Nathan Maas

This Friday, SDSU students will celebrate something that happened more than 200 years ago.

SDSU will take part in Constitution Day, which marks the signing of the constitution on Sept. 17, 1787.

“Congress has approved a law that requires all public and private higher educational institutions that receive federal funding, including student grants and loans, to participate in this annual observance,” said Bob Burns, professor and head of the Political Science Department.

Constitution Day events on campus will begin on Friday at noon and run through 2 p.m. in Rotunda E. The club will show “Liberty and Security in an Age of Terrorism,” a video about homeland security and individual liberties in a post 9/11 world. A student panel will discuss the pros and cons of the increases in governmental security measures post-9/11 and effects on individual rights.

Burns put the panel together. He said he wanted, “a balance of male and female and a balance of liberal and conservative views.”

The panel will include former College Republicans President Dan Harders and current President Elizabeth Gorder, along with former College Democrats President Justin Goetz and current President Donni Anderson.

Goetz said he expects the video and the panel to be very good.

This is the second year SDSU has participated in Constitution Day. Last year, SDSU tried this same format, but it failed due to poor advertising.

#1.884359:1900253881.jpg:ROTC1.jpg:ROTC Cadets: Aaron Wood, junior mechanical engineering major, Ben Hoffman, junior electrical engineering major and Nathan Voelker, sophomore aviation major, lower the flag Monday.:Christy Wey