Next Thursday, April 16, is First Amendment Day.

This event, sponsored by the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, Lee Enterprises, VEISHEA, Inc., the Committee on Lectures, the Iowa State Daily and the Leo Mores Chapter of The Society of Professional Journalists, is a celebration and a reminder of the rights granted to Americans in the First Amendment of the Constitution.

The event will kick off with a panel discussion about freedom of the press on Wednesday evening, and Thursday’s festivities will begin at 9 a.m. with a freedom march from Ames City Hall to Beardshear Hall.

Several lectures, discussions and celebrations will take place throughout the day. First Amendment Day is for every ISU student — not just journalism majors.

In the days leading up to First Amendment Day, the Opinion section will publish columns written by members of the Leo Mores Chapter of The Society of Professional Journalists regarding our First Amendment freedoms.         We will also publish essays by the five winners of the 2009 First Amendment Day Essay Contest, sponsored by the Iowa High School Press Association and the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University.

Please consider the reason for this celebration, and ask yourself: Are you making use of your First Amendment rights?