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This year’s New Student Orientation will be the weekend of Aug. 23-26 and will mark the start of the academic careers for members of the Class of 2011.
The class will be officially welcomed to campus during the Convocation ceremony 9 a.m. Aug. 24 on the Quad. David A. Clary, author of Adopted Son: Washington, Lafayette, and the Friendship that Saved the Revolution, will deliver the main address, “How a Teenager Ran Away from Home and Won a War.” The ceremony will be the first event in the College’s yearlong celebration of the 250th anniversary of the Marquis de Lafayette’s birthday.
The students will also be introduced to the intellectual life at the College. Coursework for the Class of 2011 started earlier this summer with the summer reading assignment, John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty and The Subjection of Women. The book discusses the nature and limitations of power given to one human being to rule over the rest of society. During orientation, faculty and students will be involved in two discussions, one entitled “The Liberal Arts in the 21st Century” and the other focusing specifically on Mill’s work. Both will use Mill’s writing to explore the unique opportunities and implications of a liberal arts education. The students also read the companion book to A Son and his Adoptive Father: The Marquis de Lafayette and George Washington, a historical exhibit running in the Williams Center for the Arts gallery. The book was co-edited by Diane Windham Shaw, special collections librarian and College archivist.
Throughout the weekend, students interested in pursuing various majors will have a chance to meet with faculty and department heads, as well as discuss their academic future with their faculty adviser.
There will also be numerous workshops focusing on different aspects of life at college. Tim Silvestri, assistant director of counseling services, will discuss the facts about alcohol and the best ways to stay in the “Green Zone.” Psychologist Jarrod Spencer ’96 will present “From the Bedroom and Beyond: Sexual Assault or Consensual Sex?” Also, staff members from the Landis Community Outreach Center will be running the C.H.A.M.P.I.O.N. (Creating Hope and Making Peace In Our Neighborhood) Program. Students can stop by to work on projects that will help the Easton community and learn how to become a Landis volunteer.
Orientation will wrap up Aug. 26 with the Pard Pride Unity Dinner. At the dinner, students will hear about places of interest both on and off campus, learn the traditions and songs of Lafayette, and get to know their fellow classmates. The class will also choose a charitable organization which will become its “adopted” cause.