Hutchinson ? Grandpa arrested at Thanksgiving dinner. Homes searched without a warrant and hunting rifles seized. A minister led away in handcuffs and worshippers banned from their churches.

Not a typical day in the neighborhood, to be sure. But for many Prairie Hills Middle School eighth-graders, it’s a slice of what life might be minus parts of the Bill of Rights.

As a social studies assignment, some 160 students wrote essays based on the idea that following the Sept. 11 attacks, the First, Fourth, Fifth and Sixth Amendments were suspended from the Bill of Rights for 90 days to make it easier to search for terrorists.

That did away with such constitutional guarantees as free speech, the right to peaceful assembly, worship and a speedy trial, and protections against unreasonable searches and seizures and self-incrimination.

Many students used familiar surroundings, family and friends in their stories.

“The kids stepped out of the box of normal thinking and came up with unusual ways to think of things,” said social studies teacher Brian Wilson.

The essays written in October marked the third year for eighth-graders to write about lost freedoms and the second year to use the Sept. 11 scenario.

Jay Brown, the other social studies teacher, said the topic was good because “the attacks and the continued threats are still on their minds.”

Connor Bridge, an eighth-grader at Prairie Hills Middle School, talks with classmates and a reporter recently in Hutchinson. Bridge wrote a paper about his concerns if parts of the Bill of Rights were suspended.

Dani Stilwell, 14, wrote about going to church.

“As we got closer to our church, we drove by other churches. I noticed there were police cars. I just thought maybe there was an accident. Then we pulled up to our church. The police were there and I saw my youth pastor being walked away in handcuffs,” she wrote.

Then she told about Thanksgiving dinner with her family at her grandparents’. The police showed up and searched the house. Her grandfather’s whispered comment, “This is absurd,” was overheard and he was arrested.

“Now, my grandpa is arrested for a ‘crime’ that the police weren’t even looking for. They didn’t even have a warrant. I hope I can be safe for the rest of the 90-day period,” Dani wrote.

Whitney Bloom, 13, wrote her essay as a diary recounting what happened.

For one day’s entry, she wrote, “Television is too boring to watch. All that’s on anymore are government controlled shows and ads plastered with political leaders’ faces. Why do I feel like I’m living in a Communist nightmare version of the former United States?”

In the end, she wrote, “Because of their failure to find anyone, President Bush tried to lengthen the time, but Congress wouldn’t let him. Thank you, Congress, I love you a little bit more for now.”

Connor Bridge, 14, took a different tack ” as a grandfather recounting to his grandson decades from now how a Muslim friend’s father was arrested and lost his business because he couldn’t work.

“Also during this time, he was unable to practice his religion. He was forced to go to a Christian church. He also wasn’t allowed to raise a petition to get his dad out of jail. His dad stayed in that jail without a trial for that whole ninety-day period,” Conner wrote.

“Those ninety days were probably the worst time of my life. There wasn’t anything I could do to help my friend except be his friend.”

Ben Cummins, 14, wrote that his family lived in a rural area and the police came to their house looking for any signs of terrorists.

“My mom and dad were angry but the cops didn’t care. But even so the cops searched our house and took some of my dad’s hunting rifles saying they had to be on the safe side. After that, my dad didn’t talk much because he was so mad. In fact none of us talked much, we just kept to our thoughts,” Connor wrote.

“Not long after the cops came back. They accused my dad of some crime I had never heard of. They took him to a correctional facility and just tossed him in with no trial or anything,” he wrote.

Recalling their essays recently, the four students talked about what they had learned about the Bill of Rights.

“Just as they are given to us, they can be taken away,” Ben said.

“How important the amendments are and I’m glad we live in America,” Dani added.

But could it really happen?

“In all reality, I don’t think the government would be stupid enough to do this, but it could happen,” Connor said.

“I think it really could happen, but rather than stopping after three months if they didn’t catch somebody, they probably would keep going with it,” Whitney said.