UND to honor Constitution Day by welcoming new citizens

UND is set to hold a number of on-campus events in celebration of Constitution Day: Sunday, Sept. 17.

Constitution Day, also known as Citizenship Day, commemorates the Sept. 17, 1787, signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia. The celebration also recognizes those who have become naturalized U.S. citizens. The 2004 law establishing the combined holiday was part of a congressional bill mandating that all publicly funded educational institutions provide educational programming on the history of the American Constitution on that day.

On Friday, Sept. 15, at 10 a.m., U.S. Magistrate Judge Alice R. Senechal of the U.S. District Court for North Dakota will preside over a special naturalization ceremony on campus. During the ceremony, 41 citizenship candidates from 20 countries will take the Oath of Allegiance to become new United States citizens.

The Naturalization Ceremony will be held in the Gorecki Alumni Center on the UND campus. All students, faculty, staff and members of the Grand Forks community are invited to attend this inspirational ceremony.

A similar ceremony was presented last year in connection with Constitution Day; it came about thanks to a request from UND President Andy Armacost. “Holding a Naturalization Ceremony in the Gorecki Alumni Center is the perfect way to celebrate Constitution Day,” Armacost said at the time.

The 2022 event marked the first Naturalization Ceremony to be held on the UND campus in several years.

Library-sponsored event

The Chester Fritz Library and Thormodsgard Law Library also will help UND celebrate Constitution Day.

On Sept. 15 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the Memorial Union’s first floor, librarians will be quizzing on constitutional knowledge and handing out prizes. Members of the UND community are invited to come test their luck and their knowledge of our founding documents by answering questions. Free U.S. Constitutions will be given out to all!