Home > Honors Program > Events and Newsletters > Fall 2006 Colloquium
Fall 2006 Honors Freshman Colloquium
Designed to welcome freshmen to the University Honors Program, the Freshman Colloquium is one of the highlights of fall semester. It begins with shared summer reading and ends with a luncheon and small group discussions sponsored by the Honors Student Association and the Office of Student Affairs.
Shared Summer Reading
This summer we are reading John C. Ryan and Alan Thein Durning’s Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things. In less than 100 pages, this book raises some intriguing—and disturbing—questions about how contemporary lifestyles affect the world we live in. Inexpensive copies are available at most on-line bookstores, including Amazon.com (which offers electronic as well as print copies) and Powells.com. The University Bookstore will also have a limited number that you can purchase when you visit campus for New Student Orientation and Registration.
After reading Stuff, you should write a brief response to one of the discussion questions (see Questions for the Written Response below). Then, no later than August 1, 2006, you will send a copy of your response. This response will serve as your RSVP for the Honors Colloquium.
Honors Colloquium
At noon on August 11, Honors freshmen and faculty mentors will meet in the University Center’s Cypress Room to enjoy a luncheon hosted by the Honors Student Association and supported by the Office of Student Affairs. At the end of our meal, Dr. Richard Carter, Professor of Biology, will offer some remarks to help begin our discussion. Be sure to bring your copy of Stuff as well as a copy of your written response to it! (You’ll need the first to compete for door prizes and the second as you share your ideas you’re your fellow students.) About 1:00 we’ll break out into small groups, co-led by Honors faculty members and mentors, to get better acquainted and to share our responses to Ryan and Durning’s book. Dress is informal (no T-shirts or cut-offs, please!).
Welcome to the Honors House
About 2:00 that afternoon, we’ll take a short walk through Drexel Park to the Honors House for cookies, snacks, and games sponsored by the Honors Student Association. You’ll learn more about upcoming events as well as meet the officers and some other members of the Honors Student Association.