Canisius College Observes Constitution Day
True or false, the U.S. Constitution states that “All men are created equal.”  If you answered false, you’re correct. The words “man” or “men” do not even appear in the original Constitution.  This question was among 10 that appeared on a recent survey distributed to 100 Canisius College students in observance of Constitution Day.

A new law championed by Senator Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia) and signed into law by President George W. Bush in December of 2004 requires all schools and colleges that receive federal funding to teach about the U.S. Constitution on September 17, the day the document was adopted in 1787.  This year it was celebrated on Friday, September 16, since the 17th fell on a Saturday.

Students from Phi Alpha Delta, the college’s pre-law fraternity, interviewed 40 students on campus. In addition, 60 students in Dr. Michael V. Haselswerdt’s Constitutional Foundations of American Government course completed the survey.

A thought provoking Power Point presentation developed by Peter J. Galie, PhD, chair of political science which included questions and fun facts about the U.S. Constitution was broadcast throughout the campus on Friday and over the weekend.

“I didn’t include the answers to the questions in the presentation,” says. “My hope was that students would become intrigued and seek the answers on their own.”

Find out how much you know about the Constitution by taking the survey yourself.  Select your answer by clicking the button for true or false.  When you are done, click the button below to find out the correct answers and see how Canisius students fared.

1. THE US CONSTITUTION PROVIDES FOR THREE (3) BRANCHES OF GOVERNMENT.
    TRUE      FALSE

2.  THE LIBERTIES CONTAINED IN THE US CONSTITUTION ARE ABSOLUTE.
    TRUE      FALSE

3.  THE US CONSTITUTION DELARES ITSELF TO BE THE “SUPREME LAW OF THE LAND.”
    TRUE      FALSE

4.  THE US CONGRESS HAS THE SOLE POWER TO AMEND THE US CONSTITUTION.
    TRUE      FALSE

5.  THE US CONSTITUTION PROVIDES FOR THE GENERAL RELATIONSHIP AMONG THE STATES.
    TRUE      FALSE

6.  TODAY, THE US SUPREME COURT HAS THE FINAL AUTHORITY TO INTERPRET THE CONSTITUTION.
    TRUE      FALSE

7.  THE US CONSTITUTION STATES THAT “ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.”
    TRUE      FALSE

8.  THE TEXT OF THE US CONSTITUTION SPECIFICALLY PROTECTS A WOMAN’S RIGHT TO HAVE AN ABORTION.
    TRUE      FALSE

9.  CONGRESSIONAL REPRESENTATIVES ARE ELECTED BY THE PEOPLE.
    TRUE      FALSE

10.  THE US CONSTITUTION STATES THAT  CHRISTIANITY IS THE OFFICIAL RELIGION OF THE US.
    TRUE      FALSE

September Issue of Connections On-line
The September 2005 issue of Connections, the on-line newsletter of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) is now available at http://www.ajcunet.edu/connections.  To access it, please click on the URL or copy and paste it into your browser.

The on-line version of Connections is designed for computer viewing.  Connections is also available in pdf (portable document format) if you wish to read a hard copy of the publication.

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Did You Know? Rhode Island was the only state that did not send delegates to the Constitutional Convention of 1787.