Campus prepares for freshman orientation

They're here -- soon. The University is ready for the Class of 1998 after preparing for the entire summer. Various programs, old and new, will welcome freshmen onto campus this fall. Wharton junior Gilbert Beverly, co-Coordinator of New Student Orientation Week, said this week that this year's freshman welcome will have some "exciting" new components. The traditional campus tours given in the fall will be replaced this year by a scavenger hunt. The freshmen will congregate in Hill Field and work in teams to search the campus for various articles. Several local businesses have donated prizes for the winners, Beverly said. In addition to the hunt, a giant outdoor video screen will be set up in the Quadrangle for a "Drive-In Movie" event, which will feature The Fugitive, starring Harrison Ford. New students will also be able to watch The Astonishing Neil, The Hilarious Hypnotist perform. Beverly said that in addition to the social and entertainment activities, New Student Orientation Week will host several community service and community building events. There will be a sociodrama at the Annenberg Center which will deal with sexually-transmitted diseases and issues of sexual orientation. And a new feature called "Community Building" will have freshmen and RAs working together to clean up the University's campus. Beverly also said that Freshman Convocation will take place Sunday, September 4. There will be no keynote speaker this year, but President Judith Rodin, Provost Stanley Chodorow and Vice Provost for University Life Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum will address the Class of '98. Assistant to the Dean of Admissions Sue Hess said a list of notable entering freshmen will be read at Freshman Convocation, continuing a tradition. Among those on the list are: · A young woman in the College from Fairbanks, Alaska, who built a special pool for the Alaskan climate and used it to teach village children how to swim. · An incoming Wharton student, who has been investing in the stock market since he was 12, is using his profits to pay for his entire University education. · Another incoming Wharton student is the youth chess champion of Turkey. · An incoming man in the College is a is a triathlete champion from the Czech Republic who has done extensive research in chaos theory. Hill House Assistant Dean in Residence Steven Feld said that the dormitory will help freshmen adjust to University life by matching them with upperclassmen residents. The upperclassmen will help them move in and assist them throughout the year. "We don't want any of the freshmen to come in feeling lost and alone," Feld said. The new students will hit campus September 3 for move-in.