Celebrating the day that the government of the United States became official, Constitution Day is now a national holiday. In lieu of receiving a day off, however, schools and government offices are required to conduct educational programs concerning the Constitution that was signed on September 17th, 1787. Because the official date falls on a weekend this year, Ancilla College held their annual presentation on September 15th.
Dr. Tom Buchanan, professor of history at Ancilla, welcomed guests and spoke to students, faculty and staff about the origins of The Constitution, the oldest written decree of government in the world. “It’s incredible that this document has survived for so long and that we fought, and continue to fight, for its preservation,” Buchanan said.
Also on hand to discuss elements of the constitution were Matthew Sarber, deputy prosecutor for Marshall County, and Sean Surrisi, city attorney for Plymouth. Sarber went into detail about the 4th Amendment. “This protects you from having law enforcement walking into your home and searching for no reason,” Sarber said. Surrisi touched on the difficulties in the interpretation of this relatively simple document. “Even the ‘We’ in ‘We the people’ can be interpreted differently. There are those that think it means ‘we’ as a collective and those that look at it as a group of individuals.”
Every year, Ancilla College shares insight to the constitution, not only because they have to, but because it is just another way to help provide an understanding of the government that has made this country great.
