Goshen College to celebrate Constitution Day with campus-wide reading

"We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity ..."

What do these words written in 1787 mean to us today?

WHAT:
To celebrate Constitution Day 2010, Goshen College theater students will present a public reading of the entire United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

WHEN:
Friday, Sept. 17, 2010 at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE:
The Umble Center balcony lawn

WHO:
Students, faculty and staff will gather to hear this important piece of the United States' identity read aloud. The college's Theater Department and History Department are jointly organizing the event as a catalyst for discussion about a document that too few people have read.

WHY IT'S NEWS:
On Sept. 17, 1787, 39 of the 55 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the United States Constitution. The Congress, by joint resolution, has designated Sept. 17 as Citizenship Day and the week of Sept. 17-23 each year as Constitution Week. This celebration is the fulfillment of a federal mandate for colleges and universities receiving federal aid to hold an educational program on the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17.

Contact: News Bureau Director Jodi H. Beyeler, (574) 535-7572, jodihb@goshen.edu

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Goshen College, established in 1894, is a residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values – passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership – prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, "Colleges of Distinction," "Making a Difference College Guide" and U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.