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Red Letter Daze: Ranking the Rankings

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Editor’s Note: This article refers to 2009 rankings. New rankings are expected to come from U.S. News and World Report in late August.
Another school year begins, and with it the questions: How do I stack up? Where do I fit in? What does he or she think of me? And it’s not only the new freshman faces asking. With the release of yet another onslaught of college rankings, ranging from the traditional U.S. News and World Report to the “irreverent” standings of Radar Magazine, concerns expressed by the Cornell community indicate that the University, itself, is asking similar questions.

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Red Letter Daze: Greek, It's a Rush

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The sorority system at Cornell is kept extremely hush-hush during first semester, as freshman girls are not allowed to enter a sorority house, hang out with sisters or know anything about specific chapters before rush. My friends and I figured that watching Greek, ABC Family’s collegiate dramedy about fraternities and sororities at a fictional college would provide insight into this world.

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Arts & Entertainment

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Dear starry eyed-freshman:
Do you like music? Movies? How about burlesque dancers strutting their stuff on the Slope? If so, you’re in luck. The Pussycat Dolls may not strike Ithaca every year (thank god), but there’s plenty else to keep your eyes, ears and mind entertained on campus and around town. To get a taste, check out these review excerpts from last year — everyone from Girl Talk to Junot Diaz to Don Giovanni was in town, and we were there to get you the story. Appetite sufficiently whetted? Get ready for the likes of Ani DiFranco and Built to Spill this fall, and check out the concert on the Arts Quad on Aug. 29 (artist to be announced). It’ll be the start of another great year in Ithaca arts culture. And homework and tests and all that other boring stuff. Whatever.

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Orientation ’09 Eases Transition to Cornell

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One of the main challenges for each Orientation Steering Committee is putting a new spin on the annual event.
According to Jack Cao ’10, one of the members on the OSC, this year the committee is trying to give the orientation theme a more prominent role than previous years’ themes.
“What makes 2009 unique is the emphasis on integration,” Cao said. “The theme of technology is meant as a metaphor for the OSC’s attempt to get the new freshmen integrated and connected to Cornell.”

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As Applicant Pool Grows, Rate Of Admission Hits Record Low

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For the first time in Cornell’s history, the admit rate for the incoming freshman class dropped below 20 percent. After a rise in early admissions applicants in December, Cornell administrators projected an increase in the number of this year’s regular decision applicants, which reached an all time high of 34,381.

A Most Selective Class
The admit rate for the Class of 2013 fell to the unprecedented level of 19.1 percent. While Cornell admitted 36.68 percent of early decision applicants, regular admissions only accepted 17.2 percent of applicants.

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Falling Apart: Freshman Year Memories

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As you could tell from last week, I’m on a reflecting bender, which is something I like to call a reflender. But this week it’s turned into a productive exercise in my literacy. I did it. I read Things Fall Apart. I chillaxed with Okonkwo, finished up my Freshman Reading Project, only, approximately, 1369 days late, give or take. Again, since I’m on a roll in the spirit of reflending, Okonkwo and I have decided to tell the story of how things fell apart in my life, also known as “Freshman Fall.” We shall tell this story through a series of quotations that I found particularly illustrative from the book, quotations that did not make me sad when I hadn’t read the book before, because, in fact, it is the worst book ever written.

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Freshman Reading Book Draws Mixed Reactions

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The cold aura of Barton Hall was, on August 24, transformed into an intensely intellectual colloquium when the New Students Book Project invaded the massive gymnasium. The incoming class, along with others members of the Cornell community, discussed Lincoln at Gettysburg by Gary Wills. The book’s focus is on the 272 words of the Gettysburg Address.
Lincoln at Gettysburg was sent to over 3,700 members of the Class of 2012 at the beginning of the summer. They were assigned to read about it for their first academic experience of the year, and then analyze it with their peers.

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Journal to Capture Freshman Year

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It is hard to forget your freshman year — the ups, the downs, and all the in-betweens are forever engrained in your memory. New Student Programs (NSP) has jump-started a project that will give this year’s freshman class a chance to make sure that their reflections on their first year at Cornell are preserved.