DMACC Hosts Constitution Day
Posted 09/10/07

Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC) will host its annual Constitution Day on Mon., Sept. 17. Two events will focus on freedom of religion as outlined in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

A debate on “Should the Wall of Separation be Built Up or Torn Down?” will be held at 10:15 a.m. in the Ankeny Campus Bldg. #6 Auditorium. KCCI-TV’s Marcus McIntosh will moderate a debate between Iowa Family Policy Center President Chuck Hurley and Interfaith Alliance of Iowa Executive Director Connie Ryan Terrell. The debate will also be broadcast to other DMACC campuses via the Iowa Communications Network. Following the debate, there will be a speaker roundtable where the audience can ask questions starting at 11:15 a.m. in Bldg. #2 Room 25 on the Ankeny Campus.

On the DMACC Urban Campus, Frank Cordaro from the Catholic Worker House in Des Moines will speak on the “Separation of Church and State: A Catholic Worker’s Perspective” from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Student Lounge in Bldg. #1 on the Urban Campus.

DMACC’s Constitution Day continues with an outdoor festival starting at 11:30 a.m. on the east side of the Bldg. #5 Student Center on the Ankeny Campus. The festival will include “soap box open mic” speeches, a banned books display and tables represented by the student newspaper, The Campus Chronicle, the Iowa Civil Liberties Union and more.

The DMACC Boone Campus will celebrate Constitution Day with two presentations from Thomas Jefferson impersonator Steven Edenbo. He will remain in character as Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, throughout his presentations. The first will be from 9:05 to 10 a.m. from Room 117 on the DMACC Boone Campus. The final presentation will be from 11:15 a.m. to 12:10 p.m. in the Boone Campus Auditorium.

Edenbo will then travel to the DMACC West Campus where “Thomas Jefferson” will again come to life from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. in the West Campus Auditorium.

All Constitution Day events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact DMACC Political Science/History Professor Bradley Dyke at (515) 964-6450.

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