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Magna Carta exhibit displayed in library

The Magna Carta, a document signed by King John of England in 1215, has long been considered part of the basis for the United States Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Friday and Saturday, a presentation celebrating its 800th anniversary visited USU.

“It’s super important obviously because it’s talking about the progress as men start to get their own personal rights and to take them away from a sovereign king,” said Hunter Anderson, a sophomore majoring in international business. “I think it’s a foreshadow of our own constitution and of peoples’ rights in general.”

The exhibit, which was developed by the American Bar Association and sponsored by the Utah State Bar, was available free of charge Friday and Saturday in the Merrill-Cazier Library.

Students and faculty alike were grateful for the exhibit and others like it that can often be seen on college campuses.

“It’s easy for students to bury themselves in their classwork, whether it’s studying for the next exam or writing the next paper, but I think it’s equally important to spend some time looking beyond your major,” said Richard Inouye, associate dean and associate vice president for the Office of Research and Graduate Studies. “In the long run, things that you learn outside of or at the margins of your discipline will play a very important role in expanding your understanding of your own discipline, or what you may contribute to our knowledge base in the future.”

Some students reported feeling relatively uninformed about the Magna Carta before seeing the exhibit.

“It makes me remember how much there is that I don’t know about the world,” said Kyle Finlinson, a senior majoring in computer science and mathematics. “There’s so many important things that have happened and things that have been done that I haven’t read about and need to learn about.”

Finlinson thinks that the student body could better take advantage of exhibits like the Magna Carta display. He said it worries him that students are not as informed as they should be.

“Looking to the future, there are so many things we need to know about, but we’re all so busy either doing other things or distracted,” Finlinson said. “It makes me want to be more well-read and well-rounded.”

Regarding future exhibits, the students who viewed the Magna Carta presentation voiced their encouragement for others to pay more attention.

“I think it really adds value to the experience of coming to a university,” Anderson said. “So come and see an exhibit, you could learn something you weren’t expecting to learn.”

Inouye similarly offered support for exhibits and other kinds of display.

“Take advantage of as many of the educational opportunities as you can while you’re in school,” Inouye said.

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