By Dustin Sanborn

Kansas State Collegian

A K-State graduate student has written a book about the Patriot Act that will be in stores later this fall.

Paul Ibbetson, graduate in sociology, wrote "Living Under the Patriot Act: Educating A Society." He said the Patriot Act is difficult to understand and still needs to be better known.

Before thinking about writing the book, Ibbetson studied the Patriot Act for more than three years.

"To better understand the act, I took a four-month course on legal acts of the Patriot Act," Ibbetson said. "I also looked at how the Patriot Act played into the context of history and how it played into people's fears."

Additionally, Ibbetson researched each original law and how it was incorporated into the act.

As an undergraduate student in criminal justice at Wichita State University, Ibbetson, a former police chief, began studying the Patriot Act in research papers, analyzing the hardships that went into making and understanding the law.

"When going towards a masters, I also incorporated it into my master's thesis," Ibbetson said. "As I continued to build up information, the thought occurred that I could write a book based on the information I had built up.

"The main idea behind the book was to make the act something the everyday person could understand and yet still be stimulating to read."

The law covers more than 350 types of subject matter.

"Living Under the Patriot Act: Educating A Society" states the original law and what changed in the law.

"There are two parts to the book: the original law and the renewal process, which explains many of the controversial sections," Ibbetson said.

He said the book isn't meant to make people agree with his point of view but to make them think about the Patriot Act.

"I want to stimulate people to look into the act and make their own decision, not to force my own agenda or opinion on the reader. My goal is to encourage readers to continue to research," Ibbetson said.