Arcadia faculty members Dr. Amy Widestrom, assistant professor of political science, and the Honorable Christopher Cerski, J.D., pre-law adviser and adjunct professor of law and political science, laid the foundational groundwork for a recent Constitutional Scholars Institute Seminar on freedom of speech at The Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement. The Rendell Center, in collaboration with the National Constitution Center, Annenberg Public Policy Center, and Arcadia University’s Summer Sessions, hosted the weeklong intensive seminar for teachers to study the First Amendment and discover classroom civics resources earlier this month. Thirty-one grade school teachers from 14 states attended.

Participants explored freedom of speech protections, investigated Supreme Court case law, and discussed topics such as cyberbullying with Dr. Widestrom, Judge Cerski, and other Constitutional scholars from around the nation. The Honorable Marjorie Rendell, federal judge of senior status with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, offered her expertise to the analysis of students’ free speech in recent time.