Big Red carpet ready for more than 3,500 new students -- and all the others
Rolling out the Big Red carpet, Cornell University officials are working to ensure the smoothest transition possible as morning breaks on one of the most hectic and heady days of the school year: Moving In Day, Friday, Aug. 19.
That's when more than 3,500 new students and their families jockey for space on the university's North Campus and beyond. Zero hour is 8 a.m. for residence halls, marking the start of six days and nights of New Student Orientation Week, Aug. 19-24. Classes begin Aug. 25.
This year's orientation theme is "Journeys" and includes more than 100 events, programs and activities and enlists the services of some 600-plus student volunteers. This year's adventurous orientation has three parts -- Welcome, Academic and Intellectual activities, and Discovery Days. Friday is Welcome day, and obviously it's about getting settled in style. Saturday, Sunday and Monday are dedicated to intellectual and academic community-building events, and Tuesday and Wednesday are reserved for three-hour immersion programs and one-hour information and resource sessions. There are lots of festive events scheduled, including Arch Sings all over campus by Cornell's famed a cappella groups.
Events -- and volunteers -- are overseen by the Orientation Steering Committee (OSC), a group of 14 students that plans and implements the spring and fall co-curricular orientation programs.
Zachary Wallace '06, co-chair of the OSC, originally volunteered as an orientation leader then served as a member of the OSC.
"This has been one of my most rewarding experiences at Cornell," Wallace said. "Working with volunteers, new students, my peers on the committee and the professional staff in New Student Programs has helped me to grow as a leader and as a person."
Wallace suggested some of the following as must-see events:
Of course, there are the required events and one or two "should-sees." On Friday, Aug. 19, President Hunter Rawlings will meet informally with new students and their families during a welcome reception on the Appel Fields. Rawlings also will deliver the New Student Convocation address Saturday at 9 a.m. in Barton Hall. On Sunday, Barton Hall is again the place to be for the fifth annual New Student Reading Project's faculty panel discussion on Chinua Achebe's "Things Fall Apart" starting at 3:30 p.m. On Monday, new students will attend small group discussions on the book. Students also are required to attend one of several of the One Vision, Many Voices diversity education program presentations. The centerpiece of the presentation is dramatic skits focusing on various aspect of diversity, followed by a facilitated discussion. Orientation week culminates with Cornell Night Wednesday, Aug. 24, on the Arts Quad, featuring a variety of student a cappella, comedy troupes and dance groups. Cornell Night also marks the launch of Welcome Weekend events for all students and runs from Aug. 24 to 28. Nightly entertainment will include a presentation by the Lebanese Club and CUTonight featuring belly dancing, music and food on the Arts Quad, Thursday, Aug. 25, at 9:30 p.m. Friday night will be Casino Night at Willard Straight Hall starting at 10 p.m. More than 100 tables of blackjack, craps, poker, roulette and bingo will be available, and offerings include a full service "mocktail" bar, finger foods and live music. On Saturday night, Ho Plaza is the main drag for a moveable street fair with BBQ, beverages and live entertainment on the Arts Quad and Engineering Quad. New Student Orientation Committee members create and carry out university orientation events with the Dean of Students Office, Campus Life, Environmental Health and Safety, Cornell University Police, the Office of Transportation, the Department of Risk Management and many other university offices. |
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