Constitution Day celebrates, educates

There were no candles, no happy birthday song, but definitely a cause to celebrate with cake.

A red, white and blue cake, in fact – apropos for an observance of Constitution Day Monday, September 19, celebrating the 229th anniversary of the Constitutional Convention, resulting in the creation of the United States Constitution.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute, with the help of Sodexo, got into the spirit with red, white, and blue fruit skewers made with strawberries, blueberries, and mini marshmallows to accompany equally as patriotic cakes.

All those who stopped by were invited to partake in the goodies, but the celebration also served as an opportunity for eligible students, faculty, and staff to register to vote or change their address if they were already registered but recently moved.

“The Office of Campus Life especially wanted it to be an opportunity for students to exercise their most important privilege of citizenship – right to vote,” explained Jennifer Das of the Office of Campus Life and an organizer of the event. “For many of our freshmen, this will be their first opportunity to do so, and there’s no doubt that this will be an election for the history books. Regardless of what party, if any, a student was interested in joining and whether a student wants to vote locally or as an absentee, we wanted every student to have an opportunity to learn more about the Constitution, American history, and voting deadlines for the upcoming general election.”

Knowledge was put to the test as friend was pitted against friend in a U.S. History trivia duel, with winners walking away with free SUNY Poly notebooks.

“The best part of the celebration is hearing students say ‘I did not even know Constitution Day was a thing and whoa, can I take one?!’” said Megan Wyett, referring to the pocket-sized constitutions being given out to anyone who wanted one. Wyett is the Director of Student Conduct and Leadership Development with the Office of Student Life, and an organizer of the event. “Their excitement is refreshing!”