Community service first, then classes Sept. 3 for Cornell’s 357 new students

MOUNT VERNON — New students at Cornell College will spend Saturday morning volunteering at several sites in eastern Iowa before starting classes Monday, Sept. 3.

New Student Orientation Service Day on Sept. 1, now in its 13th year, helps introduce students to issues in the local community, including the environment, public safety and services, and poverty and hunger.

Service Day is coordinated by the Civic Engagement Office, which provides opportunities for students to grow through advocacy, social activism and community engagement.

This year Cornell welcomes 357 new students. The Class of 2011 carries an average GPA of 3.45. Twenty-eight percent were in the top 10 percent of their high school class; 54 percent were in the top 25 percent. The new class represents 34 states and seven foreign countries.

On New Student Orientation Service Day, Cornell student, faculty and staff volunteers will work Saturday from approximately 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at 20 sites around eastern Iowa, including the following locations.

Mount Vernon/Lisbon
– Palisades-Kepler State Park: removing brush and picking up litter
– Lisbon-Mount Vernon Ambulance Service: washing ambulances
– Lisbon Early Child Care & Education Center (235 West School St.): general cleanup
– Ash Park, Cornell campus: painting handrails and stairs to football stadium press box.

Cedar Rapids
– CSPS (1103 3rd St SE): Cleaning carpets, windows, and floors; painting
– New Bohemia Music Festival (Third Street SE between Eighth and 14th avenues): setting up for festival

Iowa City
– Crowded Closet (1213 S. Gilbert Ct.): Sorting clothes
– Salvation Army (1116 Gilbert Ct.): Organizing food pantry