<p>Are transfers responsible for doing the freshman reading project also?</p>
<p>I didn't do it...nor did any of my transfer friends</p>
<p>If you're taking an FWS in your first semester...then you'll want to do the essay</p>
<p>do we sign up for freshman writing seminar the same place as we choose classes? where's the list for us to choose from?</p>
<p>I'm not sure...I never needed to take an FWS</p>
<p>im pretty sure the FWS is still automated...</p>
<p>Knight</a> Institute for Writing in the Disciplines </p>
<p>that will explain it all</p>
<p>You will find out details during orientation; they vary among the colleges. Even though you'll choose most of your classes online on Just The Facts, you'll have to fill out your FWS ballot some time later here: Knight</a> Institute for Writing in the Disciplines. You fill out your ballot with your top choices, and you'll probably get something you want.</p>
<p>So transfers do not need to read the summer reading?? :D</p>
<p>You don't <em>technically</em> have to.</p>
<p>I did read the book...I just didn't go to the panel or write the essay.</p>
<p>As a freshmen I have a few additional questions. What is the book? Is it a good read? Are we supposed to buy it or do they send it to all Freshmen, if so, when? And lastly, whats this essay that has been mentioned?</p>
<p>Cornell will send you the book and essay suggestions...</p>
<p>From the Cornell Chronicle: "Cornell's next incoming class and much of the rest of the Cornell community will read Garry Wills' Pulitzer Prize-winning book, "Lincoln at Gettysburg: The Words That Remade America," as part of the 2008-09 New Student Reading Project.
Lincoln's 272-word address at Gettysburg, Pa., the site of the 1863 battle that was the turning point of the Civil War, has "become a symbol of national purpose, pride and ideals," Wills writes. "The power of words has rarely been given a more compelling demonstration."</p>
<p>"Lincoln at Gettysburg" invites readers to reflect on the ideals that should shape America's national purpose and allows them to consider the political implications of race, the nature of leadership, the challenge of commemorating the sacrifices of those who fight in a contested war, the bearing of the past on the present and the dynamics of politics, according to Moody-Adams. Wills' book is a compelling work of history and a rich and illuminating analysis of the power of effective communication and well-crafted political rhetoric, she said.</p>
<p>The reading project also will connect the Cornell community to the national commemoration in February 2009 of the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. Cornell's founding in 1865 was an outcome of Lincoln's commitment to the Morrill Act, which created the first land-grant institutions of higher education. Cornell University Library has one of the five known copies of the Gettysburg Address in Lincoln's handwriting.</p>
<p>"Lincoln at Gettysburg" was chosen by Cornell's academic leadership from a list of more than 100 titles submitted by the Cornell community. Titles from this year's shortlist of books included "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan, "The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down" by Anne Fadiman, "China Shakes the World" by James Kynge, "Free Culture" by Lawrence Lessig and "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien.</p>
<p>This will be the eighth year of Cornell's New Student Reading Project, designed to provide a common intellectual experience for new and transfer students and the Cornell community through campus-wide events and group discussions with students, faculty and staff. Incoming students receive copies of the selected book to read over the summer, and Cornell's Reading Project Web site provides background and enrichment for readers.</p>
<p>On Aug. 24 during freshman orientation, a panel of Cornell faculty members will discuss the book, and invite student questions, in preparation for the next day's meetings of more than 220 small discussion groups. As in past years, 10 essay contest winners from the incoming class will receive gift certificates to the Cornell Store.</p>
<p>During the academic year, lectures, panel discussions, films and other events will relate to the reading project to encourage discussion of the issues raised by "Lincoln at Gettysburg." Members of the Ithaca community, high school students across the state and Cornell alumni also will take part in reading and discussion groups of their own.</p>
<p>The book should be potentially as enriching for non-American readers who may have little knowledge of American history as for American readers looking for a deeper understanding of their national history, Moody-Adams said.</p>
<p>For the many incoming students who will be engaged with the details of the national election this fall, "Will's discussions of the dynamics of politics should prove especially insightful," Moody-Adams said. The book "offers no simplistic analyses and no easy answers. Instead, it asks the reader to reflect on the complexities of political life and political agency, and to resist the tendency to think in terms of simple dichotomies or absolutes divorced from the contingencies of political life."</p>
<p>sounds better than "the pickup"</p>
<p>that was seriously the worst piece of **** that i ever read...i and many others walked out in the middle of the discussion. i'm sure that the reading project is good for those who like the book, but if you hate the book - as the majority did last year - don't read it unless you're afraid your writing seminar will grade it, though that didn't happen to me or anyone i know</p>
<p>we had the great gatsby my year...i was like YAY dont have to read **** :)</p>
<p>i just edited my high school paper for gatsby and turned that in :P</p>