Alison Macrina of the Library Freedom Project spoke to the AIC community on Thursday, September 17^th about government surveillance and privacy issues.

“Our constitutional rights are being violated all the time,” said Macrina.

Macrina’s presentation in the West Wing celebrated Constitution and Citizenship day.

The event started with a discussion of the Department of Homeland Security.

According to the Macrina, the department heavily funds multiple organizations like the police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

These departments then construct “fusion centers” which include police cameras that survey and record protest areas along with poor neighborhoods.

Macrina was inspired to fight for personal privacy during her time as a librarian. She said privacy acts are essential to a librarian’s work.

“To be able to read, write and research without fear of reprisal” is Macrina’s goal when educating other librarians through the project.

Macrina was a technology librarian in Watertown, Mass. before joining the Library Freedom Project. She also works closely with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Privacy issues can also be related to human rights.

During the presentation, Macrina discussed common violations of the thirteenth amendment which abolished slavery. However, when blacks are incarcerated in today’s prisons, they are forced to do prison labor without choice.

Another human rights violation via government surveillance is what Macrina described as “rampant Islamaphobia.”

She explained that innocent Muslims, even conservative Muslims, are arrested out of paranoia, instead of national security concerns.

Further, the government later finds that these individuals are innocent and instead, charges them with minor, irrelevant crimes. Through lawyers and a long legal battle, the charges are usually dropped.

“But these individuals still experience mental and emotional trauma,” said Macrina.

The war on terrorism along with the war on drugs were two of Macrina’s main points of discussion.

Through her close work with the media and libraries, Macrina hopes to form close relationships with the community.

“I like to protect people who don’t have a voice,” she said.

Alison Macrina can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @flexlibris