College celebrates U.S. Constitution's bicentennial

Dartmouth will mark the drafting of the U.S. Constitution 200 years ago with a year- long program entitled "Design and Practice: The Constitution as a Working Document A Dartmouth Bicentennial Series." Rather than focus on the origins of the document, the program will stress the Constitution as a modern document that impacts daily lives. The College will host six panel discussions examining the Constitution's ability to address modern political and economic challenges. Gov. Bruce Babbit of Arizona, Gov. Richard Thornburgh of Pennsylvania, Sen. Thomas Eagleton of Missouri, and former Solicitor General for the U.S. Department of Justice Rex E. Lee are among the scheduled panelists.

Some 2,000 pocket-sized copies of the Constitution will be distributed free as part of the program so as to encourage the public to read and understand the document. Copies of the document will be handed out to the audience at the start of each panel. At the conclusion of the series in May 1987, Dartmouth plans to publish the original papers and commentaries in a book.

"The design of the Constitution was guided by men who had made political theory their study," said Evelyn C. Fink, a government instructor at Dartmouth and coordinator of the program. "The final document is the result of that political theory coupled with political compromise. I see this series of panels as a way to re-emphasize the importance of political theorizing to contemporary politics." Each panel will begin with the presentation of an original paper by a nationally recognized scholar. Following the theoretical presentation, two commentators who have held political office at the state or national level will present their views based on practical experience.

The commemorative program was made possible by a $50,000 grant to the College's Rockefeller Center from the Ellis L. Phillips Foundation in Lyme, N.H.