At WKU
September 07, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University’s Political Engagement Project will kickoff a year of “The Great Conversation” with Constitution Week activities Sept. 17-20.
“Your Voice: Does it Matter?” is the theme for Constitution Week, the first of four conversations planned during the 2007-08 academic year.
David Gonzalez, an award-winning New York Times writer, will deliver the keynote address to open Constitution Week on Sept. 17.
Gonzalez, who writes about urban life and culture in his “Citywide” column, will speak as part of the opening ceremony at 12:30 p.m. at Mass Media and Technology Hall. Gonzalez has worked for the paper since 1990 as a reporter and columnist and was the bureau chief for Central America and the Caribbean region for five years.
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.
During this year’s event, each college will sponsor an event or activity, according to Dr. Saundra Ardrey, head of the Department of Political Science.
“The Constitution is relevant for everyone and for all disciplines,” Dr. Ardrey said. “We want to engage all students and prepare them for participation in a democratic society. Through the Political Engagement Project, we want our students to understand the importance of having input in the discussions and decisions about public issues.”
Students will have several civic engagement opportunities during Constitution Week, including lectures, film presentations, panel discussions and a voter registration drive. Students also will have an opportunity to express their views on discussion boards placed around campus.
About 300 students from Bowling Green and Warren County high schools have been invited to participate in the opening day and compete in “Constitution Jeopardy.”
Other activities include the film “Iron Jawed Angels” at 7 p.m. Sept. 17 at Mass Media and Technology Hall Auditorium; a faculty panel discussion on political engagement in the classroom at 12:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at Grise Hall, room 340; a student panel discussion at 7 p.m. Sept. 18 at Downing University Center; a presentation by Joe Survant, 2003 Kentucky poet laureate, at 2 p.m. Sept. 19 at Helm Library, room 100; a presentation by Tom Fitzgerald, director of the Kentucky Resources Council, at 3:15 p.m. Sept. 19 at Helm 100; a panel discussion on smoke free communities at 5 p.m. Sept. 19 at Downing University Center, room 310; and Rock the Vote
Festival at noon Sept. 20 at the Downing University Center South Lawn.
WKU is one of eight universities nationwide participating in the Political Engagement Project, which is part of the American Democracy Project. The other three issues to be discussed in “The Great Conversation” series at WKU are “Global Warming,” “Privacy Issues” and “The State of Health Care.”
For more on the Political Engagement Project, visit http://www.wku.edu/adp/pep/
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 Saundra Ardrey at (270) 745-4558.
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