2018 First Amendment Days Schedule

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11

Preliminary Schedule

Participate in facilitated talks that explore First Amendment topics.

9 a.m., 169 Hamilton Hall

Depth and Dialogue: Freedom and Respect

Hear how campus leaders protect free expression while promoting inclusion. Panelists include Michael Norton, J.D., ISU University Counsel; Dr. Jonathan Sturm, professor of music and past president of the Faculty Senate; Daniela Flores, PhD Candidate in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology and the ISU Chapter President of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). John Whyte, Canadian constitutional law scholar, will moderate.

10 a.m., 172 Hamilton Hall

Depth and Dialogue: Thinking Like a Journalist

Learn how journalists make tough news judgments. Presented by Emily Barske, editor in chief of the Iowa State Daily, and Erin Jordan, Cedar Rapids Gazette investigative reporter.

12:10 p.m., 163 Hamilton Hall

Depth and Dialogue: Speaking Up About Workplace Harassment

Kirsten Anderson
Kirsten Anderson

Hear the groundbreaking story of former Iowa GOP Senate staffer Kirsten Anderson.

Kirsten Anderson is on a mission to end workplace harassment through education. She found herself an unlikely advocate for those facing harassment in the workplace after she took a stand against her former employer: the State of Iowa. On May 17, 2013 she was fired from her job Communications Director for Iowa Senate Republicans after filing her fourth complaint about repeated harassment and retaliatory behavior by staff and lawmakers at the Iowa Statehouse. She sued the State of Iowa and Iowa Senate Republicans for wrongful termination, harassment and retaliation and won.

Kirsten has a degree in broadcast journalism and is a 2008 Greater Des Moines Leadership Institute graduate. She’s President Elect of the local chapter of the Association of Women in Communications and in her free time enjoys sharing the hilarious random things her eight year-old son says and attending any live music show with her husband.

1:10 p.m., 172 Hamilton Hall

Depth and Dialogue: #metoo at ISU

Discover how the national movement is influencing the Iowa State community. Margo Foreman, Assistant Vice President for Iowa State’s Equal Opportunity Office, will present.

2:10 p.m., 172 Hamilton Hall

Depth and Dialogue: Shedding Light on Mental Illness

Explore how panelists are using their platforms to raise awareness. Panelists include Kathie Obradovich, Des Moines Register political columnist and Greenlee School lecturer, and Scott Moss, “Out of the Darkness” Iowa State University campus walk organizer.

7 p.m., Alliant Energy-Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall

Is Democracy Dying?

John Whyte
John Whyte

John Whyte Public Lecture

Democracy relies on civility and sustains political stability through relationships – ones built on consent, freedom, accountability and social responsibility. But even with its successful track record, democracy seems to be at risk. It is coping poorly with novel personalities, unequal distribution, poor manners, deep ethnic and social divisions, changes in communications systems and shifts in legal and political morals. History is full of revolutionary transformations. Is this what democracy now faces?

John Whyte was educated at the University of Toronto, Queen’s University and Harvard Law School. He was a member of the Queen’s University Faculty of Law for 28 years, serving as its Dean from 1987 to 1992. He has also taught at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University and at the University of Toronto Faculty of law, and at Niigata University, Tilburg University and the University of Melbourne. He was the Douglas McK. Brown Visiting Professor at University of British Columbia and held the Law Foundation of Saskatchewan Chair at the University of Saskatchewan.

He has been awarded an honorary degree by York University.

His public service career includes serving as the Director of Constitutional Law for the Government of Saskatchewan during national constitutional negotiations from 1979 to 1982. In this position, he participated in the drafting of Canada’s Constitution Act, 1982, including the new Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He also served as Saskatchewan’s Deputy Minister of Justice and Deputy Attorney-General from 1997 to 2002. He has appeared before the Supreme Court of Canada in a number of constitutional cases.

He has also been part of constitutional reform processes in the Republic of Georgia, Nepal and Vietnam.

THURSDAY, APRIL 12

9 a.m.-4 p.m., Central Campus

Hashtag Mosaic and Photo Booth

Help us create a billboard-size Hashtag Mosaic with Luster that showcases the five freedoms of the First Amendment.

  • Post pictures to your public Instagram and Twitter accounts using the hashtag #isufirst between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
  • Pick up a print of your photo taken during the event at the First Amendment Days tent on Central Campus. We’ll also have a photo booth on hand to add to the fun!
  • Another print may become part of the Hashtag Mosaic. The mosaic will be revealed at 2 p.m. with Insomnia cookies. Those who participate and stop by the tent will also receive free T-shirts while supplies last.

9:30 a.m., meet on the Curtiss Hall steps

Democalypse March

What’s it like to live in a society without the First Amendment? High school students, their advisers/instructors/educators and the Iowa State community are invited to participate in the Democalypse March to experience firsthand how life changes without each of the five freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment. After the march, Iowa State Daily staffers will work with visiting high school students on a hands-on assignment. If you’re affiliated with a high school and are interested in participating, contact Julie Roosa at jroosa@iastsate.edu.

11 a.m.-1 p.m., Central Campus

Feast on the First

Join the Iowa State community for free food, fun and demonstrations of the five freedoms on Iowa State’s Central Campus.

2 p.m., Central Campus

Hashtag Mosaic Reveal

Drop by for Insomnia cookies as we reveal the Hashtag Mosaic! After the mosaic is revealed, stick around until 4 p.m. to continue taking photos and get souvenir prints.

8 p.m., Benton Auditorium, Scheman Building

Talk is Cheap. Free Speech Isn’t: Why the First Amendment Is Worth It

Paul Kix. Photograph © Beowulf Sheehan
Paul Kix. Photograph © Beowulf Sheehan

Paul Kix Keynote Lecture

First Amendment freedoms are vital to democracy in the United States. Paul Kix knows that. The deputy editor of ESPN, The Magazine, just wrote a book about a daring French aristocrat who became a nightmare for the Germans during World War II. Fifteen years after helping with Iowa State University’s first celebration of the First Amendment, Kix is returning to Ames as the keynote speaker for the 16th-annual festivities. He will argue that 2018 is a critical year for celebrating and using these five freedoms and that universities must embrace all sorts of speech, not just messages that support consensus views.

Kix will also present a reading of his book followed by a Q&A and book signing, at 2 p.m. April 14 at the Ames Public Library.

Paul Kix is an alumnus of Iowa State’s Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication. Since he graduated in 2003 Kix has written for such publications as the New Yorker, GQ, New York, Men’s Journal, and the Wall Street Journal.

His first book, The Saboteur, was just published by Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins. It’s a nonfiction narrative based on the war exploits of Robert de La Rochefoucauld, a French aristocrat who became a Resistance leader during WWII, escaping three times from the Nazis, and gaining expertise from a secret band of British commandos on whom Ian Fleming based James Bond.

FRIDAY, APRIL 13

8:30 a.m. – 4 p.m.

First Amendment Workshop

Designed for leaders and influencers, this workshop will show you how to champion the First Amendment in your community, school or organization. For more information, contact Julie Roosa at jroosa@iastate.edu.

9 a.m., 169 Hamilton

Greenlee School and Kappa Tau Alpha
Diversity & Inclusion Awards Presentation

Ally Karsyn of Siouxland Public Media and Emily Blobaum of the Iowa State Daily will be honored and present their work.

10 a.m., 172 Hamilton

2 p.m., ReACT Gallery, Morrill Hall

Free Expression through Artmaking

Explore the meaning of belonging through art in one of two sessions led by Ally Karsyn.

SATURDAY, APRIL 14, 2018

2 p.m., Ames Public Library, Rotary Room

Book Reading and Signing with Paul Kix

Join Paul Kix at the Ames Public Library for a book reading, author Q&A and book signing event.

APRIL 2-APRIL 27, 2018

Reiman Gallery of the Christian Petersen Art Museum at Morrill Hall

ReACT Gallery – First Amendment Exhibit

View a collection of art and memorabilia that explores themes related to the First Amendment.

The cost is free, but there is a suggested donation of $3. The museum is open between 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday when school is in session.

The ReACT Gallery is presented by University Museums in partnership with the Offices of the Vice President for Research and the Senior Vice President for University Services.