Constitution Day features fun festivities

-- Kirsten Jacobson

The U.S. Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787. Even now, 219 years later, it remains the oldest and shortest constitution in the world. These two characteristics were named during Final Jeopardy at the Constitution Day festivities held at Metropolitan State University’s St. Paul Campus on Sept. 14.

The three highlights of this event included, "The Math Behind the Maps," the history and math of apportionment; "The Right to Vote," a panel discussion with three of the four candidates for Minnesota Secretary of State: Mark Ritchie (DFL), Joel Spoonheim (IP) and Bruce Kennedy (Independent); and finally, a good game of Constitutional Jeopardy between teams of students, administrators, faculty and staff.

Constitution Day is a congressional initiative requiring that on or around Sept. 17 each year any educational institution receiving federal funding hold an event involving the U.S. Constitution. Some schools may wince at having to comply with another federal requirement, but William Lowe, Vice President of Academic Affairs, said that Metropolitan State University needs no encouragement to promote its "unwavering commitment to civil engagement."

During "The Math Behind the Maps," Math community faculty member, Sarah Hansen, and associate professor of History, Doug Rossinow, explained the mathematical concepts used to determine how many representatives each state receives, using terms that even a jaded journalist could understand. Hansen made their presentation more fun and engaging with her charisma. She even wore an outfit that one might associate with Benjamin Franklin.

Following was the much anticipated and well attended panel discussion with Ritchie, Spoonheim and Kennedy. Each candidate was eager to discuss voting in Minnesota with political science professor and mediator, Tom O’Connell, and the audience. Minnesota’s current Secretary of State, Mary Kiffmeyer (GOP), did not respond to the invitation.

The Minnesota Secretary of State’s job is essentially to act as the administrator of elections. With talk of ranked voting methods like Instant Runoff Voting, and with recent national attention to the Electoral College, the Minnesota Secretary of State campaign may be one of the most important, yet underexposed races in the state.

Among other questions, O’Connell asked the candidates what needs to be done to increase voter turnout—a focal point of voting issues nationwide. Ritchie mentioned solutions like early registration and automatic registration when individuals receive a driver’s license. Spoonheim suggested campaign finance reform, Instant Runoff Voting and teaching Civics later in high school instead of earlier. Kennedy expressed looking into different forms of ranked voting (of which Instant Runoff Voting is an option), making the voting system less complex and researching young voter strategies.

To find out more about these and all of Minnesota’s electoral candidates, visit http://www.voterhomework.com.

Though voting was a popular topic, Constitutional Jeopardy won the most laughs. The faculty team—O’Connell; Social Science community faculty member and former Senator, Sandy Pappas; and First College professor, Leah Harvey—swept the competition away even before Final Jeopardy.

CCBL director, Susan Shumer, coordinated the Constitution Day event. She said events like this are important because they let people take time to “review the Constitution.” They also increase voter awareness and encourage the Metropolitan Sate University community to participate in government and politics.

At the conclusion of the event, four people registered to vote, and 31 people signed a pledge to vote on Nov. 7.

If you are not registered to vote, or if you don’t know whether you’re eligible, register and/or find out at http://www.sos.state.mn.us/home/index.asp?page=204.