UW to Celebrate Constitution Day Sept. 18

Sept. 12, 2006 -- To celebrate Constitution Day 2006, the University of Wyoming will feature "Conversations about the Constitution: Banned Books" at noon on Monday, Sept. 18, in the Wyoming Union Gardens.

Phil Roberts, UW associate professor of history, along with Rick Ewig, associate director for the American Heritage Center (AHC), will lead Monday's discussion. They will discuss censorship efforts and book banning on the UW campus in the 1940s, along with recent issues related to book censoring and banning.

"In 1947, the university Board of Trustees tried to ban or censor some textbooks on campus in an effort to minimize communist influences," Ewig says. "The board, reflecting American mentality of that time, feared the influence of communist-based thoughts and theories. Banning certain texts and censoring many others was their way of protecting the students from the second 'Red Scare.'"

The "protection" however, took its toll on free speech and academic freedom, he adds.
Participants will have a chance to see the contentious literature in Coe Library and the Wyoming Union, both of which will display banned books from the past and present.

The UW Constitution Day Web site, www.uwyo.edu/ConstitutionDay, contains links and information about the Constitution and Constitution Day activities along with short essays by UW students and faculty. Also included is an online Constitution quiz that anyone can complete for a chance to win prizes.

"Our main goal for Constitution Day 2006 is to provide the information to start conversations about the Constitution that are relevant to everyone on campus -- students and faculty alike," says Kristi Wallin, Wyoming Partnership for Civic Education (PCE) project director.

Nationally, Constitution Day is in its second year. In 2004, Congress passed a federal law stating all schools that receive federal funds are required to hold an educational program to memorialize the Constitution every year on its anniversary. The U.S. Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787. Its contents are important in many aspects of daily life including: privacy laws and the public health system; trade regulations and agriculture; religious practices; and the First Amendment, Wallin says.

"UW faculty and students' participation in Constitution Day 2005 was impressive," says Rollin Abernethy, UW associate vice president for academic affairs. "The programs organized for this year's observation are both educational and entertaining, and should reaffirm how critically important the U.S. Constitution is for us as citizens today."

UW Constitution Day 2006 is a joint effort by the Office of Academic Affairs and PCE, which is sponsored by the AHC and the College of Education, and the Associated Students of the University of Wyoming. For more information e-mail Wallin at kwallin@uwyo.edu.

Photo

Banned Books -- University of Wyoming Assistant Librarian Kaijsa Calkins arranges a banned book display in Coe Library. Censorship and book-banning are among the issues observed during Constitution Day, Monday. Organizers say Constitution Day's goal is to encourage conversations about the document and help citizens recognize its continued importance to our nation. (UW Photo)

Posted on Tuesday, September 12, 2006