Spring Break
President faces tough decisions, panel says
More than 150 attend first-annual Constitution Day
Nathaniel Shuda
Issue date: 9/22/05 Section: Campus News
All United States citizens should be able to say with certainty that their nation celebrates Independence Day every year on July 4.
However, not very many people - the exception being those interested in political science - know the day the nation's founding fathers introduced the contemporary form of government with the signing of the
U.S. Constitution.
This reason drew more than 150 students, faculty, staff and community members to Schofield Auditorium Tuesday evening in commemoration of the first annual "Constitution Day," which was officially Saturday.
Associate Professor Rodd Freitag, chair of the political science department, moderated a three-member panel that discussed "Constitutional Law for a Changing Supreme Court," which revolved around the recent nomination of Judge John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Oscar Chamberlain, senior lecturer in the history department; James Tubbs, associate professor of political science and Michael Fine, professor of political science, made up
the panel.
Legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., in 2001 would have declared Sept. 17 Constitution Day, an official national holiday, but this bill was not
adopted.
Although the original legislation was voted down, Byrd succeeded in adding a provision to an amendment to an education-spending bill regarding Constitution Day, Freitag said.
The bill, which was passed earlier this year, requires all federal agencies and educational institutions that receive federal funds to hold programs to educate people about the Constitution, he said.
The three panelists also spoke on some of the main issues that the associate justice and supreme justice nominees might deal with that might dramatically affect future decisions of the court.
However, not very many people - the exception being those interested in political science - know the day the nation's founding fathers introduced the contemporary form of government with the signing of the
U.S. Constitution.
| "It's good to be informed about things that ... will affect us as we get out into the world." -Jesse Traner Freshman |
This reason drew more than 150 students, faculty, staff and community members to Schofield Auditorium Tuesday evening in commemoration of the first annual "Constitution Day," which was officially Saturday.
Associate Professor Rodd Freitag, chair of the political science department, moderated a three-member panel that discussed "Constitutional Law for a Changing Supreme Court," which revolved around the recent nomination of Judge John Roberts as chief justice of the Supreme Court.
Oscar Chamberlain, senior lecturer in the history department; James Tubbs, associate professor of political science and Michael Fine, professor of political science, made up
the panel.
Legislation introduced by U.S. Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., in 2001 would have declared Sept. 17 Constitution Day, an official national holiday, but this bill was not
adopted.
Although the original legislation was voted down, Byrd succeeded in adding a provision to an amendment to an education-spending bill regarding Constitution Day, Freitag said.
The bill, which was passed earlier this year, requires all federal agencies and educational institutions that receive federal funds to hold programs to educate people about the Constitution, he said.
The three panelists also spoke on some of the main issues that the associate justice and supreme justice nominees might deal with that might dramatically affect future decisions of the court.