For Immediate Release August 29, 2005

For More Information Contact: Rich Schneider, 317-278-4564 rcschnei@iupui.edu

IUPUI to Mark Constitution Day and Citizenship Day

INDIANAPOLIS - In observance of a new federal requirement, IUPUI will mark Constitution Day and Citizenship Day with debates on the gay marriage amendment to Indiana's constitution and a debate on restricting the rights and freedoms of individuals to assure homeland security.

The Constitution and Citizenship Day provision was included in the omnibus spending bill passed by Congress last December. It was authored by Sen. Robert Byrd, considered by many of his peers to be the Senate's most learned student of the nation's founding documents.

One debate will be held from 12:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. on September 14 in Democracy Plaza. Faculty and legislators will debate the pro's and con's of the following:

Resolved: The gay marriage amendment to the Indiana Constitution is a violation of the separation of church and state set forth in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The second debate will be held from 12:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. on September 15 in Democracy Plaza. Faculty and legislators will debate the pro's and con's of the following:

Resolved: In the aftermath of 9/11 and in recognition of the global society in which we live, individual rights and freedoms under the U.S. Constitution need to be restricted to assure homeland security.

Pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution and pizza will be provided at both debates.

"One will not protect what one does not value. And one cannot value what one does not understand," Byrd, D-W.Va., said when he introduced the provision, explaining that if students understood the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights, they would do more to protect and defend them.

"Through our schools, we can help to ensure that each new generation of Americans understands what is at stake," Byrd said.

Byrd's provision requires all schools that receive federal assistance to offer a "Constitution Day" program commemorating the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

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