(Rithvik Hari / Fourth Estate)
Schar School of Policy and Government hosts Mike Pence on Constitution Day
BY RITHVIK HARI, STAFF WRITER
Former Vice President Mike Pence spoke at Mason for the Schar School of Policy and Government’s Constitution Day event one day after an announcement declared he would become a professor of practice at Mason.
The event was held by the Schar School at the Mason Square campus in Arlington along with the Antonin Scalia Law School on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
Attendees checked in with staff from the Schar School and walked through a weapons detection system due to Pence’s role in high office.
Mark Rozell, Schar School dean, welcomed attendees and introduced former Vice President Mike Pence as a distinguished guest.
“Pence’s conservative philosophy was inspired by President Ronald Reagan,” Rozell said, mentioning some core conservative values that Pence believes in such as faith, family and liberty.
The former vice president began his address by noting it was his first official day as a distinguished professor of practice at the Schar School. Pence recognized the Constitutional Convention and the work that the 39 delegates did to establish the country in 1787.
Earlier that day, Pence and his staff visited the National Archives to see the Constitution on display. For the first time in American history, the fifth page (or transmission page) of the constitution was also on display instead of the standard four pages.
“It’s not a set of amorphous ideas. It’s a charter that they wrote down on paper and they — in the same spirit of the signers of the Declaration of Independence — they pledged their lives to it,” Pence said.
He recalled that his lifelong fascination with the constitution began when he had to write about it for an American Legion speech contest.
“The constitution is not a relic of the past, it is a blueprint for the future,” Pence said.
The Vice President emphasized that the oath of office all public servants make, whether serving the country in the military, law enforcement or as elected or appointed officials, everyone takes the same oath.
“The first obligation [of public officials, law enforcement and military] will be to support and defend the Constitution of the United States,” Pence added.
At the end of his speech, Pence said “The chain of this republic is only as strong as every single man and woman that has ever preserved its foundation.”
Afterward, Pence hosted a Q&A from faculty and students with Dean Rozell moderating.
Pence addressed topics ranging from public discourse about the meaning of the constitution to political violence. He stated that he believes the average American has more access to the public debate today than at any other time in the history of our country.
“Americans have access to social media and other outlets in which they can voice their own opinions on certain topics,” Pence said. He added that there are issues with social media and that certain individuals may intentionally utilize online forums to achieve an agenda.
At the end of the Q&A, he touched upon the recent political violence in the United States.
He noted that a single political rhetoric is not to blame for political violence and that the people who perpetrate the violence should be held accountable. Pence alluded to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Building.
Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress that day and was evacuated by the Secret Service as rioters stormed the Capital Building. Pence thought there should be expedited due process in such cases of political violence.
“Justice delayed is justice denied,” he said.
Montgomery Vanik, a freshman Schar School student, said “I thought his speech was insightful and informative. It’s always fascinating to get the opinions of someone who is so well-respected and has served in such a distinguished office.”
