In honor of Constitution Day on Sept. 18, the “First Amendment Free Food Festival” offered students more than $600 worth of free food if they were willing to sign away their First Amendment rights for a few hours.

In fact, more than 400 FAU students entered through an 8-foot communist-style guard gate and “theoretically waived their rights” to freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly and to petition the government for grievances – all for free food.

Sponsored by the University Press, the hedged area behind the University Center on the Boca campus was transformed into the “People’s Republic of Boca Raton” – a country where First Amendment rights didn’t exist.

After signing away their rights, students waited in line to get free Quizno’s, Burger King, Pizza Hut and Starbucks but didn’t quite get to eat in peace.

Goons clad in camouflage and armed with batons and shields told students what to eat and where to sit. The Goon Squad, comprised of SigEp fraternity brothers, also threw out groups like Chabad Student Center and Students for Israel for holding religious demonstrations.

Members of the press were also dragged out along with political campaigners.

As well as a novel approach to the federally mandated Constitution Day celebration that every government-funded school must hold, the event was the first of its kind and a prototype for Constitution Day events around the country.