02/22/24 Full Edition

Old Gold&Black “Covers the campus like the magnolias”

VOL 110 , NO. 10

FEBRUARY 22, 2024

WA K E F O R E S T ’ S S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1 9 1 6

Underserved communities face the lasting effects of the Weaver fire Long term effects of the 2022 Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire reveal environmental justice issues ELLA KLEIN Environment Editor In February 2022, a fire ignited at the Weaver Fertilizer Plant, causing Wake Forest students and Winston-Salem residents within one mile to evacuate from the area. Two years later, the city is still feeling its effects.

The Weaver Fertilizer Plant sat next to underserved block groups in WinstonSalem –– which means majority-minority and low-income community members were the ones most affected by the evacuation.

While the plant never exploded, residents had to suddenly evacuate, without heavy assistance from the local government. In the weeks following the fire, $1 million was promised to the estimated 6,500 Winston-Salem community members who had to evacuate under the threat of the explosion. Two years later, only 656 families have been compensated.

“The reason it's such an environmental justice issue is because 6,000 residents were dis-

placed,” Crystal Dixon, associate professor of the practice for the School of Health and Exercise Science, said. “Most of them are families of color, particularly those experiencing poverty.

You're consistently seeing [that], every time there's some kind of catastrophic environmental injustice, it's always impacting low-income Black communities.

And we know that's related to redlining.”

Dixon is currently doing research into the long-term impacts of the Weaver fire and has been researching the fire in conjunction with community environmental justice since 2021.

The city of Winston-Salem appointed the local nonprofit Experiment in Self-

Reliance (ESR) to distribute the promised funds to community members. The structure was payments of $200,000 in i n stallments gifted to the nonprofit, going up to $1 million as needed.

ESR has been working with WinstonSalem’s impoverished and homeless community since the 1960s when it was born out of former United States president Lyndon B. Johnson's War on Poverty initiative.

Assistant City Manager Patrice Toney ex plained on a call why ESR was chosen.

“There was no formal bid process, only be cause there was this immedi ate need,” Toney said. “We went with a trusted nonprofit in the community … we also needed

someone who understood how to work with low-in lies.”

On Feb. 3, the Black attempted Weaver Fire Study Forum to talk who were affected but the event was people outside the of the plant. When Gold & Black re list of residents who compensation from they were denied ac

come famiOld Gold & to attend the C om mu n it y to residents by the fire, closed to 2-mile radius the Old quested the received the city, cess and told

the list was confidential due to its inclusion of contents such as residents’ addresses and income.

City funding didn’t reach all community members affected According to the Weaver Relief Fund contract the city drew up for the ESR, the qualifying factor for reimbursement was that residents must be within a mile of the plant and impacted by the evacuation — such as having to find alternative food and shelter. If a resident could provide receipts of the expenses between Jan. 31 to Feb. 4 in 2022, they could be reimbursed up to $1,000, as needed. If receipts could not be provided, a resident could still be reimbursed $300. Citizens eligible for the fund had to make an appointment with the ESR or attend a singular event held at the Winston-Salem Fairgrounds in order to submit their application.

“They sent postcards to people within a one-mile radius,” Toney said when asked about community outreach. “We held just one event at the Fairgrounds that people lined up at.

People who weren't able to be seen at that event were invited to make an appointment at ESR. That's why their location mattered going forward, for easy

Crosswalk construction begins at University Parkway and Long Drive intersection SKYLER VILLAMAR-JONES Senior Writer

The Winston-Salem Department of Transportation has begun construction of a pedestrian crosswalk at the intersection of Long Drive and University Parkway on Feb. 13 with the hopes of improving student safety.

“I'm really happy to see that [the North Carolina Department of Transportation] is finally taking action on this issue,” Student Government President Jackson Buttler said in a statement via email. “After over a decade of advocating for this and far too many student injuries, I am optimistic that these measures will mitigate the risks for students and those living in our surrounding community.”

See Crosswalk, Page 3

Wake Forest celebrates Mental Health Week ALEXANDRA MEIER Senior Writer

accessibility” Director of Budget and Performance Management for Winston-Salem J. Scott Tesh explained some details surrounding the cost.

“My understanding is that [the ESR was] allowed to have access [to] up to 18% of the original cost [of $1 million] because they had startup costs associated with it,” Tesh said via phone call. “So basically, they were going to have enough litigation costs on the front end, whether they gave out $250,000 or $750,000.”

Student Government hosted its annual Mental Health Week, featuring the theme “Mind Matters” from Feb. 12 to Feb. 18. The initiative aims to foster an open dialogue about mental health within the challenging academic environment at Wake Forest.

“We chose this slogan in particular because, in the rigorous climate of Wake Forest, where students are often pulling all-nighters, it is easy to lose sight of the fact you are a person first and a student second,” Co-Chair of Student Government Campus Life Committee Eli Leadham said.

See Weaver, Page 8

See Mental Health, Page 3

What's Inside NEWS 2024 Candidate Roundup Page Five

FEATURES To tip or not to tip Page Seven

ENVIRONMENT Q&A with David Quammen Page Ten

OPINION The fallacy of the GOP's law and order politics Page Eleven

SPORTS Slow tempo causes MBB loss to Cavaliers Page Fourteen

ARTS & CULTURE Sundance film festival offers promising glance into 2024 Page Seventeen

Old Gold & Black This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Committee

Mental health on campus must be taken seriously One of the biggest challenges of being a college student is balancing career pursuits, homework and social life whilst simultaneously prioritizing mental health and personal well-being. At a school like Wake Forest, whose notoriously rigorous academic environment has earned it the moniker of “Work Forest,” resources dedicated toward helping students maintain good mental health are imperative for student success.

Last week, Student Government hosted Mental Health Week, which included events such as a Morning Meditation session, wellness lectures and signage around campus. Flags were placed on Tribble Courtyard representing percentages of the population suffering from specific mental illnesses, while other signs were seen around campus

promoting counseling resources Raising awareness is undoubtedly important to battling the ongoing mental health crisis in the United States and across the world. While events such as Mental Health Week are certainly a step in the right direction, we need more action instead of more signage.

Mental illnesses are unique in terms of their visibility — they are not noticeable physical ailments. The oftentimes invisible and stigmatized nature of mental illnesses prevents them from being treated as equally legitimate as physical illnesses or epidemics.

Unfortunately, seeing is believing.

When a classmate or coworker comes to class with a fever, mucus and a cough, no one questions whether or not they’re really ill. When it comes to serious mental health struggles, by the

time we “see it,” it’s often too late to take action to help the individual.

When students returned to campus in the fall of 2020, the University put strict restrictions on group gatherings.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still in full swing, social distancing, requiring masks and other measures were enforced to ensure the pandemic was being handled as effectively as possible.

Wake Forest must treat the ongoing mental health crisis with the recognition that it is a public health crisis, much like the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a community, we need to support our students, faculty and staff by providing greater access to mental health resources. We need to shift the “Work Forest” stigma into a healthy pursuit of success, not an impossible chase for perfection.

“

...we need more action instead of more signage.

As exemplified by its response to the pandemic, Wake Forest can come together as a community when members need support and empathy. We have collaborated to find solutions to difficult circumstances when we are faced with them. Thus, we have the capability to begin to appropriately approach the mental health crisis.

It’s up to us to decide that we actually care.

Old Gold&Black THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY SINCE 1916

MADDIE STOPYRA EDITOR-IN-CHIEF stopmf21@wfu.edu

BREANNA LAWS

SHAILA PRASAD

EVAN HARRIS

RYDER SOLBERG

MANAGING EDITOR

DEPUTY EDITOR

MULTIMEDIA DIRECTOR

BUSINESS MANAGER

lawsbn21@wfu.edu

prassp21@wfu.edu

harres22@wfu.edu

solbrs23@wfu.edu

>> NEWS Claire O'Brien, obricc22@wfu.edu Maria Silveira, silvmt23@wfu.edu >> FEATURES Natasha Heisenberg, heisng20@wfu.edu >> ENVIRONMENT Ella Klein, kleiek22@wfu.edu Addison Schmidt, schmac21@wfu.edu

>> PHOTO Isabella Parolini, paroir22@wfu.edu >> VIDEO Jack Perez, perejw22@wfu.edu >> SOCIAL MEDIA Lucy Roberts, robels20@wfu.edu >> COPY CHIEF Alex Keating, keatam23@wfu.edu

>> OPINION Maryam Khanum, khanmg20@wfu.edu Virginia Noone, noonvc21@wfu.edu Assistant: Dillon Clark, clardj22@wfu.edu

>> WEBMASTER Christina Tran, tranth21@wfu.edu

>> SPORTS Andrew Braun, brauar23@wfu.edu Sean Kennedy, kennsm21@wfu.edu

>> EDITORIAL COMMITTEE

>> ARTS & CULTURE Lydia Derris, derrlf23@wfu.edu James Watson, watsjc22@wfu.edu

>> ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Ava Cofiell, cofiac20@wfu.edu Breanna Laws (Chair), lawsbn21@wfu.edu

Maryam Khanum, khanmg20@wfu.edu Virginia Noone, noonvc21@wfu.edu Dillon Clark, clardj22@wfu.edu Gray Lowder, lowdag23@wfu.edu Jacob Graff, grafje20@wfu.edu Carter Mcdonald, mcdocd23@wfu.edu

>> ADVISER Pheobe Zerwick, zerwicp@wfu.edu

Want to write for us? Email wfuogb@gmail.com

>> POLICIES Our job as a newspaper is to be a platform for all voices, not just the ones we agree with. However, we reserve the right to reject advertisements that are vulgar, inaccurate, obscene or violate Wake Forest’s policies on nondiscrimination, diversity, equity, and inclusion as they pertain to student organizations. We will also reject any advertisements that promote illegal activities according to the state of North Carolina.

Not only do we hold our newspaper and its contents to a high standard, but we also expect that those who choose to use us as an outlet for their ideas, opinions and skill hold themselves and their content to a high ethical standard.

The Old Gold & Black is published Thursdays during the school year, except during examinations, summer and holiday periods, by Triangle Web Printing of Durham. The views expressed in all opinion pieces and advertisements contained within this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Old Gold & Black. As part of our commitment to reporting news fairly and accurately, we will not remove any previously published content online unless it is retracted. If an error in either our online or print content is brought to our attention, we will revise the originally published article with an appended correction. In order to facilitate thoughtful and appropriate debate, profane, vulgar, or inflammatory comments on our website are not allowed and will be deleted. Comments which incite violence, target individuals in a form of cyber bullying, or which promote ideas which vilify marginalized communities will be deleted, and proper authorities may be notified and involved. >> SUBMISSIONS The OGB welcomes submissions in the form of story tips, columns and letters to the editor.

Letters to the editor should be fewer than 500 words, and columns should be around 500 words. Send yours via e-mail to duttcd20@wfu.edu the Monday before publication. We reserve the right to edit all letters for length and clarity. No anonymous letters will be printed. >> ONLINE MEDIA Web: wfuogb.com Facebook: facebook.com/ogb1916 X (Twitter): @wfuogb Instagram: @wfuogb TikTok: @wfuogb Sports X (Twitter): @wfuogbsports

News | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, February 22, 2024 | Page 3

Crosswalk: Construction aims to improve student saftey Continued from Page 1 The Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) reported that over the last five years, there have been two traffic accidents at the intersection. The most recent accident took place on Jan. 26. “[University Parkway] is a very wellcirculated area, especially at night, and people aren’t always paying attention when crossing the street,” sophomore Celeste Lynch said. “Especially since a lot of people don’t have cars and can’t drive, it’s important to keep students safe when they walk.”

Junior Will Treiman also voiced his support for the crosswalk’s construction.

“Every Friday night students cross University Parkway, and the majority of the time, everyone is safe,” Treiman said.

“However, my first time crossing that

road, it was very clear, to me and my friends, that it was a massive liability that was begging for an injury to happen. I’m glad the crosswalk is being put in; it is far overdue.”

According to Inside WFU, the crosswalk will include the following features: -Pedestrian signals to cross University Parkway -Pedestrian crossing warning signs for drivers -High performance/visibility crosswalk markings -A crossing island that has Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant ramps -Timing adjustments made to the traffic signals at the intersection to give pedestrians ample time to cross

Wake Forest University’s Chief of Police Regina Lawson said that implementing other crosswalks in high-traffic areas around campus has been successful — and she hopes this to be as well. Two midblock crossings have been constructed around campus: one on Reynolda Road between Reynolda House and Graylyn Estate, and the other on Polo Road — connecting the main campus to Campus Gardens and the sophomore parking lot.

“The number one concern for University police is the safety and security of the Wake Forest community,” Lawson said.

“The new University Parkway crosswalk on Long Drive will provide increased pedestrian safety for students, faculty and staff, as have the mid-block crossings on Reynolda Road and Polo Road.”

Sophomore Marley Schwarz empha-

sized how the crosswalk will make it easier for the high volumes of students who are crossing University Parkway.

“I definitely think that this crosswalk is going to be safer and more positive to the Winston-Salem area,” Schwarz said. “As a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and as someone who does frequently need to cross the intersection at University Parkway, I have seen innumerable students brazenly run across the road at all hours of the night. If not to keep us safer from running into traffic, the crosswalk will definitely be a more effective signal for cars to stop and to be wary of pedestrians, which will be absolutely beneficial.”

Construction of the crosswalk is expected to take two weeks to complete.

Contact Skyler Villamar-Jones at villsc22@wfu.edu

Mental Health: Programming centers on theme “Mind Matters” Continued from Page 1 The programming kicked off with a morning mediation session led by Chaplain Timothy Auman, followed by a Healthy Minds Survey data rollout event in the afternoon. Both programs were held in Benson University Center on Monday, Feb. 12.

Tuesday evening, wellness educator Tianna Faye Soto delivered a lecture titled “Stress, Success and Duck Syndrome: Caring for Yourself in College and Beyond” in the Carswell Annenberg Auditorium. As a certified mindfulness coach who helps people manage stress and boost creativity, Soto’s mission is to empower college students to face their journeys with confidence. To emphasize the importance of prioritizing the self in college, Soto drew on

her own experiences of being a college student at North Carolina State University.

“I, too, was once a burnt-out college student who needed a lot of help but couldn’t necessarily admit that to myself,” Soto said.

Soto adopted an holistic approach to her lecture, incorporating breathing exercises and meditation into the event. With the use of self-assessment techniques, she helped attendees reflect on their shortcomings in putting themselves first. In small groups, attendees collaborated to foster a positive environment by saying affirmations, which are short statements to give one’s selfesteem a positive boost.

“I hope at least in this room, we can create our whole selves to the best of

Piper Saunders/Old Gold & Black

Student Government placed heart-shaped signs near Manchester Plaza to spread messages related to mental health awareness.

our ability and be kind,” Soto said.

One objective of Soto’s lecture was to bring awareness to the idea of duck syndrome, which is prevalent on college campuses. The name is derived from the idea that a duck can look calm on the surface while working profusely below the surface to stay afloat.

To many, college can be a juggling act of managing difficult coursework and participating in extracurricular activities, while still appearing composed on the exterior. Duck syndrome reflects the idea that a person’s struggles are not always readily apparent. Soto’s work aligns with the broader goal of Mental Wealth Week in shedding light on the challenges college students face to living healthy and meaningful lives.

Soto was received warmly by students who attended her lecture.

“I thought … Soto offered valuable advice about staying present and utilizing campus mental health resources effectively,” freshman Maddox Braue said.

Another highlight of Mental Health Week was the new partnership between Student Government and the “We are Wake” initiative, led by Vice President of Campus Life Dr. Shea Kidd Brown.

“We are Wake” is a campaign designed to promote behaviors associated with well-being and other initiatives that elevate the consciousness of care on campus. The program included a Wake Up Wednesday event with Kidd Brown outside of the Z. Smith Reynolds library on Wednesday morning.

Student Body President Jackson Buttler expressed how this partnership was a defining moment for Mental Health Week this year.

“One of the highlights of Mental

Health Week has been partnering with the new We are Wake initiative spearheaded by the Division of Campus Life and Kidd Brown,” Buttler said. “It’s my view that highlighting these resources will improve [the] accessibility and effectiveness of mental health support services.”

On Wednesday, events included a testing anxiety seminar by the Center for Learning, Access and Student Success, as well as a Mental Health Resource Fair and Rage Room at the Benson University Center.

Mental Health Week continued with Consent Con on Feb. 16, where students were invited to participate in a community conversation about consent.

Consent Con is a voluntary, interactive workshop series where participants are invited to share their experiences and perspectives regarding consent.

According to Consent Con committee member Aishah Casseus, the event’s objective is to foster a campus culture free of interpersonal violence.

“We want participants to feel like they are being engaged with the conversation about consent and not just being talked to,” Casseus said.

As Buttler looks to round out his last semester as a Wake Forest undergraduate, he feels optimistic about the future of Mental Health Week and the fostering of a culture that is receptive to mental health issues.

“As we reflect on the success of Mental Health Week, I am filled with optimism for the future of mental health advocacy at Wake Forest University,” Buttler said.

Contact James Watson at watsjc22@wfu.edu

POLICE BEAT • • • •

An individual was found by the Wake Forest University Police Department passed out on a picnic table on Manchester Plaza. They were evaluated by FCEMS Unit #39P who advised the individual was okay to stay by themselves. The report was filed at 2:22 a.m. on Feb. 16.

An individual at Poteat Hall who had consumed alcohol, was assessed by FCEMS and allowed to stay on campus. The report was filed at 10:49 p.m. on Feb. 16.

An individual who had consumed alcohol underage at Last Resort was found unconscious in the lobby of Angelou Residence Hall. The individual was later transported to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. The report was filed at 12:23 a.m. on Feb. 17.

An individual consumed alcohol underage and was found at Deacon Place after they had gotten sick. They were assessed by Student ERTs and transported back to their residence. The report was filed at 1:34 a.m. on Feb. 17.

Page 4 | Thursday, February 22, 2024

Old Gold & Black | News

Protesters advocate for ceasefire at city council meeting Winston-Salem activists ask that the city formally call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war JAMES WATSON Arts & Culture Editor At Monday night’s bi-monthly City Council meeting, approximately a dozen protesters erupted after the public comment period, chanting “cease-fire now” as council members filed into a scheduled closed session.

The four-minute-long demonstration followed the 30-minute public comment — a specified part of the monthly agenda in which members of the public can speak before the city council. Multiple individuals in the group had signed up to speak ahead of the meeting.

In the wake of renewed international pressure following the bombing of the southern Gazan city of Rafah on Sunday, Feb. 11, the local activists had gathered to advocate that the city formally call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Just two of the individuals in the group who signed up were able to speak at the meeting for three minutes each, per set rules of public comment. One of the speakers was an elementary-aged child.

Another speaker, Marcus Miller, said thoughts of the people of Palestine consume his every thought.

“For the sake of humanity, if not yours, then at least for those being ethnically cleansed in Gaza, pass a ceasefire resolution,” Miller said. “Urge Congress to stop the slaughter. You represent us.”

Four months into the Israel-Hamas war, the U.S. has seen a wave of political activism stretching from the halls of Congress to Wake Forest’s Hearn plaza — where two weeks ago 10,000 white flags appeared on the quad overnight to represent the rising number of children who have been killed in Gaza.

The war began on Oct. 7 when the Palestinian militant group Hamas carried out a surprise attack on Israeli towns bordering the Gaza Strip — a Palestinian territory that Israel and Egypt have blockaded for 16 years (Editor’s Note: The Old Gold & Black follows AP Style guidance, which is to refer to Hamas as a militant group).

The attacks resulted in the death of 1,200 people. In response, Israel carried out air strikes and sent troops into Gaza. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 29,000 Palestinians have been killed in the months since.

Despite its distance, Wake Forest has not been immune from the tension that’s followed the region-destabilizing violence in the wake of Hamas’ October 7th attack on Israel.

College campuses around the United States have be-

James Watson/Old Gold & Black

On Feb. 19, Winston-Salem protestors held signs during the city council meeting including phrases such as “stop bombing kids”and “Your tax $$$ are dropping bombs on babies.”

come flashpoints for advocacy as the Israel-Hamas war unfolds. Wake Forest has seen vigils from Jewish students and the Muslim Students Association, a teach-in organized by faculty and a high-profile resignation from a tenured English professor.

In response, the University has hosted a number of “Holding Space” events to give students and the Wake Forest community a space to reflect on the war. Wake Forest has also hosted bystander intervention training focused on combating Islamophobia and antisemitism.

Now, the fight is making its way to city governments across the country.

In the week leading up to the City Council meeting, flyers were posted around academic buildings in Wake Forest advocating students “pack city hall” on Monday

James Watson/Old Gold & Black

A few hours before the City Council meeting, approximately 20 people picketed along the sidewalk expressing their desire for the city to formally call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

night. The Old Gold & Black did not identify any Wake Forest students or faculty members at city hall.

Tony Nedge, the leader of Black Lives Matter Winston-Salem and Monday’s demonstration expressed frustration that not all the activists who signed up ahead of the meeting were allowed to speak.

“I think it’s ridiculous — they only would have taken about another half an hour,” he said. “So that has to change.”

The public comment period seemingly wasn’t any shorter than normal; however, the option to extend the period is an ability afforded to the council.

Mayor Joines and Council members Scippio, Taylor and Mayor Pro-Tem Adams did not respond to the Old Gold & Black’s request for comment.

The City Council meeting followed a demonstration a few hours prior outside city hall, where the same group picketed along the crosswalk. Approximately 20 people attended.

Signs included phrases such as, “stop bombing kids” or “free Palestine.”

Another said, “Your tax $$$ are dropping bombs on babies.”

Nedge had previously submitted a cease-fire resolution to the city in January for consideration. But neither in January nor Monday night did Mayor Allen Joines or any other members of the council comment or motion on the proposal.

Nedge hopes the resolution will be adopted like it was in the neighboring city, Greensboro.

“Generally when people speak about this issue, they go to Washington DC,” he said. “They asked for an appointment with someone in Congress and they’re told no and given the runaround. So what we’re trying to do is to hopefully get that at the local level, some sort of response to that. But I think even more importantly, this helps to get coverage and this also helps to get people galvanized.”

As the demonstration unfolded Monday night, the city of Durham approved a similar resolution, becoming the second city in N.C. and joining 70 other U.S cities to do so.

“This affects all of us here locally, it’s not just an international issue,” Nedge said.

Contact James Watson at watsjc22@wfu.edu

Thursday, February 22, 2024 | Page 5

News | Old Gold & Black

Candidate Roundup: A voter’s guide to the 2024 North Carolina state-wide primaries The Old Gold & Black explains the 10 state-wide offices and the candidates running for office Maddie Stopyra Editor-in-Chief As the North Carolina primary election on March 5 quickly approaches, understanding the 10 state-wide offices and 63 candidates may feel daunting. The Old Gold & Black is here to provide a short-ish guide to the 2024 North Carolina primary elections and the individuals running for state offices.

What is a primary election?

In the United States, primary elections are preliminary elections to choose a party conference or a principle election’s delegates. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, North Carolina’s primaries are open to unaffiliated voters, meaning that individuals registered to vote but not with a particular party may choose to vote in the party primary of their choice. However, unlike an open primary, voters registered with a party can not vote in another party’s primary.

This year, 10 state executive offices are up for election — governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, auditor, treasurer, superintendent of public instruction, labor commissioner, insurance commissioner and agriculture commissioner.

Governor The governor serves as the state manager and is responsible for overseeing the state executive branch. The individual in this office implements state laws and programs and “serves as the intergovernmental liaison to the federal government on behalf of the state,” according to the National Governors Association.

The current governor is Democrat Roy Cooper, who has served in the role since 2017. He will not be running for reelection because he has reached the limit of two consecutive terms in office.

The Democratic primary candidates are Chrelle Booker, Gary W. Foxx, Mike Morgan, Marcus Williams and current Attorney General Josh Stein. The Republican primary candidates are State Treasurer Dale Folwell, Bill Graham and current Lt. Governor Mark Robinson.

The gubernatorial race also has two minority party candidates. Shannon Bray and Mike Ross will be running under the Libertarian party.

Lieutenant Governor The lieutenant governor is the state executive’s second in command and is the only elected official with authority in both the legislative and executive state branches, according to nc.gov. This individual presides over the NC Senate and is a member of the Council of State, Board of Education, Capital Planning Commission and the Board of Community Colleges.

Republican Mark Robinson is the current lieutenant governor and is running for governor, much like former Lt. Governor and former gubernatorial candidate Dan Forest did in 2020.

Ben Clark and Rachel Hunt are the Democratic primary candidates. There are 11 Republican primary candidates — Deanna Ballard, Peter Boykin, Rivera Douthit, Jeffery Elmore, Marlenis

Hernandez Novoa, Allen Mashburn, Jim O’Neill, Sam Page, Ernest Reeves, Hal Weatherman and Seth Woodall.

Attorney General The attorney general’s main responsibility is to represent state government departments, agencies and commissions in legal matters. This person gives legal opinions to public officials, including the governor and the General Assembly.

Democrat Josh Stein is the current attorney general, and he is running for governor in this year’s primary.

The Democratic primary candidates are Satana Deberry, Tim Dunn and Congressman Jeff Jackson. The Republican primary was canceled and Congressman Dan Bishop advanced.

Secretary of State The secretary of state for North Carolina is the head of the Department of the State, which oversees the state government’s economic and business operations. They are also a member of the Council of State.

Democrat Elaine Marshall is the current secretary of state and the 2024 Democratic primary candidate, as the Democratic primary was canceled. However, the Republican primary has three candidates — Chad Brown, Jesse Thomas and Christine Villaverde.

Auditor The office of the North Carolina auditor has an important role in regulating the use of public funds, ensuring agencies and departments are complying with the law and spending appropriately.

Following the indictment and resignation of former auditor Beth Wood, Democrat Jessica Holmes was appointed by the governor to serve out the remainder of Wood’s term.

Similar to the primary for secretary of state, the Democratic primary for auditor was canceled and Jessica Holmes advanced. Dave Boliek, Jack Clark, Charles Dingee, Jim Kee, Anthony Wayne Street and Jeff Tarte are the six Republican candidates running for office.

Treasurer The treasurer of North Carolina’s main responsibility is to oversee the state’s finances. This individual is responsible for the state pension, healthcare plans, investments and unclaimed property.

Republican Dale Folwell is the current treasurer, and he is running as a Republican for North Carolina governor.

The Democratic primary candidates are Gabriel Esparza and Wesley Harris. The three Republican primary candidates are Brad Briner, A.J. Daoud and Rachel Johnson.

Superintendent of Public Instruction This office is responsible for serving as the head of the Department of Public Instruction and supervising the public school system.

Republican Catherine Truitt currently holds this office, and she is running for reelection in the

Republican primary alongside Michele Morrow.

Three Democratic primary candidates are running for the office — Kenon Crumble, C.R. Katie Eddings and Mo Green.

Insurance Commissioner The North Carolina Department of Insurance, which the insurance commissioner presides over, licenses insurance agents in the state and manages the insurance industry. The insurance commissioner is also a member of the Council of State and the state fire marshal.

Republican Mike Causey currently holds the position and is running for reelection against Robert Brawley and Andrew Marcus in the Republican primary. The Democratic primary candidates are Natasha Marcus and David Wheeler.

Commissioner of Agriculture Alongside being the head of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Commissioner of Agriculture is also a member of the Council of State. This individual works to enforce health and safety regulations and improve the state’s agriculture, agribusiness and forests.

The current commissioner of agriculture, Steve Troxler, will face Colby Hammonds in the Republican primary. The Democratic primary was canceled and Sarah Taber advanced. Sean Haugh advanced as the Libertarian candidate, as the primary was canceled.

Commissioner of Labor North Carolina’s commissioner of labor is responsible for promoting the “health, safety, and general well-being” of the state’s workforce through overseeing the North Carolina Department of Labor. This individual is also a member of the Council of State.

Republican Josh Dobson is the current commissioner of labor, and he is not running for reelection or seeking another office.

Similar to the Democratic primary for agriculture commissioner, the Democratic primary for labor commissioner was canceled. Braxton Winston II advanced. He will face the winner of the Republican primary, which has four candidates — Luke Farley, Jon Hardister, Chuck Stanley and Travis Wilson.

North Carolina House of Representatives North Carolina has 14 House districts, and Winston-Salem is situated in the sixth congressional district. Democrat Kathy Manning currently holds this congressional seat, but she is not running for reelection following the drawing of new district maps.

No candidates filed for the Democratic race, so the primary was canceled. Six candidates are running in the Republican primary race — Christian Castelli, Mary Ann Contogiannis, Bo Hines, Addison McDowell, Jay Wagner and Mark Walker.

The Old Gold & Black will continue to report on the 2024 North Carolina elections.

Contact Maddie Stopyra at stopmf21@wfu.edu

FEATURES OLD GOLD & BLACK

PAGE 6 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Natasha Heisenberg, heisng20@wfu.edu

DEACON PROFILE

Oscar Bray

NATASHA HEISENBERG Features Editor When senior Oscar Bray began his East Asian studies minor, he knew that he wanted to pursue his passion for cultures and languages abroad. What he did not know was that, after graduating from Wake Forest in the spring of 2024, he would be headed to Peking University in Beijing for two years as a Yenching Scholar.

The Yenching Scholars Program is an internationally-renowned, prestigious fellowship that allows postgraduate students the chance to study and conduct research in China, with the goal of “shap[ing] new generations of global citizens with a nuanced understanding of China.”

Bray, born in Weimar, Germany, is no stranger to moving around. Growing up, he traveled throughout Europe alongside his mother, an opera singer, eventually settling in Bainbridge Island, Washington.

“I had always really enjoyed being in very intercultural spaces in the sense that I got really used to being in Europe and going between countries,” Bray said.

“I remember I would go one weekend my mom would

have a gig in Siena or something, and so I would just be this little 5-year-old playing soccer with some random other Italian 5-year-olds. I would go around and try new food, and I’d be in new places, and it never really seemed like that was an extraordinary thing.”

Even after Bray’s family relocated to the Pacific Northwest, and once he made his decision to attend college in North Carolina, he continued to seek out settings where he could explore other cultures. One of these multicultural spaces that he found on campus was the World Tea Association, which furthered his interest in East Asian studies.

“My mom and I used to drink Chinese tea every morning, from when I was in Europe to when I was here,” Bray said. “And so I always liked tea, and I was interested in getting more involved with [World Tea] my freshman year when the club was just getting started.”

Bray’s decision to join the World Tea Association was more than a way to supplement his academic interests. For Bray, the World Tea Association allowed him to cultivate a community at Wake Forest that was reminiscent of his multicultural upbringing and childhood a continent away.

“I really enjoyed the community in the natural

Evan Harris/Old Gold & Black

Oscar Bray, a senior at Wake Forest majoring in history and minoring in East Asian studies and creative writing, poses for a photo. Bray will spend the next two years in Beijing as a Yenching Scholar.

landscape of the place where I grew up,” Bray said. “It’s a really nice place, but I didn’t have that same access to a lot of cultures that I used to. And then when I got to Wake [Forest] I sort of felt the same way.”

This community blossomed through the World Tea Association, carving out Bray’s path at Wake Forest and solidifying his academic goals. “...World Tea Association got up and kicking and gave me that foundation to meet a bunch of different, new people that I like to hang out with,” Bray said.

“It made me want to be in intercultural spaces, and it made me want to build more bridges between communities — and just hang out with people, I guess.”

Bray also delved into this passion through his First Year Seminar on ancient Greek and classical Chinese philosophy, taught by Dr. Win-chiat Lee in the philosophy department.

“That first year seminar was kind of make-or-break for me [in] the field,” Bray said.

In his second semester of his freshman year, Bray also took a Japanese history course taught by Dr. Robert Hellyer, who inspired him to pursue Japanese language courses to fulfill his foreign language divisional.

“I was thinking, ‘Should I take maybe Chinese or should I take Japanese?’ But I had just taken this class, and so I decided to take Japanese — which it turned out was perhaps the less convenient decision because now I have to start studying Mandarin,” he joked.

Bray’s Japanese language skills were put to use, however, during his independent study experiences at Wake Forest. In the summer of 2022, Bray received a fellowship through the Richter Scholarship and a grant through the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) Center that took him to Japan and Korea to study the history of empire and culture in the context of post-war Japan.

When Bray completed his research, he was eager to dive into another dimension of his East Asian studies minor by immersing himself in a country he had spent his academic career studying but had not yet stepped foot in: China.

“I had kept running into China in all the research that [I’d] been doing,” Bray said. “It was something that was long overdue: for me to go and actually do more research there.”

Though Bray is uncertain what his path will look like after the next two years in Beijing, he is hopeful that his language and history skills will grow alongside future opportunities. Most importantly, Bray is determined to continue studying Chinese culture — whether that be through pursuing a PhD in a Chinese history-related field or entering the foreign service.

“I am interested in research and I’m interested in working on the project that I proposed for Yenching,” Bray said. “I think that it is important that we have, in the United States, a greater wealth of knowledge on China.”

Once again, Bray credits this enthusiasm for expanding his knowledge on other cultures to the World Tea Association. And he is assured that this fascination will continue to guide his future endeavors.

“As part of the World Tea Association, you get to meet a lot of people from a lot of different backgrounds that otherwise campus doesn’t have — these social outlets that have been super, super diverse,” Bray said. “I think I really enjoy being able to just talk with people and build those sorts of relationships.”

Contact Natasha Heisenberg at heisng20@wfu.edu

Features | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, February 22, 2024 | Page 7

To tip or not to tip Local businesses discuss perceived tipping culture among Wake Forest students VIRGINIA NOONE Opinion Editor Senior Wilson Tibbits has held a job all throughout his college career. In fact, working is something he’s enjoyed doing. When given the opportunity to work at Campus Gas, Tibbits was thrilled to bartend in a fun, social environment where he could see friends and meet new people.

He describes it as “the perfect college job,” yet he has found himself appalled by one component of the job he did not expect — most Wake Forest students do not leave tips for their bartenders.

In North Carolina, tipped employees can be paid $2.13 an hour with an expectation that they will be tipped at or above minimum wage. If the tips they make do not meet standard minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, then the employer must pay the difference.

According to multiple businesses that are heavily frequented by Wake Forest students, a small portion of students leave tips.

Campus Gas Manager Meg Jones-Kelly estimated that 12% of customers — of which Wake Forest students are the majority — tip at Campus Gas. “Students should be tipping a bartender making $3,” Tibbits said. “Even if it’s not one of your friends and especially when you’re paying with a card that’s not yours.”

A widespread issue This phenomenon is not exclusive to Campus Gas, as several other businesses that are popular among students report similar patterns from their Wake Forest customers.

Joe Cho, a recent graduate of Wake Forest, has worked at Dough-Joe’s Doughnuts for five months.

Cho said the coffee shop's cozy atmosphere and conveniently walkable location in Reynolda Village draws a large demographic of undergraduates, Cho estimates that Wake Forest students make up around 40% of Dough-Joe’s total customer base. He also es-

timates 10 to 12% of students leave a tip either in cash or on the Squarespace app that transforms an iPad into a register.

“The screen [used to pay with a card] prompts you with questions about whether you want to be tipping or not, and they flat out just ignore it and walk away,” Cho said. “They don't even acknowledge that the screen is prompting you questions about tipping, and we’re left pressing ‘Skip Tip’ most of the time.”

For some Wake Forest students, this is a factor of where they believe their tip is going.

“When it’s one of those [iPads] I don’t tend to tip, just because it’s typically not going to the server, it’s going to the establishment,” Eli Patrick said. “I’d rather just tip the person that’s doing the labor as opposed to tipping the place, where it’s going to get divided evenly among the manager and staff.”

Other students do not differentiate between the type of service or the tip’s recipient when determining whether or not to add the extra 18, 20 or 25%.

“I tip because I used to work in service,” said sophomore Ava Jochim. “So I tip — I even tip when they flip the screen around when I buy a coffee… unless it’s really bad,” she added.

Cho noted that most customers forget that when they pay with a card on the popular Squarespace app, which has over 3 million live sites, they can see the name on the card and whether or not the customer left a tip. He has witnessed the same pattern that Tibbits has amongst students.

“Most of the time it's their parents’ Amex cards, and they don't leave tips,” Cho said. “And we're just like, ‘Huh, that's so funny.’”

Cho is taking a gap year to work and save money for graduate school, while Tibbits is saving and supplementing his bank account as he awaits graduation. However, for many of their co-workers, this is their full-time career — and tips make a huge difference for their families.

Tibbits remembers an instance in which a coworker asked him to cover her shift on Halloween, so she could take her children trick-or-treating.

“She's working this job to support her four kids

and I'm working this job so I can have a little bit of spending money,” he said. “Please, start tipping.”

Why it’s called gratuity Kelly Foltz has been bartending at Earl’s for a year and often works 9-to-12-hour-long shifts at the bar known for hosting “College Night” most Thursdays.

On any given Thursday, Earl’s welcomes anywhere from 150 to 300 Wake Forest students. Manager Mychal Julian estimates that half of their business comes from Wake Forest students, noting the numbers fluctuate higher or lower depending on the academic calendar and various events, such as graduation weekend.

Foltz explained her experience with Wake Forest customers was “kind of like yin and yang” as far as their behavior and tipping habits.

“A lot of them are very respectful of our services, and there's quite a few that are not as respectful as others,” she said. “Some act like we are beneath them and that we should be thankful that they are here.”

Foltz attributes the poor manners to a general unawareness of how the service industry operates and does not believe students aren’t tipping out of spite.

Students who have had experience working in the service industry expressed that tipping is an important part of courteous behavior. “I think providing the service and not getting tipped for it is really frustrating,” sophomore Anne Rupnik, who previously worked at a snack shop at a golf course, said.

Both Julian and Foltz believe that having Wake Forest customers is a positive thing for the establishment as well as the atmosphere.

“We work so hard to accommodate … each customer. That’s what we’re here for, and it’s what we love doing,” Foltz said. “It’s not necessarily the amount you tip; it’s showing gratitude — it’s why it’s called gratuity.”

Natasha Heisenberg contributed reporting to this article.

Contact Virginia Noone at noonvc21@wfu.edu

Evan Harris/Old Gold & Black

Virginia Noone/Old Gold & Black

The tip jar at Campus Gas rests on the bar counter. Campus Gas, which is frequented by Wake Forest students and is owned and operated by Wake Forest alumni, is a business where its employees rely on tips to supplement their wages due to North Carolina law.

ENVIRONMENT PAGE 8 THURSDAY, FEBUARY 22, 2024

OLD GOLD & BLACK

Ella Klein, kleiek22@wfu.edu Addison Schmidt, schmac21@wfu.edu

Weaver: Hazardous sites within low-income areas Continued from page 1: The final budget report for the Weaver relief fund shows that the city allocated $600,000 of the $1 million to the ESR to spend on impacted community members affected by the Weaver fire. Out of that money, around $241,000 was spent. ESR kept around $100,000 for administrative costs, which is about 41% of the $241,000 handed out to community members from the relief fund.

“From the city side, we had $1 million available for this — we didn’t spend nearly $1 million. We spent $341,000,” Tesh said.

The remaining amount, around $258,000, was given back to the city and retained in the city’s general fund — as the ESR was not able to distribute it to the impacted community members.

In a report from WFDD, it was stated that the ESR did not go door to door notifying residents of the Weaver fire relief fund — and one community member interviewed stated they had not received news of the money available. Despite not reaching a majority of the members in the community, the fund was closed on June 30, 2022.

On the phone, Mikalah Muhammad, the digital marketing and data analysis associate

for the ESR, responded to whether the organization could have distributed the money if they had more time.

“I am going to say no because we ran all the way from February to June,” Muhammad said. “For the amount of people that lived in that area, I don’t think we could have gotten to more people. They had to come out on their own, and I believe a lot of the reason people didn’t come out was because you had to have receipts to be reimbursed as well.”

As mentioned earlier, residents who could not produce receipts still were eligible to receive funding up to $300.

Alongside residents facing financial burdens due to the evacuation, Winston-Salem has a disproportionate allocation of hazardous waste sites concentrated in the city’s majority-minority and low-income communities.

The overlap between hazardous sites and underserved blocks In 2024, taking a step back to look back at the composition of Winston-Salem is crucial.

When Highway 52 was constructed between 1948 and 1962, it segregated the majority Black community of East Winston from the more aff luent, white community to the West.

This highway cut off East Winston residents from the rest of the city and created some of

Photo courtesy of NC DEQ

Underserved block groups are represented by the pink blocks, while hazardous waste sites are represented by the green stars. The Weaver Plant is circled in red.

the largest food deserts in the United States.

Additionally, the city has been consistently ranked as one of the lowest in the country for upward economic mobility — ranking third worst in a 2015 Harvard University study.

In 1986, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) authorized the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCR A). This act’s mission was to help communities plan for chemical emergencies like the Weaver fire. Under the EPCR A, companies must report to the federal, state and local governments about what chemicals and hazardous materials they are storing and utilizing.

After the fire, the city increased its monitoring of potentially hazardous sites.

Since 2021, Winston-Salem has had to examine multiple buildings across the city that could be potentially harmful to the surrounding communities. The Weaver Fertilizer Plant failed to accurately report the amount of hazardous chemicals — in their case ammonium nitrate — stored in the facility.

Most of these hazardous sites, like the Weaver Fertilizer Plant, sit in communities that are mainly composed of majority-minority and low-income residents.

Dixon believes that redlining and systematic, environmental racism play a big part in the structure of Winston-Salem.

“This consistent issue is happening in Winston-Salem and it’s always a conversation that’s never really particularly addressed — because it’s burdening Black and brown communities specifically,” Dixon said.

In a 2022 document, 31 addresses in Winston-Salem were listed as having to report to the EPCR A, two of which are owned by Wake Forest University. All of these sites listed contain hazardous materials that could have disastrous public health effects or threaten community safety –– like the 600 tons of ammonium nitrate stored in the Weaver Fertilizer Plant.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NC DEQ ) provides a tool called the Department’s Community Mapping System. This system can be used to magnify sites that contain environmentally hazardous materials that also impact community health while seeing where the facilities are in the racial and economic makeup of the city. As Winston-Salem remains redlined and racially divided, this source provides valuable insight.

According to the mapping system, these underserved block groups are mainly composed of communities that are majority-minority and low-income.

“When the Weaver Plant fire happened at Wake Forest, there was absolutely no conversation about staying on campus. They closed down and got out of the place.” Dixon said, “ But I always challenge the system and say, ‘Well, why don’t you respond that way for Black and brown communities when there [is] an exposure?’”

Contact Ella Klein at kleiek22@wfu.edu

Page 9| Thursday, February 22, 2024

Old Gold & Black | Environment

David Quammen: Humanizing science The renowned science author leads the audience through the journey of his career LAMBERT LI Staff Writer

David Quammen, an eminent journalist and writer who focuses on nature and epidemiology, visited Wake Forest on Tuesday, Feb. 13. The prolific author gave a speech on his childhood, his coming-of-age story and his career following in the footsteps of scientists and tracing viruses.

Quammen was invited as this year’s keynote speaker by the Office of Sustainability, which hosts a new environmentally aligned guest each year.

The event was open to Wake Forest faculty, students and staff, as well as community members.

Quammen’s keynote address featured his journey of transitioning Isabella Parolini/Old Gold & Black from a novelist to a successful nonfiction writer who brings human el- The Office of Sustainability hosted prolific science writer ements into science to connect with David Quammen as their annual keynote speaker on Feb. 13. his audience and make science more side magazine. Following that expe- experience studying abroad under accessible. rience, Quammen was recruited by Wake Forest Professors Dr. Miles “I was very lucky,” Quammen said the National Geographic magazine Silman and Justin Catanoso in the in his speech. “I knew early on that to accompany a conservationist on summer of 2022.

I wanted to be a writer or else noth- a 2,000-mile journey in Central Af“I went to Peru, and in the Amaing. So I was ready to pay 13 years of rica. zon we were studying biodiversity dues or whatever. I would rather be a “I had Patagonia shirts and Teva and gold mining going on there,” bartender and save my energy for the sandals, and I walked in them be- Curry said. writing I was doing.”

During his time in the Congolian Quammen continued: “So either I cause it’s much easier to keep human rainforests, Quammen’s interest in skin clean and dry than any kind of was going to make it as a writer, or I zoonotic diseases was sparked by an was going to be a night clerk in a Mo- cloth in the understory of closed-can- excursion near the forest where Ebola opy Congo forest,” Quammen said. tel 6 at the age of 59 with 11 unpubWoods Curry, a Wake Forest se- was spawned. In the following years, lished novels. And if they were good nior majoring in health and exercise Quammen read ecology and evolunovels and that they are still in the science, attended the event and had tionary biology, and he went on sevdrawer, I told myself that’d be okay.” previously encountered Quammen’s eral other expeditions to understand After realizing that writing novels was not his forte, Quammen became 2013 National Geographic article the “spillover” of animal-carried via nonfiction writer. He rekindled his “The Short Happy Life of a Serengeti ruses into the human world.

“I realized that it was important to childhood passion for nature by tak- Lion,” which details the life of C-boy, help people — general readers, not ing classes in zoology at the Univer- a lion. science nerds — understand the imCurry connected Quammen’s passity of Montana and writing for the portant basic concepts of this [zoonatural science column of the Out- sion for conservation with his own notic disease],” Quammen said.

“Why do animal viruses become human viruses? It’s not because the viruses have anything against us.

They can’t walk, they can’t run, they can’t swim, they can’t fly, they ride.

They ride subtle creatures, they ride animals,” Quammen said regarding zoonotic diseases.

Quammen most recently published Breathless in 2022 about the COVID-19 pandemic and continues where his previous line of research on pandemics and epidemiology left off.

Although Quammen ran out of time to delve into the full breadth of his experiences, his talk left an impression on audience members like Curry.

“Something that sticks out to me about Quammen was his willingness to chase down a good story on a whim,” Curry said. “I really admire that because I wish to have that spontaneous energy in my own life.”

The Old Gold & Black conducted an exclusive interview with Quammen before his talk. The interview, edited for brevity and clarity, is located on page 10.

Isabella Parolini/Old Gold & Black

Quammen’s keynote address focused on his transition from fiction novelist to sucessful non-fiction and scientific writing.

Contact Lambert Li at liy221@wfu.edu

Secondhand stories

Vintage ventures and odd objects BEZA ZELALEM Senior Columnist

I’m Beza, and I love to thrift. I am passionate about fashion and sustainability, especially the intersection of the two.

Sustainable fashion isn’t a trend, it’s always in. One of the best ways to explore your college town is via their thrift stores — you get a sense of the local taste and get to escape campus. Although I frequent these stores, I paid them another visit to give you the inside scoop on what makes secondhand shops in Winston-Salem so unique. If fashion isn’t your thing, don’t worry, these stores also have oneof-a-kind jewelry, art, furniture, books, records and so much more!

A hidden gem and my personal favorite shop is Happy Hour Vintage. When you first enter, you’re met with a cozy atmosphere and vibrant colors. Here you’ll find a variety of styles from ‘90s-inspired to coquette to streetwear.

Their clothing items are also inclusive in sizes and price points.

It’s important to develop your style and ditch the trends, which thrifting helps you do. The quality of vintage pieces ensures that they’ll last a lifetime, unlike fast fashion.

A couple stores down, you will find Major Tomms Oddities & Vintage. If you’re into the dark (and dare I say gothic) ‘80s vibe, this is the place for you. Upon entering, you’ll see a quirky collection of strange goods, ranging from a taxidermy lion to a pig foot in a jar to a party fish (you’ll have to see it for yourself ).

If you walk to the back, you’ll find a charming selection of vintage clothing pieces that follow this ‘80s aesthetic. For my funky jewelry lovers, there’s a great selection of earrings embellished with disco balls, dice and mix n’ match dinosaurs!

It’s time to start curating pieces that speak to your individuality.

Thrifting can be intimidating at first, but it’s a great step towards prioritizing sustainability and reducing your environmental impact!

Contact Beza Zelalem at zelam22@wfu.edu

Page 10 | Thursday, February 22, 2024

Old Gold & Black | Environment

Q&A: David Quammen discusses his career path and provides advice to students ELLA KLEIN Environment Editor

David Quammen is a former novelist and journalist, turned prolific science writer. Quammen hails from Ohio, and completed his education at Yale and Oxford, publishing his first novel immediately after graduating. He then moved to Montana, where he transitioned from a fiction writer to a columnist with Outdoor Magazine, a position he held for 15 years.

During this time, he started his work as a non-fiction science writer. The Old Gold & Black had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Quammen during his visit as the Office of Sustainability’s keynote speaker.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Ella Klein: I know you started as a fiction writer –– does this help you convey harder-to-digest scientific information to a larger, widespread audiPhoto courtesy of Terry Sohl ence?

David Quammen: I think so. The fact that I was a fiction writer, first a novelist, meant that I was interested in being a storyteller. And then I turned into a nonfiction writer, focusing on science. I realized that if you’re going to write about science, you should also tell stories about people, right? So you tell stories about scientists, the discoveries that they make, the problems they face, their challenges and the things that they discover. In the course of doing that, you can make [a story] palatable to general readers — including those who don’t think of themselves as science people, by saying, ‘Just relax. I’m just going to tell you a story about some interesting people.’

Klein: I think that’s super important. People matter. What made you specifically interested in scientific writing? Did you have one singular interest, or was it a lifelong curiosity?

Quammen: I was always interested in nature. And Isabella Parolini/Old Gold & Black in writing, since about the age of 12. I was a little kid David Quammen discusses his move to Montana following the completion of his who wrote stories, poems, songs and skits, but I was master’s degree at Oxford University during a lecture in Brendle Recital Hall. also the kid who spent his Saturdays in the woods — walking in creeks, catching butterflies, and bringing choose Montana?

Klein: I’ll tell my parents you said that. home snakes and turtles to live in my bedroom. So Quammen: [Before moving there], I had never Quammen: (Laughs) Then, the first part of the it was always those two things. And then I had some been to the state of Montana.

I finished a graduate question … I knew for sure that I wanted to be a great teachers in English in high school — but I had degree at Oxford University in England.

So I had writer — I just didn’t know what kind. I thought okay teachers in science. So, I focused on that and been to these two big fancy Ivy-covered universities I wanted to be a novelist because, when I got out turned in that direction. studying literature [and] I wanted to live closer to the of college, I’d already published a novel. I said, I went to [Yale] University, which had a great Engground — which is the way I described it at the time.

‘Well, that was easy’ because I could get to be a lish department. [There], I had another great teachI wanted to go somewhere where I could ski, where novelist now and move to Montana. Then, I diser...who helped shape my life — so I came out of Yale I could fish, where I could walk in the woods and covered how hard it was to make a living as a ficwanting to be a novelist. If I had had different teachhike in the mountains.

And I had heard that Montion writer, and even to continue to be published ers, I might have come out of Cornell or the Univertana was an interesting place, with rivers and snow [after] I wrote a second novel, and I wrote a third sity of Virginia wanting to be a biologist.

I moved to Montana after graduate school. [Hav- in the mountains in September. I said, ‘that’s where novel, and they weren’t any good. [Then] I lost my contacts with the publishing house. ing] published one novel by that point, I was lucky I want to go.’

Klein: I just did a career workshop, and the only When I published the first novel, I fell into a in certain ways. Then I paid my dues. After the first goal for my future I could think of was that I wanted good story with good characters. I wrote a novel book, I lived in Montana; I ran out of money, I waited to be a kayaking instructor in Montana before I died. good enough to be published by a New York pubtables, I tended bar and I worked as a fishing guide.

Quammen: Well, Ella, that’s a great idea. lisher.

But I was reading widely — more widely than I had Klein: Thank you — I think so. Did you know And then I was just a guy who had been an Enghad time to read when I was an English major or [a] exactly what you wanted to do right out of college? lish major, you know? I was a middle-class white graduate student in literature. I discovered how much I enjoyed nonfiction writing when it was artful. So I And do you have any advice for those of us who do male from a happy childhood in Ohio. What did I know? So I didn’t have a second strong story. started doing that. It was natural for me to write some not?

Quammen: I’ll take the second part first. My adOver the 13 years between my first book and my of my earliest nonfiction about nature, not so much vice to those who do not [know] is, first of all, don’t second book, I figured out that I didn’t have more about science, just about natural history.

Then I had this column at Outside magazine start- worry. Secondly, take a deep breath. Take your time. material to allow me to be a useful novelist. But, I ing in 1981 [which lasted] for 15 years when once a Third, yes, we all have to make a living, but think was also very interested in the scientific world, the month I had to produce a column on some aspect of about what really interests you and follow your pas- natural world and that I loved nonfiction writing — when it’s done well and when it’s done artfully. science or nature. The more science I read, [the] more sions.

Some people might say, oh, Ella, being a kayak I discovered that that’s what I wanted to do. concerned [I got] about conservation and conservation biology as a science. That led me into becoming instructor in Montana? That’s impractical. You Half of the problem was answered for me [and] it a nonfiction writer who specializes in the biological shouldn’t do that, you should get a serious job and took me 13 years to figure it out. sciences. start to put away savings. I would say no, no you Contact Ella Klein at kleiek22@wfu.edu Klein: That’s a great progression. Why did you should do that.

OPINION

Maryam Khanum, khanmg20@wfu.edu Virginia Noone, noonvc21@wfu.edu Dillon Clark, clardj22@wfu.edu

OLD GOLD & BLACK

PAGE 11 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

The views expressed in all opinion columns represent those of the article’s author, not the opinions of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board

The fallacy of the GOP’s law and order politics The Republican Party’s actions do not embody the principles of justice they claim to champion JACOB GRAFF Senior Columnist Dating back to George H.W. Bush’s infamous 1988 racist “Willie Horton”’ attack ad, throughout the Black Lives Matter movement and then the subsequent rise of the progressive prosecutor trend, the American right has proudly and historically claimed to be the party of “law and order.”

Republicans have reinforced their image as a party committed to the return to normalcy in times of rampant criminality, which they claim is facilitated by Democrats.

Although the validity of that characterization of our present times depends on one’s metrics, it is undeniably false that the Republican Party is universally committed to the equal application of criminal justice.

Admittedly, the modern progressive conception of criminal justice has its limits. However, there is simultaneously a comprehensive failure within the Republican ranks to apply “law and order” irrespective of who is breaking the law. Currently, the Republican Party reads like a sad bunch of apologists for the rich and powerful Americans who habitually break laws without fear of retribution.

The politics of IRS funding It is exceedingly difficult under normal circumstances for the IRS to audit and prosecute multinational, billiondollar companies run by ultra-wealthy owners. These organizations and the individuals who make them up have every incentive to utilize quasi-legal mechanisms to avoid paying taxes they rightfully owe. It is even harder to do so when the IRS is perennially underfunded and understaffed.

As the popular saying goes, you need money to make money. The IRS is no exception. Fortunately, President Biden’s landmark Inflation Reduction Act included 80 billion dollars in IRS funding — $45 billion of which was dedicated to enforcement of existing tax laws. If the Treasury follows its promise of only raising audit rates on those who make $400,000 or more per year, the IRS will smartly be prioritizing audits with the highest returns on investment instead of going after “honest, middle-class taxpayers.”

The effects could be enormous if realized. Tax criminals have deprived the government of nearly seven trillion dollars over a decade. This is money that could be, and should be, equitably distributed to those who need it most instead of sitting hidden away in Bermudan bank accounts.

Moreover, these missing funds, if recuperated, would make a significant dent in chipping away at our evergrowing national debt, a perennial Republican priority.

Over a decade, the Congressional Budget Office estimates that increased audits would bring in $200 billion in additional revenues over a decade. Even so, this number is likely a vast underestimate, according to Catherine Rampell at the Washington Post, who found future deterrent effects of increased audits have three times the impact of the audits themselves.

The U.S. government is sitting on a potential revenue windfall of $60 billion dollars a year from people and businesses that have not followed U.S. laws. These criminals, however, are not being systematically persecuted and imprisoned. Their friends in the GOP have successfully lobbied for mass cuts to the very funding that would put criminals in jail and lower the federal debt.

Republican IRS funding cuts are “bad news for the millions of American households who pay their taxes honestly,” Vanesssa Williamson of the Brookings Foundation

writes, while constituting “great news for the country’s richest tax evaders.”

The elites of society have benefited substantially from the United States’ inability to make them pay their fair share, and Republicans’ actions ensure they will continue to do so, despite their ostensible “law and order” stance.

Republicans say they are the “tough on crime” party, but it would seem to only extend to violent crime perpetrated by minorities. They are notably soft on crimes that are overwhelmingly committed by a very small, very wealthy, very white part of the population.

Their hypocrisy is notable, too. “House Republicans cut IRS funding $1.1 billion below a freeze, taking essentially the entire amount from tax enforcement,” the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities writes. “Such funding cuts do not ‘save’ money but would instead do the opposite: they would hamper the agency’s efforts to restore its under-resourced capacity to audit the complex returns of wealthy tax cheats.”

Donald Trump and criminal behavior If the GOP’s love affair with wealthy criminals was not yet clear and obvious, they are now rallying again behind a man whose organization was not only convicted for 17 tax crimes but who personally has been criminally charged 91 times for the presidency of this great nation.

Donald Trump is the ultimate fraudster. Shady businessmen and corrupt politicians look to him for moral guidance. He has attempted to and nearly succeeded at subverting our political system for personal gain. His respect for norms and laws is borderline nonexistent. And he has recently argued in court that the rule of law simply does not apply to him because he has total immunity from all crimes as President, espousing a radical rightwing legal theory.

This is not a man who cares deeply about equal, universal application of the law. Nor is the Republican Party serious about law and order as a guiding principle; their denial of the reality of the Jan. 6 insurrection in which seven people died and 140 police officers were injured proves the GOP will excuse violent crime, too, when it is committed by their supporters.

Despite his law and order rhetoric, it was

Maryam Khanum/Old Gold & Black

Trump himself who encouraged such violence.

If the modern GOP had a backbone, they would have rejected Donald Trump as the presumptive 2024 nominee. Yet they do not, and as such, have not.

Instead, they have embraced Trump, the embodiment of a corrupted presidency and person. They have championed such contradictions, much like their own opposition to the IRS, and made it their platform.

As Trump once said, “We must maintain law and order at the highest level.”

Law and order politics only work when it can be and is separated from its racialized and classist connotations.

When it is applied without discrimination and bias, society benefits. The modern GOP continues to insist that it espouses these principles, but why should anyone believe them?

Fully funding IRS enforcement reduces government debts and catches tax criminals. On the surface, it appears to be the perfect conservative policy position for a lawand-order-oriented GOP. Following that theme, wherever it takes the party, naturally lends itself to a clean break from Donald Trump and towards a new, more (relatively) agreeable Republican Party. Yet, there is little enthusiasm for such a course within the conservative ranks.

This country should not accept politicians and parties who abandon their principles with such little resistance. Yet neither party has stepped up to the task, which bodes poorly for the future of our republic. If progressive Democrats incentivize criminality by refusing to punish low-level criminal behavior and conservative Republicans oppose holding the rich and powerful accountable to the law, neither is taking the steps necessary to ensure justice is applied fairly to all that break the social contract.

Contact Jacob Graff at grafje20@wfu.edu

Page 12 | Thursday, February 22, 2024

Old Gold & Black | Opinion

Letter to the Editor: A small gesture goes a long way PROJECT NOTECARD Wake Forest Student Initiative To the student body of Wake Forest: For the past three years, Wake Forest students may recall waking up on Valentine’s Day to notecards taped to their doors.

For the third year in a row, Project Notecard, an anonymous student group, has distributed valentines across campus on Valentine’s Eve. These notes contain various hand-written, positive messages for students.

The overall goal of this project is simple — to distribute notes on Valentine’s Eve so that every student has one to wake up

to on Valentine’s Day morning. At its roots, though, the project aims to remind everyone in the Wake Forest community that they are dearly and truly cared for, even by those who may not know them personally.

When this project came to fruition in my, the founder’s, freshman year,

Photo courtesy of Project Notecard

Touching messages are left around campus for Wake Forest Students.

I could never have imagined how important it would become to me. I am forever grateful to those who have helped me with delivery night.

Even more, though, I am grateful to every single one of you, who inspire me every day. You all deserve kindness, and I hope that,

through this project, we have brought a little bit of kindness to our campus.

I intend to do this project until I graduate, at which point I plan to pass the gauntlet to another. Until then, I look forward to continuing this endeavor, which has brought me so much joy.

Project Notecard is not possible without the help of others. If you are interested in being a part of the project, or if you have any feedback, you can email us at wfuprojectnotecard@gmail.com.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Wake Forest.

Remember you are loved; remember you matter, and keep on being you.

With love, Project Notecard

Walkability in Winston-Salem must be improved Advocacy should not end at the intersection of University Parkway and Long Drive ADDISON SCHMIDT Enviroment Editor It is no secret to those who have attempted to navigate beyond the iron gates of the Wake Forest campus on foot that the city of Winston-Salem is entirely unnavigable — and frequently dangerous — without the assistance of a motor vehicle.

Statistics support this observation.

According to Walk Score, an online tool that rates walkability and bikeability at addresses across the country, Winston-Salem’s average walk score is an abysmal 22 out of 100, with the website stating that “almost all errands require a car” and “WinstonSalem is a car-dependent city.” Bikeability is not much better. With an average score of just 29 out of 100, it’s abundantly clear that navigating the city on two wheels is much less feasible than four.

On the night of Friday, Jan. 26, this stark reality once again reared its ugly head when a Wake Forest student was hit by a car walking across University Parkway on Long Drive.

While the university, its students and the community have succeeded in advocating for a pedestrian crosswalk to be put in at the intersection of Long Drive and University Parkway to protect students walking to and from campus to off-campus events, improving walkability does not and should not stop at sidewalks and crosswalks in our neighborhood.

Advocacy to improve walkability in the city is long overdue and both Wake Forest students and city residents have a role to play.

According to data from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT), 77 of 7,874 reported crashes in Winston-Salem in 2021 — or just under 1% — included pedestrians. However, this number is almost certainly underestimated because reported crashes are only those in which “a motor vehicle in transit on a roadway result[s] in death, injury or property damage of $1000 or more.” Thus, many minor pedestrian-involved incidents are likely not reported.

In addition to accidents, pedestrian fatalities are also all too prevalent in the Camel City. According to NCDOT, nine pedestrian deaths were reported in Forsyth County in 2021 alone, while the county’s five-year average stands at six deaths per year.

Accidents are not the only indicator of a failing system, however. Many people undoubtedly don’t attempt walking at all due to the knowledge that many streets across

the city lack both sidewalks and crosswalks — features that are certainly not a silver bullet to ensuring pedestrian safety on their own but are key tools to facilitating it.

Winston-Salem is not the only city in North Carolina that is ultimately inaccessible without a car. Of the 130 cities in the United States and Canada ranked

by Walk Score, four of the 10 lowest-scoring cities are in North Carolina. Fayetteville ranks second worst behind only Chesapeake, VA., followed by Winston-Sa lem in third-to-last, Charlotte in sixth and Greensboro in ninth.

To walk from Wake Forest to the nearest grocery store, Lowes Foods on Reynolda Road, would take 32 minutes one way, according to Google Maps. While oncampus grocery store options like The Pod and 336 Market are available to students, they boast prices far above those offered at the grocery store, and many essentials aren’t available.

Groceries aren’t easily accessible to those seeking off-campus food at Wake Forest, but students do have access to din-

ing options like the Pit, North Campus Dining Hall and Benson Student Center.

Other WinstonSalem residents are not nearly as fortunate.

Food apartheid, or the lack of access to fresh, nutritional food based on purposeful racial zoning and human-built environments, is a widespread issue in Winston-Salem — particularly among the city’s residents of color and those of lower income.

Data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2019 indicates that Winston-Salem is home to at least 20 census tracts where more than 20% of residents were considered low-income and lived greater than one mile away from the nearest supermarket.

Most of these areas are located in the eastern part of WinstonSalem, which is primarily Black and low-income due to the effects of systemic racism like redlining and highway construction that divides the city.

Thus, walkability — as both a necessity and leisure activity — is intrinsically tied Evan Harris/Old Gold & Black Construction of a crosswalk has to racial justice.

Fresh food accommenced on University Parkway.

cess is just one of the many aspects that make walkable communities important.

According to a series of 2021 articles from the Congress for New Urbanism’s Public Square journal, walkability improves a variety of facets of life, including physical health, social connectivity, economic productivity and environmental sustainability.

If Winston-Salem is to become a more equitable, just, environmentally sustainable and healthy city, walkability must be prioritized. Wake Forest students have the opportunity — and perhaps responsibility — to assist in achieving this goal.

Students should pressure state and local governments through petitioning, letter writing and attending community forums.

We need to build more sidewalks, crosswalks and bike lanes (specifically gradeseparated bike lanes) and reduce restrictive zoning laws currently in place that prevent multi-use development including grocery stores from being built in residential areas.

Lastly, we must follow the lead of and support the work of local organizations like the SHARE Cooperative and Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods that reduce food insecurity and advance racial equity in the city.

While student voices are valuable within the community — and there is strength in numbers, particularly regarding policy choices like zoning and pedestrian projects — students must be sure to engage in larger community issues without overstepping.

Students living in the Wake Forest “bubble” must recognize their positionality as community members at a historically white institution before becoming involved in community projects. Overstepping on those already engaging in long-term, meaningful engagement in the community will only worsen the already tenuous relationship between the city and the university.

Walkability is an interdisciplinary issue that is plaguing Wake Forest and greater Winston-Salem community members alike. Activism to improve walkability is needed throughout the city and offers the opportunity for cross-community engagement and collaboration on multiple fronts, including accessibility, sustainability, economic viability, racial justice and more.

Failure to address Winston-Salem’s walkability crisis is tantamount to ignoring each of these issues, and the Wake Forest University community must act if it is serious about promoting solutions to each.

Contact Addison Schmidt at schmac21@wfu.edu

Opinion | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, February 22, 2024 | Page 13

There is a lack of justice for Palestinians on Wake Forest’s campus WFU must condemn the Israeli government as evidence of atrocities being committed in Gaza are unveiled ATISH PILLAI Contributing Columnist

On the night of Feb. 4, a myriad of signs and flags were scattered around Hearn Plaza to express support for the Palestinian victims of the conflict in Gaza. In addition, messages such as “Justice for Palestine” and “10,000 kids murdered” were written in chalk.

According to the organizers, the demonstration’s goal was to bring awareness to the atrocities being committed against the Palestinian people by bursting the bubble of complicity they believe surrounds Wake Forest University. The organizers also underscored the importance of understanding the role of the U.S. government in the oppression and genocide of Palestinians.

There have been negative responses to these public displays of protest, with many echoing the sentiment that it comes off as pointless vandalization that does nothing to help resolve the conflict.

An anonymous post on the social media app Fizz even called the display “disgusting and repulsive,” while also stating in a comment on their own post that “whoever did this should be removed from our institution.”

Regardless of personal opinions and stances, the administration condemned the act in an email sent on Feb. 5 at 10:26

a.m., citing it as a violation of its policy on Posting, Advertising & Chalking. All displays were subsequently removed by 11:00 a.m.

While one can view this as the administration merely adhering to its own policies, it’s impossible not to consider the implications of silencing such a message — especially after attempts by the

administration to shy away from outright condemning the Israeli government.

On her blog on Oct. 13, 2023, President Wente chose to condemn the actions of Hamas in wake of its attack that killed 1200 people a mere six days prior on Oct. 7. One must ask: why hasn’t President Wente provided an equal response to Israel’s deadly attacks on Palestinians?

Evan Harris/Old Gold & Black

Demonstrators placed thousands of flags on the upper quad, as well as signs accross campus in support of Palestine.

In response to the Hamas attack, Israel has retaliated with violence that has resulted in the death of over 25,000 Palestinians. The toll is estimated to be even higher due to many bodies being under rubble or in areas that medics can not safely reach. Israel has also utilized white phosphorus, an act that has been pointed to as a violation of the Geneva Conventions. In addition, Israel has utilized starvation as a method to kill off Gazans, another violation of the Geneva Conventions. These numerous war crimes have devastated hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and their families, including the ones that attend Wake Forest.

However, there has yet to be the same immediate condemnation from the Wake Forest administration for the Israeli government that occurred for Hamas.

The administration’s silencing of peaceful protests, through removal of the aforementioned signs and flags, is a reflection of complicity — regardless of the violations of university policy. As more information unfolds that reveals what I believe to be Israel’s acts of genocide, it’s imperative that organizations and institutions do not find themselves complicit in these crimes Contact Atish Pillai at pillaa22@wfu.edu

I am no optimist To resort to cynicism is to take the easy way out of the difficult realities of our world DILLON CLARK Opinion Editor I am no optimist.

A war thousands of miles away. A political system in disarray and division. A world whose future is so uncertain that shaking a magic 8 ball to predict the future would be more accurate than listening to the words of political leaders and the voices on the news.

It is easy to get bogged down by the problems we face — to feel hopeless and powerless to the ways of war, division and conflict.

I am no optimist. But I can’t help but feel optimistic.

Not because there is a solution on the horizon. Not because I see things working out perfectly in the future. And certainly not because it is easy to be optimistic. It is actually quite difficult.

We are pessimistic not by choice, but rather by nature. We are all guilty of this.

When a problem gets so hard that our reasonable and obvious solutions are exhausted and deemed incapable of creating the proper resolution, we resort to pessimism as a safeguard. The “it is what it is” attitude. This is not only a useful attitude, but it is even necessary in some situations.

It is a coping mechanism to focus on the future rather than the problems of the current. It is a completely reasonable and necessary response. But perhaps we have taken it too far.

Our pessimism is no longer helping us cope but is now a cop-out. It has become an excuse to stop looking for and working toward common solutions. It stalls prog-

ress on the basis that the present situation is “too hard” or “too complicated” to resolve. In other words, the ball is rolling down the hill, and we are stuck blaming gravity rather than chasing and stopping the ball ourselves.

I am not asking each of us to have solutions to the problems around us. I mean, if you have a solution to partisan politics,

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images

please do share and save us all. But that is unlikely because, after all, we are just college students.

But there is a difference between not having the solution and saying the solution is beyond our comprehension and control. It is in our capability — regardless of our background, major or identity — to find the solutions to the problems

around us. At the very least, we have to believe in that. To not believe so undermines not only our own individual power but the power of humanity itself.

We have to believe. As corny as it may sound, believing real change is within us is the core to creating real change. You don’t need to fully understand the problem. You just need to be willing to listen, learn and contribute. Ultimately, it will not be dramatic and revolutionary epiphanies that save us. Rather, it will be the most basic and minute efforts — the small conversations, the uncomfortable questions and the extra efforts to learn a bit more — that solve our most complex problems.

I am no optimist. But I know we need more optimism.

The problems we face today are crushing our spirit. They are locking us into divisions. They are forcing us to pick a side because there is no way out. They are saying to put down our hands because our contributions aren’t worthy. They are telling us to stop caring because, at the end of the day, it is beyond our control.

Yeah, it is what it is. But believe that whatever it may be can change — through heated debates, cooperation and collaboration. By caring more, we inevitably work toward the solutions we need.

My problem isn’t the arguments and disagreements we have. It is the arguments and disagreements that we don’t bother to have. The moment we stop caring — the moment we stop arguing and disagreeing with one another — is the moment we lose control of our problems.

Contact Dillon Clark at clardj22@wfu.edu

SPORTS

PAGE 14 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Follow us on X and IG @wfuogbsports OLD GOLD & BLACK

Sean Kennedy, kennsm21@wfu.edu Andrew Braun, brauar23@wfu.edu

Slow tempo causes MBB loss to Cavaliers Demon Deacons drop road matchup at No. 21 Virginia despite Reid's double-double SEAN KENNEDY Sports Editor

It was a game of who could outlast the other — and Wake Forest Men’s Basketball came up short on the road, falling to the No. 21 Virginia Cavaliers, 49-47.

Forward Efton Reid (10pts, 12reb) became a focal point of the Demon Deacons’ offense early. The big man scored Wake Forest’s first six points of the game through a mixture of layups and dunks. Guard Cameron Hildreth (4pts, 5reb) distributed the ball well throughout the first frame — including a pass to Reid inside the paint for a quick basket.

The low-scoring first half was in part due to a tremendously slow pace between both teams, with each team going well into the shot clock on most possessions. Both teams went into halftime with subpar offensive numbers and the Demon Deacons led, 22-21.

After the break, the teams traded offensive runs, with the Cavaliers initially breaking out to a five point lead. The Demon Deacons answered with a run of their own, scoring six consecutive points to put themselves up one.

Offensively, the Demon Deacons found themselves stifled by one man — Cavaliers guard Ryan Dunn (6pts, 9reb, 7blks). Dunn, the ACC leader in blocks coming into the game (2.2 BPG), created havoc both inside and on the perimeter on the defensive end whilst guarding both wings and forwards alike.

“I thought Ryan [Dunn] played exceptional defense against us,” said Wake Forest Head Coach Steve Forbes.

Both Dunn and guard Reece Beekman (20pts, 9-16 FG) led the Cavaliers on a 10-2 run midway through the second half to create a buffer from the Demon Deacons. The run was highlighted by a Beekman dunk that sent a raucous John Paul Jones Arena crowd on their feet.

“Those two guys [Beekman and Dunn] in my mind really stood out,” said Forbes. “Beekman had a terrific second half. He really came out aggressively.”

The game was decided within the final four min-

Evan Harris/Old Gold & Black

Hunter Sallis (23) weaves through defenders like Virginia's Isaac McKneely (11) on his way to the rim. Sallis led the Demon Deacons with 12 points in Saturday’s loss.

utes, as the Cavaliers entered the final media timeout up a single point. They came out of the media timeout ready — running a half-court offense for a wide-open Isaac McKneely (12pts, 5-12 FG) 3-pointer from the corner.

Evan Harris/Old Gold & Black

Efton Reid (4) lunges for a loose ball while guarded by Virginia's Reece Beekman (2). Reid played a major role in the contest, recording a double-double with 10 points and a game high 12 rebounds.

“McKneely made some timely shots,” said Forbes.

“Especially that one 3-pointer coming out of the timeout.”

After a series of missed chances on the offensive end, the Demon Deacons tried to respond back with a late 3-pointer from Hunter Sallis (12pts, 5-10 FG).

Virginia continued to give the Demon Deacons chances — notably going an abysmal 1-11 from the free throw line. With six seconds remaining, McKneely split a pair of free throws — putting the Cavaliers up two, but keeping the door open for Wake Forest to potentially equalize to go into overtime, or even snatch a win with a three-pointer.

The ensuing play, however, was suboptimal at best.

Without any timeouts remaining, Wake Forest took their time taking the ball out, setting up for a final play.

The play drawn up was not the play executed, however, as Hildreth received the inbounds pass and went coastto-coast, resulting in a tough fadeaway jump shot that missed the mark.

“That last play was poorly executed,” said Forbes.

“We run that play around three-to-four times a week [in practice]... that’s where you need a timeout. It was poorly executed, which ultimately comes on my shoulders.”

With the loss, Wake Forest squandered what seemed to be another opportunity for a highly-touted win. The Demon Deacons have plenty of time to make their case for postseason play, however, including their upcoming matchup against in-state rival Duke at home.

The Demon Deacons return to Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum to face the Blue Devils on Saturday, February 24th. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. on ESPN. Contact Sean Kennedy at kennsm21@wfu.edu

Thursday, February 22, 2024 | Page 15

Sports | Old Gold & Black

Baseball conquers Opening Day with win Newcomer Adam Tellier launches first pitch homer; Hartle shows dominance through five innings SEAN KENNEDY Sports Editor

The road to Omaha starts with a first pitch. It’s rare, though, that such pitch ends up out of the park.

Adam Tellier (2-3, 1 RBI) and Wake Forest Baseball made sure that was the case both literally and figuratively Friday night, defeating the Fordham Rams handily, 9-3.

Tellier, a transfer from Ball State, didn’t

take long to test the dimensions of Gene Hooks Field. It took a single pitch for the leadoff batter to send a 407-yard missile over the fence in left-center field — and subsequently to receive raucous applause from a packed David F. Couch Ballpark.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest team captain Josh Hartle (5.2 IP, 4 Ks) took command during his first appearance of the season.

After a first inning stutter that resulted in the Rams’ first run of the day, the southpaw starting pitcher found his stride throughout the rest of the night.

Isabella Parolini/Old Gold & Black

The Wake Forest dugout celebrates Austin Hawke’s inside-the-park home run. It represented Hawke’s first run in a Demon Deacon uniform.

Isabella Parolini/Old Gold & Black

Southpaw starter Josh Hartle (above) dominated the day, striking out four batters whilst only allowing a single earned run on the night.

Things got chaotic in the bottom of the second inning when Demon Deacon Austin Hawke (0-4, 1 R) hit a flyball towards Rams center fielder Ryan Thiesse (0-3, 1 ERR). Thiesse misplayed the ball, allowing what would be a routine pop-fly to turn into an inside-the-park home run after a few subsequent throwing errors.

Fordham’s offensive production ran through two of their batters — catcher Tommy McAndrews (2-3, 1 RBI) and first baseman Steve Luttazi (1-4, 2 RBI).

The latter had a two-run home run in the top of the eighth inning off a pitch from Demon Deacon pitcher Blake Morningstar.

Morningstar (2.0 IP, 4 Ks), a freshman from New Albany, Pennsylvania, battled back later on in the inning, finishing the frame with a pair of consecutive strikeouts before closing out the ninth inning to seal the Demon Deacons’ win.

Contact Sean Kennedy at kennsm21@wfu.edu

No. 3 Men’s Tennis goes on hot run of results Series of wins against ranked opponents highlight a tremendously successful season so far ALEX MOJICA Staff Writer Wake Forest has climbed to the No. 3 spot on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Division 1 men’s tennis rankings, marking a season-high in ranking.

Driven by their six starting players, the Demon Deacons have recorded a 5-3 record against ranked opponents, reaching the semifinals of the ITA National Indoor Tournament in the process.

Ranked No. 17 during the week of Jan. 28, Wake Forest entered the ITA Kickoff Weekend tournament at Chapel Hill’s Chewing Tennis Center seeded second behind No. 16 North Carolina. This was an especially challenging and important tournament: to qualify for the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, each team must win their regional indoor tournament. All four teams in Wake Forest’s regional bracket reached the championship in 2023, yet only one would return this season.

To start the tournament, the Demon Deacons defeated No. 20 Florida on Jan. 27 — overcoming a winless 0-4 record against the Gators since 2001 — with wins from No. 18 DK Suresh Ekambaram/Holden Koons (6-2) and Luciano Tacchi/Luca Pow (6-3), putting Wake Forest ahead 1-0. In singles, Koons (6-3, 6-2), Tacchi (6-4, 7-5) and Pow (6-3, 6-3) won their matches to clinch a 4-1 victory.

The following afternoon, the Demon Deacons faced Illinois in the finals. In the doubles, Tacchi/Pow (6-4) and Ekambaram/Koons (7-6[4]) continued their winning ways to notch the doubles point.

Although No. 55 Karlis Ozolins upset Wake Forest’s No. 7 Filippo Moroni (63, 6-4) to start the singles, the Demon Deacons quickly renewed their lead. A win from Pow (6-4, 7-6[4]), an upset victory from No. 54 Ekambaram over No. 46 Hunter Heck (7-5, 7-5) and a victory from Koons (7-6[4], 6-3) sealed a 4-1 victory over Illinois. With that, Wake Forest qualified for the indoor championships for the third consecutive season.

The Demon Deacons, having improved to No. 13 the week after, promptly returned to their winning ways. They started a doubleheader on Feb. 2 by sweeping UNC Greensboro and upsetting then-No. 9 Columbia (5-2). Of note, Wake Forest’s Matthew Thomson upset Columbia’s No. 106 Ishaan Ravinchander (6-1, 6-4), and Pow clinched another upset win with his fourth consecutive singles victory (6-1, 6-4).

Two days after their doubleheader, Wake Forest traveled to play No. 1 Ohio State in Columbus. Despite suffering a 6-1 defeat, Koons claimed two victories. Partnering with Ekambaram, they defeated Andrew Lutschaunig/Justin Boulais (6-2), helping them jump from No. 18 to No. 7.

Koons finished the day undefeated, with a comeback win (4-6, 6-3, 10-4) in the last match.

Now jumping up to No. 9, the Demon Deacons bounced back to defeat No. 4 South Carolina later that week. Wins from No. 7 Ekambaram/Koons (6-3) and Pow/Tacchi (6-3) secured the doubles point. No. 23 Moroni clinched the upset victory by defeating No. 50 Toby Samuel (5-7, 7-5, 6-3), recording his third win as Wake Forest’s top singles player.

Ranked as No. 6 entering the National Team Indoor Championship, Wake Forest had gained 11 spots since they defeated Illinois a few weeks earlier. Against No. 16 Michigan (4-1), Thomson upset No. 125 Patorn Hanchaikul (6-3, 6-3), and No. 49 Ekambaram defeated No. 48 Jacob Bickersteth (6-2, 7-6[9]) to secure their spot in the quarterfinals. The next day, against No. 14 Arizona, a clutch victory from Ekambaram/Koons over No. 6 Colton Smith/Jay Friend (7-6[9]) secured the doubles point. Three singles wins, including an upset victory for Thomson over No. 46 Gustaf Strom (6-3, 6-1), put the Deacs in the semifinals.

In the semifinals, No. 2 Texas Christian University (TCU) ended the Demon Deacons’ tournament. While they clinched the doubles point, powered by a ranked win from Ekambaram/Koons over No. 8 Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives and a de-

Isabella Parolini/Old Gold & Black

Filippo Moroni returns a serve against No. 9 Columbia.

cisive victory from Moroni/Thomson, TCU stormed ahead in five of six singles matches to reach the finals.

The season is far from over. The Demon Deacons will play Georgia on Feb. 26 and Virginia, its first conference opponent, on March 1. Although Wake Forest currently boasts the best ranking in the ACC, much can change before the ACC Championships on April 17.

Contact Alex Mojica at mojiag22@wfu.edu

Old Gold & Black | Sports

Page 16 | Thursday, February 22, 2024

Sparked by Clark: A renaissance in WBB Iowa guard has led unprecedented publicity for Women’s Basketball as a whole CAROLYN MALMAN Staff Columnist

If you told younger me about Caitlin Clark’s impact on women’s sports, let alone the world of sports, I would tell you that you were crazy. It’s men’s games that are shown at prime time on TV, celebrities sit courtside at their games and their players are even paid more. Men dominate the world of sports — and at Wake Forest it feels no different.

As a Wake Forest student, I notice the disparity between men’s and women’s sports. The McCreary Football Complex is the talk of campus with millions of dollars going into its creation, while most students don’t even know that our women’s golf team won the national championship this past year. These inequalities exist throughout the world of sports, but that narrative is changing with Caitlin Clark.

At the professional level, the NBA averaged 1,712,000 viewers last year per game broadcast while the WNBA only averaged 505,000 viewers in 2023. There is still work to be done to catch up to the average viewership of NBA games, but it’s important to note that this number is

record breaking for the WNBA. If we want to understand the influx of attention to women’s basketball, we must look at the collegiate level. Iowa-native Clark makes waves in her home state at sold out home games, and crowds of people of all ages line up to get her autograph.

She is a celebrity in Iowa — but her notability spans farther than Iowa City.

As a New Jersey native, I noted that the Rutgers vs.

Iowa game on Jan. 5 was completely sold out in New Brunswick. Not only does Clark sell out home games, but she causes sellouts at games in different states.

Averaging an impressive 32.8 points per game, Clark set out on a mission to claim the scoring record this season. Fans thought that she would break the scoring record against Nebraska, so tickets sold for as high as $1,666. Clark did

not disappoint fans and put up 31 points, which made the scoring title only 8 points away. But it was in Iowa’s game against Michigan that Clark claimed the scoring title. Clark scored a towering 49 points against Michigan.

With this, Clark will continue to set new records throughout the remainder of this season.

The record was previously held by Las Vegas Aces guard Kelsey Plum.

For Plum, this achievement is more than just basketball. It’s about women supporting one another. Plum urges fans and critics alike to take “time to understand that [Clark] is not just a basketball player but a young woman

with feelings and emo-

tions.” With the support of her predecessors before her, Clark is paving the way for female athletes to be honored and not scrutinized like women before her.

My former collegiate-basketball-playing sister recently remarked that “[Clark] is literally everything I ever wanted to be as a basketball player. She’s incredible.”

Everyone — young girls and 28-year-old sisters alike — has fallen victim to “Clark Mania.”

She is the “it girl” who is revolutionizing the world of sports.

One can only hope that this attention will one day come to women’s sports at Wake Forest. In this world, we do everything we can to uplift and support these women at a student level, attending women’s sports games, and at the university level, increasing funding and hype around these players.

“Women’s basketball is awesome,” Clark said after Iowa’s impressive win over Maryland. Women’s sports are awesome, and they are finally getting the recognition that they deserve. This recognition starts with Caitlin Clark.

Contact Carolyn Malman at malmci22@wfu.edu

Subliminal tobacco sponsorships flood F1 Despite growing audience, Formula One still has a tobacco problem— just less obvious than before CARTER MCDONALD Contributing Columnist

“I’m never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down, never gonna run around and desert you.”

While Rick Astley is referring to his love for his partner in the 1987 hit, “Never Gonna Give You Up,” the same sentiment, unfortunately, applies to the relationship between Formula One (F1) and tobacco sponsorships. As new-age smokeless tobacco and vaping brands find ways through the regulations designed to stop tobacco sponsorship, it seems as if F1’s governing body, the Federation Internationale de Automobile (FIA), hasn’t done enough to stop its crown jewel from being tainted by tobacco advertising.

Before we look at modern-day tobacco sponsorships, a look back into the past shows how tobacco companies first started this toxic relationship. The first time a cigarette sponsorship was plastered on a car was back in 1968, when John Player Special cigarettes sponsored the Lotus F1 Team for £85,000 a year (around $1,560,000 in today’s dollars). Over the next three decades, tobacco sponsorship would become

synonymous with F1 as brands from all over, including Winston-Salem’s own Reynolds American brands like Camel and Barclay’s, raced to sponsor teams.

Early in the 21st century, the FIA became concerned that F1 was promoting the dangerous habit of smoking, and in 2001, they announced the sport would completely phase out cigarette sponsorship by 2006.

Or, at least they planned to.

Ultimately, the FIA overturned its ban in 2003 and issued a “recommendation” against tobacco sponsorship.

This recommendation simply made affected companies look for alternate ways to get their sponsorship out there, such as by changing their logos slightly, so that at high speeds they looked similar but weren’t violating the recommendation. This became known as “alibi marketing,” most prominently implemented by Philip Morris International (parent company of Marlboro), which has continued sponsoring Ferrari to this day.

“Alibi marketing” was one way around the FIA’s loose condemnation, but British American Tobacco (and by proxy Reynolds America) discovered another way around it.

The recom-

mendation specified tobacco sponsorship, leaving plenty of room for nontobacco, nicotine products — like vapes and nicotine pouches — to appear on car liveries. In fact, the Dutch government filed a complaint against one team, McLaren F1, for advertising VELO nicotine pouches, which technically is allowed under the FIA’s regulations.

The broader impact of continuing to have nicotine product sponsorship on racing liveries is that, in F1 and extreme sports like it, they appeal to mass audiences that tend to be very young.

Nielsen data shows that over 46% of F1’s interest pool of around 445 million viewers fall between the ages of 16-34.

Constantly exposing this age group to advertisements for nicotine products carries immense harm, as it increases the odds of teenagers in particular taking up smoking. A report from the Truth Initiative notes that teens with high exposure to nicotine advertisements through TV were three times more likely to start vaping compared to peers who had no exposure. Articles from the Cancer Causes & Control Journal also note that even mere exposure to brand names and slogans c a n

cause teenagers to have more favorable views of nicotine products, as the sport makes their use seem “cool.”

This impact only multiplies as F1 has become increasingly popular as total attendance was up by 36%, largely due to the success of Netflix’s “F1: Drive to Survive.” In an interview with Autosport, F1’s CEO Stefano Domenicali noted that the sport’s audience has become steadily younger, increasing with each season bringing in more fans to F1’s overall fanbase. With every passing year, the sport’s growing popularity only contributes more attention to nicotine sponsors who refuse to let go of their grip on the highly lucrative sport.

While Astley may never let go of his love, F1 seems certain that it won’t give up on its long-standing relationship with tobacco sponsors. The FIA’s “recommendation” doesn’t actually solve the root of the issue, leaving F1 hopelessly tied to something that is ultimately harmful to its viewers and reputation.

Contact Carter McDonald at mcdocd23@wfu.edu

ARTS & CULTURE OLD GOLD & BLACK

Lydia Derris, derrlf23@wfu.edu James Watson, watsjc22@wfu.edu

PAGE 17 THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2024

Sundance Film Festival offers promising glimpse into 2024 Senior writer Jacob Graff shares his experience at the fest and ranks the best films of the circuit JACOB GRAFF Senior Writer There is no experience quite like the Sundance Film Festival. As the United States’ preeminent talent show for independent film, the Festival has a rich history of bringing the best of the world’s creative talents to Park City, Utah for a 10-day extravaganza of parties, panels and prizes.

By bringing together a carefully curated collection of films, including shorts, documentaries and narrative features, the Festival provides audiences with a glimpse into the development of the indie film aesthetic and the process by which those films are evaluated and brought to market.

I was fortunate enough this year to be a part of that audience, having had the unique opportunity to attend the Festival for a four-day period. While my time was predominantly spent in boardrooms and rented-out office space as a part of the temporary staff, I was able to use my free time to explore six of the Festival’s most buzzed-about feature films.

It is important to note that I did not see many of the most highly acclaimed films that premiered at the Festival, including “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story,” “Gaucho Gaucho” and “Will & Harper,” among others. But of the ones I was able to watch, while some hit the highs expected of classic indie films from the past, others fell flat in their attempt to bring their subjects to the big screen.

My rankings are as follows, from my least favorite to my most favorite.

6. Sue Bird: In the Clutch Sue Bird — the legendary basketball icon, serial winner and LGBTQ+ trailblazer — deserved a better documentary than “Sue Bird: In the Clutch.” She deserved a film that matched her outsized impact in the world of women’s basketball. What she got instead was a skindeep, conventional and at times boring film by director Sarah Dowland.

Problems with editing, structure and narrative drown out the more intimate explorations of lesbian femininity and the equality struggle that appear for brief moments — and yet have characterized Sue Bird and the WNBA throughout their respective lives. Dowland has talked extensively about her surprise in facing struggles financing a female and LGBTQ-centered documentary; after watching this movie, it doesn’t seem like those struggles will abate anytime soon.

5. And So It Begins Ramona S. Diaz has proven herself to be a talented and capable director depicting the social realities of the Philippines in her previous documentaries “A Thousand Cuts and Motherland.” Unfortunately, her newest, “And So It Begins,” fails to reach the same heights — and it is largely a failure of direction.

While it is fashioned as a pseudo-complimentary piece to “A Thousand Cuts,” which focused heavily on Nobel Peace Prize winning journalist Maria Ressa, this documentary flippantly switches its subject. It tries its best to establish a master narrative that connects the various threads it introduces, which include but are not limited to the rise of populist presidential candidate Leni Robredo, whose campaign the cameras follow, legalized journalistic oppression against Maria Ressa and her Rappler newspaper, the dangers of social media and the Philippines' history of dictatorship. But each of these subjects could fill their own documentary and are thus not able to be fluently edited into Diaz’s 113-minute exploration of Filipino political culture.

Members of the cast and the director a Q&A panel after a screening of the 4. The Greatest Night in Pop Lionel Richie leads this engrossing peak into the dynamic making of the bestselling song “We Are the World” firmly down the middle of the road. In this case, it is necessary to separate what makes the film great — its tremendous collection of archival footage depicting the biggest songsters (and personalities) of the 80s getting together in one room, for one night, to record one song — to what muddles its final product — a flimsy set of interviews that add little to the narrative structure.

For those who came of age in the 80s or who enjoy that era’s signature music, though, seeing a shy Michael Jackson get into his groove and Bruce Springsteen laugh with Cyndi Lauper will be a treat for the eyes and the ears.

3. Love Lies Bleeding A24’s newest movie is … class A24: a heavily stylized romantic thriller that creates significant highs and surprisingly low lows on a wild ride through the Southwest. Kristen Stewart puts in a top-shelf performance as Lou, a laid-back gym manager, who falls for Katy O’Brien’s aspiring bodybuilder Jackie. Their love is tested, however, as they get pulled farther from each other and deeper into Lou’s criminal family.

Excellent performances come from throughout the cast, including Dave Franco and Ed Harris as Lou’s brother-in-law and father respectively. While the film is uneven — the first 15 minutes portray an altogether different film, and the ending will undoubtedly divide audiences — the middle chunk of this movie is a nonstop trip filled with beautiful cinematography, confident editing and assured direction that must be seen on the big silver screen.

2. Didi Sean Wang’s compassionate and fully-realized coming-of-age dramedy took home two of the Festival’s most prized awards — and it is easy to see why audiences fell in love with it. Winner of the U.S. Dramatic Audience Award and the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast, Wang immerses us in the life of Chris Wang (Izaac Wang) — an “impressionable”' 13-year-old kid beginning to venture into the

Photo courtesy of Jacob Graff

of "Love Lies Bleeding" engage in film at the Sundance Film Festival.

wider physical and online worlds, and all the possibilities contained within.

If a movie based in 2005 can be considered a “period piece,” then “Didi” fits the category; Chris’s misadventures in MySpace and run-down strip malls are impressively authentic as they draw from the semiautobiographical nature of Wang’s work. But what is most impressive, and perhaps the most alienating for some audiences, is how the coming-of-age story becomes one of identity formation. The Asian family is central to Wang (his own grandma stars in the movie), and “Didi’s” best moments are when Wang embraces the cultural baggage hovering in the background of every scene.

1. Suncoast My favorite movie of the Festival was “Suncoast,” directed by Laura Chinn in her feature directorial debut.

Like Wang’s “Didi,” this is also a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age dramedy. However, it was one that I felt hit emotional peaks more frequently and naturally than Didi did.

The story is elevated by its highly-specialized setting; Chinn’s experience taking care of her brother in a vegetative state in the same hospital as Terry Schiavo forms the centerpiece of her film and everything else works around that core. However, it is the sophisticated screenplay and performances by Nico Parker, Laura Linney and Woody Harrelson that take this film to the next level. The relationships between Parker’s Doris and her classmates provides the classic teenager storylines of parties, relationships and untimely embarrassments.

Yet, Linney and Harrelson’s respective relationships with Doris ground the narrative in an effective dosage of pathos. The young girl’s typical development is stymied by the demands of Linney’s Kristine and enabled

by Harrelson’s Paul. The contrast between freedom and responsibility is expertly displayed by a careful director.

While it could, and honestly should, have embraced the political debates around assisted death, it did not impact its standing with the audience. At the end of its premiere, there was not a dry eye in the theater, and with “Suncoast” coming to Hulu in the near future, I can’t recommend this tearjerker of a watch enough.

Contact Jacob Graff at grafje20@wfu.edu

Page 18|Thursday, February 22, 2024

Old Gold & Black |Arts & Culture

‘Poor Things’ humorously embraces depravity The new film from director Yorgos Lanthrimos is a tough custard tart to swallow ADAM COIL Senior Writer Yorgos Lanthimos’ filmography has pushed the boundaries of what marketable, profitable films can be for over a decade. We have watched plenty of hard-to-stomach moments through his lens: children trapped in captivity by their parents or lonely adults forced to transmigrate their souls into an animal. Despite his pension for misery, Lanthimos has always injected his films with a fresh, comedic air that can at least complicate one’s grief — if not totally subdue it. But with his latest film “Poor Things,” he has created a film so demoralizing that its depravity ultimately overwhelms the brilliance permeating every layer of its production.

A quick rundown of the f i l m goes something like this: a crazy, troubled scientist named Godwin (played

by Willem Dafoe) stumbles upon a dead, pregnant woman named Bella (played by E m m a

Stone), and he surgically swaps her brain with her baby’s brain. The body of a 30-something-year-old woman is effectively piloted by an infant’s brain. A plethora of male suitors pursue Bella throughout the film and prove to be entirely unperturbed by the infancy of her mind.

“Poor Things” is loaded with outstanding individual performances. Stone and Dafoe go all in on the idiosyncrasies of their mangled characters. Mark Ruffalo’s character is convincingly — if a little stereotypically — repulsive, while Jerrod Carmichael and Hanna Schygulla’s characters provide the eerie stiffness that has come to be the Hallmark of a Lanthimos picture. Cinematographer Robbie Ryan is also a hero in this story, whose behindthe-scenes access via Variety is must-watch.

Finally, Jerskin Fendrix deserves all the praise for concocting a soundtrack that somehow matches Lanthimos’s unnerving quirks while still providing an immersive sonic experience that is, at times, even pleasant.

There are moments that sound like drowning in a fish tank by a player piano; or winding up a tragically cracked music box; or an orchestra sinking into the sun — but somehow it really works. Giving experimental pop/ punk/rock artist Fendrix the nod for this project was a huge risk from Lanthimos, but the soundtrack ended up being one of the strongest

aspects of the film. I will also add that or at least someone the audience should whoever was in charge of the title cards be rooting for. Call me old-fashioned, but deserves at least a bonus or two — I I am simply skeptical of the babysitter-tohave never walked away from the theater husband pipeline. Bastién wrote, “Ramy thinking about title cards until I watched Youssef shoots for tenderness, but the “Poor Things.” All that being said, I have nature of the premise makes such a posture encountered little, if any, criticism of “Poor unbelievable.” Agreed.

“Poor Things” is more fruitful for Things” on a technical level. Responses to the politics and perspective of the film, discussion when it is viewed not as a character study of Bella but, as Stone however, are a much different story.

The mixed critical reception described it, “a very twisted fairy tale” that of “Poor Things” can be captured in the is fully metaphorical. The anachronistic dissonance between Anthony Lane’s nature of the film, as well as its insistence review for The New Yorker and Angelica on moving across the globe to various halfJade Bastién’s review for Vulture. Lane, fictional locations, makes it impossible to who obviously loves the film, writes, “The pin “Poor Things” down to one coherent narrative thrust of the film is itself a joke,” setting or historical moment. This allows and “very rarely is it not fun.” Bastién, on the characters to represent humanity, as a the other hand, wrote that the film is not whole, so that Lanthimos has the license to a “sincere treatise on female sexuality” ask the big questions about love, morality, and that it “comes across as a pretentious science vs. nature and so on.

The portrait of humanity that Lanthimos 14-year-old boy’s idea of female becoming.” paints is, unsurprisingly, rather bleak.

Top reviews on Letterboxd reflect a similar There’s one word I keep coming back to split — although the champions of “Poor when describing “Poor Things:” devastating.

Things” seem to greatly outweigh the critics. A 4.5-star review with over 11,000 The film is devastating. That is not to say likes wrote, “They hate to see a b**** with that there is no hope for Bella, or that she not fight valiantly throughout the childlike wonder,” while a 0.5-star review does film for agency and freedom, but there is with 6,000 likes described it as: “all clit, no so much darkness packed into two hours feelings … A lot of critics/people don’t seem that it becomes difficult to accept any joy or to be bothered that these men are having comfort that arrives at the end of the film. sex with a literal child-brained person just Yes, Bella has a lot of fun. Yes, there was a because it’s premised upon her liberated steady trickle of delightfully witty wordplay. agency.”

But the context in which Bella is suspended While I tend to side with the — the tissue of coercion and predation that Bastién camp on this one, I find myself she is born into — is always looming in unqualified to discuss what female liberation the background. Viewers may forget it, but should look like in a male-directed film. I Bella can never fully escape it. must say, though, that I am surprised by the number of people who seem to view Contact Adam Coil at Ramy Youssef’s Max McCandles as a hero, coilat21@wfu.edu

SECCA’s latest exhibition explores religion and culture in the South SECCA’s Maya Brooks glues together the cultures that defines the South LYDIA DERRIS Arts & Culture Editor

loathing steeped over generations in southern culture materializes. The new exhibition, titled “From Alpha to Creation: Religion in the Deep South,” delves into the multi-textuality of Southern culture through various forms of media. Documentary photography, landscape art and installations vividly portray the myriad religions and spiritualities that permeate the region. The art creates a cohesive theme encompassing major monotheistic religions, indigenous beliefs and Afro-Latin creeds.

Maya Brooks, the assistant curator of contemporary art, drew inspiration for

the showcase from a drive down I-85 South, where a bright, yellow billboard proclaiming “Jesus” caught her eye.

For Brooks, this resonated as a homely, In the South, one inevitably becomes quintessentially southern sentiment. intimately acquainted with the presence “It’s not just the sign itself, it’s what it of religion and spirituality. This represents; it represents home to me, it connection is palpable, particularly in the represents the south to me,” Brooks said. isolation of the tobacco fields of Eastern “Religion ties us all together down here, North Carolina where I grew up, where no matter what our affiliation is. We’re the beating sun demands introspection influenced by it, we see it around us, it’s into the region’s cultural complexities. embedded in our landscape.”

Upon entering the Potter Gallery at the Although the South enables the Southeastern Center of Contemporary coexistence of diverse religions, from Protestantism to Vodou, Brooks Art (SECCA), the essence of love and emphasized that the showcase is not about religions in and of themselves but about people and and our relationships with one another.

Brooks said she did this intentionally because she wanted to harness a “breadth of experience [and] breadth of people living.” It seeks to capture the vitality of people living within the complex history of southern religious and socio-cultural interplay.

To answer the pervasive question of what defines the South, the exhibition positions itself within the framework of religious experience. According to William Faulkner, a key figure in southern literature, religion is an integral figuration of the southern landscape, regardless of personal beliefs. The Lydia Derris/The Old Gold & Black art presented at SECCA transcends religious boundaries, aiming to convey Allison Janae Hamilton’s ‘Scratching the wrong side of firmament’ the immersive experience of the South (right) and ‘Brecencia Pheasant II’ (right) in the Potter Gallery. through diverse perspectives.

Brooks acknowledges the diverse origins of the featured artists, ranging from personal connections like Ralph Burns to those discovered through books and publications. The sentiment expressed in the exhibition mirrors the covert corners of the rural South, where the influence of religion is pervasive, shaping landscapes and connecting diverse communities.

Even in the most unexpected corners of the rural South, the interconnectedness of experiences becomes apparent. The exhibition, “From Alpha to Creation,” intentionally places together historical and contemporary examples, showcasing the communion of religion and spirituality without favoring one over the other.

In the words of Brooks, the exhibition is a testament to the love she had growing up in the South. It goes beyond a mere survey of the region, avoiding clichéd romanticization of stereotypes. The showcase may have emerged from a personal encounter with a bright, yellow “Jesus” billboard, capturing the essence of home and the unique spirit that defines the South. But through community rituals, adornments, landscapes and various forms of art, “From Alpha to Creation’’ highlights diverse experiences and people that make up the robustness of religious and spiritual expression in the American South.

Contact Lydia Derris at derrlf23@wfu.edu

Arts & Culture | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, February 22, 2024 | Page 19

Old Gold & Black|Arts & Culture

Page 20|Thursday, February 22, 2024

Decklan Mckenna’s new record takes a stand McKenna imbues political ideals of justice in “What Happened to the Beach?”

MARYAM KHANUM Opinion Editor

Per climate scientists, in a few decades we may be asking ourselves: what happened to the beach? Until then, however, this question can remain the foreboding title of English singersongwriter Declan McKenna’s third studio album.

“What Happened To The Beach?” is symbolic of the growing shift towards a more psychedelic rock sound that many artists of the alternative genre have been experimenting with. This “shoegaze-y” sound may have been popularized by industry giants such as Tame Impala and MGMT, but it is gradually being adopted by artists of alternate genres, like Lil Yachty in his record “Let’s Start Here,” or the “Sandhills” EP recently released by Toro y Moi. Tracks such as “WOBBLE,” “Mulholland’s Dinner and Wine” and “Honest Test” epitomize this sound, including hazier vocals, rough (but catchy) riffs and an up-tempo rhythm.

McKenna is no stranger to demonstrating his political stances through his music. His first two studio albums, “What Do You Think About The Car?” and “Zeros,” include songs

such as “Listen To Your Friends,” a political diatribe criticizing the British government (which at the time, was led by the British Conservative Party) and “The Key To Life on Earth,” a song that criticizes the increasing gap between socio-economic classes in modern society. Most notably, he released a single titled “British Bombs,” which points out the hypocrisy of Western interference in the disputes of non-Western nations.

He then performed this song live outside the Houses of Parliament in London as a part of a Climate Live Event.

“What Happened To The Beach?” continues to challenge the status quo and advocates for issues many Gen Z activists have championed, but in a way that is unique to McKenna’s third album alone. For one, it does so in a way that is much more reminiscent of optimistic nihilism — as the contrast between the upbeat, sanguine rhythms and the darker, ominous lyrics are particularly jarring in this record. While this paradox is recurring throughout McKenna’s discography (see: “British Bombs” and “You Better Believe!!!”), it is particularly evident in this album, as McKenna’s lyrics become a little darker and a little more graphic.

It’s definitely disconcerting to hear lyrics such as “I’m fucked up, I’m fallin’, when it kicks in, ooh, it kicks everythin’, blood don’t half run thin, through a poisoned brain,” whilst simultaneously listening to a tune that sounds like it belongs on a “best of ” record for ABBA, the Bee Gees or some other 70s-80s dance pop band.

The record, produced by Gianluca Buccellati, allows McKenna to break from his typical musical style in more ways than one. For starters, in an interview with Wonderland Magazine, McKenna talks about how he didn’t feel the need to make each song on the record a heavily produced, “complete” musical piece.

“They don’t have to be a full story in their own right or carry a really serious message,” McKenna said. “We could work on pure inspiration in the moment and let that be the song if it felt right, rather than overthinking it.”

Buccellati, McKenna’s main collaborator on the project, inspired his more relaxed outlook on the process of making music as a whole. He largely credits the more abstract tracks on the album, such as “4 More Years,” to Buccellati’s influence.

This less rigid method of production is distinctly audible when listening to

the final product. “What Happened To The Beach?” isn’t trying to be Bowie’s “Heroes” or The Beatles’ White Album — though it may have drawn inspiration from them — it occupies its own unique place within psychedelic rock.

However, the new record still includes tracks that remain faithful to McKenna’s classic sound, which is noticeably heavily inspired by many of his greatest musical inspirations, including Paul McCartney, David Bowie and Unknown Mortal Orchestra. That quintessential art rock/ pop rock sound that skyrocketed him into fame in the first place through tracks like “Brazil” and “Be An Astronaut” is especially audible in tracks like “Nothing Works” and “The Phantom Buzz (Kick In).”

Ultimately, “What Happened to the Beach?” seems to represent a shift not only in McKenna’s own music but a more holistic and gradual shift in his genre as a whole. The fuzzy, trippy sound of the album reiterates McKenna’s own growth as an artist and is a record worth listening to.

Contact Maryam Khanum at khanmg20@wfu.edu

Sudoku EVAN LIPETZ Staff Cruciverbalist

Contact Evan Lipetz at lipeek22@wfu.edu