Tuesday, September 17, 2013
2013 Constitution Day Lecture and Honors Reception
On Tuesday, September 17th Honors students gathered to attend the annual Constitution Day Rothbaum Lecture at 7 p.m. in the Ataloa Theatre. This year's lecture over "The Future of the Second Amendent" was given by University of North Texas' associate professor of political science Dr. Paul Collins. Following the lecture, Honors students were invited to attend a private reception with Dr. Collins to mingle and discuss the lecture and the Second Amendment in the Pogue Art Gallery .
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I really enjoyed the lecture! One of the most surprising things I found though was when he mentioned that a lot of northern liberals actually support and stand behind the second amendment!
ReplyDeleteHe mentioned also that the amendment was created with militias in mind, so I find it might be necessary to at least rephrase or even make some slight changes to the second amendment so that it corresponds with modern times.
-Alexa Engles
Before this event, I wasn’t sure of what to expect from this type of guest lecture. I was even more unsure of what to expect considering the lecture was over a pretty controversial issue. I find myself disagreeing with even some of my own family members on this issue so I usually try to avoid the subject altogether. I’ve also been in some government and history classes in which this subject was taught from only one perspective and was very opinionated. Despite all of this, Dr. Collins’s lecture pleasantly surprised me with how unbiased it was. I like that he talked equally about both sides of the issue and the only opinions he gave were on what he thought might happen, no what he personally wanted to happen. Like Alexa, I was surprised when I found out that a lot of Northern Liberals support the second amendment so much. This got me thinking about how not all stereotypes were true, and in politics it’s best to look at issues without considering stereotypes. When Dr. Collins spoke about how this issue is a more recent one in our country’s history, I also connected it with the fact that our constitution was created for a changing and growing country.
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard that the topic for the lecture would be the Second Amendment, I was a bit wary. As everyone knows, this has been a very controversial topic lately. I was very curious to hear Dr. Collins point of view on the subject and to see how the lecture would cause others to react. The whole thing took me by surprise. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that Dr. Collins was so unbiased about everything and he was more about informing everyone about both sides. He was so informative and he really knew what he was talking about. Not only did he do an excellent job with the lecture, he was willing to answer questions after. He considered each question carefully and answered each to the best of his abilities. Another reason I was impressed with him was that he was happy to speak to the honors students after the lecture was over. He shared more with us and let us ask other questions that we may have not asked directly after the lecture. I am glad that I attended this lecture.
ReplyDeleteFor me I was personally very pleased with the outcome of this event. I was very excited to hear the lecture about the second amendment and I learned a lot that I had not realized before. I really was astounded by the response of the other Honors students who attended and contributed after with full enthusiasm and interest towards the lecture and Dr. Collins. When I was first placed in charge of the event, I became really nervous about how it would turn out considering I was not personally very interested in it at all. Now that I have see the response and personally attended, I am excited to see what next year holds for this event!
ReplyDeleteConsidering my family is very one sided to this argument I learned a lot from the different sides you can take from the constitution alone. It is always difficult interpreting documents and intentions that were decided a long time ago. I like how the speaker was unbiased, but informative on the subject. I am always glad to attend these types of lectures because I walk away knowing more on a subject I thought I did not care a whole lot about.
ReplyDeleteAshley Huhman
It was such a treat to have Dr. Collins come and speak with us after the lecture. As I'm sure most people feel after a lecture, there are some questions that pop into your head that you aren't always able (or confident) enough to ask during the Q&A session. This meet and greet afterwards was more relaxed and many Honors students were able to ask those burning questions and engage in dialogue with Dr. Collins and have the chance to bounce ideas around. This is one great advantage of Honors, getting the opportunity to engage in intellectual conversations with the visiting guests.
ReplyDeleteDr. Collins' lecture was a treat. Both Constitution Day lectures I have been to have been extremely informative and the lecturers have presented seemingly every side there is or could be to an argument. Dr. Collins was engaging and easy to talk to during the reception, and he was patient with all of us as we had a lot of questions with each of us coming from a different background or degree of knowledge about the subject. I was so pleased with his patience in hearing each and every question we offered him.
ReplyDeleteEmily Davis