This year, Farmingdale State College (FSC) was proud to host its annual Constitution Day celebration with Just Cause: The Experience, a unique three-phase interactive opportunity featuring a live deliberation on some of the most pressing social issues of today.

Hosted by the Office of Community & Civic Engagement (OCCE) in partnership with the Faculty Center and Canamac Productions, campus community members gathered in the Campus Center Ballroom to begin with a short film written by award-winning playwrights Lisa Dillman and Todd Logan, which featured a fictional dramatic presentation of a legal proceeding. The brunchtime event was part of FSC’s larger Civic Discourse and Intellectual Square Initiative (CDISI), which encourages robust, respectful discourse across campus.

“It is important that we continue to not only honor Constitution Day, but also remind people that the Constitution, when it was written, was meant to be sometimes argued and mandated and returned back to each generation to review it and to discuss it,” said Yetunde Odugbesan-Omede, PhD, OCCE director, professor of global affairs and politics, and CDISI committee chair. “And events like today continue to remind us of the tenets and the pursuit behind the Constitution itself. And at the Office of Community and Civic Engagement, we know that civic education is one of our duties. It's one of the pillars that puts the office together,” she added.

The film follows the story of Madison Loew, a former artistic director for a prominent Chicago theater, and her breach of contract arbitration hearing against Midwest Repertory Theatre, who accused her of “racial insensitivity.” As the testimony concluded, Gina Taliaferro, Canamac associate producer and director of facilitation, led attendees through a meaningful discussion of the evidence, arguments, and important questions surrounding race, class, gender, and social justice.

“The audience was the jury,” said Odugbesan-Omede. “And the deliberation brought a lot of wonderful perspectives into light, including things that people are facing in their lives and their society. We were able to peel back all of those layers.” 

“I really agree with being able to have a civil discourse,” Ariel Silberman, ’27, a public administration and policy major, said after the group reached a final verdict. “I ran right here. I knew this was going to be such a great opportunity. I enjoy being part of deliberative dialogues and having debates about things in a civil way. I really believe in that.  And I agreed with the way the video [encouraged us to have] these conversations discussing hard topics. We can't avoid these conversations, especially young people. We need to get used to talking about them.”

"The Constitution Day celebration with Just Cause was incredibly insightful,” said Laiba Idrees, ’28, an applied psychology major, legal studies minor, and CDISI committee member. “So many of the issues we see in civic engagement and politics live in a gray area, and this experience trained us to analyze a situation, build an argument, and weigh both sides before reaching a conclusion. That kind of nuance is so important, and getting exposure to discussions like this is how we become conscientious practitioners of discourse."

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