thousands attend online town
College hosts groundbreaking event in capital, streams online
Shannon Odell
Issue date: 2/4/10 Section: News
More than 12,000 people logged on to a "Constitution Town Hall" produced by Hillsdale College on the morning of Jan. 30.
The event was hosted by the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. and was held at TV Worldwide Studios in Chantilly, Va., as well as broadcast on the internet. David Bobb, director of the Allan P. Kirby Center, said the goal of the event was to educate Americans about the Constitution and their duties as citizens.
"This wasn't a partisan political event in any way," Bobb said. "This was an event geared toward educating the average American in the principles on which his country was founded."
A Saturday morning snowstorm in Virginia didn't deter attendees from coming to the event.
Bobb said about 70 people took part in the event live at the studio. He said about 33,000 people signed up to take it online, and although the numbers haven't officially been determined, Bobb estimated that between 12,000 and 15,000 people attended online.
The college advertised the event on radio shows across the nation, including the Rush Limbaugh Show, according to Associate Vice President of Marketing Chris Bachelder.
Hillsdale junior Matthew Cole, who is participating in the Washington Hillsdale Internship Program this semester, said he thought the townhall was very successful. He worked to help administrate the event, working in registration, and then running questions from the internet audience to the stage. "The participants were fascinating people and seemed very eager to be a part of the event," Cole said.
The event lasted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and consisted of five presentations covering different eras in American history, examining the Constitution and how it was viewed in those times.
The presenters included Bobb, Matthew Spalding, Director of the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, Chair in Constitutional History Paul Moreno, Associate Professor of History Ronald Pestritto and President Larry Arnn.
The event was hosted by the Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship in Washington, D.C. and was held at TV Worldwide Studios in Chantilly, Va., as well as broadcast on the internet. David Bobb, director of the Allan P. Kirby Center, said the goal of the event was to educate Americans about the Constitution and their duties as citizens.
"This wasn't a partisan political event in any way," Bobb said. "This was an event geared toward educating the average American in the principles on which his country was founded."
A Saturday morning snowstorm in Virginia didn't deter attendees from coming to the event.
Bobb said about 70 people took part in the event live at the studio. He said about 33,000 people signed up to take it online, and although the numbers haven't officially been determined, Bobb estimated that between 12,000 and 15,000 people attended online.
The college advertised the event on radio shows across the nation, including the Rush Limbaugh Show, according to Associate Vice President of Marketing Chris Bachelder.
Hillsdale junior Matthew Cole, who is participating in the Washington Hillsdale Internship Program this semester, said he thought the townhall was very successful. He worked to help administrate the event, working in registration, and then running questions from the internet audience to the stage. "The participants were fascinating people and seemed very eager to be a part of the event," Cole said.
The event lasted from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and consisted of five presentations covering different eras in American history, examining the Constitution and how it was viewed in those times.
The presenters included Bobb, Matthew Spalding, Director of the B. Kenneth Simon Center for American Studies, Chair in Constitutional History Paul Moreno, Associate Professor of History Ronald Pestritto and President Larry Arnn.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Joy Pavelski
posted 2/04/10 @ 6:26 PM EST
This is an ok story, but would really have been enhanced by asking questions and relaying answers about how this is a major tech step for a kind of "stuck in the Western tradition" college. (Continued…)
Sara
posted 2/05/10 @ 1:10 AM EST
You missed a detail: the online stream was down for two hours.
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