Dear Cornell Class of 2016,

Let me start off by mentioning that I am not actually going to call you by the dorky moniker that is “pre-frosh.” Same goes for “prospies.”  In fact, considering that I’ve spent some of my free time recently finishing up Season 7 of Buffy, I think “potentials” will suffice.

Anyway, unless you’re too busy saving the world, I’m assuming some of you potentials will find yourselves on the road to Ithaca over the next two weeks. And, although I never attended Cornell Days myself (living in the middle of the Pacific can do that to you), I’m going to share some good ol’ upperclassman wisdom.

In short, then, here are some suggestions for Cornell Days that you won’t find in your “Welcome to Cornell” packet. Allons-y!

1. Attend a museum tour! (i.e. my museum tour.) 

Looking to meet a hot college guy during Cornell Days? Mr. Kwaikiutl Sun Mask here wanted me to let you know that he is both totally interested and available.

It’s hard to find a single post on here that’s not a shameless plug for my own activities, and this one’s no different. If you’ve checked the Cornell Days schedule, you might have noticed that there are tours of the Johnson offered both weekends (fun fact: attend the one next week, and odds are you’ll get me as your guide!)

However, at 1PM this coming Saturday, I’m giving a very special “Off-the-Label” tour called “Performance” Art: The Drama of Objects. We’ll start in the Shadowlands exhibit I helped to curate and then move on to other “theatrical” objects in the collection. Come on, guys, I really need an audience: because Cornellians tend to forget that we have this awesome on-campus museum, my previous tours were attended only by my BFFs and random foreign families who happened to be there at the right time. That said, bring your parents, bring your siblings–heck, bring your nemeses too (though keep in mind that no epic nemesis battles are allowed in the museum)!

2. Finish your Cornell Days with Hogwarts Nights. 

Unpopular opinion: I’m not a Harry Potter fan. Since I’ve been a hipster since the day I was born, I didn’t really see why that “mainstream” book series had such appeal over other equally entertaining juvenile fantasy novels (e.g. Charlie Bone, Susan Cooper’s stuff, etc). The fact, then, that I’m participating in both of Risley Hall’s Night at Hogwarts events, says something about the quality of these shindigs.

If you’re coming with your parents and want a family-friendly activity, you might want to check out the original A Night at Hogwarts dinner: join us at the Castle and interact with costumed character impersonators (I’m playing Harry’s mum, incidentally) while enjoying an authentically British feast! Keep in mind, though, that this event is extremely popular, and it’s hard to get tickets at the door. Still, even if you can’t swing an invite, walk by Risley’s front lawn sometime from 5-7 on Friday and you might see some magic anyway!

The bolder and more dance-party-inclined should consider the Yule Ball, which will take place at Risley from 9pm on Saturday and feature a special guest performance by Harry and the Potters as well as everyone’s favorite nerdy a cappella group! (Okay, so I guess that means that this is yet another shameless plug for something in which I’m involved. Dang.)

3. Be like Anna from The King and I…

…which is to say, don’t make snap judgments. “Getting To Know You” is more than one of my favorite Rodgers & Hammerstein tunes–it’s also a useful philosophy for college visits.

Your Cornell Days don't have to be the most thrilling, action-packed time of your life: it's just important that you get to know the school and whether or not it's "precisely your cup of te(eeee)a!"

Also, don’t dismiss the entire student body because of that one annoying/disturbing/ignorant person you happen to meet. When I visited Yale, for example, our host bragged about how Yale had recently been visited by a famous bug scientist, a man whom she called “the Indiana Jones of endocrinology” by accident. Yeesh. (Actually, come to think of it, this is a terrible example because I’m obviously not at Yale…I think I should probably stop talking now.)

In any case, do enjoy your stay on campus. Hey, I’m looking forward to it too–the dining hall desserts are never quite as good as when the administration wants to impress prospective students.