Dozens gather to celebrate Constitution Day at Library

The Shippensburg University community celebrated Constitution Day to recognize the efforts and bravery of the framers of the document

Beautiful weather graced the campus for this year’s annual Constitution Day celebration, which was held last Thursday.

The morning kicked off with a celebration held in front of the Ezra Lehman Library. SU students, faculty and staff, along with those from Grace B. Luhrs Elementary School (GBLUES), gathered around the front doors. The chair of the library faculty, Kirk Moll, welcomed the crowd and acknowledged the day’s importance in history.

In 1787, the delegates to the Constitutional Convention met to sign the document they created with the hope of contributing to a stronger country for centuries. The event is held to celebrate these brave men’s efforts.

The university has held an annual event each year since 2004. Under a federal law, all educational institutions that receive federal funding are required to hold an event commemorating the signing of the U.S. Constitution on Sept. 17. “This day tells the story of our country and it is important to learn about it. Schooling is not just to get you smarter, it is not just to get you a better job or more money,” Moll said. “It is to make you a better person and, in doing so, a better citizen.”

The celebration was organized around SU President George “Jody” Harpster and the fourth- and fifthgrade students of GBLUES. The tradition of their reading of the preamble was the focus of the morning. The students crowded together and recited a key part in the U.S. Constitution loudly and with enthusiasm.

The event was followed by GBLUES students as well as university students visiting the lower level of the library for an exhibit created by the elementary school students. All of the work reflected the students’ view on Constitution Day and citizenship in the U.S.

Professor Chantana Charoenpanitkul, the organizer of the event, was proud to have been involved with an important activity for young children as well as for those attending SU.

“It is a good habit to practice good citizenship, especially for the new generation of Americans,” she said. “We want to continue that legacy of those brave men who changed history.”