Uploaded September 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Maurice A. Deane School of Law presents
CONSTITUTION DAY/PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM PANEL PROPOSAL: "DO WE NEED A NEW, MORE BEAUTIFUL CONSTITUTION?"
This panel examines whether America needs a dramatic constitutional overhaul. In recent years, leading scholars such as Erwin Chemerinsky and public intellectuals like Osita Nwanevu have argued that the U.S. Constitution itself is an obstacle or even a threat to American democracy. The panel discussion will focus on how whether the Constitution’s structural features – especially its reliance on unrestrained gerrymandering of congressional districts, the Electoral College, or life terms for Supreme Court justices – undermines the functioning of American democracy. The panel will also debate and discuss how and whether the Constitution should be amended or reinterpreted. Overall, the panel will consider whether wholesale constitutional reform is needed as the path forward for a stronger American political system.
Panelists:
• Eric Freedman, Siggi B. Wilzig Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Rights, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
• Meena Bose, PhD, Professor of Political Science and the Peter S. Kalikow Chair in Presidential Studies, Hofstra University
• Julian Ku, Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Moderator: Jenny Roberts, Dean and Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Learn more at hofstra.edu/ps25
Maurice A. Deane School of Law presents
CONSTITUTION DAY/PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM PANEL PROPOSAL: "DO WE NEED A NEW, MORE BEAUTIFUL CONSTITUTION?"
This panel examines whether America needs a dramatic constitutional overhaul. In recent years, leading scholars such as Erwin Chemerinsky and public intellectuals like Osita Nwanevu have argued that the U.S. Constitution itself is an obstacle or even a threat to American democracy. The panel discussion will focus on how whether the Constitution’s structural features – especially its reliance on unrestrained gerrymandering of congressional districts, the Electoral College, or life terms for Supreme Court justices – undermines the functioning of American democracy. The panel will also debate and discuss how and whether the Constitution should be amended or reinterpreted. Overall, the panel will consider whether wholesale constitutional reform is needed as the path forward for a stronger American political system.
Panelists:
• Eric Freedman, Siggi B. Wilzig Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Rights, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
• Meena Bose, PhD, Professor of Political Science and the Peter S. Kalikow Chair in Presidential Studies, Hofstra University
• Julian Ku, Maurice A. Deane Distinguished Professor of Constitutional Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Moderator: Jenny Roberts, Dean and Professor of Law, Maurice A. Deane School of Law
Learn more at hofstra.edu/ps25
