Tuesday, Sep. 17 recognizes the federal holiday, Constitution Day. Ohio University looked to celebrate and educate about the holiday that college students tend to overlook.
On the Athens campus, Hasan Kwame Jeffries, an associate professor of history at Ohio State University, hosted a lecture titled “Why the Constitution Won’t Save Us from Ourselves” at the Athena Cinema from 7-8 p.m.
“The Constitution did not save the democracy (of the U.S.),” Jeffries said, discussing the title of the lecture. "The Constitution did not save this nation.”
Instead, Jeffries explained the Constitution provides few protections against an autocratic power, which is an internal threat to US Democracy. The lecture is part of OU’s adherence and commitment to providing Constitutional awareness on the federal holiday.
Jeffries’ lecture was an opportunity for students to better understand their roles as citizens; he also discussed what students have a responsbility to vote. He said it is also a challenge to gauge student awareness in such a divided political environment.
Jeffries said he hopes the protection of voting rights is not related to a specific political party or ideology.
“This isn’t a partisan thing,” he said. “We are not giving up the democracy.”
On a day when people are expected to celebrate the Constitution, it is important to consider that with every election cycle, there is an inherent choice. In his lecture, Jeffries told citizens to continue to prevent the rise of autocracy by exercising their vote in large numbers given the context of pressing societal problems in the US.
“All of the regional campuses are required by law to have some formal recognition of Constitution Day,” Deborah Marinski, an associate professor of history and dean at OU’s Southern Campus, said.
Events across OU’s campuses celebrate the importance of the day. On the Southern campus, the campus library hosted an event where students could view the library’s Constitution Day book display. The event also emphasized the importance of understanding the Constitution's affect on American life.
“We just try to make (the Constitution) available to people,” Marinski said.
The university hosts many of these events to engage local populations across Ohio. John O’Keefe, an associate professor of history at the Chillicothe campus, explained the importance of engaging with the Constitution because it does affect many aspects of everyday living. From the Revolutionary period to today, the rights every American should possess are impacted by this document, he said.
“History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes,” O’Keefe said. “When we're talking about history, we're often thinking with the present in mind. And our questions, we're looking into the past to find answers about the present.”
As a part of creating awareness among students and local populations, the Chillicothe campus is also hosting an event in 2024 to address Constitution Day.
According to OU, the event is titled “Freedom of Information Past and Present in the Public Library.” There was a panel discussion in the Bennett Hall Auditorium at 4 p.m. that focused on the unique role that libraries have in cultivating local and national culture, as well as combating misinformation.
“(Professors and faculty) are reaching multiple audiences and different events through what we choose,” O’Keefe said.
O’Keefe, Marinski and Jeffries agreed on one pressing item: there is a power in understanding a document that seems too old for modern consideration.
Jeffries offered an ultimatum of awareness to those who attended his lecture Tuesday night.
“We’re in trouble, right? We’ve go to be really careful, one way or the other,” Jeffries said.
