Five years ago, Congress decided that our citizenry should know more about the founding document of our nation. Constitution Day was thus created, published in the U.S.Code, and later fleshed out in the CFR, requiring educational institutions that receive federal funding to provide yearly programmatic events on the topic of this most fundamental legal instrument.
At UConn, our own Dean Paul is introducing this year's keynote speaker, John E. Finn, Professor of Government from Wesleyan University, who will discuss “How We Lost the Constitution: Civil Liberties and Presidential Power in the Global War on Terrorism.” The event is open to the public on Thursday, September 17 from 5 - 6 pm in Konover Auditorium in the Thomas J. Dodd Research Center on the Storrs Campus. A short reception will follow.
Libraries, despite their reputation for being quiet places of study and solitude, are actually hot beds of constitutional controversy. The First Amendment looms large in decisions about library collections and book banning remains a viable alternative for some who oppose certain content. Libraries have traditionally served as meeting places for community groups, some of which espouse beliefs abhorrent to other members of the community. What to do? Libraries and the First Amendment takes a look at the most frequent constitutional issues facing libraries and lets "You be the Judge" on landmark cases.
For something on the lighter side, the National Constitution Center has created this lovely quiz: Which Founding Father are You? (I happen to be Roger Sherman. Who knew?!)
