Center for Responsible Citizenship to host 13th annual Constitution Bowl

On Friday, September 15, high schoolers from around the region will gather in Squires Recital Hall at 9 a.m. to put their American history knowledge to the test.

The Center for Responsible Citizenship hosts the Constitution Bowl every year to celebrate Constitution Day. Constitution Day takes place on September 17 and commemorates the original signing of the U.S. Constitution on September 17, 1787.

“The Constitution Bowl was started about fourteen years ago and it brings in teams of three to five high schoolers from the region and they compete for the day on the knowledge of the US Constitution,” said Audrey Haley, program coordinator for the Center for Responsible Citizenship.  

Students are quizzed on a wide range of topics including amendments, the ratification process, presidential succession, and more.

Haley described the competition as a round-robin format, with two teams facing-off and the team earning the most points at the end of the round continues in the competition. Ultimately, there is a championship round, and the winning team is awarded a trophy alongside the glory of being Constitution Bowl champions.

This year, the CRC expects seventy Lee volunteers and eighty-eight high schoolers, but more are anticipated. President Mark Walker will give opening remarks at the event, highlighting what responsible citizenship looks like at Lee and why it is important for all students. Dr. Thomas Pope, professor of political science, will review the competition rules and then the Bowl will begin. The competition is expected to begin by 9 a.m. and the championship round will begin around 2 p.m.

Although the Bowl is geared toward high schoolers, the event also presents opportunities for Lee students and alumni to get involved.

“Lee students help with preparation for all aspects of the Constitution Bowl,” said Haley. “Undergraduate students will help draft scripts, plan logistics, help with room reservations, secure photographers, and sometimes help serve as tutors for the local high schools in advance.”

On the day of the Bowl, participating Lee students play a role in showing the high schoolers around campus and running portions of the competition.  Undergraduate students can take on many roles during the Bowl, including coordinating competition rooms, scorekeeping, or being a runner who runs scripts between rooms.

“It was probably one of my favorite service projects that I did in school,” said Melissa Haley, a 2020 Lee alumna. During her time at Lee, Melissa Haley participated in the Bowl several times in various volunteer positions.

Lee alumni are also able to volunteer for the Bowl and is often a way for alumni to stay connected to a part of their Lee University experience beyond graduation.

“As an alumni, there’s a lot of talk about Lee being your alma mater that you can always come home to. [The Bowl] definitely has helped me still feel connected to Lee and see that the Center is still doing really great things,” said Melissa Haley.

Beyond the experience the Bowl provides for Lee students, this event seeks to create connections for high schoolers to the university. The Constitution Bowl goes beyond winning a competition to showing high schoolers that Lee University may be the place for them to continue their education.

“It’s kind of a meaningful day of engagement. College students are kind of intimidating and scary for high schoolers and so it’s a fun opportunity to connect with them in a more informal way…and show them that college is something they could really enjoy,” commented Audrey Haley.

Melissa Haley has personally seen the impact the Bowl has had on the high school students. Some students Melissa Haley connected with through the Bowl were in her major and some of her classes years later. “It just kind of gave me a sense of accomplishment,” Melissa Haley reflected.

The event also allows Lee to become involved with the broader community: “Sometimes we get people from Knoxville and Chattanooga…it’s kind of a broader scope,” Audrey Haley said.

With the Constitution Bowl, CRC connects students statewide, through the common interest of political science. “[Students] are able to enjoy competition and meet other schools and students that they might not know otherwise and make friends,” Melissa Haley said of the impact of Constitution Bowl.

The CRC hosts several events throughout the year and encourages any Lee student who is interested to get involved, regardless of year or major.

The Center for Responsible Citizenship was founded in 2021 by Director Dr. Thomas Pope and Coordinator Audrey Haley. According to Audrey Haley, the mission of the center is to “cultivate conversations that reflect on what it means to be a member of a community as opposed to just a mere individual.” The program chooses a theme each year. This year’s theme is “Faith in the Public Square” and seeks to explore what it means to express faith in a public area and pluralistic society. Throughout the year, the CRC will seek to explore this theme with weekly student lead reading groups on Monday evenings, the Intercollegiate Symposium in late October, mentorships lunches, and guest speakers. The CRC also helps connect students to local and national internships. Audrey Haley described the CRC as “a series of programming that hits students at each developmental stage, from high school to undergraduate and beyond.”

For more information about the Center for Responsible Citizenship or ways to get involved, visit https://www.leeuniversity.edu/news/lee-establishes-center-for-responsible-citizenship/ or email the Center for Responsible Citizenship at crc@leeuniversity.edu or Program Coordinator Audrey Haley at ahaley@leeuniversity.edu.