Civic literacy front and center at Constitution Day

The United States Constitution recently took center stage at Augusta University, as AU affiliates and community members alike gathered to participate in civic engagement and learn about our nation’s founding document.

Constitution Day is an annual event hosted by University Libraries, alongside the Department of Communication and Department of Social Sciences within the Katherine Reese Pamplin College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. The event allows people to go beyond the usual Bill of Rights and dig deeper into our government’s rulebook.

More than 100 people atteneded the Constitution Day event in the Dr. Roscoe Williams Ballroom in the Jaguar Student Activities Center. The holiday, signed into law by President Harry S. Truman in 1952, was reaffirmed by President Donald J. Trump in 2017, along with Citizenship Day.

“We had another great turnout for our event this year, with a wide-range of participants from our university and CSRA communities,” said David Kearns, Federal Depository Librarian and Constitution Day organizer.

While there are several events going on in honor of the America 250 celebration, it should be noted that the U.S. Constitution has not existed quite that long. When the United States became a nation, there was no actual ruling document.

“Since it is only the 239th anniversary of the Constitution, we decided to spend some time looking at the Articles of Confederation, our ‘other constitution,’” Kearns said.

The Articles of Confederation were adopted in 1777 and served as the government’s framework until the Constitution was ratified in 1788. Some key differences are that the Articles of Confederation only had a single legislative branch, no Supreme Court, and each state received one vote regardless of its size or population.

Organizers changed up this year’s event to make it more special. The quiz focused on differences between the two founding documents and attendees were able to participate in a scavenger hunt before the reading. Attendees also enjoyed pizza, drinks and the usual patriotic buttons and rubber ducks modeled after presidents.

Also this year, as participants read the Constitution aloud, the screen behind the podium showcased a layman’s version of what was being read. The reasoning behind the change was to help attendees understand what the Constitution actually means, instead of what is written.

The document was divided into 60 different sections in order to make sure each participant wasn’t overwhelmed with the text. Signups to read started at the beginning of the fall semester to ensure students, faculty and staff had the opportunity to get involved.

Representatives from the League of Women Voters were also on hand to help attendees confirm they were registered the vote, and the Augusta-Richmond County Board of Elections guided and assisted people in registering to vote. On the AU front, event hosts and the AU Police Department set-up booths to interact with attendees.

Kearns said it was important to give students and the community an opportunity to engage in civics.

“Our fundamental goal for Constitution Day is to foster a greater appreciation for the U.S. Constitution,” he said. “At the same time, it is important to give our students the opportunity to meet community groups and civic offices and offer ways to be engaged citizens and participate in their community.”