Welookforwardtomeetingyou duringtheOrientation program on August 19 – 30, 2019.Weare proudtohave youas our new studentsandwelcomeyouinto ourcommunity offriends,colleagues,andscholars! Thisis a new beginningfor both studentsandfamilymembers; beginningsthat we hopeyouarereadytoexplore.
The Orientation programis designedtofacilitatethetransition betweenyour previouslearningexperienceandthe onethatawaitsyouatthe University. Thisyear’sprogramadoptsthetheme of“Knowledge and Values”. Our Orientationeventsare packed withacademic, social,andcommunityservicelearningactivitiesthatfosterresponsible freedomand ż۹ʴý’s valuesas aliberalartsinstitution. Thegoal oftheacademic sessionsistointroduceyoutothe interdisciplinaryandchallenging studycultureat ż۹ʴý, whichincludescreative,yetfun,learningexperiences,andintensive writingacross a variety of genresandtexts.
Animportant part ofyour preparationforthe Orientation program(andfall semesteraswell)isyoursummer readingassignment:allfirst-year studentsareexpectedtoreadandreflect onBook VII ofPlato’sRepublic, chaptersfrom MeditationsbyRene Descartes and the ancient play by Sophocles Antigone.We wouldlikeyoutomarkthetexts up: underline passages,makecommentsinthemargins,and on a separate sheetreflect on howthesetextsmightrelatetoyour ownlifeatthistime.Bringthese withyou when youcometo ż۹ʴýin August.We will useyourthoughtsasthe starting pointfor ourconversations.We hopethat during orientationin Augustthisinitialthinkingaboutthetexts willleadtolargerconversationsandthateachof you will seizethis opportunitytoengageyourselfin a dialogue withyourpeersand professors. This will helpyou prepareacademicallyandintegratemore smoothlyintothelarger uniqueintellectualcommunityandculture of our University.
Inthefalland spring semesters,thesetwotextsalongside othertexts will bethecommonreadingsforall ofyouin yourFirst YearSeminarcourse. Asyoubeginyourjourneytowardsthecompletion of aliberalartseducationat ż۹ʴý,these sharedreadingsand otherequallyengagingandchallengingtexts willintroduceyoutoand encompasstheUniversity’svaluesthat will broadenyourworld,increaseand deepenyour understanding of complexissues. Engaging withthesetexts will bring people of diverse backgroundstogetherandcreate acommon groundfor discussionamongfaculty, studentsandfriends duringthe Orientation programaswellasthroughout theyearstocome.