Security Versus Liberty After 9/11 Topic of UA Constitution Day Forum Sept. 18

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama will commemorate the nation’s second Constitution Day with a discussion on the balance between national security and individual liberty in the world after 9/11.

The forum, “The Tension Between Liberty and Security in the Aftermath of 9/11,” will be Sept.18 at 3 p.m. in room 151 of Shelby Hall on the UA campus. The forum is sponsored by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences. It is free and open to the public.

The event will be led by a panel of experts in the topic area including Herbert Henry, assistant United States Attorney General for the Northern District of Alabama, Dr. Joseph L. Smith, assistant professor of political science at UA, and Dr. David Lanoue, professor and chairman of political science at UA. Other panelists will be announced at the forum.

“Constitution Day is intended to foster a greater understanding of the ideas and principals on which American was founded and a deeper appreciation of our country’s founding document, the oldest written constitution in the world,” said Dr. Robert Olin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The topic we have selected to examine for Constitution Day is the subject of intense concern on university campuses and in our communities. We hope this forum will provide our community members with valuable information they can use in better understanding their constitutional liberties.”

The forum will address government policies intended to fight terrorism, including the USA Patriot Act and the National Security Agency’s information-gathering activities. The USA Patriot Act expanded government powers to collect information relevant to national security, while recent news reports have suggested the National Security Agency has monitored the phone calls of some American citizens without warrants or judicial authorization. The panel will discuss the constitutional implications of these programs.

Constitution Day was established by Congress to be held each year on Sept. 17, the day on which delegates to the Philadelphia Convention completed and signed the U.S. Constitution in 1787.

The bill requiring all schools and federal agencies to hold educational programs on that day was sponsored by U.S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia and signed into law by President George W. Bush on Dec. 8, 2004. As Sept. 17 falls on a Sunday this year, UA’s event is Sept. 18 in hopes of increased attendance.

Schools, federal agencies, and civic groups throughout the nation are holding special events to honor the U.S. Constitution led by the National Constitution Center of Philadelphia, Pa. Sponsors for the day include the American Bar Association, the Bill of Rights Institute, C-SPAN television network, and the Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools, among others.

More information on Constitution Day can be found on the web at www.constitutionday.us/.

With 6,600 students and 360 faculty members, UA’s College of Arts and Sciences is the largest public liberal arts college in Alabama and UA’s largest division. College students have been selected for many of the nation’s top academic honors, including Rhodes, Goldwater, and Truman Scholarships, and memberships on USA Today’s Academic All-American teams.