<p>The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot</p>
<p>The summer reading books were snail mailed to us in a package with other material last summer.</p>
<p>(Last year's book was The Toaster Project by Thomas Thwaites.)</p>
<p>I just looked her up. We still called her Helen Lane while using her cells in the labs in the 80s. I had not realized her real name was leaked out.</p>
<p>I was looking at the Academic Calendar, and saw the Summer Reading.</p>
<p>Mandatory/optional?
Do all students do the reading?
What do they do with the reading?
Do they mail copies to incoming freshmen after they accept?</p>
<p>OperaDad’s comment prompted me to look at the academic calendar too. What is the significance of the 33rd instructional day each semester? I’ve never heard about that in all the various talks at Olin.</p>
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<p>Looks like the equivalent of 1/2 way through the term.</p>
<p>Withdrawal deadline, mid terms, …</p>
<p>“October 17 (W) - Olin Session I: Withdraw Deadline; 33rd instructional day; Course Substitution and Transfer Board Submission Deadline; Passionate Pursuit Funding Request Deadline”</p>
<p>The summer reading is mandatory. Everyone reads it and is welcomed back to the school with one big auditorium discussion. Incoming students get it in the mail.</p>
<p>And yes, the 33rd instructional day is significant only for paperwork. :P</p>