Newswise — History will be repeated on Aug. 28, as the more than 700 members of Gettysburg College's Class of 2007 process to the site of President Lincoln's famous address.
The First-year Walk looks back to Nov. 19, 1863, when Gettysburg College students, townspeople and Abraham Lincoln processed along Baltimore Street to the National Cemetery site, where the President dedicated the Soldier's National Cemetery and delivered his Gettysburg Address.
When the Gettysburg College students arrive at Evergreen Cemetery, College President Gordon A. Haaland, who will retire in June 2004, will read the Gettysburg Address and present the class with its flag.
While en route to the cemetery, Orientation group leaders and volunteer facilitators will familiarize first-year students with historic landmarks such as Thaddeus Stevens Hall, named after the abolitionist congressman and College co-founder who authored the 14th Amendment; the Eisenhower House, where the retired president and College trustee wrote his memoirs; the Wills House, where Lincoln stayed the night before his Address; and the Jenny Wade House, where the battle's only civilian casualty was felled by a stray bullet.
On the return trip to campus, students will pass by and learn about the College's original building and the house where then Army Captain Eisenhower, his wife, Mamie, and infant son lived in the spring and summer of 1918.
An alumnus proposed the new tradition, and a student became the driving force behind it. Peter Holloran, a 1975 graduate, is president of the Rochester, N.Y., firm Cognitive Marketing, which is helping the College develop a "brand" for marketing purposes. After Holloran presented his proposal for the First-year Walk to the Student Senate, Orientation Chair Lindsay Morlock, a member of the Class of 2004, embraced the plan with enthusiasm, researched an appropriate route, photographed sites along the way, and began sharing the concept with College administrators and members of the local community. My ultimate goal for this walk is for students to establish a strong connection with the College and the community," said Morlock, a psychology major from Mountain Lakes, N.J. "Hopefully, from Day One students will understand 'Wow, I'm at this great place,' both in terms of history and the education we get here."
Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences. With approximately 2,500 students, it is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park. The college was founded in 1832.
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