MOUNT VERNON — A record 117 students are scheduled to present research findings at the 10th annual Cornell College Student Symposium on Saturday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. in The Commons. Admission is free to the event, which is open to the public.
The symposium, which originated as a way to spark intellectual conversation and growth on campus, is one of the premier events at Cornell. This year there will be 96 presentations, as lectures of about 20 minutes apiece, as musical performances or as poster presentations offering visual displays of projects along with explanatory comments.
The lectures or performances will take place at three sessions (9 a.m., 10:45 a.m., 1:15 p.m.) in Hedges Conference Room, Harlan Dining Room, Shaw Lounge, Berlin Room, Stockholm Room and Paris Room; poster presentations will occur at two sessions (9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 2:45 p.m.) on the Orange Carpet.
Topics include pandemic influenza, Iowa’s ghost towns, nuclear waste storage methods, sleep deprivation, the music of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” and women’s body image, the media and attitudes toward beauty. Several students will present observations from their work during spring break helping hurricane victims in New Orleans.
After the symposium, Cornell’s Delta of Iowa chapter of Phi Beta Kappa will hold its annual induction ceremony at 3 p.m. in Harlan Dining Room, followed by a reception. Seventeen students have been selected for membership based on academic potential, scholarship, creativity, professional attitude and character. Phi Beta Kappa considers members from the top 15 percent of the senior class and the top 5 percent of the junior class.
Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most widely respected academic honorary society in the United States. There are 270 Phi Beta Kappa chapters in the United States, including seven in Iowa. Cornell’s Delta of Iowa chapter was the fourth chartered in Iowa, in 1923.
