Constitution Day brings students together

By: Nolan Cleary

Staff writer

Students and professors assembled to remember, discuss and question the U.S. Constitution and its significance at the annual Constitution Day event, held in the Siek Campus Center on Tuesday, Sept. 17. 

At the event, students in attendance asked questions about the founding of the U.S. Constitution, its implications and how it fits into modern day society.

One of the questions involved the amount of power that the U.S. Constitution grants Congress. Bill de Blasio and Tulsi Gabbard, two of the Democratic candidates running for President, have previously expressed interest in giving Congress more ability to declare war than the President. 

Political science professor, Robert Whittaker, and history professor, Alan Joseph, who answered the students’ questions, both viewed that as an unlikely fantasy. According to Whittaker, once a power is given up by Congress, it is hard to reclaim.

Another question surrounded the legality of President Donald Trump’s decision to challenge California’s state laws on carbon emissions. 

Right now, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has announced that he plans to challenge Trump’s decision in court.

With Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives attempting to investigate claims against President Donald Trump, a lot of the discussion centered around Congressional checks and balances.

Many students attending expressed interest in learning more about the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution.

Adam Yousuf, a philosophy major, said that he wishes to learn more about the country’s roots. According to Yousuf, the U.S. Constitution is the origin of our country. 

“It’s helped bring America to the top,” he said.

Yousuf continued to say that he hopes to learn and discover if there are any flaws within the document.

Shawn Moran, a student seeking a business major, said that he believes more people should know about the Constitution because it can help them in certain situations.

“I follow politics pretty closely,” Moran said. “I think it’s very important to follow this because 

most people don’t know their rights, so it’s always good to know.”

Jacob Deller, a liberal arts student, said the process involving the interpretation of the U.S. Constitution interested him. 

“[I’m interested in] basically how the process is delegated, a little bit out of business law,” said Dellar. “I’d like to learn more about the entire government system.”

Whittaker said that he hopes the event gave attendees a deeper appreciation of the U.S. Constitution since the document is of extreme historical and political value.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for us to get out and talk with an audience about not only the Constitution but about current events and the connection between current events and the Constitution,” Whittaker said. 

According to Whittaker, the audience had a lot of great questions about  the implications of the U.S. Constitution, especially how it relates to current events. 

He continued, “As I told people yesterday, this is the world we live in and the Constitution is apart of that.”