In an engaging display of history, students from various educational levels, alongside their teachers and history enthusiasts, gathered to view a significant historical document encased in glass. The event drew inquisitive minds eager to learn and experience a piece of history firsthand.
“I feel like it was cool to see an original – what it looks like, the printing and to think about how old it is and what it means,” expressed Asha Sukhtankar, a fourth grader from Charlottesville’s Trailblazer Elementary. “We’ve been doing a lot of studying about the new nation, the Revolutionary War and stuff.”
Sally Kelly, a former fourth-grade teacher from Virginia, now residing in Tennessee, made her way to the Rotunda specifically for this viewing. She reflected on her passion for history: “I’m a history buff. I had a teacher in the eighth grade, and then another one in high school, who sparked my love of history. I think it’s cool that I got to see a broadside with no signatures that they sent out right after it was done,” Kelly noted, adding, “The signing didn’t happen for another month.”
The “Declaration Under the Dome” program, lasting four hours, offered a mix of musical performances, succinct educational seminars, readings, and celebratory red, white, and blue cupcakes. University mascots also joined in the festivities. This event is part of the ongoing UVA250 celebration, a yearlong commemoration of the nation’s founding 250 years ago and the University of Virginia’s establishment to support the new democracy.
UVA President Scott C. Beardsley addressed attendees, emphasizing the importance of the historical document and the founding of both the United States and the University of Virginia. “We are here to reflect on the enduring power of this extraordinary document as well as the founding of this extraordinary country – the United States of America – and this extraordinary university, the University of Virginia,” he stated.
Beardsley further quoted Thomas Jefferson, highlighting the role of education in a free society: “Nearly 40 years after drafting the declaration, as he worked to establish this university, (Thomas) Jefferson wrote to a friend, ‘Enlighten the people generally, and tyranny and oppressions of the body and mind will vanish like evil spirits at the dawn of day.’ For Jefferson, education was inseparable from the health and vitality of a free society.”
University Communications photographer Matt Riley documented the day with his camera, capturing the blend of enjoyment and reflection that characterized the event.
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