There are 198 ways to protest. No, I didn't count them, but Gene Sharp at the Albert Einstein Institution in Cambridge, Mass., did and listed them in a 1973 book, "Methods of Nonviolent Action."

Some days I fantasize about attempting every one of them before I die, but I always get stuck at No. 22, public disrobing. Lady Godiva I'm not.

There appears to be one method of suppressing dissent that is gaining favor with the federal government. It involves asking for lists of people who attended meetings.

There have been two incidents this month.

Back in November, the National Lawyers Guild held a teach-in at Drake University to prepare people for a protest the next day outside the Iowa National Guard headquarters.

I've been to dozens of sessions like this. If you are arrested, don't resist. Remain silent. Here is a lawyer's number.

Twelve of the protesters were arrested for trespassing. Sheriff's deputies agree that no one tried to scale the fence or storm the post.

But on Feb. 4, the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Joint Terrorism Task Force called a grand jury and issued subpoenas to four of the protesters.

They also subpoenaed the university, demanding "all records of Drake University campus security reflecting any observations made of the Nov. 15, 2003, meeting, including any records of persons in charge or control of the meeting, and any records of attendees to the meeting."

The agents explained that the attendees might have conspired to violate federal law. There was an uproar, including complaints from Iowa's two senators. On Feb. 10 the subpoenas were withdrawn.

Closer to home, on Feb. 4 the University of Texas Law School sponsored a conference on Islamic women and the law.

Their flier explained, "Some examples of issues to be discussed include the hijab (the veil), inheritance, marriage and divorce law, polygamy, virginity and honor, and honor crimes.

"This interdisciplinary conference aims to discuss and analyze these issues in a balanced manner through an academic approach by inviting experts of differing viewpoints on the issues."

It was an academic conference, not a protest meeting.

A few days later, investigators from the U.S. Army Intelligence Agency knocked on their door, demanding a list of attendees.

Two Fort Hood lawyers who attended, according to Commander Demetria Marria, reported that, "They felt uncomfortable with foreign students or foreign members at the conference. Nothing is ever obvious. It's just that one question that doesn't sit right, so they report it, and we figure it out."

The conference organizer, law student Sahar Aziz, said it was an open conference and no roster was kept. "I question whether those suspicions are more affiliated with ethnicity than anything else," she said.

The Drake subpoena is the first such action anyone can recall in four decades. This is something new and dangerous.

The First Amendment of the Bill of Rights is clear that "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

It's equally clear that deploying federal agents to collect rosters of meeting attendees will have a chilling effect. Most people will think twice before attending a meeting, however innocent, that could land them on a government watch list.

But I've got a list, too. A list of 198 ways to protest this action. I'll be glad to share that list with the government. Just don't ask me to turn over a list of meeting attendees. I might just have to engage in a No. 129 — refusal of assistance to government agents.

Susan Ives can be reached at suives@texas.net.