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SHSU To Celebrate Day With Constitutional Lectures

Sept. 14, 2009

Sam Houston State University will celebrate the United States’ security of “the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity,” during the annual Constitution Day celebration Wednesday and Thursday (Sept. 16-17).

The event will include five lectures and a panel discussion addressing various aspects of the law in Academic Building IV and the Lowman Student Center.

Wednesday’s lecture will feature Dorothy McClellan, a criminal justice professor at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi, who will discuss “The Constitution and American Prisons, Foreign and Domestic,” at 4 p.m. in Academic Building IV’s Olson Auditorium (Room 220).

Following the lecture, SHSU assistant professor of political science Melinda Kovács will moderate a panel discussion responding to McClellan’s presentation and take questions from the audience.

Thursday’s discussions will kick off at 9:30 a.m., with an opening ceremony that will include a reading of the Constitution’s Preamble, followed by a discussion on “First Amendment Rights in Criminal Justice” by criminal justice professor Mike Vaughn.

Other presentations will be given by SHSU assistant professor of history Jeff Littlejohn, who will discuss “‘What's the Story:’ A Constitution Day Mystery” from 11 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.; Kovács, who will discuss “The Second Amendment and Guns on Campus: An Interactive Session” from 12:30-1:50 p.m.; and political science professor John Domino, who will discuss “The Supreme Court as a Cultural Tribunal: The Supreme Court’s Role in Our Diverse Culture” from 2-3:20 p.m.

All of Thursday’s lectures will be held in Lowman Student Center Room 320.

A free copy of the Oxford University Press’ “The United States Constitution: What It Says, What It Means: A Hip Pocket Guide” will be given to each attendee, while supplies last.

In addition, sign-up sheets will be available for participants near the end of the presentations for faculty members who would like to award extra credit for attendance. Faculty who would like a sign-up sheet should contact Frank Fair at 936.294.1509.

The Constitution Day Celebration is sponsored by the SHSU American Democracy Project, the departments of history and political science and the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

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