Phillips Lytle LLP and Medaille College, in honor of Constitution Day on September 17, announced they have partnered to host a seminar series that will address today’s political issues viewed through a constitutional lens. The three seminars will take place at the Medaille College Rochester campus on consecutive Thursdays in November.

Each evening is intended to offer intellectual dialogue from political opinion leaders on issues ranging from a modern day look at the Federalist Papers to the functionality of the New York State Constitution. The event series is by invitation only, with a limited number of seats available per session.

“This is an exciting new partnership between the fields of law and higher education,” said Medaille College President Richard T. Jurasek, Ph.D. “Our goal is to use our resources to bring intelligent individuals to speak and engage in thought-provoking discussions at each seminar.”

Julie Philipp, News Director of WXXI, will moderate all three seminars to further shape and develop the content and dialogue, all of which have slightly different but related themes:

• Thursday, November 3 - “The Federalist Papers, U.S. Constitution and Modern-Day Tea Party Movement” will focus on the U.S. Constitution as viewed through the Federalist Papers, a historical perspective, in relation to the modern-day Tea Party movement as the current perspective.
• Thursday, November 10 – “Democracy in the United States and Canada” will feature an elected official who will speak on matters of democracy in Canada, as well as an elected official who will present a contrasting perspective on democracy in the U.S.
• Thursday, November 17 – “Is the New York State Constitution ‘Broken?’” will address the functionality of the Constitution of the State of New York from opposing views.

“We’re often faced with so many rumors and perceptions of democracy, therefore it is vitally important to be informed of both sides of the story,” said Phillips Lytle partner, Kenneth A. Manning. “It’s an important part of American history that open and honest discourse be encouraged and supported by both the private and public sector.”

Please check www.medaille.edu/democracy for the current list of speakers.