The rights, responsibilities and privileges of U.S. citizenship will be explored when Fitchburg State University hosts a panel discussion on Monday, Sept. 17 in honor of Constitution Day.

The discussion, which is free and open to the public, will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the Ellis White Lecture Hall in the Hammond Campus Center, 160 Pearl St.

The panelists include:

• U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Hillman, who administered the oath of citizenship to 299 new Americans during a ceremony this month at Weston Auditorium, will speak on the citizenship process, and the rights and responsibilities associated with it.
• Ammad Sheikh, director of Fitchburg State’s Expanding Horizons Program, will discuss his own experiences as a naturalized citizen and how gaining citizenship changed his life.
• Fitchburg State Associate Professor Teresa Fava Thomas will discuss naturalization, citizenship and Italian-Americans.

“The naturalization ceremony at Weston Auditorium afforded us a look at the powerful experience of becoming a U.S. citizen,” said Fitchburg State Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Paul Weizer, who coordinates the Constitution Day observances each year. “Citizenship is something too many of us take for granted, and occasions like this inspire us to reflect on what it means to be a member of this community.”

Constitution Day celebrates the anniversary of the government-defining document’s signing on Sept. 17, 1787.

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