Journalism senior Jessica DiVita sits against a tree on the lawn of the State Capitol Wednesday evening while listening to a discussion about the First Amendment and constitutional rights with press.
A rally was held Wednesday on the steps of the state Capitol to promote the First Amendment and how it affects students, in accordance with Constitution Day.
The rally was sponsored by the MSU School of Journalism, the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association, and the Detroit and Mid-Michigan chapters of the Society for Professional Journalists.
Constitution Day was created in 2004 to celebrate its anniversary, Sept. 17, 1787.
“We want to bring attention to how important it is for students to have their voice heard,” said Cheryl Pell, executive director for MIPA.
Pell also is a senior faculty specialist for the School of Journalism.
“Constitution Day is the perfect day to do this,” she said.
Red, white and blue balloons surrounded the area and the Laingsburg High School jazz band played the “Star-Spangled Banner.” They also played “Happy Birthday.”
Several high school and college students read essays on the topic, “Why My Voice Matters.”
“Last year, my AP Government teacher made the essay an assignment for our class. I found out a month ago that I had gotten second place,” said no-preference freshman Bethany Davis, who wrote the essay as a senior at Mason High School. “I hope this rally will open the eyes of my peers that even as young people, we have a voice.”
Davis, along with four other essay contest winners, read their winning essays to the crowd.
The keynote speaker for the event was Mary Beth Tinker, the plaintiff in the 1969 Tinker v. Des Moines case. In 1965, Tinker, then in eighth grade, wore a black armband to school to protest the Vietnam War. She was asked by administrators to remove the armband. She refused and was sent home. After four years of court battles, the Supreme Court ruled that students do not lose their constitutional rights while at school.
“I was raised to believe in peace,” Tinker said. “I would watch the (Vietnam) War on TV after school and it made me sad.”
Tinker then gave the crowd a civics lesson, asking people to name the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment.
“In my spare time, I tell young people to speak up,” she said. “Young people all over the country are on the move and shaking things up.”
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