Miami University will commemorate the 236th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution's signing in Philadelphia by holding its eighth annual Citizenship and Democracy Week, a series of events held in Oxford and at the Regional campuses to promote civic learning and engagement. 

The events of Citizenship and Democracy Week, presented by the Menard Family Center for Democracy and a range of campus and community partners, are free and open to the public.  

• Monday, Sept. 18, 10 a.m., Harry T. Wilks Conference Center, Miami Hamilton: The Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals will hold a session where attendees can observe the court in action. 
• Monday, Sept. 18: Noon, Jack Rhodes Study, Miami Hamilton: Lunchtime Trivia, “Can you pass the U.S. citizenship test?” — Grab a free lunch and test your knowledge of U.S. government, politics, and citizenship with lunchtime trivia. Prizes will be awarded to the top finishers.
• Tuesday, Sept. 19, 10 a.m.,  Hamilton campus Quad and lawn: U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Naturalization Ceremony —  a formal swearing-in of more than 100 new U.S. citizens. Immediately following the ceremony will be a voter registration event sponsored by the League of Women Voters of the Cincinnati Area, held from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in Schwarm Hall.
• Wednesday, Sept. 20, 10:30 a.m., Jack Rhodes Study, Mosler Hall,  Miami Hamilton: “Rapid Rights”  — Miami students will give presentations on key civil liberties issues. At 11:45 a.m., join a discussion on how the U.S. and other countries define, protect, and understand various fundamental rights.
• Thursday, Sept. 21, 10:30 a.m., Harrison Hall Lobby, Oxford: “Rights Here and There: The U.S. and the World”  —  Students will discuss comparisons of how the U.S. and other countries define, protect and understand various fundamental rights.
• Thursday, Sept. 21, noon, 18 Johnston Hall, Miami Middletown: “The State of Polarization and Democracy”  —  A discussion of the interaction between political polarization and democracy.
• Friday, Sept. 22, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Shriver Center Heritage Room, Oxford: Government and Non-Profit Career Day — Participants will learn strategies leading to a successful job/internship search, network with employers recruiting Miami University students, and hear from successful alumni.
• Friday, Sept. 22, 4:30 p.m., 152 Shideler Hall, Oxford: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya will deliver the keynote address and 2023 Havighurst Lecture, “Belarus’s Fight for Democracy.” Tsikhanouskaya became the leader of the Belarusian democratic movement in 2020 when she challenged Aleksandr Lukashenko in Belarus’ presidential election. Forced to leave Belarus after that election, Tsikhanouskaya now lives in Vilnius, Lithuania, where she heads Belarus’ United Transitional Cabinet in exile. She received the European Parliament’s 2020 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought and Germany’s 2022 Charlemagne Prize. In 2021, she was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.

Other activities scheduled for the week include discussions focused on fundamental rights and democracy, and the opportunity to sign up to give blood and enjoy some free merchandise in the Miami Hamilton and Middletown parking lots and Armstrong Student Center Pavilion on the Oxford campus. 

For the full schedule of events, go to the Citizenship and Democracy Week calendar.

Established in 2019, the Menard Family Center — housed jointly in the College of Arts and Science and the College of Liberal Arts and Applied Science — supports a broad range of teaching, research, and service activities at Miami that enhance civic dialogue and engagement, active citizenship, community problem solving, and public understanding of democracy, politics, and civic affairs. For more information, visit MiamiOH.edu/MenardCenter.