York College Begins Summer Book Program
Posted August 21, 2000FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Incoming Freshmen Read "The Tortilla Curtain" For Upcoming Discussions
York, Pennsylvania--When York College freshmen arrive on campus later this week, they will have already completed their first academic assignment. For the first time, the College has implemented a summer reading program that encourages freshmen to explore complex human problems and rethink their preconceptions.
During the summer, all incoming freshmen were asked to read "The Tortilla Curtain," a novel by T. Coraghessan Boyle that investigates the experience of Mexican immigrants in the United States. In a thought provoking way, the book tells a story about the often uneasy tension between U.S. communities and immigrants. The novel complements this year's cultural series, "A Celebration of Latin America."
On Sunday, August 27, as part of "Explorientation," freshmen will gather for "Fiesta Lunch." After tasting Latin American foods, the students will break up into small groups to discuss "The Tortilla Curtain." In literature that the College sent with the book, students were asked to think about aspects of the story that correspond to their academic interests. Business students, for example, were asked to consider the economic effects of illegal immigrant labor.
During the 2000-2001 academic year, professors from across a wide range of disciplines will incorporate "The Tortilla Curtain" into their curriculum and group discussions. According to Dominic Delli Carpini, Ph.D., member of the Summer Book Program Committee, the College plans to continue the program in the future using both fiction and non-fiction works, and, if possible, using a book that ties into the year's cultural theme.
"The very first thing we want freshmen to realize is that reading and intellectual inquiry are what college is all about," Delli Carpini said.
For more information about the Summer Book Program, please contact John Ertter, News Bureau Editor, at (717) 815-1309.
###
