SUNY PLATTSBURGH OBSERVES CONSTITUTION DAY

[Cindy McMurray]

SUNY Plattsburgh’s Institute for Ethics in Public Life, in collaboration
with the Redcay Honors Center, will be holding a critical issues forum on
Wednesday, September 16 at noon, in recognition of annual Constitution Day.

According to the National Constitution Center, “Constitution Day became a
national observance in 2004, when Senator Robert Byrd lobbied for a bill
designating September 17 as the day for citizens to commemorate the signing
of the U.S. Constitution and learn more about our founding document.”
Because the observance mandates the teaching of the Constitution in
educational institutions that receive federal funds, SUNY Plattsburgh is
obligated to offer informative and engaging programming to mark the day. As
a result, the Institute for Ethics in Public Life at SUNY Plattsburgh and
the Redcay Honors Program have in past years taken the lead in the
college’s observance of Constitution Day.

This year, Ethics Institute director Dr. Jonathan Slater and Honors Program
director Dr. Tracie Guzzio will moderate a panel discussion, “We Hold This
Truth.” The panel will include past Institute Fellow and Honors Program
instructor Dr. Monica Ciobanu – a member of SUNY Plattsburgh’s criminal
justice faculty. Dr. Salvatore Fallica, who studies propaganda, will be
joining the panel from New York University’s Steinhardt School. Political
science major Lucy Allen will represent the Honors Program.The Institute’s
three fall 2020 Fellows, Dr. Raymond Carman, Dr. Mustafa Demir, and Dr.
Richard Spindler, shall serve as respondents.

This event will take place only on Zoom and will start promptly at noon and
end at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, September 16. The forum is free of charge and
open to faculty, students, alumni and members of the community-at-large.
The Zoom link is:
https://plattsburgh.zoom.us/j/97288789871?pwd=NVJnYkVrQm9XT1NQaUlTWTdZc3RMZz09
.

Established in 1999 by Dr. E. Thomas Moran, the Ethics Institute was
founded on the idea that citizens should make sound choices based on free
speech and that those in public life should lead in humility and govern for
the public good. Guided by a belief in education's role of fostering
informed discourse, the Institute has provided fellowship experiences to
more than 90 faculty members from among 30 college departments. The
Institute is hosting three new Fellows this fall and also is the
intellectual home of six current senior scholars.

For further information about Constitution Day, the Fellows program and
other activities of the Institute, contact Dr. Jonathan Slater, director,
at slaterjr at plattsburgh.edu.

In preparation, we invite you to read a recent essay by Bill Moyers,
https://billmoyers.com/story/we-hold-this-truth-to-be-self-evident-its-happening-before-our-very-eyes/,
which will be the focus of the dialogue during the forum.

The Institute's Fellowship program is made possible by generous gifts to
the Plattsburgh College Foundation.
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