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Press Release

Contact: Marilynn Fryer
(517) 796-8466
e-mail: FryerMarilynT@jccmi.edu
9/9/05
For immediate release

We the people: JCC to celebrate the U.S. Constitution

Hear ye, hear ye! Jackson Community College will host a celebration of the Constitution of the United States of America on Monday, Sept. 19.

Constitution Day is part of a new federal mandate requiring public educational institutions to hold an educational program for students on the anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

Constitution Day came into existence as part of the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last December. It was the idea of Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, considered by many of his peers to be the Senate's most learned student of the nation's founding documents.

"We're trying to build awareness of the day, since it is new this year," said Ann Green, dean of arts and sciences at JCC. "Several of our faculty are really excited about this event."

Additional activities include:

  • JCC will host a panel discussion on the First Amendment and other issues related to the Constitution from 10 a.m. to noon in the Federer Rooms, Potter Center. Participating in the forum will be: Eileen Lehnert, editor of the Jackson Citizen Patriot; Larry Griffin, curator for the Michigan Historical Museum and professor at Lansing Community College; Karen Heard, JCC librarian who is also a historian; Vince Delgado, adjunct professor at JCC; and more to come. Moderator will be Professor Norman Maison, chair of the social sciences department at JCC.
  • There will be a get-out-the-vote tent in the courtyard. JCC Student Ambassadors have been deputized to register students to vote.
  • Students' opinions on the Constitution will be sought via survey and later published.
  • JCC's Atkinson Library will provide copies of the Constitution and the Patriot Act I and II.
  • The Constitution will be read aloud from the bell tower public address system.
  • Theatres students will dress as historical figures and appear on campus!

Community members are invited to the morning's forum and other events commemorating Constitution Day at JCC.

For more informaiton on forum members and activities, see the Constitution Day agenda.

Below you'll find additional websites where you can learn more about the Constitution and Constitution Day: