Nicole Roy, of Newport, Presents Academic Research Before Assumption College Community at Annual Academic Symposium

2017 Apr 27

Nicole Roy, of Newport, was one of 90 students selected to present an original academic research project at Assumption College's 23rd Annual Undergraduate Symposium, held April 24-25 on the College's Worcester Campus.

The undergraduate symposium serves to highlight the research and scholarly achievements of Assumption students working in collaboration with dedicated faculty mentors. These collaborations represent a model for integrating teaching, original research, and the beneficial effects of peer review in promoting intellectual development and professional growth. The symposium provides the campus community with the opportunity to gain a greater appreciation of and applaud the individual and collective accomplishments of the College's faculty and students.

Roy, a member of the Class of 2018, presented "Doctrines of Judicial Review in the State Constitutional Ratifying Conventions". This The Madisonian strain of originalism is termed "public-meaning" originalism because it holds that the founders' original intent should only be determined by what was said in a public context. Following this logic, this presentation looks at the ratification debates in the state conventions. The most important state ratifying conventions were those in New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. In these, founders such as James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and John Wilson played prominent roles. The ratifying conventions reached varying positions on the role of the judiciary. There seems to be no one specific public intent agreed upon by all of the founders. There was a general agreement that the judiciary would participate in constitutional review, but its role in the process as final arbiter was not necessarily supported by the state conventions. Overall, "public-meaning" originalism points towards a vision of the judiciary working among the other branches in the constitutional process. This presentation summarizes collaborative research conducted with a faculty member made possible by an Honors Summer Fellowship..

"The Symposium is one of my favorite moments of the academic year, as it highlights the quality of our students' work and research," said Louise Carroll Keeley, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. "This is an occasion of great pride not only for our students and their families, but for the entire Assumption community-especially the faculty advisors who lend their expertise to the students as they puruse research that helps them grow intellectually."

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