The George A. Smathers Libraries’ Government Documents department will be hosting its fourth annual Celebration of the Constitution today from noon to 1 p.m. on the Plaza of the Americas.
The celebration will include a public forum where students and staff members can share a reading of the Constitution, said UF librarian Chelsea Dinsmore.
“Our founding documents are freely available for everyone to read, which isn’t the case in many countries,” she said.
The library will also distribute 1,000 pocket-sized Constitutions on campus, she said. Cards offering Constitution apps will be distributed on Tuesday as well.
The Celebration of the Constitution is a national event, and all schools that receive federal funding are required to participate, Dinsmore said.
In addition to the Constitution reading on the Plaza of the Americas, the Bob Graham Center for Public Service will record a video segment called “Preambling with Dr. Emma Humphries.” Humphries, the Bob Graham Center’s assistant in citizenship, plans to meander through campus asking random students questions about the Constitution. The idea came from a spin-off of Jay Leno’s late-night segment “Jaywalking”.
“When it comes to knowing the framework of our government, we don’t really teach it,” Humphries said. “I have a hunch that the majority of UF students won’t know the answers.”
The importance of this event is to learn about why the Constitution matters and why the day is meaningful, Humphries said.
Students can earn $5 Starbucks gift cards for each question they answer correctly, and they can earn up to three gift cards.
The final version of the video will be available soon after Constitution Day at http://www.youtube.com/bobgrahamcenter.
The University of Florida Levin College of Law will hold a simultaneous reading in UF Law’s Martin Levin Advocacy Center, according to a press release.
A version of this story ran on page 9 on 9/17/2013 under the headline "UF to celebrate the Constitution"
