To celebrate the founding fathers signing the Constitution in 1787, from Sept. 15 to 22, Miami will host a series of on-campus events and programs aimed at exploring the legacy of the Constitution, the political and legal system and the rights and responsibilities of members of a pluralistic democratic society, according to a press release.
Since 2005, under federal law, all universities that receive federal funding must commemorate the anniversary of the Constitution being signed on September 17. However, John Forren, the executive director of the Menard Family Center for Democracy, said Miami goes above and beyond its required programming.
“The idea of what became Citizenship and Democracy week was the idea [that] this is really an opportunity for us to get our community thinking about what it means to live in a democracy, what it means to live in a democratic society and what our rights and responsibilities are as members of that society,” Forren said. “So it was based on a sort of faculty interest in using it as a learning opportunity.”
Forren added that the Menard Center coordinated the events with the intent of staging a broad range of programs to reach audiences beyond political science and history.
Some of the free events in Oxford include an appellate hearing by the Ohio Court of Appeals in the Armstrong Student Center on Monday, Sept. 15. For Constitution Day on Sept. 17, there will be a United States District Court naturalization ceremony, where roughly 100 new citizens will be sworn in by a federal judge, and later that day, Ohio Supreme Court Justice Jennifer Brunner will hold a public lecture.
“We're hoping people just come to watch [the naturalization], because it's just an amazing thing to see,” Forren said. “... The other thing I would say to come see [is the] court appeals hearing. What I keep stressing to people is this is not a simulation. This is not a mock trial. This is a real court with real judges, attorneys and real cases. And so it's a chance for students who are interested in law, for instance, to see what this really looks like.”
For $5 to $20, students, faculty and community members can see "What the Constitution Means to Me," a Broadway production put on by the Department of Theatre on Sept. 16-21 in the Gates-Abegglen Theatre at the Center for Performing Arts.
On Hamilton’s regional campus, there will be student presentations on “Rapid Rights!” in the Jack Rhodes Study at Mosler Hall hosted by the Department of Justice and Community Studies on Monday, Sept. 15, from noon to 1 p.m.
According to the press release, this highly interactive forum features brief research presentations on selected civil liberties issues by advanced students in the Department of Justice and Community Studies.
On Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 5:30-7:45 p.m. at 221 High St. in downtown Hamilton, the Miami Regionals’ Downtown Hamilton Center and the Greater Hamilton Chamber of Commerce will be putting on a meet and greet for the candidates running this fall for seats on the Hamilton school board. The candidates can answer questions from the community members and share their plans for the future of the school district.
“It's a big menu of civics-focused events to get more people thinking,” Forren said.
For more information, visit the Miami event calendar.
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