Voltaire once said, “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” I feel that the invaluable meaning of this quote is lost on many who participate in the democratic process, particularly on America’s college campuses.

The Northwestern student population has proven once again that it is not immune to this erosion of vigilance. Its ambivalent response to the flagrantly unconstitutional ordinance being levied against storefront religious centers has made it apparent that certain issues aren’t trendy enough to elicit a militant response, regardless of how grossly they infringe upon our basic freedoms.

The economic pretext on which this ordinance is being enacted is wholly unfounded. Any claim of excessive or gaudy religious display can be immediately dismissed by a casual stroll down Sherman Avenue.

Is it really so easy to spot which storefronts are houses of worship? Hardly. Even more in doubt is the supposed negative effect they actually have on the economy.

I sorely hope that no one is actually bigoted enough to avoid a business because it’s located next to a place of spiritual consul. If anyone is, then that person deserves reproach, not the storefront owner.

The city of Evanston is in blatant violation of the first amendment. The 1994 Supreme Court ruling in the case of The City of Ladue v. Gilleo struck down a similar ordinance that barred a homeowner from displaying a protest sign against the Gulf War.

A less commendable but equally important ruling occurred in the 1992 decision of R.A.V. v. Wisconsin struck down a local law banning the display on public or private property of any symbol that, “arouses anger, alarm or resentment in others on the basis of race, color, creed of gender.” In a court of law, any judge worth his or her salt would immediately balk at the city’s claims in the face of these precedents.

Both freedom of speech and freedom of religion, the two fundamental rights that grant us the ability to think and speak without fear of censorship or reprisal, are being molested by the City Council.

The only people currently speaking out against this injustice are local ministers and a small coalition of Northwestern’s religious community. They should not be standing alone. We would all do well to remember the words of Pastor Martin Niemoller, a German who experienced the ascendancy of the Nazis firsthand:

They came first for the Communists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Communist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I didn’t speak up because I wasn’t a Jew.

Then they came for me and by that time no one was left to speak up.

Carlton Barzon is a Medill senior and a former Daily columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]