UND to celebrate Constitution Day with constitutional law classes Most Americans know that July 4 is our nation's birthday. Surveys show that far fewer know that Sept. 17 is the birthday of our system of government, the date in 1787 on which 39 of the 55 original delegates to the Philadelphia Convention completed and signed the U.S. Constitution. This year, therefore, marks the 220th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. The Constitution embodies principles which inform our system of government and our relationship to it, including a commitment to the rule of law, the separation of powers and checks and balances among the three branches of government, federalism that marks the distinctive and cooperative authority of the federal government and the states, and the ideals of liberty, equality, and justice that undergird individual civil rights and liberties. In 2004, federal law designated every Sept. 17 as Constitution Day. Constitution Day encourages Americans to remember the significance of the Constitution in establishing our system of government, securing our individual civil rights and liberties, and providing the means to keep government accountable to the people in times of war and peace. In celebration of Constitution Day at UND, on Monday, Sept. 17, Associate Professor Steven Andrew Light of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration and the College of Business and Public Administration, and Floyd B. Sperry Professor of Law and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Kathryn Rand of the School of Law will open their Constitutional law classes to the public. “We are pleased to support the efforts of UND to recognize Constitution Day, and to promote public understanding of what the Constitution means to all of us and how the U.S. Supreme Court interprets what the Constitution says,” said Light. Added Rand, “By opening our classrooms, we can highlight how undergraduates as well as law students learn about the Constitution. That’s truly a unique dimension of how UND has chosen to celebrate this day.” The Constitution Day class schedule Monday, Sept. 17 is: * Constitutional Law I (Law 150), 9:05 to 10 a.m., Room 211, School of Law. * American Constitution I (Pols 305), 11 to 11:50 a.m., 380 Gamble Hall. This Constitution Day celebration is sponsored by the Department of Political Science and Public Administration in conjunction with the School of Law and the Office of the Vice President for Academic Affairs. For more information on these classes, please contact Karen Bowles at 777-3549. For more information on Constitution Day and the U.S. Constitution, please visit the Constitution Day web site, National Constitution Center, at http://www.constitutionday.us/. -- Victoria Beard, Associate Provost, Academic Affairs, victoriabeard@mail.und.edu, 777-4824