Town hall meeting honors Constitution

A town hall meeting discussing checks on presidential power took place in the Grand Hall of the Neal-Marshall Black Cultural Center Monday night. The meeting, held in celebration of Constitution Day, was sponsored by the IU Dean of Faculties office and moderated by education professor Terrance Mason.\nThe program opened with remarks from Interim Provost Michael McRobbie. The discussion centered on the issue of domestic spying, specifically with regards to its constitutionality.\nThe panel included Fred Cate, a distinguished professor in the law school, Norman Furniss, an IU political science professor, and Sallyann Murphey, coordinator of the First Amendment Program at Harmony High School in Bloomington.\nMcRobbie commented that the meeting itself served as a tribute to Constitution Day because it was held in a town hall style.\nMason said he was looking forward to the meeting, although he said he would try his best to serve only as a moderator. He said he hoped the program drew attention to the document and its relevance not only in history, but in everyday life as well.\n"I think the topic for (Monday night) is focused on that (relevance)," Mason said. "I think it's just a time for people to hear some perspectives on how the Constitution is still an important force in our lives."\nEach panelist opened with opinions about the current state of domestic spying, including quotes from the likes of Benjamin Franklin in their remarks. Each spoke about privacy issues and offered varying opinions about the state of privacy in the country.\nFurniss pointed out that "threats to privacy come not just from the government" in his speech. He also emphasized the difference between anonymity, which he classified as the government simply knowing who a person is, and more specific issues regarding privacy. \nMurphey, a social studies teacher, said she encouraged her students not to be overcome by the fear created by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and their subsequent effects on privacy. Rather, she pushed them to study the fallout, and learn from the reactions, both short- and long-term. \nShe also encouraged several attending students studying to become teachers to try to get students to open up about their personal opinions in the classroom.\n"I think you have to have honest debate," Murphey said. "I know that's very hard."\nCate touched on the legal implications of the surveillance actions taken by the federal government during the war on terror. He echoed the other panelists when he pointed out that the issues of the meeting were very grand. \n"We're taking very complicated issues and trying to make them simple," Cate said during the discussion. \nCate also pointed out that the Bush administration, often accused of loading courts and ignoring legal precedent, was currently losing several civil liberties cases regarding detaining and questioning terrorists. \nAll three panelists emphasized that the best way for citizens to change what they found unfair or harmful to their privacy was to speak up. Cate commented that he found an alarming number of Americans are willing to trade freedom for safety. \nConstitution Day was first celebrated in 2004, honoring the day on which the U.S. Constitution was ratified, Sept. 17, 1787. The day was formerly known at Citizenship Day.