MCC to Sponsor Constitution Day Lectures, September 17, 18, 20 and 24
MANCHESTER, Conn. (August 30, 2018) – Manchester Community College will hold a series of 80-minute lectures to celebrate the birth of the U.S. Constitution. The “Constitution Day” lecture series is free and open to the community.
The U.S. Constitution — arguably one of the most crucial developments in history — established America’s government, laws and rights, and remains a living document. “Everyone should understand the basic meaning and importance of the Constitution,” according to MCC Professor Angelo Messore, who teaches political science and sponsors the series, which features speakers to discuss key components of the Constitution.
The lectures are a yearly event at the college. “We have been honoring the Constitution for a little over twenty years,” Messore said. “The lectures introduce people to basic ideas in the Constitution. Especially with issues such as presidential power, citizenship, voting and equal rights having such a focus, the principles in the Constitution are so important to be aware of.”
The first guest speaker is Attorney Richard Voigt, partner in the law firm of McCarter & English in Hartford. His talk, “The Big Gamble: Article VI and the First Amendment of the Constitution,” is Monday, September 17, from 12:30 to 1:50 p.m. in the SBM Charitable Foundation Auditorium. Voigt is recognized as a Chambers USA “Leaders in Their Field” lawyer and is also listed in The Best Lawyers in America© and Super Lawyers in Connecticut.
A lecture by Attorney Dan Barrett, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, will be held Tuesday, September 18, in Great Path Academy (GPA) Community Commons from 12:30 to 1:50 p.m. Barrett focuses his advocacy efforts on privacy, racial profiling and police accountability, as well as on many other issues related to First Amendment rights. He will speak on “The U.S. Constitution and Civil Liberties.”
On Thursday, September 20, from 11 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise W. Merrill will speak on “The Constitution and the Right to Vote” in GPA Community Commons. Secretary Merrill has a long and distinguished record of public service, having been first elected Secretary of the State in 2010. Before that she served 17 years in the Connecticut General Assembly and was House majority leader from 2009 until she left the legislature for her current office.
The final lecture in the Constitution Day series will be held Monday, September 24, from 9:30 to 10:50 a.m. in the SBM Charitable Foundation Auditorium with Enfield Police Chief Alaric J. Fox. Fox has also served with the Connecticut State Police and was deputy commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection. His lecture is titled, “The Constitution as the Roots of Criminal Procedure.”
