Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor spoke to hundreds of people at Eureka College Tuesday. She was the first woman to serve on the nation’s highest court. Justice O’Connor was nominated by President Ronald Reagan, who is Eureka College’s most famous alumnus. Justice O’Connor stressed the importance civic engagement activities such as jury duty:
“It may not always be fun, but it is fundamental. Ad it teaches us many important civic virtues like civic discourse, about consensus building and compromise,” Justice O’Connor says.
Justice O’Connor says that younger students are not being educated in civics compared to previous decades. That why she says she founded an online program that teaches middle school students about civic education. Justice O’Connor served more than 25 years as an associate justice on the Supreme Court before retiring in 2006.