Geoffrey Gray, Hotel '08, places copies of "The United States Constitution: What It Says, What It Means" and a one-page handout about Constitution Day on the bed in a room at the Statler Hotel Friday, Sept. 15. The guides and handouts were placed in all guest rooms during the Friday evening turndown in advance of Cornell's observance of Constitution Day, which will be marked today, Sept. 18.

Attorney Kitty Kolbert '74, author of the "hip pocket guide" Constitution book, donated 220 copies to the Statler Hotel for distribution.

In observance of Constitution Day, a special presentation will be held at the Cornell Law School from 4:15 to 5:15 p.m. in G90 Myron Taylor Hall. The film "A Conversation on the Constitution: Judicial Independence," featuring Supreme Court justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy, will be shown. At the film's conclusion, Cornell Law School constitutional law professors Sheri Johnson and Bernadette Meyler will lead a discussion about the concept of judicial independence as it relates to today's political landscape. The event is free and open to the public.

Other events today at Cornell in observance of Constitution Day include an on-campus voter registration drive, a Constitution exhibition in the Olin Library periodical reading room, and a special video, "Celebrating Constitution Day," which depicts Cornell students' interpretation of the Constitution. This special video will be streamed to both http://www.cornell.edu and http://www.med.cornell.edu. It also will be shown at the visitor's center in Day Hall, at the Robert Purcell Community Center, Appel Commons and in the Johnson School atrium in Sage Hall.

Constitution Day celebrates a key point in U.S. history: Sept. 17, 1787, when the 39 delegates to the Constitutional Convention signed the document that defined and separated powers of the federal government. The holiday, Constitution Day, was first proposed by U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), who believed that American students -- from kindergarten through college -- lacked sufficient knowledge of the U.S. Constitution. Federal legislation establishing the holiday was passed in 2004.