Oakton celebrates Constitution Day with cinema and conversation

Oakton Community College will commemorate Constitution Day 2016 by using clips from popular films as a springboard for two days of robust discussions about four important amendments that impacted social change in the U.S.

The conversations will take place from 6-7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, in Room 1610 of the college’s Des Plaines campus, 1600 E. Golf Road, and Thursday, Sept. 29, in Room A151, at the Skokie location, 7701 N. Lincoln Avenue. The free event is open to the public, and attendees will receive a copy of the U.S. Constitution. Popcorn also will be provided.

“Good Night, and Good Luck” and “Iron Jawed Angels” will be the focus of discussions on the Des Plaines campus. Directed by George Clooney, “Good Night, and Good Luck” chronicles broadcast news pioneer Edward R. Murrow’s stand against anti-communist Sen. Joseph McCarthy during the 1950s. “Iron Jawed Angels,” starring Hillary Swank, focuses on the American women’s suffrage movement during the 1910s.

The Skokie discussion will center on “12 Angry Men” and “Mississippi Burning.” A courtroom thriller starring Henry Fonda, “12 Angry Men” centers on a jury deliberation of an inner-city teen on trial for murder. “Mississippi Burning” is based on the FBI’s investigation into the 1964 murder of three civil rights workers in the state of Mississippi.

Angelyn Anderson, academic advisor; Karen Roth, instructor and service learning coordinator; and Merilee Waters, chair and professor of paralegal studies will facilitate the discussions.

Constitution Day observes the Sept. 17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution. The law establishing the holiday was created in 2004. The law mandates that all publicly funded educational institutions—including those that receive federal financial aid—and all federal agencies provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution.

For more information, contact Roth via email at kroth@oakton.edu or call 847-376-7247.