Orientation offers new students wide range of activities

Cornell orientation practice
Joe Wilensky/Cornell Chronicle
Manuel Fernandez '16 leads a group of Orientation Supervisors training for the arrival of new students.

In one of the most highly anticipated days of the year, a bevy of volunteers will welcome 3,740 undergraduate first-year and transfer students and their families to campus on Move-in Day, Aug. 21. A packed schedule of receptions, tours, performances and outdoor activities over Orientation Weekend will introduce the students to Cornell’s many academic, intellectual, athletic, cultural and social opportunities.

Also awaiting new students will be the 2015 selection for the New Student Reading Project, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. ’44’s anti-war novel “Slaughterhouse Five.” The book will be distributed to residence hall rooms; transfer students living off campus can pick up their copies at the Carol Tatkon Center on North Campus.

In addition to moving into their residences Aug. 21, new students can pick up their ID cards and learn about campus resources at New Student Check-In, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Barton Hall. From 4 to 5 p.m., President Elizabeth Garrett will hold a reception for students and their families on Rawlings Green, North Campus. The day ends for first-year students at “First Night,” featuring entertainment on the Court-Kay-Bauer Quad on North Campus; and for transfer students at “First Night: Taste of Ithaca!” in Clark Atrium, Physical Sciences Building. Both events begin at 10:30 p.m.

Move-in Day traffic
• Avoid driving on campus, if possible.
• Use TCAT buses and car pools.
• Avoid arranging deliveries of equipment or supplies Aug. 21.
• Observe special traffic patterns and obey traffic control personnel.
• Garden Avenue will be closed. Travel on Jessup Road will be limited to move-in traffic.
• The parking spaces on West Avenue will be closed to create a north-bound driving lane.
• The North Campus A Lot will be reserved for new students and their parents. In addition, CC Lot, the Helen Newman Lot, the Appel Commons Lot and all “R” parking spaces on North Campus are closed to staff holding A, R or Z permits, in order to accommodate students and their families who are checking into residence halls.

Garrett, a first-year Cornellian herself, officially welcomes incoming students and their families at New Student Convocation, Aug. 22, 8:45-10 a.m., at Schoellkopf Stadium.

Other Orientation highlights:
• Dump and Run – the annual “yard sale” of recycled furniture, clothing and electronics – is Aug. 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Aug. 23, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., at Helen Newman Hall. Proceeds support local charities.
• Large venue events Aug. 22 include a Chorus and Glee Club Concert, 4:30 p.m. at Sage Chapel; Cornell Essentials, where upper-level students talk about navigating the university, at 5, 6:30 and 8 p.m. in Bailey Hall; and Big Red Blowout at 11 p.m. in Barton Hall, featuring carnival activities.
• Corey Earle ’07 reveals secrets of Cornell’s history in “The First American University,” Aug. 22, 4-5 p.m. in Uris Auditorium.
• Explore! sessions, held Aug. 23 in the Tatkon Center, encourage new students to engage with faculty.
• The annual Cornell University Block Party is Aug. 23, 5-8 p.m. on North Campus. Rain locations: Robert Purcell Community Center and Appel Commons.
• “Speak About It – Consent and Healthy Relationships,” a performance-based presentation in Bailey Hall Aug. 23 and 24, is based on true stories dealing with sexual consent, assault and other issues. “Tapestry of Possibilities: Diversity at Cornell,” Aug. 26-31 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, includes moderated discussions about diversity and inclusiveness. Attendance at both events is required for incoming students.

For the Reading Project, new students are encouraged to read Vonnegut’s novel in September. Related panels and book discussions will be held at the Tatkon Center throughout the fall semester.

Display cases at the Tatkon Center, Aug. 21-Dec. 18, cover Vonnegut’s time as a student at Cornell and showcases quotes from his work that offer advice for young people. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art will feature an exhibit, “‘So It Goes’: Drawings of Kurt Vonnegut,” Aug. 22-Dec. 20.

Media Contact

John Carberry