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MC observes Constitution Day 2022

Sept. 12, 2022

Members of the Maryville College community will celebrate Constitution Day early this year – on Fri., Sept. 16 – one day ahead of the 235th anniversary of the signing of the document that established the framework for the national government, put in place basic laws and guaranteed certain basic rights for its citizens.

“We believe attendance will be better on a weekday, as opposed to the weekend, and we believe it’s important to give people an opportunity to learn more about – and reflect more on – the supreme law of the United States,” explained Dr. Mark O’Gorman, professor of political science and organizer of the Sept. 16 event. “The event is free, and we’re inviting not only members of the Maryville College community, but the public, as well.”

People are invited to gather outside, at the Maryville College Global+ Speakers’ Corner in front of Pearsons Hall, at noon. After a short discussion of the U.S. Constitution and a reciting of the Preamble, attendees will have the opportunity to play a fun and educational quiz game called “Know! Your! Constitution!” Top-scoring participants will earn door prizes.

O’Gorman will serve as host for the event. Dr. Aaron Astor, associate professor of history, recently updated questions for the annual quiz game and will be on hand to assist with the event.

In the event of rain, Constitution Day observances will move to Thaw Hall, room 216.

“In the last few years, the Constitution has received a lot of attention from elected officials, lawyers and media representatives, pushing their interpretation of the Constitution,” O’Gorman said. “That is why it’s always good to revisit the core U.S. document that forms the basis of our political society, and genuinely read where and how our Constitution provides for our rights and our government.”

The Constitution Day celebration became an annual event at Maryville College and colleges and universities across the country in 2005, when Congress passed legislation declaring that “each educational institution that receives federal funds for a fiscal year shall hold an educational program on the United States Constitution on September 17 of such year for the students served by the educational institution.”

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”