September 10th, 2008

FARMINGTON, ME (September 10, 2008)--University of Maine at Farmington will
commemorate national Constitution Day, 2008, with a discussion on the
important issue of free speech as revealed by recent cases before the U.S.
Supreme Court. This program, "Speaking of Speech: A Constitution Day Forum
on Four Free Speech Constitutional Controversies," is free and open to the
public and will be presented at 7 p.m., Wednesday, September 17, in Thomas
Auditorium in UMF's Preble/Ricker Hall.

Moderated by Jim Melcher, UMF associate professor of political science,
this event will present four cases acted upon by the court involving the
protection of the free exercise of the freedom of speech and its guarantee
by the first amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Questions considered by
the court will include:

Can schools punish students for inappropriate speech outside of school?
(Morse v. Frederick, 2007)

Can the national government take away money from colleges that restrict
military recruiters, without violating the colleges' free speech rights?
(Rumsfeld v. FAIR, 2006)

How far can government go in restricting free speech rights outside of
abortion clinics? (Hill v. Colorado, 2000)

Can the government punish broadcasters who allow "dirty words" to go out
over their airwaves? (FCC v. Pacifica Radio Foundation, 1978)

Local attorneys Woody Hanstein and Paul Mills will discuss the specific
cases and their impact. Questions will be taken from the audience.
Previously known as Citizenship Day, Constitution Day was created by
Congress in 2004. This federal holiday was revised to recognize not only
those who have become U.S. citizens, but also the ratification of the U.S.
Constitution on September 17, 1787. In addition to renaming the holiday
"Constitution Day and Citizenship Day," the act mandates that all publicly
funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the
history of the American Constitution on that day.

UMF's Constitution Day event is sponsored by the UMF Provost's Office, Gold
Leaf Institute, the UMF Diversity Committee, and the UMF Political Science
Club and the Pre-law Program.
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For more information, please contact Valerie Huebner, executive assistant
to the president of UMF, at 207-778-7258, or huebner@maine.edu.