Complying with Constitution Day

What's the Sixth Amendment?\nToo difficult? \nHow about the Fourth?\nRegardless of whether or not remnants from high school history class can help us regurgitate every amendment in the U.S. Constitution, we must recognize the greater need and calling to understand and abide by the single most influential document in America. More than a matter of "Jeopardy!" trivia, it's an issue of pride and patriotism in an evolving, distinctly unique American identity. The Constitution is the bedrock of American life. The freedoms guaranteed in it explicitly, implicitly, unintentionally and intentionally shape our every action. \nThat said, we applaud a new mandate (pushed forth by Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.) requiring all colleges receiving federal funds -- including IU-Bloomington -- to celebrate Constitution Day (Sept. 17) through educational programs. The day commemorates the anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. \nAs of last Thursday, according to The Chronicle of Higher Education, IUB was still scrambling to develop a program that would abide by the Department of Education's guidelines. The rules were laid out in May, forcing some universities that traditionally do not observe the holiday, such as IUB, to create a Constitution Day agenda under a hasty deadline. Preliminary plans from IU Media Relations mentioned a town hall style meeting exploring the U.S. Constitution as a model for constitution-writing throughout the world.\nThe U.S. Department of Education has said it will not monitor compliance with the mandate. But we encourage IUB to stick to its civic duty, despite the lack of regulation.\nIn an effort to aid the administration's planning and meet the Sept. 17 deadline (which is actually a weekend, therefore, universities are allowed to hold events in the week preceding and following the day), we offer a few suggestions for making this first Constitution Day in Bloomington a memorable, yet educational experience: \n1) Hand out free Constitutions.\nAn ingenious idea stolen from the proselytizing preachers who pass out Bibles on campus. Since many of us are unfamiliar with the basic principles of the Constitution, this idea would directly and instantaneously expand our knowledge. However, this quick-fix solution has its flaws. Apparently, the new law will not provide colleges with additional funding to implement Constitution Day programs -- it only expects them to comply.\n2) Thus, we turn to a more stringent, yet educational suggestion -- suspend the Constitution for a day. Imagine what life would be like just without the First Amendment. We wouldn't have the liberty to print this editorial, IUSA would shut down, none of us would have the freedom to disagree with a professor and the weekly war protestors would be arrested. \nGranted, we could always resort to the traditional symposium, speech or conference typical of a university environment. But wouldn't it be more beneficial to have all students realize the impact of the Constitution rather than just the few who attend a generic lecture? Suspending the Constitution for a day sounds radical, even a bit foolish. But the hands-on experience of living in a society without the freedoms guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution would make a more emphatic statement. The conundrum of living without a constitution for a day might actually motivate us to find out what the Sixth Amendment says.