts of the case
* The Patriot Act increases government surveillance powers of secret, trap and trace, record, and intelligence searches.
* It was against the Patriotic Act for Dartmouth to request a copy of Mao Tse-Tung, which was on the Act's list.
* Dartmouth's background suggests significant time abroad, prompting federal agents to visit his parents' home.
* The Patriot Act countermands library privacy laws, and homeland security has the mandate to monitor professors and students in terms of international travel, borrowing records, emails, phone calls, and internet records.
* Dartmouth is not the only student who has infringed on freedom of speech because the professor suspects that federal agents have been monitoring and paying his students visits in their homes.
3 Clarifying concepts