Richard B. Saphire, Ohio Constitutional Modernization Commission Bill of Rights and Voting Committee Chair, will be the featured speaker at the annual Constitution Day event that is to be held in the Tartan Marketplace banquet room on Wednesday, Sep. 17.
Constitution day is an opportunity for students, faculty, and the administration to hear about the importance of the constitution and how it affects everyone. Last year’s speaker, Judge Walter Herbert Rice, served as Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio from 1996 to 2003. Rice focused his attention on the United States Constitution.
Saphire began teaching Law in 1976 after graduating from Northern Kentucky University and receiving his Master of Law degree from Harvard Law School in 1975. Saphire retired from the University of Dayton School of Law in April 2013. He is involved with the American Civil Liberties Union and works as a civil rights and liberties lawyer. Saphire has served on the board of Homeful, a Dayton homeless shelter, since 1989.
The focus of the discussion this year will be the Ohio Constitution, how Ohio citizens can be active in changes made to the Ohio Constitution and the role of the OCMC.
“It is just focusing on what is going on here in Ohio, to really bring it to the attention really of us all,” said Political Science adjunct faculty member Jennifer Sooy.
The OCMC is a body modeled after the 1970’s Ohio Constitution Revision Commission. OCMC consists of 12 legislative members that are appointed from each legislative caucus by their respective legislative leaders and 20 public members selected by the legislative members. OCMC members include lawmakers, educators,business leaders and local government officials.
The OCMC was established with the passage of the House Bill 188 and is charged with studying the Constitution of Ohio, considering the problems pertaining to the amendment of the Constitution and making recommendations to the general assembly for the amendment of the Constitution.
“What areas are they focusing on? We don’t know. Are they going
to deal with issues concerning recreational use of marijuana? If this way [Citizen’s Initiative] of putting gay marriage on the ballot doesn’t go anywhere will they discuss this as a proposed change substantively in that context,” said J. Sooy.
During a time when our country is facing many changes and states are exercising their power on issues such as same-sex marriage, medical and recreational marijuana, and voting rights, Political Science adjunct faculty member, Kathleen Sooy felt it was important for students to pay attention.
“We know so little. Here we are in Ohio, and we all know so little about how our own state constitution works and its relationship with the federal constitution,” said K.
Sooy, while discussing the lack of public knowledge on such issues.
According to the OCMC website, the public has the opportunity to be involved in this process by either corresponding with the commission just as you would your Senator or by attending one of
the many public hearings that the OCMC plans to have. The impact of the OCMC’s work on Ohio citizens is not yet known.
According to the OCMC website homepage the constitutional changes that might be enacted through the OCMC could have a very significant impact on the future of this state.
The commission hopes that you will join in this very careful and deliberative process because of the shared interest in seeing Ohio prosper.
“We are all learning. This is the purpose [of Constitution Day],
so we can understand better how the Ohio Constitution can be amended, structured, changed, and what role we as Ohioans can play in making those changes,” said K. Sooy.