Happy Constitution Day, everyone! You may not have noticed this sacred holiday, but I cannot help but be aware of it. This is because every institution of higher learning is required to commemorate Constitution Day with some type of public event, as a condition of receiving federal funds — and I can hardly miss this event, not only because I teach at a very small school, but because I am in fact helping to coordinate this year’s discussion.
We Shimerians are planning to talk about privacy and surveillance, but what I want to discuss is the following question: is the requirement that colleges commemorate Constitution Day itself constitutional?