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Ryan Donnell for The New York Times

Senator Arlen Specter visiting statues of the founding fathers, including Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, left, at the National Constitution Center.

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Special Section

American Democracy Project
A national initiative to promote student understanding of contemporary issues and encourage meaningful civic action.

Events sorted by type:
Displays and Exhibits | Video and Multimedia | Arts and Music | Community Outreach | Student Affairs Events | Speakers, Panels and Discussions | Contests | Voter Registration | Events by Theme

Displays and Exhibits


• The September book exhibit in the college library will be dedicated exclusively to topics relating to the Constitution.


• The Constitution will be displayed around campus for passersby to sign or oppose.


• Through public "free speech boards," the campus community will be encouraged to respond to questions relating to the Constitution in the context of current events.


• The campus museum will display an exhibit, "The Blessings of Liberty: The U.S. Constitution," from the state Council for the Humanities. The campus invited local public school students to create Constitution-themed art for a gallery, and has invited Art, Social Studies and English teachers to display Constitution lesson plans for the benefit of other teachers bringing their students.


• The campus library will exhibit and give guided tours of government documents, with highlights on human rights. The library will be opening its materials containing the text of the Constitution to the public at large.


• The Veterans Office on campus will host an exhibit highlighting the role of that office in supporting veterans who have served in the military and are now students at the College.

• Our university will join in the Constitution Day simulcast of the reading of the Preamble led by General Colin Powell.


• We are presenting a film and discussion series sponsored through the Point of View Organization, including "My Country My Country" and "Waging a Living."


• We will show Justice Talking broadcasts along with a presentation on how these issues manifest locally.


• We plan to screen the film "Liberty and Security in an Age of Terrorism," followed by a combined student/faculty panel discussion. The video has been purchased from Fred Friendly Seminars.


• We are planning a PowerPoint loop that will run continuously on a large screen in our Student Union. The loop will focus on the First Amendment, with its provisions and its benefits. There will be quotes from people on campus as well as famous Americans.


• We will screen and discuss "Executive Privilege & Delegation of Power." This engaging documentary is one of a 13-part Emmy award winning series, "The Constitution: That Delicate Balance." The documentary features academics, politicians and lawyers in a roundtable debate on constitutional issues dealing with presidential prerogative and congressional power. Although this documentary was produced twenty years ago, the issues discussed are as relevant today as they were then.


• The Constitution will be read over our campus radio station. We will recruit students, alumni and faculty to read the entire Constitution in a series of "sound bites" over the week leading up to Constitution Day.

• The campus symphonic pops band will have a concert of patriotic music.


• The University chorus and military honor guard will join our celebration.


• The Constitution Day events will conclude with the Campus Bell tower ringing out patriotic music.

• We will invite several hundred high school students to our campus to see a presentation by a James Madison impersonator. A discussion and quiz will follow. Prior to the event, we are providing teachers with web resources for their students to learn more on the Constitution.


• Our campus art gallery will be used to present work by local grade school students, with a space for teachers to share their lesson plans with other teachers.


• Student organizations are leading an "Awareness Walk" highlighting issues facing the community surrounding the university.


• The college will host a public program on Article II (Presidential Powers) of the Constitution, breaking the Article into 10 sections, with a reading of key points from each section. Local politicians and public figures will provide historical background, contemporary interpretation and personal reflection on this topic.


• We are hosting a fundraiser for military families, as well as a discussion of the military in history as a way of saluting and honoring men and women of armed forces.

• Students will participate in a 5K run/walk, "Dash for Democracy," in Philadelphia.


• Residential Life will have Resident Assistants program around the Constitutional Amendments, with each given a different amendment.


• International student organizations will host an event with booths representing the countries of all our foreign students. These booths will provide music and food as well as information on the individual country's political governance.


• The student government association plans to invite area high school student government officers to campus for a lunch featuring a speaker on current Constitution topics.


• The campus student government will air public service announcements on area radio stations featuring little known Constitution facts.


• Various offices on campus are sponsoring a bus tour to various electoral districts to meet some of the elected officials and to further understand how our government functions.

• During the week of September 17th, we will have presentations by campus and off-campus speakers on a variety of contemporary constitutional issues and controversies. Our main outside speaker will be New Jersey's Public Advocate, who will discuss both the United States Supreme Court's decision in Kelo v. City of New London and state law strategies for reforming the use of eminent domain in New Jersey.


• Professors will host a "Constitutional Controversies" panel discussion concerning topics such as the reauthorization of the Patriot Act and recent Supreme Court decisions regarding religion and eminent domain.


• A Professor of Mathematics will discuss elements of math in the Constitution.
• Professor Robert O'Neill, former President of the University of Virginia and a constitutional scholar, will highlight our Constitution Day activities by speaking on "Academic Freedom and the First Amendment."


• A panel of experts on constitutions will present the ways in which different constitutions around the world impacted the U.S. Constitution and the ways in which the U.S. Constitution has influenced other constitutions.

Other Topics for Discussion and Debate: terrorism controls, the Equal Rights Amendment, citizenship and immigration, equality of education, freedom of speech, Affirmative Action, civil liberties in wartime, voting rights for women, platform voting vs. issue voting, activism and engagement, the Bill of Rights, strict constructionism, Intelligent Design and the Constitution, criminal justice and privacy.

• There will be an essay contest on the question: "Should the Bill of Rights apply to illegal immigrants?" The students will be given a copy of "The United States Constitution: What It Says, What It Means" before writing their essays. The prizes will be $200, $150, and $100 "book scholarships" at the campus bookstore.

• Our campus will conduct voter registration and a demonstration of the electronic voting system.


• We will hold a "Vote Slam" with music, voter registration and an open mic platform for students.

Tips