On
Monday,
Sept. 17, 2012, IUP will commemorate Constitution Day, the day
225
years ago when the U.S. Constitution was signed. Federal law has
mandates that
all institutions of higher education receiving federal funds
observe the day by
hosting events and activities designed to generate greater
awareness about our
system of government, and also to stimulate thoughtful, critical
debate about
some of the major issues of our times.
All
IUP
students, staff and faculty are encouraged to attend one or both
of the
scheduled activities. We’d
especially
like to have staff and faculty represented in the first event of
the day, a
public reading of the U.S. Constitution.
Faculty are also encouraged to announce these events to
their students.
Public
Reading of the Constitution: 12-1 p.m., Mon., Sept. 17, Oak
Grove
Members
of
the IUP community – students, staff and faculty – will gather to
read the entire
U.S. Constitution, starting with the Preamble and ending with
the 27th
Amendment. Want to be a
reader? Simply show up
in the Oak Grove (near Stabley
Library). Readers will receive a “We the People at IUP” t-shirt,
a pocket-sized
copy of the U.S. Constitution, and a star-shaped cookie.
“Original
Intentions? A Chat with the Founding Fathers”: 6 p.m.,
Mon., Sept. 17, HUB Ohio Room
Sit in on
a chat with four of the authors the
U.S. Constitution – Benjamin Franklin, James Madison, Charles
Pinckney and
Alexander Hamilton (portrayed by Dr. David Chambers of the
Political Science
Department, Dr. Joe Mannard of the History Department, and Drs.
Mac Fiddner and
Steve Jackson of the Political Science Department,
respectively). Dr. Gwen
Torges of the Political Science Department
will ask these Framers just what they were thinking and what
they hoped to
achieve when they wrote the U.S. Constitution.
She will also ask them to comment on some of the
political controversies
of today. Audience
questions are
welcome. This event is
part of IUP’s Six
O’clock Series
IUP’s 2012
Constitution Day events are
sponsored by: the Department of Political Science, the College
of Humanities
and Social Sciences and the Center for Student Life.