Constitution Day isn't just about reading a copy of the Constitution anymore.
In celebration of the national holiday yesterday, students participated in a series of events aimed at engaging citizens in constitutional debate.
At the "Illicit Literature Lounge" in front of Pattee Library, students in ENGL 474 (Literary Public Spheres) and CAS 506 (Contemporary Rhetorical Theory) stood on top of a wave-like structure reading excerpts from banned books.
"Students can read whatever they like, which seems to me in keeping with the First Amendment," said Rosa Eberly, professor of both classes.
Throughout the day, students read excerpts from books such as Dr. Seuss's The Lorax, Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead and Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird.
Frequently challenged or banned books were also displayed, along with the reasons why they were controversial, including The Catcher in the Rye (sex), Lord of the Flies (racism) and 1984 (politics).
"Now, in the early 21st century, it's easy to forget that people were once killed for reading and writing books," Eberly said, "so the connection between this and Constitution Day is claiming our right to read, write and think for ourselves."
The Writer's Block exhibit in front of the Palmer Art Museum invited students to scrawl their opinions with chalk on large black cubes. Signs in front of the blocks posed questions such as "Should the Ten Commandments be posted in public spaces?" and "Is federal funding for abortion a violation of the Constitution?"
A particularly contentious question was "Do you feel that the war in Iraq is justified?" with chalk-written responses ranging from "Getting rid of a terrorism-funding murderous tyrant - what do you think?" to "No - bring my little brother home."
Alexis Opp (freshman-engineering) agreed that the blocks were eye-catching.
"Everyone's been looking at it whenever I walk through here," she said. "I think it's pretty cool."
Eight orange panels on the raised grass bed near the Thomas Building presented both pro and con points of views on the death penalty. The panels were arranged so that the messages - "Cruel & Unusual?" and "Just & Necessary?" - only became clear from two specific locations.
An orange sign to the side read "Are you listening?" and provided information on the death penalty.
Architecture students in a first-year seminar, A&A 104 (Art & Design Studio II), came up with the ideas for all three events, professor Peter Aeschbacher said. They then designed and built the orange panels, blocks and wave-like lounge, he added.
The project helped students think about how to make design a part of democracy and how to engage people with their design work, Aeschbacher said.
"Wouldn't you love it if, as an architect, what you built made people want to write on it?" he said.
Other than the exhibits, Penn State's non-partisan voter registration group Represent Penn State was on hand to help students exercise their constitutional right to vote. Represent helped more than 300 people register to vote, said Mary Lou Zimmerman Munn, coordinator of Penn State's Lab for Public Scholarship and Democracy.
The events this year are aimed at encouraging students to think critically about the Constitution, Munn said.
"What we're doing is embedding the Constitution and Constitution Day into the curriculum," she said. "By involving students through their courses we're engaging students much more than usual."
