Constitution Day Background:
Senator Robert C. Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat and the United States Congress unofficial constitutional scholar, believes that the American primary, secondary, and post-secondary students lack significant knowledge regarding the United States Constitution. In December 2004, Senator Byrd offered an amendment that was passed by both the United States House of Representatives and the Unites States Senate in an attempt to increase students' knowledge about the constitution.
The legislation requires that all educational institutions that receive federal funds implement educational programs relating to the United States Constitution on September 17 of each year. September 17th was selected as the date for the celebration due to the fact that on September 17, 1787 the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met for the last time to sign the United States Constitution and present it to the American Public.
Constitution Day 2008 will be held on September 17, 2008.
On-Campus Events:
The main events for Constitution Day 2006 and 2007 were held in Monroe Library .
The Loyola community was invited to visit a display of materials
related to the Constitution located at the front of the Monroe
Library in the new book area. In addition, the library has an
electronic list of materials related to the Constitution available at .
http://canisius.loyno.edu/uhtbin/
cgisirsi/0/x/0/28/43/X . Students were invited to test their knowledge of the Constitution with a Constitution Day quiz; copies of the quiz (and treats!) were at
the Monroe Library circulation desk
- Free Consitution Day bookmarks are available in the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid, on the bulletin board in Bobet Hall and on the first floor in Stallings Hall. We would like to thank Nellie Mae for their support of this important project
- The Loyola Society for Civic Engagement\
Web Resources
If you can't make it to the events on the 17th, here are some great on-line resources to help you learn more about the Constitution.
- Constitution Day, Inc. -hosts an online quiz about issues related to the Constitution
- Justice Learning- Constitution Day
- The National Constitution Center provides an online,interactive Constitution
- The American Civil Liberties Union
- The National Archives provides an interactive, online feature about the Constitution, as well as biographical sketches of the 39 signers of the constitution.
Online Video on Demand
Annenberg/CPB offers a video instructional series "The Constitution: The Delicate Balance" available as a free on-demand online streaming video
We would like to thank the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators for their Constitution Day Implementation Guide and USA Funds for providing additional reference materials.
