New academic year

For me, the first event of the new academic year was a dinner for students in the Grinnell Science Project and their families. The GSP is a kind of pre-orientation for some incoming students, focussing on the sciences and giving a sense of the participatory style that characterizes our introductory courses. The dinner is mainly for the parents who are releasing these students into the supervision and care of the College, to reassure them that the faculty and staff are friendly, helpful people who will treat their children well. The parents are often interesting conversationalists who are eager to talk about their background and to ask questions about the College; the new students, on the other hand, usually don't feel like saying much until their parents have left.