SMU students will have the opportunity to participate in Constitution Day activities today in Hughes-Trigg Student Center – but not necessarily because the school wants them to.This is the first year that the federally mandated holiday will be celebrated.

Technically, the holiday was Saturday, so schools nationwide have been holding various events since Friday and will continue celebrating through the end of this week. The Constitution was signed in Philadelphia on Sept. 17, 1787.

The holiday comes from a bill drafted by West Virginia Senator Robert Byrd and was signed into law last November.

The mandate comes from the Consolidated Appropriations Act, Section 111. It has three provisions that require all federally funded schools to hold educational programs on the designated date.

The holiday’s full name is Constitution and Citizenship Day. Accordingly, the other part of the bill requires the head of each federal government agency or department to provide new employees with educational and training materials on the Constitution during new employees’ orientation and annually on Sept. 17.

In a speech given at Sheperd University on Sept. 16 and televised on C-SPAN, Byrd said that “more Americans know the ins and outs of judging the television shows ‘American Idol’ or ‘Survivor’ than they do about the Constitution.”

Byrd believes the holiday is a chance for Americans to renew their “sense of devotion to our great nation and increase your understanding of the mechanisms that make it great.”

As for activities at SMU, the official Constitution Day program begins at noon. There will be remarks by Vice President of Student Affairs Jim Caswell and President R. Gerald Turner. Student Body President Liz Healy will lead those in attendance in the Pledge of Allegiance. At the conclusion of the program, cake will be served.

SMU will have a copy of the Constitution on display all day, along with various ̢۬Constitution-related materials for students to take.

Also during the day, a video produced by SMU journalism students will be running continuously from noon to 4 p.m. in Hughes-Trigg.

Senior journalism major Megan Connolly said the program will feature stories on freedom of the press, the current Supreme Court nomination and how Dallas schools celebrated the holiday.

The program will also be broadcast hourly on SMU-TV Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.