Constitution Day program set for Sept. 22;
focus this year is on Legislative Branch

September 15, 2010 -- The College of Humanities and Social Sciences invites ASU students, along with other members of the ASU community, and selected area high school students to join in observing Constitution Day on Wednesday, Sept. 22. The program will begin at 9 a.m. in Centennial Hall of the Reng Student Services Center/Student Union, 101 N. Caraway Road, Jonesboro.

This year’s program will focus on Article I of the Constitution, the Legislative Branch.  With mid-term elections looming for one third of the U.S. Senate and the entire membership of the House of Representatives, we will look at the electoral process, discuss what is at stake for the political parties and our nation, and address the question of whether our law-making body, the U.S. Congress, still works.

The program will begin at 9 a.m. in Centennial Hall, Student Union, by paying particular attention to the race here in Arkansas’s 1st House District for the seat of retiring Democratic Congressman Marion Berry. Aspiring candidates Rick Crawford (Republican Party) and Ken Adler (Green Party) will be on hand to present their views of the role of Congress, while a representative of Chad Causey will present the perspective of the Democratic candidate.

The opening presentations will be followed by a variety of activities at 10 a.m. and 11a.m. on the third floor of the ASU Student Union. Students may choose to learn more about the Congressional candidates’ views on key issues, test their knowledge of the legislative branch – its structure and functions; attend a roundtable that draws on the expertise of ASU faculty members; or learn about the role of women in Congressional history, and particularly about the senatorial career of northeast Arkansas’s Hattie Caraway.

This year’s program commemorates the 223nd anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution. We hope that faculty members will bring their Wednesday morning classes and that a large number of individual students will decide to attend.

For further information, contact Dr. Carol O’Connor, interim dean, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, ext.3973, or Dr. Richard Wang, chair, Department of Political Science, at ext. 3048.

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