March 29, 2024

Constitution Day invokes political discussion, participation

DMACC celebrates U.S. history with informative panel

Each year, Newton DMACC Campus hosts its annual Constitution Day celebration to recognize and honor the United States Constitution. On Wednesday, staff gave students copies of the constitution, information and snacks to invoke students knowledge of the document.

Libertarian Party State Chair Keith Laube, of Newton, and Rep. Greg Heartsill (R-Columbia) participated in an afternoon panel discussion and question and answer session at the school. The panel was organized by DMACC adjunct professor Anita Morrill.

“Inviting local political figures as participants to a Constitution Day panel discussion gives Newton DMACC students an opportunity to hear from and interact with local candidates or office holders directly,” Morrill said.

Morrill teaches history at DMACC and often ties in past events with current events.

She shows students how the issues we face now are usually connected to past events whether its a decision, cause or similarity, and she points out that these events could be tomorrow’s history, too, she said.

“As an instructor, I love that we take a day to consider the constitution document itself, and give students a chance to have their own copy for later reference, too.”

The candidates spoke about their thoughts on the constitution, the state constitution, its relevancy, enumerated powers, amendments, current issues and elections.

Dalton Hassig, 20, of Newton, is a history student at the campus and he thought the panel was an excellent opportunity to for political education and debate.

“I think it is beneficial because there are a lot of people that are politically enthused but maybe not as educated on issues, so I think it provides a good opportunity to educate those people on the workings of the system,” he said.

Most of students who attended the panel are under 21 years old, Hassig pointed out, and will be voting for years to come. He said it’s important that young peoplelearn as much as they can about politics now to have a better understanding and hear a variety of perspectives.

“I’m sure some people in the room had dissenting opinions concerning the issues which the candidates spoke of and I think that’s very important that there are quite a few differences of opinion as long as they are based on proper education. The difference of opinion provokes discussion where sometimes opinions can be changed to suit new information,” Hassig said.

Morrill said all major parties were invited although some representatives could not attend.

Laube is running for county supervisors and Heartsill is running a re-elect campaign for state representative in the 2016 general election Nov. 9.

Contact Kate Malott at 641-792-3121 ext. 6533 or kmalott@newtondailynews.com