Clayton Callahan, event coordinator and history graduate student, discusses all the work that goes into planning Constitution Day at ESU. Callahan is Amanda Miracle’s, director of Constitution Day and associate professor of history, assistant for Constitution Day.
The Emporia State social sciences department and the Constitution Day committee are hosting a Constitution event from 8:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Sept. 18. There are about 1,000 middle and high school students expected to attend.
“We reached out to a variety of viewpoints, to get a broad and very full experience,” said Clayton Callahan, a history graduate student and the event coordinator.“We have people who are doing games, I’m recreating the Constitutional convention with the shouting and trying to wrestle out what were the problems and the concerns of the time.”
The event includes four different sessions, a keynote speaker, a tour of campus and an ice cream social.
General Richard Myers, the current president of Kansas State University and the former chairman of the Joints Chief of Staff, will be presenting the keynote speech, according to emporia.edu.
According to Amanda Miracle, President Allison Garrett reached out to Myers to ask if he would speak at the event.
The event requires numerous volunteers to operate, including instructors, speakers, reenactors and 40 ESU students who serve as group leaders.
“Time is a commodity and people giving up their time to run the lectures, to run the tours, to help coordinate the event, that’s been our biggest help,” Miracle said.
24 instructors, mostly from the liberal arts and sciences department have volunteered to help, according to Callahan.
There are also community members volunteering, including representatives from the local government and a pastor who is speaking on religious freedom.
There is no charge to attend, but funding for the event comes from a variety of sources.
“Ironically, (the event cost) was at $1,776, which is very relevant, but since we had another school come this last week, we’re up to $1,800, $1,850,” Callahan said.
According to Miracle, they received money from President Garrett, the dean of liberal arts and sciences and through fundraising.
“It’s a big day and it’s a lot of effort, but we believe firmly that this is the right thing to do,” Miracle said. “We want them to find that this is a welcoming place and that we’re relevant to them.”
Planning for the next Constitution Day begins the day after the event, starting with a debriefing to determine what went well and what can be improved, according to Miracle.