The works on display in Gaston Hall before the first years arrived.

GASTON HALL —  In an attempt to showcase to first year students the ways in which the early 20th century artistic movement pervades almost every aspect of the undergraduate experience, New Student Orientation’s “Hoya SurrealTalk” staged a 45-minute long exhibition followed by a small group discussion. “I always knew surrealism was going to be a huge part of my college experience but I don’t think I was able to fully grapple with what that meant until now,” said Freshman Candice Grotham (SFS ’19), echoing the mood of the incoming class’s inexperience with this type of cultural expression which emerged in the mid-1920s in Paris and other European cultural hubs.  “Certainly in the beginning it was a little awkward to dive right into discussing an art movement grounded in exposing psychological truths and latent mental suppositions which are expressed in a manner outside the formal modes sanctioned by society,” said Orientation Advisory Caroline Hindbraugh (COL ’17) who led a discussion section following the presentation. “But by the time we went around the room and said our name and favorite passage from André Breton’s ‘Manifeste du Surréalisme’ the mood lightened significantly.” At press time, the Heckler has learned that facilities is being inundated with work requests about melted clocks in residence halls.