Indiana University of Pennsylvania will celebrate Constitution Day on Monday, September 15, with several events free and open to the community.
Constitution Day commemorates the September 17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution, which is 227 years old this year.
Sponsored by the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Department of Political Science, events at IUP will lead off with a public reading of the Constitution by members of the IUP community from noon to 1:00 p.m. in front of Stapleton Library, facing the Oak Grove. The first 100 participants will receive a special “We the People at IUP” T-shirt, as well as a pocket-sized copy of the Constitution.
“We hear a lot of talk about what the Constitution does or doesn't do, especially from politicians,” Gwen Torges, political science faculty member and Constitution Day organizer, said. “‘We the people' can't hold our politicians accountable if we haven't read the Constitution ourselves.”
From 6:00 to 7:30 p.m., the Center for Student Life, in partnership with Torges, will present “A Casual Conversation with the Founding Fathers” in the Hadley Union Building Ohio Room.
The presentation is a conversation with four of the Constitution's authors, Ben Franklin, Alexander Hamilton, Charles Pinckney and James Madison, portrayed by political science faculty members David Chambers, Steve Jackson and Mac Fiddner and history faculty member Joe Mannard, respectively.
The discussion is designed to provide insight into the authors' thoughts when they wrote the U.S. Constitution, as well as how they might view contemporary constitutional challenges. Audience participation and questions are encouraged.
“These events offer a good chance to reflect on the Constitution,” Torges said. “I'm hoping that people will come with lots of questions.”
The “Conversation with the Founding Fathers” is part of IUP's fall 2014 Six O'Clock Series. Offered Monday evenings throughout the academic semester, the series provides an opportunity to learn about current issues and approach familiar topics from a new perspective. All of the presentations are free and open to the community.