Freshmen to read play on atomic race

The Park School '97 Pikesville, Md. History buffs, science enthusiasts and theater lovers from the Class of 2003 will have some enjoyable summer reading. The program requires incoming freshmen from all four undergraduate schools to read a given book during the summer. Upon arriving on campus, they discuss the text in small discussion groups led by faculty members from different departments during New Student Orientation. "We would like to find things that people would enjoy reading over the summer," said David Fox, the associate director of College Houses and Academic Services, who served on the committee that chose the book. Copenhagen, written by playwright Michael Frayn, describes a historical encounter between two European physicists -- Niels Bohr of Denmark and the German Werner Heisenberg -- who had once been friends but in the midst of the Second World War found themselves on opposing sides in the struggle to develop atomic weapons. According to Fox, the play both chronicles historical events and raises timeless moral dilemmas. "What are the moral responsibilities of scientists whose intellectual discoveries hold the potential for everlasting harm? What should we do when the defense of a country -- and its innocent citizens -- also means defense of intolerable political principles?" the statement announcing the selection asks. Former Student Committee on Undergraduate Education Chairperson and then-College senior Rachael Goldfarb -- who also served on the selection committee -- said she envisions that the play will be extremely well-received by the incoming freshmen and should be appealing to students with diverse interests. "[Copenhagen] does a very good job of cutting across various disciplines," Goldfarb said. "That's why it appealed to us." And Fox added that among the approximately 200 suggestions -- ranging from Anna Karenina to The Catcher in the Rye -- made by Penn students and faculty members, the committee ultimately decided that the play "would have greater meaning for a larger number of students." The committee hopes that the play -- which is currently being performed in London and is scheduled to open in New York next year -- will not be laborious summer reading for the students. "We try to aim for something that is both poolside reading and intellectually stimulating," Goldfarb said. Fox added that students can probably "read it in one sitting." Fox also anticipates numerous follow-up events, including a possible appearance by the playwright on campus, a film series on the Resnet Movie Channel and a series of public readings. Approximately 2,800 copies are being ordered from a British publishing company. The copies will be mailed to each incoming freshman around the beginning of July, Fox said. Last year's selection was Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts. Other recent selections include Gary Wills' Lincoln at Gettysburg and Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast. Both Kingston and Wills spoke at the annual School of Arts and Sciences Dean's Forum the springs after their respective books were read.