Constitution Day Celebrated in Five at Ecu

For Release September 3, 2008 NEWS

Contact: Dr. David Conde [email protected] 737.2235

HOW FREE IS YOUR FREEDOM OF SPEECH? ANSWERS AT ECU’S UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION WEEK

On September 17, 1787, the US Constitution was signed by thirty-nine men representing the American colonies. Their action changed the course of history. Each year ECU joins schools, colleges, and universities across the nation in recognizing that historical act. Constitution recognition activities at ECU will be held September 15-19 and will be free and open to the ECU community and general public. The keynote speaker will be New York Times general counsel and vice president, George Freeman. Dr. David Conde, ECU Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Special Initiatives and Chair of the Constitution Celebration planning committee explains, While many institutions devote only one day to commemorative activities, the ECU Constitution Celebration planning committee brought so many excellent ideas to the table that we decided to devote the entire week to these activities. Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment were selected as the focal points for the programs. Freedom of Speech issues resonate with students and apply directly to their daily lives so the programs were built around such relevant issues as online communication, censorship, academic freedom, free speech zones, student media, and student media.

The week of activities will open with keynote speaker George Freeman, vice president and assistant general counsel to the New York Times. Freeman, who has served as chief NY Times litigator since 1992, will speak on Monday, September 15 at 7:00 p.m. in Hendrix Theatre in Mendenhall Student Center. In his address, The First Amendment and the New York Times, Freeman will talk about the historical struggle between the press and the government beginning with the Pentagon Papers and ending with more current situations regarding libel law and Iraq war disclosure. During the day Mr. Freeman will meet with journalism and political science students as well as spend time at The East Carolinian, ECU’s campus newspaper. Freeman’s visit to campus is provided compliments of the New York Times and the ECU Student Newspaper Readership Program. A reception in the Multipurpose Room will follow the presentation.

Freedom of Speech: The Core First Amendment Protection, a sure-to-be spirited forum about political correctness, campus speech codes, hate speech, and censorship will be held on Tuesday, September 16 at 6:00 p.m. in Great Rooms 1 and 2 in Mendenhall Student Center. The discussion, moderated by ECU Political Science Professor, Dr. Nancy Spalding, will include panelists with a wide range of viewpoints. Participants include Dr. Richard Eakin, Chancellor Emeritus ECU 1987-2001; Mr. Andrew Griffin, Student Government Association President; Mr. Paul Isom, Advisor to ECU Student Media, Dr. Brad Lockerbie, Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department; Dr. David Long, ECU History Processor; Dr. Jay Morris, ECU Political Science Processor; Dr. Naoki Kanaboshi, Criminal Justice Professor; and Mr. Peter Romary Attorney-at-Law and Director of Student Legal Services. A reception will follow.

A Freedom of Speech Fair will be held on Wednesday, September 17, 2008 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the ECU designated Public Forum Space near the Cupola on the Mall. The activity will provide information about what the Public Forum Space is, why it exists, and the overall impact of free speech on campus. Various groups and organizations whose interests are strongly affected by free speech in the academic environment will host tables in the area.

Students will have the opportunity to vie for cash and gift cards by submitting Constitution-related papers written in their English 1100 or 1200 classes during fall 2007, spring 2008, or summer 2008. Papers should be submitted in hardcopy to Dr. Wendy Sharer, Department of English, 2206 Bate Building (or by email to [email protected]) by 5:00 p.m., Friday, September 5th. The top three entries will receive an award consisting of $50 in cash and a $50 voucher for the Dowdy Student Stores. Winners will be recognized at the panel discussion on Tuesday, September 16. The competition is restricted to ECU students only.

In another contest, prizes of $25 each will be awarded to two top contenders, randomly drawn from the high scorers in a Constitution Day Quiz. The Quiz can be found at . “The quiz is highly challenging,” said Dr. Jody Baumgartner, of the Dept. of Political Science. “It is an actual literacy test administered to African American voters in Alabama prior to the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.” Answers must be submitted online by Monday, September 15. Quiz winners and essay winners will be recognized at the panel program scheduled on September 16. The quiz contest is restricted to ECU students only.

Two exhibits will portray the Constitution from September 14-19. The Special Collections Department of Joyner Library will present an exhibit in Mendenhall Student Center entitled Amendment 1: Freedom of Speech. The exhibit will consist of reproductions from Joyner Library’s Manuscript that help reveal how the First Amendment to the Constitution has functioned in our country. Additionally, the Teaching Resource Center in Joyner Library will create and exhibit a Children’s Literature and the Constitution display.

ECU Constitution Days activities will extend well beyond campus borders and into the public schools via activities slated by the ECU History Education in the Department of Curriculum. During the week of September 8-12 students completing the first semester of their clinical internship in middle grades and high school social studies (HIED 4319 and HIED 4323) will design Constitution-centered lessons for delivery to students in the public schools. During the week of September 15-19 the students will deliver these model lessons to students in grades six through twelve throughout the region.

The First Amendment, containing the “Free Speech” clause was ratified by the required three-quarters of the states on December 15, 1791. The Amendment states:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Constitution Week activities are a co-curricular collaborative initiative with participation by Joyner Library Special Collections, Joyner Library Teaching Resource Center, Department of English, History Education in the Department of Curriculum, Department of Political Science, Office of Co-Curricular Programs and Cultural Outreach, Housing, The Center for Faculty Excellence, and the Office of Special Initiatives. Members of the committee include Mr. Guillame Bagal, Dr. David Conde, Dr. Jonathon Dembo, Dr. Alan Guidry, Mr. Aaron Lucier, Dr. Dorothy Muller, Ms. Sandy Nobles, Dr. Wendy Sharer, Dr. Nancy Spalding, Dr. Linda Teel, and Ms. Carol Ogus Woodruff. Additional information can be found at http://www.ecu.edu/cs-acad/cfe/constitutionday.cfm