The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

The student news site of Marquette University

Marquette Wire

Suskind to speak at MU

Suskind will speak at the Varsity Theatre at 4 p.m. Thursday. Tickets aren't needed but seating is on a first come, first served basis, said Susan Mountin, director of the Manresa Project.

"It's really a privilege to have a living author be able to come and talk to the students," Mountin said.

This is the first year there has been an all-freshmen reading project at Marquette. Last year, "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok was test piloted on a group of 200 new students, Mountin said. The results were positive, so the Manresa Project immediately began testing roughly 50 books for this year's freshmen class with a committee composed of both faculty and students. "A Hope in the Unseen" was a clear favorite and was assigned to the incoming students.

Freshmen Emily Ploch and Kathleen Falk liked the beginning of the book, but said they became uninterested once the book's subject, Cedric Jennings, entered college.

"The book dragged once (Jennings) was in college," Falk said. "There was no significant climax, besides him getting into Brown (University)."

Jennings is scheduled to speak during Marquette's Mission Week on Thursday, Feb. 5.

Falk said most people she had talked to liked the book — and no one hated it — although no one considered it one of the best books they had ever read.

"I think the concept of one book unifying all incoming students was a great idea," said junior Alli Quandt, an orientation group discussion leader. "It was meant to provoke thought in students and focus on issues they will run into. It served its purpose."

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