Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University will celebrate the U.S. Constitution and honor military personnel during Constitution Week on Sept. 18-21.

“Military Personnel Appreciation” is the national theme of this year’s Constitution celebration. The federal government has required all higher education institutions that receive funds from the U.S. Department of Education to implement an educational program about the Constitution around Sept. 17 each year, the day the Constitution was signed in 1787.

WKU will kickoff its second Constitution Week celebration with an opening ceremony from 12:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 18 at Mass Media and Technology Hall. The Bristow Elementary School chorus will perform and WKU President Gary Ransdell will lead the WKU and Bowling Green community in reciting the Preamble to the Constitution. The ceremony will conclude with Mitzi Groom, head of WKU’s Music Department, playing patriotic songs from the Guthrie Tower carillon.

Local high school students have been invited to the opening ceremony and will participate in a symposium about the Constitution. “A More Perfect Union,” a video presentation sponsored by the American Humanics program, will be shown at 3 p.m. in the Mass Media and Technology Hall Auditorium.

Sept. 20 is Military Appreciation Day with several events scheduled, including a student organizations fund-raiser on the Downing University Center South Lawn and a reception for military students and faculty at Bowling Green Community College.

The events will conclude on Sept. 21 with “Rock the Vote” on the Downing University Center South Lawn.

Other activities during the week include Constitution Jeopardy for student organizations; “Not in My Library, First Amendment Issues,” an exhibit by University Libraries; a Wall of Expression for students to express their views about Constitutional issues; and car art, as art and political science students collaborate to paint a car with First Amendment issues.

The Department of Political Science is organizing the events with assistance from numerous campus groups.

Last year’s Constitution Week activities were recognized with a second-place award from the American Democracy Project and the Rock the Vote event took third-place honors.

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

For information, contact Sandra Ardrey at (270) 745-4558.

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