Students Celebrate Citizenship Week

This week, Saint Anselm students celebrated the 222nd anniversary of the ratification of the United States Constitution with "Citizenship Week," led by the New Hampshire Institute of Poltics' (NHIOP) student ambassadors.

Citizenship Week centers around September 17, the newest federal observance established by Congress and now known as Citizenship or Constitution Day.

The Ambassadors, with the help of organizer Becky Damon '11, sponsored an array of events for all Saint Anselm students, faculty, and staff to commemorate citizenship.

The first event encouraged students to get involved and exercise their rights as citizens. On Sunday, the ambassadors teamed up with resident assistants from freshmen dorms to help Saint Anselm's newest students register to vote.

Ambassador Sarah Stever '11, in charge of the voter registration drive, enthusiastically reported that 25 freshmen are now successfully registered to vote. "It was a great experience for everyone involved, especially the new 18 year olds who can now exercise their rights as United States citizens," said Stever.

The list of events to remind students of citizenship continued on Monday, as a discussion was held, led by Damon, about what citizenship means to students and faculty. Other events throughout the week included an American history trivia night at the Pub and a showing of the movie, "An Empire of Reason," at the NHIOP. The week concluded with a celebration of citizenship on the Quad that included patriotic prizes and American flag cake and vanilla ice cream.

In addition, on Thursday, Constitution and Citizenship Day, was celebrated with a very special event as the NHIOP hosted a Naturalization ceremony, sponsored by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. The Director of the Manchester Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services led the naturalization ceremony, swearing in 51 new citizens of the United States.

Damon, who attended the event said it reminded her of how fortunate she is to be a United States citizen. "It was, for me, touching and emotional to see people so excited to become American citizens. It was an amazing thing to witness as a lifelong citizen of America."

The celebration of citizenship continues, on Tuesday, September 22, with a lecture by historian, Gordon Wood, on "The Origins of American Constitutionalism."