IUP will commemorate the 230th birthday of the U.S. Constitution with two events on Monday, September 18, 2017. Constitution Day commemorates the September 1787 Signing of the U.S. Constitution.
Constitution Day is a great opportunity to pause and think about what “We the People” want from our government, and to better understand the document that structures our government.
All are invited and encouraged to attend one or both events, which are free and open to the community.
Public Reading of the U.S. Constitution:
12-1 p.m., Monday, September 18, Oak Grove (in front of the Library)
Members of the IUP community – students, staff and faculty – will gather to read the entire U.S. Constitution, from Preamble through the 27th Amendment. IUP President Michael Driscoll will lead off the event by reading the Preamble of the Constitution. Want to be a reader? Simply show up in the Oak Grove (near the Library) at any time between noon and 1 p.m. Readers will receive a “We the People at IUP” t-shirt, a pocket-sized copy of the U.S. Constitution, and a red, white and blue cookie. This event is sponsored by the Political Science Department and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Chatting with the Founding Fathers:
6-7:30 p.m., Monday, September 18, HUB Ohio Room
The intentions of the authors of the US Constitution will be explored in the Six O’Clock Series presentation, “A Casual Conversation with the Framers of the U. S. Constitution” from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. in the Hadley Union Building Ohio Room. Three of the Constitution’s authors—Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison—will discuss the challenges in drafting the Constitution, and will speculate about what the Founders would think of today’s politics. These Founders will be portrayed, respectively, by IUP political science professors David Chambers and Steven Jackson and by history professor Joe Mannard. Audience participation and questions are encouraged.