Bulletin News

08/29/2023 

As the annual Constitution Day approaches in mid-September, some SUNY Cortland students may doubt they have the power to make meaningful change in the world. They might want to meet two recent SUNY Cortland Institute for Civic Engagement Action Team interns who are doing just that.

Austen Johnson ’19 has helped organize many political dialogs at SUNY Cortland, starting well before graduation. He currently serves as placement coordinator with Oneida County’s Workforce Development Board.

Hailie Addison ’21 started SUNY Cortland’s chapter of the national group BridgeUSA, a national organization devoted to finding common ground between different political views on college campuses. Addison has helped start chapters at other colleges and is now the group’s national program manager.

Members of the campus community will have the opportunity to meet them and other political movers and shakers when SUNY Cortland, five other SUNY institutions, and institutions in the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education team up on Tuesday, Sept. 19, for a Zoom-based Constitution Day, and on Wednesday, Sept. 20, for a Constitution Day event at SUNY Cortland.

Each year, SUNY Cortland’s Institute for Civic Engagement holds a Constitution Day event to connect with students on topics related to the importance of the U.S. Constitution in their lives. This year, organizers have asked faculty to encourage their students to register and participate in both events.

Constitution Day (or Citizenship Day), is an American federal observance that recognizes the adoption of the U.S. Constitution and those who have become U.S. citizens. Observed this year on Sept. 19, it is normally recognized on Sept. 17 — the day in 1787 that delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document in Philadelphia. When Constitution Day falls on a weekend or on another holiday, schools and other institutions observe the holiday on an adjacent weekday.

It’s the second year the group, which this year includes SUNY Plattsburgh, SUNY Oswego, Buffalo State, Old Westbury and Nassau Community College, as well as the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education, has held student-centered educational and participatory discussions to mark the occasion.

“This year, both events will help students learn and apply guidelines for exercising their First Amendment right to petition the government,” said John Suarez, director of SUNY Cortland’s Institute for Civic Engagement (ICE).

Students from each campus have an opportunity to interact with students from other campuses, Suarez said.

The Tuesday, Sept. 19, event Zoom-hosted by Nassau Community College is titled “Be an Agent for Change: Use your power to petition the government.” Register to attend the online event using the following link. The ICE invites students, faculty and staff to watch the keynote address of Natalie Higgins, Massachusetts State Representative, together from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. at the Institute’s Moffett Center, Room 102 office. Space is limited to 20 people.

The Sept. 19 event’s activities will unfold in three parts from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.:

• Keynote speech. Natalie Higgins, Massachusetts State Representative, will address participants. She will be interviewed by John Reiff, Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s director of civic learning and civic engagement, who is a Campus Compact Equity and Engagement Fellow.
• Panel discussion. Moderated by Suarez, the panel will discuss considerations such as best practices for building productive working relationships with government officials, understanding which level of government to contact, and steps to take when replies are delayed or otherwise not helpful. The panel will include Adam Saccardi, director of constituent services for S. Rep. Nick LaLota, a Republican representing New York Legislative District 1; and Manu Meel, CEO of BridgeUSA, whose nationally renowned work helps students bridge differences in civil and productive ways.
• Workshop. Small group discussions will be followed by a full group debrief.

The Wednesday, Sept. 20 event, titled “Go, Co-Govern! Solve challenges by exercising your First Amendment right to petition the government,” will take place in two parts from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. in the Park Center Hall of Fame Room.

The event is free and open to SUNY Cortland students, faculty and staff and the greater Cortland community. Early registration is advised to attend the day’s events and help organizers plan the discussion. Activities will include:

• Panel discussion. Austen Johnson, a former Cortland ICE Action Team intern; Meel; Tom Michales, a City of Cortland alderman since 2003 who has served as deputy mayor since 2022; and Hailie Addison, a former Cortland ICE Action Team intern who will facilitate the small groups.
• Workshop. Small group discussions will be followed by a full group debrief. Participants will apply panelists’ lessons in moderated small-group/issue-oriented discussions in which they decide which level of government would be appropriate to work with; the medium — such as email or personal visit — to use in reaching out to the appropriate person; and what to learn about the government official’s opinions about, and actions on, the issue.

“By attending the panel discussion, people will be able to name at least three ways of petitioning the government and explain circumstances under which those ways would be most appropriate and beneficial,” Suarez said.

“By participating in the workshop, people will learn an appropriate approach for petitioning a particular government office on a particular issue,” he said. “They also will be able to name a way in which information or a skill from at least one academic course can help them address a major issue and partner with at least one other person — ideally from the greater Cortland community — to use their new knowledge to address an issue of concern to them.”

The Constitution Day events are hosted by the ICE and the President’s Fund. Those interested in learning more about the Constitution Day program may contact Suarez at 607-753-4391.

Image: Courtesy of Aaron Burden for Unsplash