UA Students Stay Up to Read State Constitution Aloud

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — The University of Alabama branch of Alabama Students for Constitutional Reform will host a reading of the Alabama Constitution over two days Tuesday-Wednesday, Sept. 20-21, on the steps of Reese Phifer Hall.

The reading of the Alabama Constitution will begin at 8 a.m. Tuesday and will be led by Matthew Lewis of Prattville, UA sophomore and ASCR president.

Some 45 students and community members are expected to take part in the reading of the document that will continue throughout the night Tuesday and all day Wednesday, concluding at 9 p.m.

Lewis said the student group hopes to raise awareness about the need for constitutional reform in Alabama. “We are not targeting one particular group with this rally. We want to engage the entire state in discussion on the reasons why a new constitution would be beneficial to our state,” he commented

The Alabama Constitution was written in 1901 and is the longest constitution in the United States with over 700 amendments. “Even though we are reading the Constitution over a two-day period, I have no expectations of finishing it within those hours,” Lewis said, adding, “I hope that this will prove to students, faculty, voters and legislators how desperately our constitution needs reform.”

Along with emphasizing the length of the Alabama Constitution, ASCR aims to call attention to some of the outdated amendments and language in the constitution. “It is ridiculous that our constitution still has Jim Crow-era segregationist language in it,” Lewis said. “Alabama cannot reach its potential in the 21st century with archaic language in its constitution.”

Lewis is also hoping to get UA students involved in the rally in hopes that the younger voters will become aware of issues affecting Alabama and their future. “UA students are some of the best and brightest in the state and they are the future of Alabama,” Lewis said. “I want UA students to realize how great this state is and how much potential it has to be a leader among the states.”

Lewis is a double major in political science and history at UA. Along with being president of College Democrats, he is involved with UA’s Honors College, HIPSA and the Collegiate Summit.

For more information or to participate in the reading of the Alabama Constitution, contact Matthew Lewis at lewis132@bama.ua.edu.

NOTE: A MEDIA AVAILABILITY TIME WILL BE HELD DURING THIS EVENT FROM NOON-1 P.M. ON TUESDAY, SEPT. 20, ON THE STEPS OF REESE PHIFER HALL.