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Constitution Day, debate approach

Tech’s sixth annual Constitution Day and the non-partisan Highlands gubernatorial debate are scheduled to be held Tuesday on campus.Constitution Day is made possible through a $150,000 endowment left by former professor Nolan Fowler. Fowler’s endowment goal was for students to become more enlightened on the contents of the Constitution.

“It isn’t every day that students have the opportunity to experience two events of this magnitude at their own campus,” said Lori Maxwell, event coordinator and political science professor. “I hope they are excited and will want to be a part of this.”

Danna Young from the University of Delaware will headline Constitution Day. Young will be speaking at 5 p.m. in Derryberry Auditorium on political satire and the effect of programs such as “The Colbert Report” and “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.”

Young has said of political satire, “Democratic governments are suitable homes for and even require political satire to function well. I’ll be talking about how satire works cognitively to expose hypocrisy and bring to light criticisms of people and institutions without explicitly criticizing them head-on. Most importantly, I’ll reveal how and why this mechanism can be particularly effective as a form of persuasion.”

This is a free event.

Following the speaker, everyone will be invited to stay in the auditorium to watch a live simulcast of the Highland’s Debate taking place in the Bryan Fine Arts Wattenbarger Auditorium.