OLD GOLD&BLACK W A K E
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T H U R S D AY, J A N U A RY 2 9 , 2 0 0 9
VOL. 92, NO. 18
“Covers the campus like the magnolias”
Student and professor awarded for diversity efforts sor of Political Science Larry Little and senior Ronald Williams. Nominees are recommended by faculty, students and staff members at their respective universities. The recipients are then chosen by the WFU/WSSU Holmes MLK Committee, which includes student and faculty representatives from both schools. Every year, only one student and one administrator/professor
By Chantel O’Neal | Asst. life editor
In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the university partnered with Winston-Salem State University in the ninth-annual presentation of the “Building the Dream” award. The award is given to students, faculty and administrators that have made exceptional efforts to promote racial diversity and harmony. This year the university honored Harold Holmes, associate vice president and dean of student services, and senior Trayonna Floyd from Gastonia. Recipients from Winston-Salem State University included Associate Profes-
from each university is awarded. Both Holmes and Floyd have made tremendous contributions to promote diversity, each in their own way. Holmes, who became a part of the university in 1987, was recognized for his role as an advocate for diversity and multiculturalism in every office in the Division of Student Life. Over the years, his efforts have made a lasting impact on the university. “He has helped create an atmosphere that especially nurtures and supports students of color,” said Barbee Oakes, director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs. “He is a gentle giant in higher education, one of the greatest hidden
treasures of the Wake Forest community.” During the presentation, Holmes was also acknowledged for establishing the Mission of Good Hope. Through this trip, students travel to Kayamandi Township to conduct a computer literacy program Floyd for the local citizens. This was monumental, since it was the university’s first international service
University Coordinating with the Community encourages theme houses By Caitlin Brooks | News editor
Following her freshman year, sophomore Crystal Okudo and a group of her friends decided that they wished to live together for their second year at the university. However, they were not interested in residing in a regular residence hall, but a house that was either on campus or close to campus. When Okudo and her friends learned about theme housing, they were intrigued by this residential option and paid visits to a few of the existing theme houses, eventually concluding that they desired to live in the International House. “We share a unity here at our house – a unity that none of us achieved with our hall mates in the huge freshman dorms,” Okudo said. “Theme housing has given me a stronger sense of belonging. I don’t feel like I’m just one of the thousands of students at Wake, walking around campus completing my daily routine. I feel that I have a home to go to at the end of the day. I feel cared for and know that there are people at my house waiting to see me at the end of every day.” Matt Imboden, coordinator of residence education in the Office of Residence Life and Housing, affirms that on a national scale it is generally recognized that college students realize their learning potential best when they experience full community membership in the learning setting. “At Wake Forest we are proud to work to provide this experience to all students in all Residence Halls,” Imboden said. He goes on to describe theme housing as a program which “allows interested and motivated groups of students to go a step further and create a living/ learning community intentionally focused around a common endeavor or interest. “By working with students through such a program, and providing them with support, guidance and encouragement, curricular and co-curricular activities can be holistically combined in exciting ways for the residents,” Imboden said.
Junior Dhruva Rajendra left an internship with Virginia Senator Jim Webb in the U.S. Senate in 2007 with a vision. When he returned for another internship in D.C., this time in the private sector with a defense lobby firm, his plans were cemented. By combining his perspectives from the public and private sectors of government, Rajendra, a political science major, saw ample ways that big government could work for small businesses. The problem was letting the business owners, nose deep in the day to day operations of their companies, know about it. Upon return to the university, Rajendra set out to find the resources to make this connection happen. Research returned a potential answer: a new program in the Graduate School of Law called The Community Law and Business Clinic (CL&BC) which will launch during the Spring 2009 semester. The CL&BC is a new education program that will provide law and graduate business students an opportunity to develop skills needed to deal with complex laws and regulative legislature. It serves a double purpose by bringing the resources and expertise of the university to the WinstonSalem community at large. In particular, it aims to increase the capacity of nonprofit development organizations by providing free legal services. This not only helps out the organizations, many of which could not afford legal services on their own, but gives graduate students the opportunity to get hands-on, real world experience before they graduate. The other half of the CL&BC’s clientele is made up of small businesses that are selected based on a rigid set of criterion. The CL&BC will provide training on business law issues and individualized assistance with business development to small businesses specializing in art and agriculture.
See Theme, Page A7
See CL&BC, Page A3
By Ashton Astbury | Asst. news editor
Professor publishes comedic novelette By R. Hunter Bratton | Asst. opinion editor
David Coates, the Worrell Professor of Anglo-American Studies within the political science department, publicly released his first novelette to a heterogeneous crowd of students, faculty and community members at the College Bookstore Jan. 27 on Hearn Plaza. Coates is the well-known author of many non-fiction works covering such topics as American public policy, global political economy and British labor politics. He said this paperback is unlike his other books because it is “designed purely to give readers wild merri-
ment in these troubling times. Tough times demand a little bit of laughter.” Although now a naturalized citizen of the United States, the university professor was born in England and raised on the works of Tom Sharpe, author of the Wilt series, and the flippant comedy show Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Titled The Thighs of Rose TudorCrump, Coates’ book is a jovial account of one day at a university when the dean of the college must decide which of two departments must be permanently closed down. Coates said the novelette containes plenty of “university humor.” “I took a lot of the jokes we all know
and love, exaggerated them, and created a story to get readers laughing,” Coates said. Coates, who sported a shirt at the book release with the caption, “Careful, or I’ll put you in one of my novels,” refused to say which of his colleagues made their way into his book, but he remarked that he is looking forward to reading of himself in their future novels. The author did reveal that none of his characters are modeled after members of the university community, yet he hopes students and faculty alike can relate to the exaggerated circumstances of his novel and laugh at their own quirks. Two of Coates’s charac-
Life | B5
INSIDE:
Alumni survival guide
Brieflies
A2
Police Beat
A2
Spotlight
B2
University alumnus outlines skills and preparations needed to succeed after graduation.
The Hot List
B6
In Other News
Sudoku
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• Comprehensive Cancer Center asks for funds | A2 • Teacher starts new interest group for feminists | A3
ters include Dr. Saddam Hussein, the “unfortunately named professor of Middle Eastern studies,” and Dr. Rose Tudor-Crump, the beautifully proportioned departmental chair. The day at the university is crammed full of wild happenings including lectures taught by those who know nothing of their topics and antithetically confusing test questions given to students. Even George W. Bush isn’t spared in the novel. There are lost body parts, missing people, exploding rooms, “mildly gassed cheerleaders” and an ambassador who never seems to leave.
trip to Stellenbosch University in Cape Town, South Africa. A partnership with WSSU also makes it the only international service-learning program that includes participants from another university. “It was a great honor to receive the award with Dean Harold Holmes,” Floyd, fellow recipient, said. “He is a wonderful person who I admire and have a great depth of respect for. I worked with him closely as a committee member to plan the Twin Cities Leadership Conference and found him to be a very intelligent, humorous and
See Dream, Page A7
Outside the Bubble... Seven bodies found in California home The bodies of two adults and five children were found in a Los Angeles neighborhood home on Jan. 27. It is believed the children’s father murdered them and his wife before killing himself. The man called 911 and faxed a local television station. In the faxed note the man mentioned he was depressed about his employment situation. A suicide note was found in the home.
Pulitzer Prize winner dies of cancer John Updike passed away Jan. 27 after a battle with lung cancer. He was 76. Updike is regarded as one of the greatest and most prolific writers in modern America. He won the Pulitzer Prize twice for Rabbit is Rich and its sequel Rabbit at Rest. Updike’s other famous works include The Witches of Eastwick and Terrorist.
Doll modeled after slain child causes outrages Showbiz Productions is halting the launch of its “Caylee Sunshine” doll after complaints from the public and the family of murdered toddler Caylee Anthony. The dolls are intended to honor children who died young with one hundred percent of the proceeds going toward charity. Caylee Anthony’s grandparents believe “This is an example of another person trying to profit from the tragedy of Caylee’s death.” Caylee was two years old and her skeletal remains were found last month in the wood near her grandparent’s house. Her mother, Casey Anthony, faces charges of first-degree murder.
Bulgarian gunman hijacks bus A man hijacked a bus in Bulgaria carrying about 40 passengers by claiming to have a bomb. The man forced the bus to stop near the town of Lovech at a petrolstation. He demanded that the police bring a man to him whom he claims caused his girlfriend’s miscarriage in a car accident. The hijacker was discovered not to have a bomb and claims he did not want to harm any passengers, just look the man who hit his girlfriend in the eyes. No one was injured.
Woman gives birth to octuplets in California Although doctors originally believed the woman to be carrying seven fetuses, she gave birth to the nation’s second live-born set of octuplets on Jan. 26. The six boys and two girls are still in incubators, but doctors say they are “doing very well.”
See Coates, Page A2
Sports | B1 Deacons top Devils The No. 4 Demon Deacons beat the No. 1 Duke Blue Devils in final seconds of highlyanticipated ACC match.
Opinion | A5 XOXO Former Opinion editor reveals opinion on Pledge Night traditions.
A2 Thursday, January 29, 2009
It is the
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Old Gold & Black News
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Day of classes
Brieflies Applications for student trustee position now available The Student Life Committee invites current sophomores and juniors to apply for the position of student trustee. Applications are now available in the following places: 311 Benson University Center, outside of the SG office in Benson and C301 Tribble Hall. Applications must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 16 to the chair of the Student Life Committee, Peter Siavelis, in C302 Tribble Hall. For more information, contact Mary Gerardy at ext. 5229 or gerardym@wfu.edu.
University installs outdoor emergency alert system The university has recently installed a new outdoor alert system that will use a siren and prerecorded messages to warn the campus of various emergencies, such as a chemical hazard, an armed intruder or a tornado. The university tested the alert system during winter break so that it would be operational when classes resumed for spring semester. According to Ken Zick, VP of Student Life and chair of the university’s Crisis Management Team, the new alert system serves the entire campus community, because it adds to other efforts to reach them in the event of an emergency.
Initiative to aid small businesses announced The university has launched an initiative aimed at helping local small businesses deal with problems resulting from the ongoing economic downturn. The initiative, known as the Wake Forest/ Triad Business Collaborative, was announced during the Jan. 24 meeting of the United Minority Contractors of North Carolina (UNCMC). The primary goal of the initiative is to share information about and coordinate access to programs that already exist within the individual institutions and agencies that are part of the collaborative. For more information, call (336) 759-1122.
War poet to read at Reynolda House Iraq war veteran Brian Turner, a poet who spent seven years in the U.S. Army, will read from his award-winning debut collectoin Here, Bullet at 7 p.m. Feb 16 at Reynolda House Museum of American Art. Here, Bullet was awarded a New York Times “Editor’s Choice,” distinction, in addition to winning the 2005 Beatrice Hawley Award and the 2007 Poets’ Prize. For more information, call ext. 5150.
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Valentine’s Day
Cancer center seeks millions to expand By Samantha Hoback | Staff writer
Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center’s Cancer Center program is ranked 26th in the country by the 2008 U.S. News & World Report. The Comprehensive Cancer Center is now looking to expand in order to provide more efficient and extensive inpatient and outpatient services. The Cancer Center is one of only 40 National Cancer Institutes designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States. It has already made leaps and bounds in cancer research and treatment. Since 1993, the Cancer Center has been researching and performing innovative treatments for its patients. Wake Forest Baptist has developed IPHC (Intraperitoneal Hyperthermic Chemotherapy), liver resection and radiofrequency tumor ablation to help treat abdominal cancer. In the multidisciplinary thoracic oncology clinic, the Cancer Center offers many different treatment
and care options for lung cancer patients, including extracranial stereotactic body radiosurgery. For patients with brain cancer, the medical staff offers a wide range of treatments, including GliaSite brachytherapy and Gliadel wafer chemotherapy. The Breast Care Center provides multidisciplinary treatments with a team of breast surgeons, radiologists, medical and radiation oncologists, plastic surgeons, pathologists, specialty nurses and genetic counselors. Not only does the Center perform groundbreaking treatment options, but it also is one of the first cancer facilities in the nation to address the emotional and psychological impact of cancer on its patients. Although the cancer death rate has fallen in the last 15 years in the United States, there is still a growing demand for cancer treatment. 17,540 people died from cancer in North Carolina in 2008. Cancer treatment is the fastestgrowing service of the Medical
Center and the inpatient service is overcrowded. “The expansion will meet a growing demand for inpatient capacity and will greatly improve convenience for patients by bringing all cancer services under one roof,” said Donny Lambeth, president of North Carolina Baptist Hospital. The Medical Center has plans for a $152 million expansion that will add 266,115 square feet to the current facility. A five-story addition will be built on top of the current Cancer Center, and the project will bring 135 new beds into the facility. The new addition will include more medical and surgical acute care beds as well as more criticalcare beds for blood and marrow transplants. Also, the 28 dedicated cancer critical care beds will be a first for the Medical Center. The new rooms will also help make cancer treatment more efficient. With plans to make all rooms private and family-friendly, the renovated facility will be more com-
Speakers to outline problems for Obama By Katie Phillips | Staff writer
Beginning Jan. 29, the university is hosting a series of speakers, all of whom have been attentively studying President Obama’s campaign, presidency, and recent decisions. The four separate events will reflect different aspects of President Obama’s foreign and domestic policy challenges that he is and will be facing in the future. Appropriately scheduled in the weeks following the 44th inauguration, the speaker series will include renowned guest speakers
from around the country. The first event which entails a university faculty panel will begin at 7 p.m. on Jan. 29. Located in Annenberg Forum (Room 111) of Carswell Hall, the faculty has titled the discussion “Advice to the New President on Policy Issues.” Professor Mark Hall of the university’s law school will be addressing the upcoming changes in health policies. Political science professor David Coates will be addressing and discussing with
See Series, Page A7
fortable for patients and their loved ones. Along with the existing research, the new expansion of the Cancer Center promises to continue Wake Forest Baptist’s reputation as an innovative, dedicated and compassionate facility. The Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center has already submitted a Certificate of Need application for the multi-million dollar expansion project. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2012. Recognized by America’s Top Doctors for its outstanding staff and ranked in the top third in funding by the National Institutes of Health, Wake Forest Baptist has a standing tradition of providing excellent care and pioneering techniques and procedures to offer patients and their families exceptional service from a committed team of specialists. The proposed expansion to the Comprehensive Cancer Center will further establish the facility’s commitment to its patients and the community.
D O T HE T WIST
Rachel Cameron/Old Gold & Black
Students enjoy a modern “twist” on the class game Twister at last weekend’s Wake All Night “Wakelodeon.”
Coates: Author satirizes collegiate life in book Continued from Page A1
Latisha Di Venuto/Old Gold & Black
Professor Coates shows off his humorous t-shirt at his book launch on Jan. 27 at the university book store.
Coates humorously mentioned, when asked why he started writing his newest book, that he began in December 2003 with hopes of removing his mind from the dreadful occurrences around the world. In reference to the cover design of his book, which has two feminine legs perched atop the title line, Coates said: “It’s not pornographic – the book doesn’t even have sex in it – but Rose does have wonderful thighs.” Coates has written books for over 30 years and although he sees more novels in his future, the professor said that he hopes his readers will,
particularly in this novel, discover themselves in one of the personages, “for Thighs (of Rose Tudor-Crump), as you know, is pure fiction,” Coates said, “and therefore, of course, entirely true.” The short work of fiction (less than fifty thousand words in length) is irreverent enough to get the attention of many college students and joins a host of well written and selfpublished literary works authored by men and women who live in the state of North Carolina. Before taking a position at the university and moving his residence and family to Winston-Salem, N.C., Coates taught at the universities of York, Leeds and Manchester in England.
POLICE BEAT
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Third Eye Blind
Wake ‘N Shake
Chinese New Year Festival celebrates Year of the Ox The Asian Student Interest Association (ASIA) will host a celebration of the “Year of the Ox” at the 10th annual Chinese New Year Festival from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Jan. 31 in Reynolds Gym Room 201. Festival activies will include translating names into Chinese, arts and crafts, and traditional Chinese games. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information about the festival call ext. 5675.
There are days until
• University Police responded to 78 calls from Jan. 19-25, including 16 incidents and investigations and 62 service calls. The following is a summary of the incidents and investigations.
Drug and Alcohol Violations • University Police were informed Jan. 16 that N.C. Alcohol Law Enforcement agents issued state citations to three students at two area establishments for underage alcohol possession. One of the students was also charged with possessing a fraudulent identification card. Information about the incidents was provided to Harold Holmes, associate vice president and dean of student services. • University Police were called Jan. 23 to assist the Winston-Salem Police Department, which observed an intoxicated student walking near
campus. The student was charged with underage alcohol consumption and obstructing and delaying an officer. University Police escorted him to the Student Health Service for observation. Information about the incident was provided to the dean of student services. • University Police responded Jan. 23 to a call about an intoxicated, sick student at Babcock Residence Hall. Police determined that the student was underage and had consumed alcohol. He was transported by Forsyth County EMS to Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for treatment. Information about the incident was provided to the dean of student services. • University Police responded Jan. 23 to a call about loud music from a car parked on the service road behind North Campus Apartments. The investigating officer smelled smoke coming
from the vehicle and charged two students with possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Information about the incident was provided to the dean of student services.
Thefts • An unattended wallet containing credit cards and cash totaling $87 was reported stolen from Reynolds Gym between 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Jan. 19. • An unattended purse and contents valued together at $140 were reported stolen from a table in the cafeteria at the Information Systems building between 6:50 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Jan. 24. • A duffle bag was reported stolen Jan. 23 from a secured room in Polo Residence Hall. The theft is believed to have occurred between Dec. 14 and Jan. 10.
News Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 29, 2009 A3
University activist initiates new feminist group By Maya Yette | Staff writer
Andrea Kensy/Old Gold & Black
The first meeting for the university’s chapter of FMLA was held on Jan. 26 in Tribble.
The Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance has recently had its first meeting after students in Resident Activist and Professor Patricia Willis’ Feminist Activism class organized the group as part of their coursework. The FMLA is a collegiate branch of the Feminist Majority Foundation and seeks to be inclusive of all students, boasting the main tenet: “This is What a Feminist Looks Like.” The organization fosters, but is not limited to, gender-inclusion, political-inclusion and inclusion of all sexual orientations. “This undiscriminating, inclusive approach will promote diverse discussion and greater understanding that will underpin change ultimately needed to help women,” senior Lacey Robinson said. “Apart from teaching, my mission is to help to create feminist
activism on campus so I try to involve students, female and male, in feminist philosophy and see how they can engage the issues that are important to them on campus and within the WinstonSalem community in creating pro-humanitate,” Willis said. “There is a great, obvious need for such a group on campus,” Robinson said about the FMLA. Last semester Willis’ students were involved in bringing many notable feminists to campus to speak, and they wanted to maintain their active involvement in promoting feminism on campus. The students involved in the launch of the group on campus aim to get the FMLA chartered and work in coalition with other student organizations like the Gay Straight Student Alliance, Treehouse and PREPARE. As FMLA’s advisor, Willis will work with the women’s and gender studies department to host
events and increase awareness of issues such as body image, campus safety and birth control information. “We want to make this organization something everyone feels like they can have a voice in. Some feminist scholars have postulated that collective decision making fosters amity and productivity,” Robinson said. Although their first meeting was Jan. 26, the FMLA already has numerous ideas for large and small events they might host on campus. These include a “die-in demonstration” to bring attention to those who die from maternal mortality and botched abortions and a sweatshop fashion show to educate the campus about the women and children that are exploited for labor. There’s even going to be a Wage Gap Bake Sale where men pay $1, white women pay $0.76,
African American women pay $0.66, and Hispanic women pay $0.54 to demonstrate how the rates are equal to the wage gap in the U.S. Students plan to visit local high schools to promote positive body image among teen girls. It is uncertain how the student body will react to the FMLA. “Unfortunately, I think that the mere presence of ‘feminism’ in the title of the organization will deter many students,” Robinson said. “There is a stigma against the word, one that implies exclusivity and extremism. Our hope is to reveal that everyone can be a feminist and that being one is very sensible.” Willis said she anticipates “that with a little bit of education we can get a lot of students who want to engage in this because they already are feminists whether they claim the title or not.”
CL&BC: Undergrads work with law school program
Continued from Page A1
Rajendra contacted the director of CL&BC, Steve Virgil, associate clinic professor of law, and pitched his idea. Called Government Initiative, Rajendra’s project would work with the Clinic’s small business and non-profit clients to bridge the gap between state and federal policies and the Winston-Salem community. This social entrepreneurship project would supplement the legal aid of the CL&BC by serving as a policy analysis and advocacy group. Its members would keep tabs on what is going on in federal, state and local government and then translate this policy study into language that business owners can easily understand. This would lay clear the effects of laws and policies so that business owners would no longer have to speculate what a certain law means for them. Additionally, it would get undergrads involved in the political, legal, and social aspects of the program where they were previously unrepresented. Positions in the organization would open up a world of opportunity for undergrads of a wide variety of disciplines. Virgil agreed with Rajendra and the plan ImagineQPbw 3/13/06 2:58was PM set in motion.
imagine
In November 2008, Rajendra selected two fellow juniors to become his partners in Government Initiative; Zahir Rahman, the president of College Democrats, and Ben Lynch, the former chairman of the College Republicans. His selection was intentional – both Rahman and Lynch have extensive experience in state and local government and great people skills. They also share his interest in breaching the university bubble and reaching out to the wider Winston-Salem community. Together, they began to study the implications of public policy for small businesses and placed a huge emphasis on the collapsing housing market and non-profit development organization, of which none of them had much experience. They complied the first monthly newsletter, which will be released soon. It will provide summaries of grants, outlooks and analysis. What’s the next step for Rajendra, Rahman and Lynch? Outreach and expansion. They hope to work through the vast client list of the CL&BC (which currently has over 1,200 clients in the housing sector alone), calling each in turn to verify Page that 1 they received the monthly newsletter. They also hope to highlight
specific grants applicable to each client to get them on the road to funding. “Government is such a big place, it’s hard for small businesses to keep an eye on it,” Lynch said. “They (small business and nonprofit owners) have enough on their plate without trying to locate new grant streams and funding for themselves.” “We are building the bridge, making it simpler to get to government,” Rajendra said. That requires manpower. The three founders have made valiant strides to get the organization moving, but they are looking to expand. Applications are now available for internships within the organization. Anyone interested should contact Rahman at rahmzr6@ wfu.edu. “A lot of similar opportunities are reserved for law students, but we feel like we have a unique (undergraduate) student body that understands the professional aspects of what the clinic does and can really provide something needed. This program will get them involved in something traditionally not open to them,” Rahman said. Government Initiative is looking for applicants from any major, but particularly those interested in government policy, development management,
Rachel Cameron/Old Gold & Black
From left to right: Lynch, Rajendra and Rahman are trying to make a difference outside of the university campus. entrepreneurial ideas or public relations. Interns will work with all aspects of the program; analyzing policy and conducting outreach phone calls. “I really feel like this project embodies the spirit of Pro Humanitate,” Rajendra said. “We are able to invest this time and effort into the community and local economy to really help revitalize Winston-Salem.” Rahman and Lynch mirrored his sentiments.
“We are frequently asked ‘what do you guys want out of this?’ Center to this project is the idea of community development,” Rahman said. “We are often stuck in the Wake Forest bubble, but there are so many changes to do outside of school. We think our training is just in the classroom, but it can be so much broader. We can make a difference; we can get outside the bubble.”
stopping the progression of Alzheimer’s
I have friends and loved ones suffering from Alzheimer’s. But I can imagine… and hope for… a world without this terrible disease.
Maya Angelou author, poet, educator
You can help make a difference. A major brain imaging study led by the National Institutes of Health may help us learn how to stop the progression of Alzheimer’s. Please consider joining the study if you are between 55 and 90 and: • are in good general health with no memory problems, OR • are in good general health but have memory problems or concerns, OR • have a diagnosis of early Alzheimer’s disease.
Photo: Courtesy of DwightCarter.com
For more information, call 1-800-438-4380 or visit www.alzheimers.org/imagine.
Attention rising Juniors and Seniors: You are invited to apply for the position of
PRESIDENT’S AIDE Wake Forest University 2009-2010 President’s Aides are student leaders who serve as representatives of Wake Forest University and the student body, and participate in a variety of University events throughout the academic year. In addition, President’s Aides meet regularly with President Hatch, providing an additional communication link between the student body and the administration. Applicants must meet the following qualifications: • minimum 2.5 cumulative GPA • member of the rising junior class or above • agree to participate for not less than one academic year (plans for study abroad experiences will not affect eligibility) ***** Successful applicants will have demonstrated leadership in academic life, student life and community service. Finalists, selected by a committee, will be invited to an interview prior to the final selection in early April. The selection committee reserves the right to examine individual student judicial records as part of the selection process. APPLICATIONS ARE AVAILABLE ONLINE @ http://www.wfu.edu/president/aides.php Application deadline: Monday, March 16, 2007
O PINION O L D
This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board.
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A T : w w w. o l d g o l d a n d b l a c k . c o m ogboped@wfu.edu
B L A C K
Shuttle solves weekend woes
W
e are very excited to welcome the university’s new downtown shuttle service. The shuttle leaves from Benson, a fairly central location, and takes students to six different places downtown, a place that is somewhat foreign to many university students. From Thursday through Saturday, the shuttle runs until 3 a.m., making it easy to use when going out. The shuttle comes to each location every 30 minutes, so students do not have to wait forever to get a ride. This is exactly what the university has been missing, and it is yet another improvement to help bolster our image as a top university. We think everyone is concerned with the possibility of drunk drivers on the road late at night. Our age group is notorious for getting DUIs which, as we all know, are a serious offence. With this service, students should never feel obligated to drive when they have had a little too much to drink. Additionally, the underclassmen do not have to be on-call for the upperclassmen when they want a ride back to campus after a night of partying. The new shuttle system is safe and more reliable that the Winston-Salem transportation system, which is known for not being on time. It is also free, so the average college student’s budget is not compromised. Hopefully, this shuttle system will encourage students to look outside of the Wake Forest bubble when considering what to do on a given Friday or Saturday night. Downtown Winston-Salem has more to offer than one
might think when it comes to restaurants, bars and even theater. After a while, the fraternity scene definitely gets old and it’s important to leave the comforts of campus every once in awhile and explore Winston-Salem. This is especially true for the freshman students who don’t know much about WinstonSalem. They have a chance to explore the city where they will spend the next four years. Didn’t we all come to college to gain new experiences, not merely to bask in our comfort zone? This service gives students without cars the opportunity to go downtown without having to get a ride from someone with a car. Also, students with cars get a break from driving people around all of the time. We hope that the shuttle is successful enough that the service expands to include places like Wal-Mart and a grocery store. After all, many students are living on campus without a car, but they still need groceries. Some other schools that are similar to us in size, like Vanderbilt and Boston College, already have this extended shuttle service in place and it has been very successful. What really impresses us is that the idea for a shuttle came from students. The university then worked with them to make the shuttle service a reality. We think it’s great that a student-generated idea to improve campus life was met with such enthusiasm from the university administration. We hope that students will continue to have ideas for improving the university and that the university continues to have an open mind.
OLD GOLD&BLACK The Student Newspaper of Wake Forest University since 1916
Mariclaire Hicks Editor in chief Elliot Engstrom Tyler Kellner Managing editor Business manager News: Caitlin Brooks, editor. Ashton Astbury and Elizabeth Forrest, assistant editors. Opinion: Hannah Werthan, editor. Hunter Bratton and Nilam Patel, assistant editors. Sports: Connor Swarbrick, editor. Samantha Cernuto and Tori Stewart, assistant editors. Life: Caroline Edgeton, editor. Olivia Boyce and Chantel O’Neal, assistant editors. Contributing editor: CeCe Brooks Photography: Rachel Cameron, editor. Haowei Tong, assistant editor. Graphics: Bobby O’Connor, editor. Production: Allison Lange, Gary Pasqualicchio and Bo-Shan Xiang, production assistants. Online: Elizabeth Wicker, editor. Nick Venditti, development. Business Staff:. Jake Gelbort, invoices and circulation. Adviser: Wayne King. The Old Gold & Black is published Thursdays during the school year, except during examinations, summer and holiday periods, by Stone Printing of High Point. Send e-mail to ogb@wfu.edu. To subscribe, please send $75 to P.O. Box 7569, WinstonSalem, NC 27106. © 2008 WFU Media Board. All rights reserved. The views expressed in all editorials and advertisements contained within this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Old Gold & Black. Send guest columns to ogboped@wfu.edu. The deadline for inclusion is 5 p.m. the Monday before publication. To view editorials policies, visit www.oldgoldandblack.com.
Kerui Xu
America needs to stand by Israel
areas, making it very difficult to target specific members of said terrorist groups. In the aforementioned article, Petrescu writes, “It’s not for me to decide if 13 Israeli lives are more valuable than 1,300 Palestinian lives or the other way around.” The actions of the Israeli government when engaging in conflict with Gaza were not solely the result of those deaths. That is a vast oversimplification. Israel had Hannah Werthan to show that it was not simply going to Opinion editor comply with Hamas’ acts of terrorism. Conversely, Hamas and other terrorist here seem to be two types of groups purposely go for civilians and people when it comes to the Gaza- do not take into account whether these Israel conflict: those who don’t casualties are women and children. Israel know too much about what’s going on wants peace and these terrorists want and those who have a strong opinion one people to live their lives in terror. way or another. I happen to belong to the These days, many people think that we latter group, as I will always stand with shouldn’t have gone to war with Iraq as Israel. As I read “Mid. East tragedy needs a knee-jerk response to 9-11. Similarly, resolution” (Monica Petrescu, Jan. 22), Israel shouldn’t have so brutally attacked I could not help but be concerned with a region because of an isolated incident. America’s overall stance on Israel. News This line of thinking is incorrect for stations such as CNN are now changing several reasons. First of all, Israel knows their alliances and portraying Israeli that the attack came from Hamas and soldiers as monsters who are killing with knows roughly where Hamas is located. no purpose. This is simply not true. Also, Gaza is right next to Israel. Some I think, as Americans, Israelis live a mere couple we need to consider of miles from terrorists. Do people actually think that why we have such a These are places where Obama could be the one strong alliance with Israelis have made their Israel. Israel is a country to erase years and years of homes, and they don’t see much like the United brutality between the Israelis any immediate cease to States; it is a flourishing chaos in the future. and Palestinians? democracy. Though it What really bothered became a state a mere me was when Petrescu 60 years ago, it already asserted, “President has a booming economy, especially when Bush, and many before him, have one considers it is the size of New Jersey. ‘misunderestimated’ the value of life Israel has the second highest number of itself, letting politics and special interests startup companies in the world, and it dominate this issue, creating a huge has the highest school life expectancy in mess.” I think it is arrogant for America Southwest Asia. Israel is very similar to to believe it actually could “solve” this the United States in productivity, but it is tension dating back thousands of years. in a different location and has a distinctly Do people actually think that Obama different culture, which makes living there could be the one to erase years and considerably more difficult. years of brutality between the Israelis I’ve been to Israel three times, so I’ve and Palestinians? What could he do seen what it is like to live there. Israeli that Bush’s administration, led by the children board a public bus to get to very capable Condoleezza Rice, couldn’t school with the persistent possibility that do in negotiating with both groups? a suicide bomber may be sitting three America may be great but we cannot rows behind them. Upon entering a fix everything. Petrescu continues, “If parking garage, Israeli soldiers examine Obama truly hopes to be a symbol against your car. Imagine having your car injustice, then he must listen to the inspected every time you go to the grocery voices of the thousands that are suffering store, the mall or the doctor. Imagine and give them the hope of a less bloody having to go through a metal detector tomorrow.” Well, listening won’t do every time you enter a store. People anything. We hear reports of suffering all criticize Israeli soldiers for killing Gaza the time, but that doesn’t mean that we children and civilians without considering have the capability to do anything about the casualties that Israelis have had with them. Our best choice is to continue to disturbing frequency because of acts of support Israel and its democracy in the terrorism. Middle East, and I can guarantee that Obviously Israeli soldiers had no Israel will continue to be loyal to us. intention of killing children. The problem was, and has always been, that terrorist Hannah Werthan is a sophomore from groups such as Hamas hide in civilian Nashville, Tenn.
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Submissions The Old Gold & Black welcomes submissions in the form of columns and letters to the editor. Letters should be fewer than 300 words and columns should be under 750 words. Send yours via e-mail to ogboped@wfu.edu, by campus mail to P.O. Box 7569 or deliver it to Benson 518. by 5 p.m. the Monday before publication. We reserve the right to edit all letters for length and clarity. No anonymous letters will be printed.
Quick Quotes ”It was complete coincidence. The thief gave that address because he’d once lived in the house. The policeman was the guy who moved in afterwards.” - German police spokesman, explaining how a teenager caught shoplifting tried to lie about where he lived, but the address he gave turned out to be the home of an investigating officer.
“” “We decided to proceed with the delivery in anticipation of seven babies. We had done some drills, some preliminary dry runs. Lo and behold, after we got to Baby G, which is what we expected, we were surprised by Baby H.” - Dr. Karen Maples, at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Centre near Los Angeles, describing their shock when a mother gave birth to octuplets for the second time in history.
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Opinion Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 29, 2009 A5
Pledge Night creates a drunken disaster Alex Osteen
Old Gold & Black columnist
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’m sure I’m not alone when I admit that ever since I was a young teenager, I have dreamed about a massive make-out fest in which I could walk up to anywhere from 50-500 girls and demand that they French kiss me on the spot and they’d do it. Little did I know that the smart-people’s college I’d end up attending would actually bring my far-out fantasy into a literally juicy reality. Pledge Night is great! I like it because it’s an awesome tradition that allows dorks like me to be on the same playing field as jocks, albeit a really whack playing field. Way back when, as a freshman discovering it for the first time, I thought to myself, “Finally! They came up with an event in which people who are ‘athletic’ and ‘good-looking’ and ‘funny’ aren’t the only ones getting some action out on the dance floor.” Also, nobody really cares if you’re not a pledge.
Thanks to the makers of fine alcoholic products, very few girls or guys actually remember much about the experience. I, for one, would like to take a moment to congratulate and applaud the Wake Forest Greek establishment for providing guys across campus the unique chance to exchange some good old tongue romance with all the young freshmen girls they’ve been creepily staring at all year. I mean, other than the contraction of oral herpes, mono or other interesting diseases, what could really go wrong with this concept? Actually, I’ve never gone to Pledge Night; I think it is a bizarrely gross ritual and I have trouble grasping how it happens year after year at Wake Forest. College is a time to study, yes, but it is also a time to meet people, have some fun and try new things. I’ll buy that. We college students are known for pushing boundaries and experimenting. Let’s not forget, however, that we are also renowned (mostly in the eyes of our parents) for the idiotic things we do from time to time. Pledge Night could be just another of those regrettable decisions. On a deeper level though, the line between right and wrong can get blurry for everybody sometimes. Certain things like slapping Grandma and kicking kittens are definitely bad, while making hot chocolate for poor people is
a good thing. But I am not sure if we can be so “Hey little Timmy/Suzie, what did you and certain where Pledge Night fits in. If making your new friends do last Friday night?” What out with a hundred people at a party violates the can Timmy/Suzie say? “Well, my friends and I innocence of kissing somebody you like, then it’s partook in some tasty beverages before going a bad thing. down town to this place where we met up with a Doing anything you otherwise wouldn’t feel bunch of other people who had also partaken in comfortable doing if you weren’t drunk or similar tasty beverages and then we HOOKED pressured into it by older kids UP WITH HUNDREDS is a bad thing too. On the OF STRANGERS FOR Let’s not forget, however, other hand, it may be unfair HOURS, ONLY STOPPING that we are also renowned to blame Pledge Night for OCCASIONALLY TO PUKE (mostly in the eyes of our something that may be going IN BETWEEN PARTNERS. on otherwise across the nation. parents) for the idiotic things Will you send me more cash Society’s obsession these days please?” we do from time to time. with sex and instant pleasure Maybe there’s a good reason or our generation’s apathy and that sororities have strict rules self-centeredness has probably against talking about Pledge already erased the value of a simple kiss anyway. Night during their recruitment. We may just be doomed to begin with. I think I don’t know how many average freshman I’m starting to sound like a 70-year-old nun. girls would want to join a sorority after they Besides, who am I to say that all the people who listen to some of the stories about Kiss Night. partake in this event every year are wrong for Millennium Center is not known for having doing it? clean bathrooms. I can’t state with any conviction that Pledge Pledge Night isn’t going away any more than Night is all that worse than other things that the streaks of toilet paper on our trees after we happen much more often on campus — binge beat Duke. Nonetheless, it is my opinion that drinking, abusing Adderall, one night stands, we should all take a step back on this one, think stereotyping and hazing, just to name a few. it over and ask ourselves if it’s worth it. But if we were to take Kiss Night out of the context of Wake Forest, wouldn’t it sound kind Alex Osteen is a senior economics and Spanish of ridiculous? Mommy or Daddy might ask, major from Highlands, N.C.
Seeking Middle Ground | Right Says
Mid. East confl ict Can you is hard to resolve draw? Do you have opinions? Do you know what is going on? Would you like to have cartoons published weekly and get paid for it? If so, then shoot Hannah Werthan, opinion editor, an e-mail at werthr7@wfu.edu.
Nice guys win in the end after all Persistence pays off, bad guys don’t always get the girl Hamlin Wade Guest columnist
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y name is Hamlin Wade, and I am a nice guy. This statement is not intended to be filled with arrogance or demand sparklers and a parade. This statement is not meant to raise questions or debate as to whether or not I am a nice guy. For, without a shadow of doubt, without a smidgen of exchange, I know that I am unequivocally a “nice guy.” And how, might you ask, may I put forth such a bold statement about my personality and my character? Well, simply put, as long as I have been interested in the opposite sex, I have been dubbed the “nice guy” by almost every girl that I have ever shown interest in. This article is not meant to be a sob story, recounting my failed attempts to gain entrance into the fantastical and somewhat ridiculous world known as dating. Rather, it is meant to be a case study, examining and determining if the mantra really rings true, that “nice guys finish last.” Here’s how my encounters typically go with women. While my friends try stupid pick up lines and make tactless comments, I sit back, and actually “talk” to a girl. It’s amazing how well
this works. Then, after I become which subsequently leads to the girls good friends, I wait say two or three going after the men we just spent an years, then something happens and hour proving weren’t right for them. next thing you know I’m dating the So, maybe the old adage is true, girl. could it be that nice guys do finish My dating life typically follows last? that of J.D. and Elliot from Scrubs. I Before we completely close the play the best friend, she gets close to argument, we have to think of this me, we have our brief moment, and situation objectively and realize that then it’s gone. without us, the world would struggle Next thing you know I’m back to to exist. playing “hide the saltine” with Turk Without the “nice guys” like and discussing me or J.D. or Luke where it went Skywalker, females While my friends try stupid wrong. would struggle to So, what does know how to deal with pickup lines and make tactall this mean? our gender. less comments, I sit back, Is it simply If nice guys like us and actually “talk” to a girl. a flaw in my didn’t exist, who would personality that women come to for It’s amazing how well this prevents me advice on how to deal works. from giving off with the badass Johnny the necessary of their lives? sex-appeal to get women? Maybe. While the outlook is dim in the But I think much more than just short term, I am constantly told that my own pitfalls, it is a common when a girl wants a husband, the nice guys will prevail. We provide failure among the “nice guys” of the stability and security that the rebels world. Think back to old Western movies. of the world can’t yet grasp. So nice guys of Wake Forest, I have Who gets the girl? one piece of advice for you to take The bad boy outlaw. What about adventure movies? The from this article. If you are searching for an answer crass badass who doesn’t take crap with how to deal with your pigeon from anyone. We can even explore holed life, here it is: continue being sci-fi movies. Who gets Princess the nice guy, continue dealing with Leia? Han Solo, the jerk who ignores her the lack of random hook ups or and degrades her for the duration of female admirers. For our time will come, our the trilogy. moment will arrive. It’s not how you The “nice guy” is the one who run the race, but how you finish. is constantly bombarded with And I guarantee, the nice guys don’t personal questions from girls, most finish last. often dealing with the bad boys of their lives. Hamlin Wade is a freshman from We, being the nice guys that we are, diligently listen and offer advice, Charlotte, N.C.
seeking and promoting the destruction of Israel. Should all of this not be reason enough to defend Israel? So what should the Israelis do? Everyone understands and agrees that the killing of innocent Palestinian civilians, women and children specifically, is horrific. Israel does not seek out such innocents. Maggie Van Norden And it is clear that many innocents Old Gold & Black columnist have died on both sides of this conflict. But the notion that Israel’s ’m sure that you’ve seen mention of response is not sufficiently measured the Gaza Conflict in the news, but and proportionate is simply not a do you know how small this little legitimate argument. strip is? The Gaza Strip occupies about Israelis are not able to enter a twenty-five miles of territory south of shopping market without fear of being Israel. blown up by a suicide bomb. Even This tiny piece of territory has caused such a simple act as riding on a bus has conflict for thousands of years, and it become dangerous for Israelis. Why is will not likely ever be resolved. While no one in the Arab world responding it is claimed as part of the Palestine to the aid of the Israelis? How come Liberation Organization (PLO), since women and children remain in the June of 2007 it has been governed line of fire, so to speak, in Gaza? Israel, by Hamas, a social and political unlike many countries at war, regularly organization with a stated mission of warns non-combatants in the affected destroying Israel. The “conflict” is old, area of their imminent intent. as it goes back as far as the Roman In order to protect people, they and Ottoman Empires. But for three encourage the civilians to leave. weeks, beginning in the Innocents are in the middle of December, line of fire because Israel has had to take Hamas wants them Alongside Iran, Hamas definitive measures to there. openly and aggressively defend itself. It is very difficult admits to their goal of Article 51 of the to see the potential United Nations Charter seeking and promoting for a diplomatic reserves the right of solution to the the destruction of Israel. every nation to engage existing hostilities Should all of this not be in self-defense against shared between the reason enough to defend armed attacks. Palestinians and the So even though the Israelis. Israel? Palestinian conflict goes Hamas, as well as back so many centuries, other groups, believe for the last three years, that there is no place Israel has been forced to live with the in the Middle East for a Jewish state. constant threat of rocket fire initiated Hamas has been fighting a Holy War, by Hamas. Consider this: random and they will only stop when there is missile strikes would be considered an an end to Israel. act of war with any country with their Honestly, I do not really know population under real and present where to go with this. danger. As of now, the fighting has stopped. However, in these last three years, I find it naïve to think it will not start Hamas has indeed dropped over 6,000 again, especially if we look at the trend rocket missiles on Israeli cities, killing throughout history. over 1,000 Israelis. The only thing I can really think And now Hamas, conveniently of to do is to pray about this, and I supplied by Iran, has been armed with encourage you to do the same, as the long range missiles, thus increasing answer will not be one that is man the threat to as many as an additional made. 10,000 Israelis. Alongside Iran, Hamas openly and Maggie Van Norden is a sophomore from aggressively admits to their goal of Altlanta, Ga.
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How does Wake Forest stack up? | Facts and figures
Wake Forest University Z. Smith Reynolds Library
Vanderbilt University Jean and Alexander Heard Library
2.1 million
3.0 million
Number of books in university library
Old Gold & Black News
A6 Thursday, January 29, 2009
Graduating seniors face uncertain market By Walker Kalan | Staff writer
In less than five months, the Class of 2009 will be cut loose, left to make something of themselves in the midst of what President Barack Obama calls “the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.” Some of the graduating seniors have secured spots in medical and law schools. Others have earned corporate positions through internships in D.C. and New York. As always, there are a handful of seniors who’ve opted for the scenic route, prolonging their academic careers through next year. For the majority of the Class of 2009, there is an overwhelming sense of uncertainty. “Honestly, I have no idea what I’ll be doing this time next year,” senior business major Craig Wallace said. “The job market is so shaky; there don’t seem to be too many options for us at the moment.” Some seniors are too tied down with schoolwork to devote much of their time to the job hunt. “I’m trying to be pragmatic,” senior psychology major Avery Voos said. “I’ve got a lot on my plate as it is. When I finish my exams and take care of the rest of my major requirements, I’ll start worrying about post-graduation.” While the failing economy may not be on every student’s radar, the job market has certainly captured the attention of the nation. These figures spell tough times ahead for recent graduates. Most sectors — including finance, marketing and media — are experiencing negative job growth. Even the most rapidly expanding fields, like technology and communications, are cutting back on new hires. “This is fundamental — this is a systematic meltdown,” Bill Currin, director of career services, said in reference to the poor job market. “This is more than a blip in the screen.”
Currin believes that the current economic downturn will have a much more destructive impact than the post-9/11 recession, which forced many college grads to move back home with their parents and accept jobs they may have been overqualified for. Banks everywhere are in crisismode — merging, downsizing or, in many instances, closing their doors for good. As a result, students of business and finance have been forced to negotiate particularly tumultuous waters. There were nearly 200 fewer interviews conducted on campus last semester compared to fall last year. Major national banks and investment firms, including Citigroup, Wachovia and Bank of America, cancelled 285 interviews. Currin, fixed with a look of deep concern like a distraught parent, explains, “For a number of these interview cancellations, the job positions literally do not exist anymore. Offices within firms have completely shut down, and in some instances, like Lehman Brothers, the company has folded entirely.” Lehman Brothers, like Merrill Lynch and a number of prominent financial firms with historical ties to the unviersity, were noshows on campus this fall. A handful of seniors have even had to contend with employers reneging job offers. “Some students were offered jobs at the end of their internships,” Currin said, “but they’ve since received phone calls or e-mails saying ‘sorry, we just don’t have room for new hires.’” Recent graduates have suffered as well. Twenty-somethings who moved to New York to work on Wall Street, and others who signed lucrative banking contracts in Charlotte and D.C., have faced the grim reality of layoffs. “We’ve been getting tons of e-mails from out-of-work graduates looking for leads,” Currin said. “Its an ugly market.” The banking and investment job market garners the most press
Unemployment by education levels in U.S.
Graphic courtesy of mjperry.blogspot.com
coverage, though students looking for positions in fields from publishing to real estate face similar struggles. “The financial sector jobs have definitely been hit the hardest,” Shan Woolard, assistant director of career services, said. “But when the banks and financial institutions are underperforming, the impacts are far-reaching.” Financial services and investment banking are university graduates’ first and third most sought after job sectors, respectively. Many other popular fields — consulting, real estate, information technology and marketing — face difficult times ahead as the financial sectors struggle. Where do college grads typically turn when the job market is weak? “There’s certainly an uptick in students applying to graduate programs,” Lorna Moore, Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said. In 2002, at the height of the last economic recession, applications to the Reynolda Campus graduate school programs were up over 20%. All major indicators suggest that the current recession is worse, meaning that there may be an even greater increase in applications this year. “We have the ability to expand our enrollment by about 10% without expanding our facilities or faculty,” Moore said. If applica-
tions increase as much as they did in 2002, as the deans of graduate programs expect, there will be a precipitous drop in acceptance rates. In other words, grad schools will be more competitive. The increasingly competitive nature of graduate schools isn’t the only concern for students seeking advanced degrees. Students face an economyinduced catch-22: as job opportunities become more scarce, the 20-something crowd looks to boost their job candidate appeal through grad school diplomas. However, education loans are much harder to obtain in a weak economy. As university endowments drop, scholarships and financial aid are in jeopardy. College endowments, tied to the failing stock markets, are expected to be down by an average of 30% this year. Less capital means fewer scholarships. Assuming the university’s losses are on par with the average, the university’s endowment will have dropped by about $300 million this year. “Wake’s endowment is tied directly to the economy,” Stacy Owen, director of admissions for the Babcock Graduate School of Management, said. “I expect we won’t be able to give out as much scholarship money this year as in past years.”
Debt is also a major concern for graduating seniors. The average American undergraduate owes about $21,000 in outstanding loans. Recent grads looking to enroll in law school can expect even steeper bills. Graduates of the university’s Law School owe an average of $66,000 after three years of study. The average debt of the university’s medical school students is about $120,000. What about the graduating seniors who aren’t interested in accumulating additional tens of thousands of dollars in debt? What about those who don’t even qualify for loans necessary to enroll in grad programs? And those who want to take a break from academics, or aren’t interested in obtaining higher degrees? “Students need to start thinking outside of the box,” Woolard said. “That dream job you always wanted might not be there, at least not right away. Try looking at jobs in terms of stepping stones.” Woolard’s advice: Don’t spend as much time focusing on the “brand-name” companies. “You’re not going to be spending the next 40 years at the first job you take out of college. It takes patience and, yes, a little bit of sacrifice. There are plenty of great jobs right under your noses, you just need to have an open mind.” Which jobs should seniors keep an eye out for? The most in-demand sector is sales. This is a broad category, ranging from retail to corporate and insurance sales. Students from any discipline can enter sales; employers are typically more interested in strong personal and communication skills than whether you studied math or history. Not looking to hustle sweaters at the Gap? How about working as a mechanic or truck driver? Employers across the nation are desperate to fill these positions. Technicians and heavy machine
operators are also top-10 indemand occupations. Most graduates probably feel overqualified for these jobs. Aren’t there any other positions a graduate of a top-30 university might seek out? “Education is always in demand,” Currin said. “A lot of students are looking at Teach For America. “They hired 15 Wake kids last year, and they’re looking to pick up 30 this year.” Education, he assured, is a great background for anyone looking to get into law a few years down the road. “Accounting is one of the few fields that is actually growing,” Currin said. “Healthcare is usually recession proof, and government is a fantastic, and often-overlooked, sector. The federal government is looking to hire about 46,000 graduates this year.” Currin acknowledges that government pay scales aren’t the best, but the benefits are top-notch, and a few years of work experience in the capital looks great on a resume. The career services staff is working the phones, e-mailing alumni contacts and networking across the board in efforts to attract a wide range of employers. “We had some folks from the CIA visit last week,” Currin said. “These were guys from the Clandestine Service — spies! We’ve never had anything like that before.” Despite encouragements from the career services department, words like “sacrifice” and “patience” are not what job-seeking seniors like to hear. “It’s difficult,” senior Caitlin O’Connell, a political science major, said. “You come to college, and you have all these hopes and dreams of what you want to do with yourself, and as our time here winds down, you kind of get real, and start to realize you’ve got to work a lot harder if you want that great job.”
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News Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 29, 2009 A7
Theme: Students share interests and ideals Continued from Page A1
Theme housing was introduced at the university in the 1970s with the formation of language houses, and has grown and developed over the years to include other interests. Today, the six theme house options at the university are: the Anthony Aston Players, a thespian organization; the Japan House; T.R.E.E, a community centered around tolerance, respect, education and the on-campus environment; the International House, a group of students dedicated to multiculturalism; Technology Quarters; and Wesley House, which consists of students involved in the United Methodist campus ministry. According to Imboden, approximately 70 students are currently participating in the theme housing program. There are
theme housing communities in five of the university-owned road houses along Polo Road and Rosedale Circle, as well as in the basement floor of Huffman Residence Hall. Senior Rebecca Cannon asserts that her experience with theme housing has made her time in college significantly better. “I live in the Anthony Aston Players (AAP) House and have lived here for 2 years,” Cannon said. “The AAP House is a great community for theatre artists, and really all creative people. It’s nice to be able to see a friendly face after a long day. We help each other with homework, we read plays aloud, we have production meetings and just talk about theatre. In addition to all of that, we have a lot of fun. Living here gives me a home away from home. The people that I live with in the AAP House are my family.” In addition to serving as that “home
away from home,” the six theme houses have been involved in various projects and events benefitting the campus community. “In addition to regular community group discussions, during the fall 2008 semester theme communities have sponsored a Japanese Taiko Drumming exhibition and a Japanese Culture Day, graduate school application help sessions, film showings and discussions, international food dinners, a campuswide gaming night, trips to theatrical performances around Winston-Salem, hosted play readings on campus and engaged in numerous additional collaborative activities with other on-campus groups,” Imboden said. Junior Kelly Bernhardt elaborated on the activities that have complimented her experience as a theme house resident. “I have lived in T.R.E.E. House for the last two years, and I plan on
living here again next year,” Bernhardt said. “T.R.E.E. stands for Tolerance, Respect, Environment and Education, and it is dedicated to increasing tolerance on campus. Our activities are amazingly fun, from low key movie nights to our pirate-themed murder mystery party, to “Cookies and Campus,” where we decorated cookies and talked about the environment on campus.” According to Imboden, a new theme community begins with a single student or a group of interested students who would like to help build a unique and rewarding residential experience for themselves. Next, they obtain a faculty or staff advisor for the theme community and submit a theme housing Application to the Residence Life & Housing office. Bernhardt recommends theme housing for “those who want a sense of community on their
hall – those who want a space they can be a part of, not just a space to live in.” “It’s such a great opportunity – it means you’ll never suffer a Pit meal alone! There’s always someone on the hall willing to walk with you,” Bernhardt said. Any student interested in applying to become a resident of an existent theme is encouraged to contact the Theme Program Assistant for that group to learn about the current status of that theme house as well as their plans for next year. If interested students are unable to make contact on their own, they can contact Imboden at imbodemw@wfu. edu. Applications are currently available on the Residence Life and Housing website, and they are due to Benson 101 no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 13. For more information, visit www.wfu.edu/ housing.
Series: Policy examined Dream: Differences valued Continued from Page A2
the audience economic issues and changes that will be put into effect under the new administration. An additional political science professor, Charles Kennedy, will include discussion on the gradual changes being made to the United States’ position on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The second event begins at 5 p.m. on Feb. 2, also in Annenberg Forum. Speaker Stephen Hess will be presenting a lecture, “The Obama Transition: Hitting the Ground Running.” Hess is the Senior Fellow Emeritus in Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C. A veteran staff member of the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations and an advisor to Presidents Ford and Carter, Hess’ research and lectures focus primarily on the presidency, the news media and the political culture of Washington. Hess has also received the honor of Distinguished Research Professor of Media and Public Affairs at George Washington University in D.C. Hess is the author of two books titled What Do We Do Now? A Workbook for the President-Elect and Organizing the Presidency. The third event will take place at 6 p.m. on Feb. 10 in Wait Chapel. Speaker David
Gergen will present a lecture titled “Fulfilling the Promise: David Gergen on the New American President.” Gergen is a Professor of Public Service and Director of the Center for Public Leadership at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Over the past three decades, Gergen has served as a White House advisor to four presidents: Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Clinton. He joined the Kennedy School of Government faculty in January 1999 and remained editor at large for U.S. News and World Report. He continues to hold the position of editor at large for U.S. News & World Report and acts as a senior political analyst for CNN. Gergen is also the author of a best-selling book titled Eyewitness to Power: The Essence of Leadership, Nixon to Clinton. The final event will take place at 5 p.m. on Feb. 17 in Benson 401. A panel titled “Looking to the Future: Will Young People Stay Involved in Politics?” hosted by Student Government will entertain questions and discussion from leaders of the student Democratic, Republican and Libertarian political groups. The discussion will include the impact of young voters on the 2008 election and their likelihood of continuing such high engagement with the incoming administration. All events are free and open to the public.
Continued from Page A1
integral staff member that Wake Forest is very blessed to have.” A Dean’s list sociology major and women’s and gender studies minor, Floyd was honored for her accomplishments both in and outside of the class room. “To be compared in any way to Dr. King and his vision is an honor in itself, but to receive such a timely award on the eve of the inauguration of President Barack Obama was simply overwhelming,” Floyd said. “This has been the most meaningful award that I have ever received, because it is a reflection of my passion for others, and not simply an acknowledgement of my talents and abilities.” She was also recognized for her strong faith, family values, as well as her involvement and leadership in activities on
campus and within the community. At the university, Floyd works as a president’s aide and is an ambassador at major university events. She is also a liaison between the student body and the university’s president and board of trustees. Her participation off-campus spans a number of activities, including representing North Carolina in an annual program for The Children’s Defense Fund and co-leading a spring break service trip to Arkansas, where university students mentored local high school students and helped them apply to college. She has also worked for the Darryl Hunt Project for Freedom and Justice and the Twin-City Leadership Committee. Aspiring to become a lawyer, Floyd interned at The Children’s Law Center of Winston-Salem. There she served as a Guardian Ad Litem for children in domestic violence or
high conflict custody cases. It was during this internship that she wrote a grant for $20,000, which was later awarded to the agency. “Trayonna has a heart for social activism. She is not afraid to intercede for people who are unable to speak for themselves,” senior Adwoa Asare, who nominated Floyd, said. All four recipients received the award on Jan. 19 at a dinner and keynote event. This year, the dinner took place in Benson University Center. The keynote event was held at the WSSU campus, featuring well-known actress and political activist Ruby Dee as the guest speaker. According to Floyd, everyone can do his/her part to support diversity across the university’s campus. “Being myself and encouraging others to be themselves has been my platform for promoting diversity of all types and harmony,” Floyd said.
A8 Thursday, January 29, 2009
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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Sensing: Men’s track star talks about having two personal bests in one weekend and his favorite competitive event. Page B2.
S PORTS O L D
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: 1/29 @ UNC-Chapel Hill 2/1 @ Miami 2/3 v. Georgia Tech BASEBALL: 2/20 v. Akron 2/21 v. Akron 2/21 v. Old Dominion WOMEN’S TENNIS: 1/31 Indoor Nationals 2/1 Indoor Nationals 2/7 @ Furman MEN’S BASKETBALL: 1/31 @ Georgia Tech 2/4 @ Miami 2/8 v. Boston College MEN’S TENNIS: 1/31 v. Rice 2/1 TBD 2/7 v. William & Mary TRACK: 1/30 @ Kansas State 1/31 @ Kansas State 2/6 @ Virginia Tech Elite
{ NATIONAL STAGE } HS coach pleads not guilty to reckless homicide On Monday, Jan. 26, Coach David Sinson pleaded not guilty to charges of reckless homicide. Sophomore Max Gilpin of Pleasure Ridge Park High School died three days after he collapsed at football practice last August. The Louisville, Kent. native was an offensive lineman. His divorced parents, Jeff Gilpin and Michele Crockett, jointly sued the coaching staff for negligence and “reckless disregard.” The team was having practice on Aug. 20 when the heat index was 94 degrees. A parent watching on the soccer field near by said that the team had not received many water breaks. Gilpin, who was taking Adderall and had recently stopped taking Creatine, collapsed on the field. When he was rushed to the hospital, his body temperature was 107 degrees. A judge released Stinson without bond at the courthouse that attracted at least a dozen community members voicing their support for the first-year head coach. Gilpin’s family also was at the hearing, but they did not speak to reporters.
{ BY THE NUMBERS }
34 4-0 14 4
percent the men’s basketball team is averaging behind the arc. the women’s tennis team’s record for the season
points AlexTchangoue is averaging per game this season.
the Wake Baseball team’s predicted ranking for the ACC.
{ DEAC OF THE WEEK } Junior Sasha Kulikova played a tight second set with Molly Scott at No. 1in Wake’s 7-0 win over Dartmouth this week. Kulikova had a decisive 7-2 breaker win after a 6-4 victory in the first set. Kulikova was ranked 50th in the most recent ITA poll. She also led the Deacons at No. 1, taking down ASU’s Monica Tomas and Gardner-Webb’s Laura Kriett (6-1, 6-0; Kulikova 6-0, 6-0). Last spring, Kulikova won team MVP for the second year in a row and All- ACC. The tennis team is 4-0 on the season. On Jan. 31 Wake Forest will play Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. for the first round of the ITA Indoor Qualifiers
{ SPORTS WORDS } “If you put your effort and concentration into playing to your potential, to be the best that you can be, I don’t care what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, in my book we’re gonna be winners.” – Hoosiers, 1986
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A T : w w w. o l d g o l d a n d b l a c k . c o m ogbsport@wfu.edu
B L A C K
Deacs demonize Devils
By Martin Rickman | Staff writer
Wake Forest Duke
70 68
Last February, a young Demon Deacon team beat down Duke with a combination of athleticism, strength and size. This year, the recipe was the same, but the Deacs needed a last-second inbounds play from sophomore L.D. Williams to sophomore James Johnson to topple the No. 1 Blue Devils. Just seconds after Johnson failed to grab a rebound off a Jon Scheyer miss, Gerald Henderson, who had 20 points but seven turnovers, hit a smooth jumper to complete a run by the Blue Devils which saw a 13 point Wake Forest lead erased. Duke had 12 offensive rebounds in the first half, but after a halftime adjustment, the Deacs held the Blue Devils to just three offensive rebounds, and none was bigger than the board collected by Scheyer. “I still didn’t play the last defense and I still didn’t get that last rebound,” Johnson said. “I’m still going to have to do them (sprints) whether I hit that last shot or not.” Those sprints are going to be a lot easier with the knowledge that he was able to redeem himself on that last play. For most of the game, Johnson played terrific defense on Henderson, who made some highlight-reel plays to get his points. On one possession, Johnson bodied up, causing Henderson to get so frustrated that he committed an offensive foul. With 13 points, 11 rebounds, three assists and four blocks, Johnson had another complete game, something he’s starting to make a habit of. It didn’t hurt that freshman Al-Farouq Aminu had arguably his best game in his young career in a Deacon uniform, collecting 15 points and 10 rebounds, as well as playing incredible defense. Two of those points came on the play of the year: a fast break led by junior Ish Smith, who passed the ball between his legs back to Aminu. Aminu finished the play with a one-handed slam, rocking the rim and the Joel. Aminu’s presence has given the Deacs one more scorer, but he has made the team deeper as well. “The chief has arrived,” Johnson said. “That’s the difference. We have guys who have heart and go hard everyday in practice. Last year some guys would go hard and some guys would take it off. This year everyone is going hard because your spot can be taken at any time.” The team has a problem that is probably the best problem any team could have: too many players who can contribute. Take redshirt junior David Weaver, who exploded off the bench for nine points and was a big part of
Joel Ang/Old Gold & Black
Sophomore James Johnson goes up for the game winning layup with 0.8 seconds left on the clock in the Deacs’ 70-68 win over the No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils. the reason that Duke big men Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek had zero points between them. Leading scorer sophomore Jeff Teague was off his game, going 4-14 on the day with a pair of three-pointers, but Smith stepped up and played his most complete game of the season, with seven points and four assists in 25 minutes. Smith kept the Duke defense off-balance with his speed and penetration and was a big part of the reason the Deacs went up 13 in the second half.
Defensively, Wake Forest made up for the mistakes they made against Virginia Tech last week. On ball screens, they were able to rotate and deny the Duke shooters the opportunity to take open threes. This and strong interior defense held the Blue Devils to 33% shooting on the night and just 18% from beyond the arc. They also had 15 turnovers to the Deacs’ 11. By minimizing turnovers and getting back to their strengths, the Deacs set the tone by pushing the tempo. This seemed
to hurt the Blue Devils, who were playing their fifth game in 14 days. “We had a week off, so it’s almost like an NBA mentality,” Head Coach Dino Gaudio said. “We want to keep pushing it and pushing it and pushing it and maybe we wear them down at the end.” After beating No. 1, the Deacs will have a quick turnaround, as they will travel to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 12 p.m. Then they travel to Miami Wednesday, Feb. 4.
Deacs young and old lead The NBA the way for track and field beasts are in the East By Chris Tumminello | Staff writer
Thomas Sensing 1st Laura Rapp 4th
On Saturday, Jan. 24th, the Wake Forest Track and Field team traveled to Chapel Hill, N.C., for the annual Carolina Classic. The team’s overall solid performance was headlined by two impressive individual performances, one from the women’s side of the team and the other from the men’s side. Junior Thomas Sensing set the tone on the men’s side with a first place finish in the weight throw and a second place finish in the shot put, eclipsing personal bests in both of the competitions. With a toss of 53-08.50 in the weight throw, Sensing convincingly passed his previous personal best of 50-00.00, which was set only three weeks ago. An impressive 52-11.00 mark in the shot put landed Sensing only behind N.C. State’s Jason Jones, who posted a mark of 53-04.25. “I see setting a personal best as a concrete result of constant, and sometimes slow, improvement,” Sensing said. “I feel like I can improve any number of things on any given throw. Nothing is perfect, and hopefully by tweaking the details of my technique my personal bests will continue to rise.” Sensing is one of many veteran athletes leading the team this year. However, this same group of veterans has an enormous amount of faith in the underclassman, and rightfully so. Freshman Laura Rapp was one of many underclassmen to show hers skills over the weekend.
Rapp finished fourth in the one mile run with a time of 5:09.60, while her teammate and fellow freshman Cate Bereanto finished eighth with a time of 5:22.56. “As a freshman, one of the greatest challenges is just adjusting to the college environment when it comes to both training and racing,” Rapp said. “Having finished the cross country season, I feel like I’m much more comfortable, and so I can focus more on what I need to do for each race instead of worrying about adjusting.” On Jan. 23rd, freshman Samantha Howell also followed the theme of feeling comfortable by finishing 10th out of 22 competitors in the pentathlon Rapp at the Liberty On Track Combined Events. Howell’s most impressive finish came in the high jump where she landed a mark of 5-01.25, placing fifth overall and earning 689 points. Howell finished the competition with a total of 2,750 points. The consistent effort leaves many of the members of the team, including Rapp, very optimistic. “We’re training hard every day and really looking forward to seeing how the season plays out,” Rapp said. “I’m sure we’ve got a great season ahead of us!” The Deacs’ Track and Field squad will return to action Jan. 30th at the Niswonger Invitational in Johnson City, Tenn., while selected athletes will compete in the Kansas State Combined Events in Manhattan, Kan.
By Gary Pasqualicchio | Staff writer
For the last decade, since the retirement of Michael Jordan, the NBA’s Eastern Conference has been considered a weaker counterpart to the West, at times even a laughingstock. Since the conference’s glory years of the ‘80s and ‘90s, the retirement of two of the game’s alltime greats – Bird and Jordan – led to the downward spiral of two major NBA powers: Boston and Chicago. One can argue that the downfall of the Eastern Conference began in 1999 when the San Antonio Spurs defeated the New York Knicks in the Finals, wresting away the Larry O’Brien Trophy from the East who had won eight of the last nine Championships. The defection of Shaquille O’Neal from the up-and-coming Orlando Magic to the LA Lakers added more thump to the West (literally) and led to the next great dynasty in the NBA, this time out West. The Lakers and Spurs would go on to win seven of the next nine NBA Finals with some sweeps and dominating efforts leaving pundits wondering if the East would ever rise to the challenge. It did, subtly, when the 2003 Draft changed the balance of power in the NBA. Like every great story
PRESS BOX
FROM THE
{ UPCOMING GAMES }
G O L D
T H U R S DAY , J A N UA RY 2 9 , 2 0 0 9
See Pressbox, Page B3
B2 Thursday, January 29, 2009
Old Gold & Black Sports
Junior Thomas Sensing is ready to get into the 2009 season. After earning two personal bests in the weight throw and shot-put Jan. 24, Sensing is on track for high performance in the NCAA and ACC championships.
How did you decide to come to wake? My dad actually went here and when I was visiting colleges I looked at Duke, Vanderbilt and Wake, and when I looked at the other campuses I felt very blah, and when I visited Wake I fell in love with the place. The small size, the beauty of the campus, the way that the professors that I met wanted to interact with the students, all made me want to come here. How did you start track and field? Originally I was a sprinter in middle school. My coach’s idea of a warm up was a two-mile run on the cross-country trails, and I decided that I did not want to do that anymore. So, I went and tried to throw with the big guys over on the baseball field and wound up being pretty good at it so I just continued throwing from there. What are your goals for this season? Specifically for the indoor season I want to just score points for my team at the ACC championships in weight and shot-put. Outdoor, I want to score in all four throws – javelin, hammer, shot-put, discus – and I want to qualify for the NCAA east regional championships in javelin, discus and shot-put. How did it feel to have earned two personal bests this weekend? It felt good but at the same time I really had only one good throw out of the six I had in my series. I know where I need to improve, and I hope I can continue to improve and not scratch any good throws. It was good to see where I am and see where I need to improve. What is your favorite competitive event? Discus, because it was my baby throughout high school and it’s one of the most gratifying to throw because it goes the furthest; you can get some appreciation for the effort you put in. If you could play another sport what would it be and why? Swimming. I swam throughout high school. I am still the head swim coach of my summer league team. I’ve done swimming more than track, but I decided in college that it just wasn’t for me.
Thomas
Do you have any personal rituals before a match? I seem to do everything the same way, put my shoes on the same way, prepare for my throws the same way. I’ll chalk the shot-put up, I’ll stand in the middle of the throwing sector before then go to the back, wind up and release. What is your favorite Cookout milkshake? Oreo and peanut butter cup blended.
Sensing
Baseball projected to finish fourth in ACC Atlantic Division The annual preseason coaches poll announced Jan. 27 that Wake Forest was picked to finish fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Atlantic Division. The Deacons racked up a total of 33 points in the poll, finishing behind Florida State, Clemson and N.C. State. Florida State earned eight of the 12 first place votes, with Clemson grabbing the remaining four in the Atlantic Division. N.C. State is projected to finish first in both the Coastal Division and the overall ACC Championship. The Deacs have 21 returning players from the 25-31 2008 squad, and they are adding 13 new members to the 2009 roster. They open the season at 6 p.m. Feb. 20 against Akron in the Wake Forest Invitational.
Deac Notes
Photo courtesy of Media Relations Graphic by Bobby O’Connor/ Old Gold & Black
Wake graduate to play with women’s national team
Former men’s golfers compete in Bob Hope Classic
Former Wake Forest women’s soccer midfielder Amy Smerdzinski will travel to Europe with the United States U-23 National Team for a pair of games Jan. 31 through Feb. 7. Smerdzinski practiced with the U-23 team this summer, and she will now see her first game action with the national team in Spain. The team will play Norway Feb. 4 and England Feb. 6. While at Wake, Smerdzinski was a second team All ACC selection. She tallied 16 goals in 86 games for her career, including 76 starts.
Webb Simpson earned his second-straight top-ten finish for the 2009 season at the 50th Bob Hope Classic at PGA West in La Quinta, Calif., as he tied for fifth place. Simpson got to within three shots of the lead through eight holes in the final round after shooting four birdies, but two bogies moved him back to two-under on the day and 26-under for the tournament. Bill Haas, also playing at the Bob Hope Classic, shot eight birdies in the final round of play for his third straight round of 67. He finished 23-under par for the tournament, tying for 25th.
Sports Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 29, 2009 B3
Pressbox: Deacs win first two matches with ease Can the East For the Amateur top the West? Continued from Page B1
throughout history, it began with a young king. Lebron James, the 18-year-old phenom from Akron, Oh., fell into the lap of the Cleveland Cavaliers at No. 1 overall and the rest is history. Overshadowed by James at the time were Marquette guard Dwayne Wade, who would lead the Miami Heat to their first ever championship in 2005, and Georgia Tech forward Chris Bosh, who revitalized the struggling Toronto Raptors franchise. The always-tough Detroit Pistons were the only constant in the East over this time period, winning the title over L.A. in 2004. Although improved, the East still had another step to take. It was taken in part by Danny Ainge, once one of the East’s great players himself, who changed the fortunes of his Boston Celtics and thus, the entire conference. His gutsy trades for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen brought the Celtics their first title in nearly two decades in 2008. This has paved the way for the 2009 season where, for the first time in a long time, the East is clearly head-and-shoulders ahead of the West. Three of the four 30+ win teams in the league reside closer to the Atlantic Ocean than the Pacific including the defending champion Celtics, Lebron’s Cavs and the Magic, who ended up replacing O’Neal with another dominant center, Dwight Howard. Orlando has dealt the West a huge blow this season with back-to-back wins over the Lake Show and a 16-4 record against the rest of the conference. Lebron and the Cavs are a franchise-best 14-2 against the Western Conference this season and are coming off a successful 3-1 Western road trip without two of their starters. But can the East do something they haven’t done since the days of MJ: win back-to-back NBA Finals? Maybe it will be the man who, like Jordan, is looking to resurrect his franchise and bring power back to the East? Perhaps the Boston Celtics, hoping to reestablish one of sports’ greatest dynasties in the modern era? Or maybe it will be the underdog Magic, who have never won a Championship but have plenty of time for a couple, if not more, in their bright future. If one of the East’s “Big Three” wins the title this year, the conference will be reestablished as tops in the league, if it isn’t already. Led by good draft fortune, young superstars and gutsy general managers, the beasts are definitely back in the East.
Old Gold & Black file photo
Senior Carlos Salmon awaits his partner junior Andrew Brasseaux’s serve in a match last spring. With others out of the lineup, Brasseaux stepped into the No. 1 singles slot against UNC-Asheville and Gardner-Webb. By Alex Botoman | Staff writer
Wake Forest Gardner-Webb
6 1
The men’s tennis team opened its season with decisive victories over UNC-Asheville and GardnerWebb on Jan. 24, despite playing without its top two players. The results of the matches were never in doubt as the Deacons swept UNCAsheville, 7-0, and cruised past Gardner-Webb, 6-1. Wake was without senior Cory Parr and junior Steve Forman, who were held out of the matches due to NCAA restrictions on the number of dates that players can play in intercollegiate matches. Because Parr and Forman played extra days during the fall season en route to winning the ITA National Indoor Championship, they were forced to sit out a day during the spring in order to stay under the limit. “I had to hold them out of a playing date this year and we decided
that this would be the one,” Head Coach Jeff Zinn said. “Also, with the National (Team) Indoors starting next weekend, we wanted to give these guys that maybe hadn’t played quite at the highest level a chance to play.” As a result, many of the players were playing in unfamiliar positions in the lineup. Junior Andrew Brasseaux, who last year normally played No. 4 or 5 singles, was put in the No. 1 singles spot for the first time in his career. Brasseaux showed that he was up to the task, defeating Asheville’s Mauricio Correa, 6-1, 6-1, and narrowly losing out to Gardner-Webb’s Evgeny Slesarev 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. He had an opportunity to serve for the final set against Slasarev at 5-4, but he lost the next three games to lose the match. According to Zinn, Brasseaux was bumped up to the top spot due to his strong performance in the fall season. “He probably had the best fall, other than Cory (Parr) and Steve (Forman) winning a national cham-
pionship. He deserved a chance to play and he showed really well today. Even though he lost, he still had two match points out there.” The rest of the Deacons’ lineup did not drop a singles match. At No. 2 singles, sophomore Jon Wolff rallied from a first set loss against Asheville’s Nicolai Nonnenboich to dominate the last two sets, winning 3-6, 6-2, 6-0. He also picked up a 6-2, 6-4 victory against his opponent from Gardner-Webb. Wake’s two freshmen impressed in their dual match debuts. Freshman Joost Vogel scored a 7-5, 6-0 win at No. 3 singles in the UNCAsheville match, and he also won 6-3, 6-1 in No. 4 singles against Gardner-Webb. Freshman David Hopkins lost only two total games, winning 6-0, 6-2 at No. 4 against Asheville, and 6-0, 6-0 at No. 3 against GardnerWebb. At No. 5 singles, senior Carlos Salmon posted a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Asheville and toughed out a 6-7, 6-3, 1-0(5) match against Gardner-Webb. Junior Jason Mor-
genstern posted two 6-1, 6-0 wins in his matches at No. 6 singles. The Deacons won both doubles points and only dropped one doubles match. Brasseaux and Vogel teamed up to defeat Gardner-Webb, but they fell in a close match to Asheville. Morgenstern and Wolff lost only one total game between their two matches at No. 2 doubles. Hopkins and Salmon also won both of their matches. “I think for the first matches of the year, this is exactly what we wanted,” Zinn said. “We just wanted to get some young guys some chances to play, and it turned out that they got some wins and it’s good for their confidence.” Wake will be back in action when they travel to Oxford, Miss., to take on Rice in the first round of the National Team Indoor Championship on Jan. 31, and the team will play either Ole Miss or Kentucky the following day. If the Deacs win both matches they will qualify for the final rounds of the tournament, hosted by the University of Illinois Feb. 13-16.
Please Join Us! Sunday, February 1 Holy Eucharist - Rite I 7:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist - Rite II 9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist - Rite II 11:15 a.m. (Healing at all services)
Tom Murray, Preacher
-All are Welcome!-
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Graduating in May? Still thinking that the Peace Corps is the next step for you?
THE STRENGTH TO HEAL
and learn lessons in courage. The pride you’ll feel in being a doctor increases dramatically when you care for our Soldiers and their Families. Courage is contagious. Our Health Professions Scholarship Program (HPSP) helps you reach your goal by providing full tuition, money towards books and lab fees, a $20,000 sign-on bonus, plus a monthly stipend of more than $1,900. To learn more about the U.S. Army Health Care Team, call Sgt. 1st Class Anton Pillow at 877-349-5528, email anton.pillow@usarec.army.mil, or visit healthcare.goarmy.com/info/mchpsp1. ©2009. Paid for by the United States Army. All rights reserved.
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Thursday eb. 5, 2009 Thursday,, FFeb. for priority consideration for programs departing in 2009 - 2010. For more information, contact Sherlene Ferguson at 202-692-1052 or sferguson@peacecorps.gov
B4 Thursday, January 29, 2009
Old Gold & Black Sports
Women’s tennis remains undefeated with home wins By Laura-Katherine Davey | Staff writer
Wake Forest Dartmouth
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The women’s tennis team had a successful run this weekend on home courts. On Friday, Jan. 3, the Lady Deacons beat the Richmond Spiders 6-1, followed by the Dartmouth Big Green 7-0 on Sunday, Jan. 5. The weekend matches extended the Deacs’ record to 4-0 on the season. The match against Richmond started with the doubles teams. Wake started out with two 8-2 wins from doubles teams. Junior Sasha Kulikova and senior Sierra Poske were victorious in the first slot. Sophomore Emilee Malvehy and junior
Club Fencing
Aileen Davis won easily in the second slot. The third doubles team of freshman Ryann Cutillo and sophomore Katarina Reveche played a close match, but lost 6-8 to the Spiders, allowing the Deacons to take the doubles point 2-1. In the singles matches, Poske, No. 2 singles, was the first to finish in singles, putting away her opponent 6-1, 6-3. Freshman Anna Mydlowska from Warsaw, Poland was seeded in the sixth slot. Poske She finished closely behind Poske, losing the only point match for the day 1-6, 3-6 against Richmond’s Ashlee Vosters. Kulikova, ranked 50th
and playing in the first singles spot for the Deacs, beat her opponent 6-2, 6-4. In the third singles slot Malvehy pulled out of a tie breaker against her opponent, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, paving the way for Cutillo and Reveche to finish with wins of 7-5, 6-2 each. The Demon Deacons started out with a similar doubles outcome against the Big Green on Jan. 5. First and second doubles teams, Kulikova with Poske and Malvehy with Davis, each pulled out a win against the Big Green teams, 8-6 and 8-3, respectively. Reveche and Mydlowska at third doubles lost their doubles match 4-8, giving the Lady Deacons a 2-1 doubles point. For singles, the girls swept the Big Green team. Cutillo, in the sixth slot, picked up a speedy 6-1, 6-0 victory, followed by Reveche 6-2, 6-2.
For the Amateur
intercollegiate competition for the Wake Forest team in six years. In preparation for this endeavor, and in support of the continuBy John Harrison | Contributing writer ously expanding membership, the club will soon be purchasing all new equipment. If you happen to pass through Reynolds “This (purchase) will allow us to start Gymnasium on a Tuesday evening, don’t phasing out the old equipment ... and be alarmed by the clanging of metal that to provide for new members,” Mulcahy may ring through the hallways. Those sharp said. echoes are nothing but the sound the Wake This new gear, combined with the develForest Fencing Club – twenty students who oping skills and mounting enthusiasm meet once a week to practice a sport that amongst the squad, should be more than most of us know very little about. enough to help the club reach their goals Contrary to popular belief, the sport of in March. fencing is much more than aggressive sword Despite the shift toward more and more fighting amongst haphazard stomping and competitive fencing, the club is eager to lunging. Instead, fencing is the contempo- extend a welcome, and a sword, to anyone rary version of an artful mode of competition interested in the sport – regardless of past that dates back to the Renaissance period experience. Mulcahy estimated that only in Europe. The sport arrived in America in about half of the current members of the the late 19th century and has continued to fencing club had prior encounters with the expand over the last hundred years. sport before their first bout here at Wake. Here at the university, the popularity of “I like that the club has both experienced the sport has grown considerably in recent individuals and those who are new to the years. sport,” he said. “It’s not as intimidating for “The number of dedicated members has people who’ve never held a sword before been growing over the past four years and to join a group where others are just learnthe team finally has enough people who feel ing, too.” confident in competing,” club president So if you find yourself yearning for a new Matthew Mulcahy said. physical challenge, one that involves the If the current plan to send a team to clash of swords and the thrill of combat – the North Carolina Divisionals in March make your way to Reynolds 201. Practices WakeForestRevised.qxp 1/16/09 12:09 PM Page 1 is indeed successful, it will mark the first are Tuesday nights at 8 p.m..
The rest of the team fought through tiebreakers. Christian Tara, in the fourth, slot won her first set 6-4, and although she was falling behind at the start of the second set, she finished strong with a tiebreaking win of 7-6, ensuring Wake’s overall victory over Dartmouth. The remaining three Lady Deacons rallied under Tara’s win and pulled out consecutive victories. Malvehy, at No. 3, pulled out of her first set tiebreaker and finished 7-6, 6-3. Poske, in the second slot, also had a first set tiebreaker, and finished 7-6, 6-4. Kulikova, again in the top slot, rounded out the team, finishing 6-4, 7-6. The team looks forward to playing next weekend at the National Team Indoor Qualifier in Nashville, Tenn., before returning home to host the ITA Regionals.
Photo Courtesy of Wake Forest Fencing Club
Two members of the Fencing Club participate in an assault, or friendly combat between two fencers. The club meets Tuesdays and encourages all who are interested to join.
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INSIDE: Not all chance happens in Vegas: Film portrays classic storyline for older generation. Page B6.
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A T : w w w. o l d g o l d a n d b l a c k . c o m ogblife@wfu.edu
B L A C K
Dear ‘09 Seniors, Yes, the time has arrived. You only have one semester left until you graduate (well, most of you anyway). Naturally, many of you are uneasy about that prospect, having grown comfortable in this four-year educational resort we call Wake Forest. Whether you want to admit it or not, all of you, even the most secure of you near-alums, have worries as you take on your future beyond Wake. As a belated Christmas gift to you, I will use these trends to tell you, the esteemed class of ‘09, words of wisdom to be the guide that I never had when I was trudging through the world as a new alumni. I understand that all of us are in different situations, so there is no one size fits all, but I’m pretty sure everyone can take something from it.
1. Jobbing (For those looking to work immediately after college) Okay, let’s be honest, the economy is pretty rough these days, and you are stuck with the major you picked the spring of your sophomore year. My word of wisdom is to make the best of all your assets and get any steady first job that you can be at least somewhat happy with by Labor Day, at the latest. That way, you won’t be struggling too long without a steady income, but more importantly, you have a foundation for a job in the future that is more to your liking. This may mean settling for less than your dream job, and this especially true in the financial department. The horrors you hear from the news of many firms firing and not hiring is a reality, so your options are limited, and “at least you have a job” is all too true. However, this economic downfall could also be your blessing in disguise. You should be forced to think beyond your initial horizons of jobs under consideration. This can mean a variety things such as: -Going beyond your original plans: So you are a business major and Wall Street isn’t answering you, but the IRS is looking for a few good men (the government is one of the few sectors that is growing). Why not try it out? -Educate yourself in unique ways: Paid fellowships/internships, teaching English abroad or one of joint work-study programs (i.e. Mountbatten Program) are great options -Going a little out there: Peace Corp? Teach for America? Military Officer Training? So you may not achieve your dreams, but you may very well find your settling for something less than you desired to turn out to be rather desirable after all (don’t be miserable, though). Life has little surprises that way. 2. Friends There is no real way in predicting who from college will still be your friend for a lifetime or even six months from now. The reality is that time and distance naturally makes people drift apart. Your soulmate in college who has been your roommate for four years could very well become that once-a-month-Facebook message friend within a few months after graduation because work has become all too consuming. 500 miles does make a friendship hard to keep. By the same token, that kid you never really talked to who sat behind you in a boring Spanish class could be your new best friend after a chance meeting at a bar. What I’m really trying to emphasize is the importance of keeping an open mind when trying to make post-college friends. The worst thing to do is to become “that guy” who is stuck in college. You know, the people who probably thought their frat/ sorority was the best thing on the face of the earth. Equally bad are those people who completely ditch their Wake friends and practically disappear into “the real world.” Even if you hated Wake, you can’t escape the reality that you have spent four intense developmental years of your life here. At least a few close friends will forever have lasting effects on your life. Everyone, regardless of the distance, should make the effort to keep in touch, be it an e-mail list serve, a weekly phone call, or even an annual Christmas card. Though it may not always seem like it, your old friends will be delighted to hear from you! 3. You and Wake Forest I will tell you right now. As an alum, you will gets lots of mail from the university after you graduate. A good portion of them will be asking you to donate to dear old Wake Forest. However much you may think that tuition goes to a bottomless
first few years after college, there will be a continuous chain of people from your year diving into marriage. If a couple is truly perfect for each other and they are prepared for what they are really getting into, then good for them. What can be bad news are those who dive into marriage only because: -You have been with someone throughout your college years, and you feel you might as well go to the next step. -You are afraid breaking up means you won’t find anyone else. -It’s one more think to mark off your life checklist, so you might as well get it over with now. -Marriage to your partner offers financial benefits. Keep in mind that just because other people are walking down the aisle, it doesn’t mean your time has come. There is nothing wrong with waiting, because right now you have plenty of time.
pit of wasteful spending, I recommend that you donate at least a little bit. Another piece of mail you’ll get is the Young Alumni discount on season tickets. You don’t have to be a Wake sports junkie and spend your entire life being an obsessive Wake fan that attends each and every single game. However, you get lots of quality sporting teams and you might as well take advantage as an alum. Plus, football and basketball games are a great place to gather and meet your old college pals. 4. You and your professors While we are in college, our professors are an integral piece of our lives, giving us what we came to college for – an education. Nearly all of us will keep in touch with friends, but few of us keep in touch with our professors. Let’s be fair, it does feel a bit awkward to keep in touch with someone who has at least 10 years on you (oftentimes far more), but then one day you need a recommendation for grad school and are stuck trying to remember which professors liked you. Really, you should try to keep in touch with at least two professors. By keep in touch, I don’t mean call or Facebook message like you do your college friends, but add them to your Christmas card list and visit them during homecoming if they are still around. Who knows? You might even go to your professor’s childhood home to have dinner with his mother – okay, I did that with one of my favorite history professors. Even if you don’t need any written recommendations, it still doesn’t hurt to keep that contact because professors can be valuable mentors for life. Even if your life has absolutely nothing to do with whatever subject your professors are experts in, they are nonetheless intelligent individuals who know how you think and perform and can always give you guidance. 5. You and “the M word” (yes, that would be marriage) Everyone is probably already on when so-and-so stud and soand-so sweetheart will finally tie the knot. For those in casual relationships or single, you might feel pressured by such talk to hit the path to holy matrimony yourself. During senior year and the
6. You and that roof over your head One of the biggest deals for anyone graduating college is the question of where they are going to live. I am not suggesting it as a permanent solution, but if your first job/grad school is close to where your parents live, it may not be that bad of an idea to negotiate some sort of system to live at home for a few months, and possibly even a year or two. With the economy being what it is, paying low rent to your parents, or better yet, no rent, could be a big financial benefit to your bottom line. However, as soon as you get to a level of comfortable means, you should definitely move out of your parents’ place and establish your own residence. Being 26 years old and living in your parent’s basement is really sad and doesn’t help your social standing with your friends or potential partners. The other major issue with housing is the frequent inability of people to realize that they have to pay for their humble abode. Parents/scholarship(s) are no longer providing the means for you to live in Crown (fill in the blank). It’s up to you how high-end you want to live, but keep in mind that rent takes a big chunk of your income. Be sure you can manage without whatever chunk you’ll be missing. Living in an amazing apartment but not being able to afford dinner with friends can be rather disappointing. Sure, there are many more trends and words of wisdom I can tell you about being an alumni, but these are the biggies, so if you get these down, you should be fine. Just like life, the path toward accepting your new status as a Wake Forest alum is a process with unique trials and tribulations for each person to experience and enjoy. I bid all of you a great time during your remaining months in college and your upcoming life as alums. Keep in mind that your best years are not behind you, but as a wise alum once told me, “look forward to every year to be the best year of your life and the best years will always be ahead.” So look up and smile, because you know that no bad economy can prevent you from having the best years of your life ahead of you! Your Friendly Alumni Advisor, Hall Wang, ‘08
Nuclear Cooooookie Crisp | Not for the faint of heart
Returning from abroad is difficult when parking tickets are afoot Austin H. Jones Staff columnist
So, I’m back from Spain. I pulled onto campus at about 5 p.m. a couple of Thursdays ago, the week before classes started. No joke, within two hours I had a parking ticket. Sure, it was a Service Vehicle Only spot, but there were literally eight others right beside me. I knew I was back at Wake. I still haven’t paid that ticket. Did you know that Wake Forest Parking Management advises that each ticket is paid off within a fortnight of its issuance? If you ever even begin to dream of following their advice, take a step back and think about it.
Maybe count to ten. The initial impulse you are feeling to comply with WFPM’s recommendations is a symptom of the widespread yet pitifully flimsy attempts from really any sliver of the university’s “authority” that they have subtly and gradually been forcing upon you since you got here. Think about this: the freshmen have no idea what it’s like to have trays in the Pit. Freshmen, if you want your fix, they do supply them in Benson, surprisingly enough. Drought, schmought. The only thing dried up these days is the average university student’s checking/debit account. By average I mean average by the world’s standards. Not the 75 percent of students here who still get a weekly allowance of $400. I’m going to pause here to reflect on the fact that this is one of two articles I have written that are declaredly quasi-revolutionary. <pause> The other day, I was talking with a friend in the not-so-green Green Room about not-sosecret secret societies. At one point during our conversation, which was outlined by an orgy of
witless witticisms, I shouted, “Wake Forest is a game.” He laughed heartily and agreed, nodding solemnly. It’s one of the wisest things I’ve said to this day. Another is, “The gray eyes of my poodle, less the one who shears, will fill with tears.” Another is, “Mesmerizing Vagaries Explaining Muldenfaltenstile Just Stopped Usurping Ninja Parties.” Putting wisdom and epic quotations formed from altering interstellar mnemonic devices aside, the university has welcomed me back into its clutches and throes with gusto and enthusiasm. Knowing that they will be able to get dollar after dollar out of me, it will not matter if it’s via parking tickets and citations. Better yet, by enticing me to use up one of my meals on coffee at Starbucks. Or because of that stupid “student activity fee.” What is that for, anyway? I would much rather plan my own activities with the $100 I would save by not handing it over to Student Union. That money is spent on amaaaaaaaazing events like Wake Frost – search
oldgoldandblack.com for more information on that topic. Normally I would just copy and paste what I wrote in my article on Wake Frost last spring and slide it right under my editor’s nose. I could pass it off as a new article (and earn10 more bucks from it) and get it into the OGB again. But, soft! It’s a new year. This is the season of change. And change is good, believe it or not. January is the month of auto-renovations of the mind, spirit and body. I give all you girls until mid-February (around the 14th or so…) before your glorious and extensive plans to work off all that winterweight fall completely through your sweating, chocolatecovered hands and shatter before your ploddingly decelerating feet. I don’t mean to force you into submission. This isn’t a Friday night at Freddy B’s, may its sweet and sketchy soul rest in peace. What I do mean to do is fill up the last 50 words to my first article of the semester with a plethora of prepositional phrases in this conclusion. It worked.
B6 Thursday, January 29, 2009
Old Gold & Black Life
He Said | Sex for the opposite sex, same sex and every sex in-between
Safe sex is vital for all orientations Jay Lowrey
Fluffy is here.
The longest sentence in literature, by Proust, had 958 words .
Enter the world of indie rock music and mix tapes on Feb. 3 with the DVD release of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Taking place all in one memorable night, Nick (Michael Cera) and Norah (Kat Dennings) go on the adventure of their lives. Jump in the Yugo as they search the city for Caroline, Norah’s drunk friend. In the end they find her, along with a little love and, eventually, the secret concert by Where’s Fluffy. Even if the story line lets you down, the music will not.
Top 10 Sexiest Politicians
The inauguration is over, but news coverage of handsome President Obama is not dying down. Here’s a look back at the best looking. 1. Yulia Tymoshenko (Ukraine) 2. Clint Eastwood (U.S.) 3. Prince Henry (U.K.) 4. John Gavin (U.S.) 5. Clare Boothe Luce (U.S.) 6. Matti Vanhanen (Finland) 7. Nikolas Sarkozy (France) 8. Eva Peron (Argentina) 9. Che Guevara (Argentina) 10. John F. Kennedy (U.S.)
Student Union Spotlight
Staff columnist
Baby Boom 2.0 has struck the university and the greater community. Okay, maybe I am exaggerating to some extent, but I was talking with my friend last week about the increasing number of pregnancies and births. It made me think, where is the disconnect between young people and safe sex? I know I’ve written a column about safe sex before, but I had not thought about the pregnancy argument until this recent conversation with my friend. But it drives the point home: when such high stakes and risks are involved, why not have safe sex? This argument could also be thought of as a matter of responsibility, or rather future responsibility for past actions.
Having a child is a life-long responsibility. The child must be fed, clothed, bathed, housed and schooled for at least 18 years. Most of all a child must be nurtured, loved and cared for. Long after their 18th birthday, children need guidance and support from their parents as they age, mature and grow. Young parents often do not have the time or capacity to fulfill all of these needs, leading to a cycle in which children become just as dysfunctional as the parents who raised them. HIV can also be thought of as a life long consequence of unsafe sex. Once someone (gay or straight) catches the disease, every day of the rest of their life will be a battle against HIV or AIDS. Everyone with HIV faces the worries of daily drug cocktails, risk of infection and an inevitable early death. Everyday brings a new challenge, every set back a new responsibility. Thus, gay people use condoms to avoid a life-long responsibility. Straight people have not one but two life long responsibilities to avoid: children and HIV.
So, why is sex between young people so often unprotected sex? One theory is abstinence only sexual education classes that tell children not to have sex, but offer no education for those who chose to have sex in the future. I know I didn’t put a condom on a banana in high school, but I’m sure I would not have minded it (heck, I might have even enjoyed it). Teaching kids that there are resources and options for safe sex is the first step toward making sexual health more of a priority in this country. Another theory is the increasing shift toward female rather than male birth control. With the invention of The Pill, men tend to assume women are taking care of pregnancy. Can any assumptions be taken when it comes to your health or your life goals? Would you stick your hand in a box of used needles? I doubt it. So, why would you not just use a condom? Another common reason for not using protection has to do with the pleasure factor. I’ve heard a lot of people say they do not use condoms
when they have sex because it does not feel as good. And, while that may be in some way true, any kind of sex is still going to feel great right? I guess you could look at it as a sacrifice of a very small amount of sexual pleasure for 30 minutes (at best) versus a life time of responsibility. I don’t know about you, but I would pick the first option. Either way, a shift needs to occur in America’s thinking about safe sexual practices. All people: straight, gay or indifferent, should be using condoms or some other form of protection with every partner, every time. Otherwise, straight or gay, after that night, your life may no longer be yours.
“He Said” is a bi-weekly column that presents one guy’s perspective on the college sex scene. You may contact him with your feedback or ideas at lowrjs7@ wfu.edu.
Surrender to Sudoku Check back next week for the solution to this week’s problem. If you hadn’t noticed, we like to keep people waiting in suspense.
Solution from 1/22
Movie Review | Last Chance Harvey
Harvey gives older audiences another chance By Jessie Ammons | Contributing writer
Check back each week to see what events Student Union is hosting at the university. SU Recruitment Info Meeting Monday, Feb. 9 5 p.m. Benson 401 Open Mic Night Friday, Feb. 13th 7 p.m. Shorty’s
Drink of the Week Sno-Cone
There has already been snow on the ground. Go ahead and add a little to your glass with this winter inspired drink. 2 oz. raspberry/blueberry schnapps 1 oz. grenadine 1 oz. blue curacao 7-Up Ice cubes Fill glass with ice cubes. Add schnapps and fill with 7-Up. Pour in grenadine; let it settle to the bottom. Carefully float the blue curacao over the top of the drink. Now sit back, relax and enjoy a more adult version of a childhood favorite!
Harvey Shine (played by Dustin Hoffmann) is not content or fulfilled. As he prepares to depart for his daughter’s wedding in London, the aging jingle writer is told that an upcoming marketing pitch is his “last chance” at impressing his bosses. Harvey quickly comes to realize his trip across the pond holds many more important last chances, including salvaging a deterioratLast Chance Harvey ing relationship with Starring | Dustin Hoffmann and his daughter EmmaThompson and redisDirector | Joel Hopkins covering Who’s it for? | Older audiences the ability or romantic comedies to love. The Running Time | 1 hr. 32 min. film is a bit Rating | (out of 5) slow from the start, although in retrospect I realize that I was being pulled into the same realm of emotion as Harvey. He begins as a haphazard, nervous, detached and stressed father striving to fit into the puzzle of a family he has clearly not emotionally invested in for years. His encounters with his daughter, her fiancé and his ex-wife are impersonal, awkward to watch and at times cringe-inducing. Meanwhile, Kate Walker (Emma Thompson) is in a rut. Her elderly, retired mother (Eileen Atkins) lives alone and has two main foci in life: Kate’s love life and kooky concerns that the next-door neighbor is a murderer. As Kate navigates through her lackluster London job and uninspiring weekly writing class, she clearly struggles with intense feelings of loneliness and disappointment. After a few coincidental encounters, unbeknownst to both characters at those times, the two happen to meet amid discouraging circumstances and somehow manage to hit it off at an airport bar. They wind up spending an entire day together, chatting and enjoying one another’s company. We begin to see an oddly appealing glimpse of rejuvenation and youth escape from Harvey as he passes more time with Kate, while simultaneously noticing more cheer creep into her harried and frumpy character. As the sun sets on what seems to be an unnaturally long day, Kate convinces Harvey to attend his daughter’s wedding reception, which former circumstances had caused him to skip. There,
Photo courtesy of Overture Films
Harvey Shine (Dustin Hoffmann) and Kate Walker (Emma Thompson) prove that happiness can be found at any age. he proceeds to make touching efforts at amends with his willowy, just-married daughter (Liane Balaban). Ultimately, Harvey is able to reconcile life’s true priorities, and Kate faces her fear of a successful, loving relationship. Last Chance Harvey puts a middle-aged spin on a familiar, tender storyline, as well as a realistic grit to a plot that is, at its core, hopelessly romantic. It fails, however, to ignite any remarkably passionate spark within this particular audience member. As the movie progresses, it has many moments that cause me to think, quite frankly, that I bought a ticket to a downer of a show. Despite the lack of fervor, alluring cinematography against a beautiful London backdrop still sweeps audiences into some sort of renewed belief in love at any age. While the storyline of Kate’s mother livens up the script, the actors rarely elicit more than a chuckle, although perhaps this is the intention. Indeed, Oscar winners Dustin Hoffmann (The Tale of Desperaux, Stranger Than Fiction, Meet the Fockers)
and Emma Thompson (Bridshead Revisited, Harry Potter, Stranger Than Fiction), who both received Golden Globe nominations for Best Performance, are the saving grace of the film. I am not sure it would have been endurable for its script or plot alone. They deliver raw and convincing portrayals of two lonely souls searching for some meaning in life. Although the film follows a road slightly less traveled considering its recognizable plot, Harvey Shine does achieve happiness and Kate Walker finds a way out of her rut. When all is said and done, something tells me this piece, directed by Joel Hopkins (Jump Tomorrow, Jorge) relates better with the world’s older audiences than with us college-aged attendees. I did not leave the theatre full of hope and impossibly quixotic notions of finding my one true love, an outcome which is both unexpected but then refreshing and welcomed. I would not recommend this film to anybody looking for a fairy tale experience, but rather to someone interested in exploring how boundaries in life affect following our hearts.
Life Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 29, 2009 B7
Restaurant Review | West End Café
Delicious, fresh favorites are served in local gem By Lauren Mahomes | Staff writer
gimmicks, although the set-up clearly caters to larger groups and College food is quite humbling. families. Your palette can start off accusThe warm lighting and brick tomed to four star quality food interior seem to foster and and by the end of the first week of encourage the in-depth conversaschool your taste buds will realign tions in which nearly every table themselves is engaged, into thinkthough none ing the Pit’s exceed a dull West End Café macaroni roar. Location | 926 West Fourth St. and cheese The restauHours | 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Mon. - Fri. is manna rant also lends 12 p.m. - 10 p.m. Sat. f r o m itself to a sports heaven. audience with Closed Sunday Natua full bar and Serving | American cuisine rally then, big screen teleDress | Casual the “comvision. fort food” Granted, Price Range | $15 - $30 genre pretty West End Rating | (out of 5) m u c h Café dinner re i g n s entrées are no supreme comparison over many for Ryan’s Restaurant or Ruth’s students’ diets. With this in Chris Steak House. mind, my trip to West End Café The contrast between the large in historic downtown Winston- range of glorified sandwiches Salem became even more revo- and the specialty items on the lutionary. dinner menu such as “lavender Not only did the restaurant and pepper crusted Carolina offer the traditional grinders, ostrich” or “za’atar spiced grilled hoagies and burgers, but also lamb loin chops” is just a pleasa more extensive dinner entrée ant surprise from such a casual menu with items I never dreamed establishment. existed in restaurants where jeans Desserts tend to be a bit more are appropriate attire. home-style (Banana Pudding Far from minimal, the restau- Cake, Chocolate Lovin, etc), rant bears no obvious themes or yet they are made and vary daily.
Although the atmosphere and lunch menu are easy on the college student wallet, the dinner entrées, while reasonable, are still a bit of stretch, averaging about $17 each. It is as the adage goes: you pay for quality. Quality is certainly in no short supply at West End Café. The service is extremely responsive, fast and accommodating. Oftentimes the servers are one step ahead on refills and additional needs, and their presence is never overbearing. The flavors don’t betray their price, but the taste of the entrées is very safe; delicious, but without pazazz. Fortunately, the lack of distinguishable flavor means that it would be very difficult to find something that struck the palette the wrong way, but of course, the food gurus out there might be left with something to be desired. Overall, West End Café delivers great food that’s perfect for a routine, comfortable Friday night dinner out with friends. The service is fast and the menu is completely customizable to even your weirdest, picky desires. Sure, dinner will probably cost within the $20-$30 dollar range, but the chance to brag to your friends about eating “Carolina ostrich” is priceless.
GSSA to raise funds for AIDS care Stand back bake sales and car washes – the university’s Gay Straight Student Alliance (GSSA) is holding an event in February that will surely put all common fundraising attempts to shame, complete with performances by men dressed up in the likenesses of such divas as Cher and Bette Midler. With the goal of raising money for WinstonSalem’s AIDS Care Services (ACS), the GSSA’s sixth annual Drag Show will take place at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 6 in Benson 401. “The GSSA has felt that it is important to have something from gay culture on a campus where it is not something you see regularly, instead of holding the show at a venue downtown,” GSSA executive chair, Luke Britt, said. “It provides good visibility, and we hope to draw more students this way.” ACS is a local non-profit organization that remains the only AIDS care program in Forsyth County aside from hospital treatment. It is designed to assist patients diagnosed with HIV or AIDS with the implementation of a number of programs including a residential facility for newly-diagnosed patients in which men and women can receive help in getting adjusted to life with the virus, occupational therapy, community outreach, risk management and support groups for patients and patients’ families and friends who live in the community. According to Britt, the event will be solely funded by the GSSA’s budget allocated by SBAC, meaning that one hundred percent of the show’s proceeds will go directly to ACS. Tickets will cost $10 in cash and $12 in Deacon Dollars. Last year’s Drag Show raised more than $2,000, and Britt is hoping to encounter similar success in the upcoming show. Although the event will exhibit music, a cash bar for attendees 21 and older, snacks, various refreshments and the opportunity to dance the night away, the primary focus of the night will be the Drag Show, which Britt describes as a “social event for a great cause.” The show customarily features about eight local drag queens from the Winston-Salem area impersonating various music artists and celebrities with realistic musical renditions of popular songs. The performers are not paid for their appear-
This local favorite is located in the beautiful West End district of downtown Winston-Salem. It’s perfect for lunch or dinner, but beware of the crowds.
Book Review | Say You’re One of Them
Event Preview | GSSA Annual Drag Show
By Ashton Astbury | Asst. news editor
Lauren Mahomes/Old Gold and Black
ances, and are hence given what Britt describes as “artistic decision making” in regard to the nature of their acts. Although Benson 401 will be transformed into a colorful world where drag reigns in juxtaposition with this year’s theme of “Sugar and Spice,” it will be a surprise which celebrity impersonators will show up to strut their stuff on the stage. In past years, the queens have performed everything from the musical styles of classic divas such as Madonna and Celine Dion to current pop sensations Rihanna and Britney Spears. Although the Drag Show is the GSSA’s primary fundraising event, their involvement in both social and educational events on and off campus keeps them an active organization. “One of GSSA’s main purposes is to educate our straight allies who aren’t as aware of the ins and outs of the gay community and examine aspects of gay life that are not brought up in pop culture,” Britt said. In line with this goal, the GSSA hosts an annual safe sex lecture in the spring meant to raise awareness of safe sex practices for students of all sexual orientations. Additional lectures pertain to issues ranging from gays and the law to new perspectives on gays in relation to new interpretations of the teachings of the New Testament. Additionally, the GSSA will frequently show documentaries on a number of varying subjects, partake in group dinners and attend movies as a group. Recently, GSSA members saw the Oscar-nominated film Milk for its illustration of the life and accomplishments of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay public official in the United States. The GSSA plans to show the documentary The Life and Times of Harvey Milk at a future date. In regard to the upcoming Drag Show, Britt enthusiastically affirms that the event is sure to be a fun time for a very worthy cause. “What we’re trying to do is entertain people while trying to help those in need,” Britt said. Tickets for the show will go on sale Feb. 2 and can be purchased by calling ext. 6624 or e-mailing Luke Britt in addition to being sold at tables outside the Pit during lunch hours. Be sure not to miss out on this fantastic opportunity to dance alongside drag royalty while simultaneously supporting a profoundly good cause!
Akpan gives graphic truth By Jacob Bathanti | Staff writer
And he called to him a little child, and set him in the midst of them, and said, verily I say unto you, except ye turn, and become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven. And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me. -Matthew 18:2-3, 5 (ASV) It is perhaps a truism that our minds strain to contain and process the great tragedies of this world. Faced with the presence of evil, we shut ourselves down, denying the undeniable, and thus become complicit ourselves. One is reminded of Madeline Albright, staunchly insisting that genocide was not occurring in Rwanda. Unconvinced, Hutu hacked Tutsi apart during that long summer of 1994, while the policy of the “civilized” West became manifest: to shut our eyes to suffering, lest seeing demand that we act. Joining the Jesuit order at 19 and becoming a priest in 2003 as well as earning his M.F.A. degree in creative writing at the University of Michigan, Nigerian author Uwem Akpan shames the abetment of evil by telling the stories of his new collection, Say You’re One of Them, through the eyes of children. Each story is set in a different African country, and transports us to a child’s world, buffeted and battered by forces beyond the control of their young protagonists. I hope that Bill Clinton, neglectful abettor of the Rwandan genocidaires, gets to read “My Parents’ Bedroom” one morning before going to work at his Africa-helping foundation as I did one morning before class. It centers on a little girl of mixed Hutu-Tutsi parentage, and her desperate struggle to protect her little brother in the midst of the genocide. Would that it shatters his day as it did mine. “Luxurious Hearses,” Akpan’s most ambitious attempt at character-drawing, is set on a bus in
his homeland. Christian refugees head south to flee communal riots. Unknown to them, a Muslim boy is on the bus as well, also fleeing to his father’s village in the Niger Delta. In Jubril’s bemused attempts to interact with the Christians on the bus, who will kill him if they discover his religion, Akpan draws a powerful picture of the corrosive nature of religious violence. “What Language Is That?” is a quieter story of inter-religious strife, depicting the friendship between two young Ethiopian girls, and it rounds out the stories of massive violence. Those that remain focus, no less powerfully, on the systemic violence that poverty inflicts on the young across Africa. “An Ex-mas Feast,” Akpan’s debut piece and one that appeared in the New Yorker, is narrated by the younger brother of a twelve-year-old prostitute. We are party to her struggles to provide for the rest of her family (living in a shantytown in Nairobi) and to the agonies of her brother, who watches her sell herself to pay his school fees. “Fattening for Gabon” contemplates an even more extreme economic trade-off, as a brother and sister are sold into slavery by their uncle. These are ultimately desolating stories. One is made to feel the wrongness of children being faced with exploitation, war and the constant presence of deprivation and of death. But one is made to see, as well, that the awfulness of these situations in no way diminishes their presence. And Akpan’s use of language reinforces the veridical nature of his stories. His voice is rough-hewn and vernacular. Many of his characters speak dialect: Kenyan street-speak, Nigerian pidgin and the patois of the Benin-Nigeria border. He speaks of the plight of common people in everyday words that they, too, would recognize. This fits with Akpan’s vocation. He is a priest who delivers the sacraments in everyday language; a prophet who delivers these urgent dispatches from a bleeding continent with a sacramental zeal. When we would turn away our faces, he is the voice crying out to us, reminding us that the blind may yet see, and that in seeing lies the seed of our salvation. For further information on Akpan, his work and an interview have been featured in the New York Times. He has also been reviewed on NPR.
CD Review | The Fame
Female Bowie look-alike delivers edgy pop album By CeCe Brooks | Contributing editor
What do you get when you combine a Catholic school education, an appreciation of David Bowie style and the ability to make pop music music again? Lady GaGa. A Perez Hilton obsession, you probably already know who she is if you read his blog. Raised in Manhattan, GaGa started hanging out and then performing on the Lower East Side underground club scene. She was, however, a unique performer in the scene because she performed pop music instead of rock.
GaGa is only on her first album, but her association with Akon (he signed her to his record label) gives her somewhat of a built-in audience. The debut release, The Fame, had a slow start, but Lady GaGa is steadily becoming an artist to watch. Although her first single, “Just Dance,” was released in June of 2008, it did not become a “hit” until the end of 2008 with increased radio airplay. GaGa is becoming famous for her outlandish outfits and performing style as much as she is for her music (Christina Aguilera has been criticized for imitating GaGa’s fashion style and sound). A typical outfit: a unitard, or something without pants,
Bowie-esqe face paint and sunglasses. As its title would imply, many of the songs on the album are about “the life of the rich and famous” as she says in the title song, “The Fame.” With songs like “Paparazzi,” “Money Honey” and “Starstruck,” this fact isn’t exactly buried deep, but GaGa manages to create danceable songs that have a meaning or significance often lacking in club songs. She wrote or co-wrote every song on The Fame. In “Boys, Boys, Boys,” a reference to the Motley Crue song “Girls, Girls, Girls,” she turns the table on gender roles. Instead of complaining about the paparazzi, GaGa turns the song of the same name into a symbol for a certain type of relationship. “Just Dance” is a
simple song with no apparent underlying meaning, but with lines like “I’ve had a little bit too much … Where are my keys? I lost my phone,” college students can still appreciate it and use it as an appropriate anthem for a night out. It seems as if GaGa is not a big fan of the ballads with only one true slow tune, “Brown Eyes,” on The Fame. “Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)” could qualify depending on one’s definition of a ballad. Her attention-grabbing outfits and lyrics may imply a lack of vocal talent, but the implication is just that. Lady GaGa may not have the range of Mariah Carey, but she is twice as talented as most of the pop acts out there, many of whom don’t even have her flair for songwriting.
Something missing from her songwriting is a sense of intimacy. It may be on purpose or it may be that I’ve missed it, but listening to Lady GaGa’s works does not provide much of an insight into who she is, a quality I value in a songwriter. GaGa is categorized as a pop artist, which is true, but don’t be expecting the new Britney Spears. The content is definitely more rated R and she has a unique but signature sound. Lady GaGa is a true innovator. With many contemporary acts reusing formulas for success, it is nice to see an artist creating instead of copying. She is currently on tour opening for the Pussycat Dolls in Europe, but she will be headlining her own tour, The Fame Ball, starting in March.
B8 Thursday, January 29, 2009
Old Gold & Black Life
Event Preview | Death and the Maiden
University student directs intense Chilean drama By Ellen Hart | Staff writer
Freshman Charl Coetzee said of his character Gerardo, “He is someone The university’s Anthony Aston who definitely knows there are opporPlayers’ upcoming student-directed tunities in his life that he missed. He play, Death and the Maiden, provides a feels that life hasn’t been fair to him.” At the same time, however, Coetzee gritting display of moral dilemma and claims that the situation brings into the ambiguity of justice. The play takes place years after Pauli- question Gerardo’s ideas of justice. Dr. Roberto Miranda, possibly the na Escobar was raped and tortured by her captors as a political prisoner in an most paradoxical character, is played by sophomore Ae’jay Mitchell. unidentified Latin American country. “He is very confident and intelliThe play gets its title from the composition “Death and the Maiden,” gent, but also manipulative. He knows which was played by the faceless doc- how to maneuver things to get what he wants,” Mitchell said. tor as he orchestrated the torture. “He has always been one foot before When Paulina’s husband Gerardo Escobar is driven home by the seem- the rest, and being captured by Pauingly charitable Dr. Miranda, Paulina lina is really a breakdown of that.” However, Roberto’s character is far recognizes the newcomer’s voice as the one belonging to the doctor respon- from evil. “He also has a love sible for her past of nature,” Mitchsuffering. ell said. “There is a She takes him “You’re able to relate to pretty strong dichotomy captive in an effort much all of the characters. It between his kind, to extract a confeswould be very difficult for some- nature-loving side sion from him. and his potentially “I really think the one to leave the play with a dark side.” central theme is clear idea of who the good guy Stage manager justice and whethand the bad guy are.” junior Abby Suggs er or not such a says one of her thing really exists,” Brittni Shambaugh main duties is to said junior Brittni Junior provide emotional Shambaugh, direcsupport for the actor of the play. tors who are play“You’re able to relate to pretty much all of the char- ing such intense and psychologically acters. It would be very difficult for draining roles. “It’s a story that needs to be told,” someone to leave the play with a clear idea of who the good guy and the bad she said, “but it’s only a story, and we are only storytellers.” guy are.” “It gets tough,” Mitchell said. “(The This being her first experience directing a full length play at the university, stage managers) make sure we can Shambaugh is relishing the new point back away from it all.” With regard to the visual style of the of view. “I feel like I am playing all of the rolls. It’s a lot more work, but it’s play, Suggs comments on the nature of the Ring Theatre in Scales. “The rewarding,” she said. The play’s uniqueness is displayed in nature we have is always challenging, but it provides a really intimate feelthe complexity of the characters. “She is a broken woman. She used ing, and this play is so personal and to be strong and confident, but now aggressive.” “It’s really intense,” Shambaugh said. she is completely vulnerable and unstable,” junior Maggie Choumbakos “From the moment it starts, it will said of her role as Paulina. “She’s lost take your breath away.” The Anthony Aston performance a sense of herself, can capturing this man gives her a sense of power.” But will open next Thursday, Feb. 5 and run through Saturday, Feb. 7. not everything is black and white.
Haowei Tong/Old Gold & Black
Sophomore Ae’Jay Mitchel (left) and freshman Charl Coetzee (right) perform in Ariel Dorfman’s three-person suspenseful Latin American drama.
What You Didn’t Know | By Caldwell Tanner
College Couture | Looking Good Without Breaking the Bank
Spring fashion will bring back classic, trendy looks Caroline Hallemann Staff columnist
With new classes and snow delays, it seems impossible to even think about spring. However, designers were showcasing their spring 2009 collections long before we finished exams last semester. If your New Year’s resolutions included being on top of the trend scene, look no further than right here. Here are some of the highlights of runway shows featuring styles for spring 2009. I have yet to meet anyone who has a problem with how their shoulders look. I’ve listened to some of the most beautiful girls I know find some complaint about their body, whether it is
their flat butt, the shape of their toes or that their breasts are lopsided, but to this day I have never heard anyone whine about their shoulders. And further, I have never seen anyone who had serious reason to cover those babies up. Enter the one shoulder trend. As most women are at least decently comfortable with the ball and socket joint that brings together the arm and collarbone, it is a trend women of all sizes can find becoming. For those who are skeptical, just try a few things on. You’ll be surprised how flattering the asymmetry can be. This trend also lends itself nicely to another trend on the runways this season: the Grecian goddess. While looking at pictures from Valentino’s spring ‘09 collection, I experienced a bit of fashion déjà vu. Wasn’t the drapey, Roman goddess look popular just a few seasons ago? Well I suppose the adage “Everything old will be new again” applies to the fashion world. Get out your gladiator sandals and flowy tops and you’ll be at the height of fashion all over again.
A few trends for this season don’t seem to apply to our current campus setting, but take a fashion risk with them if you so choose – I personally don’t think I have the courage or the body confidence. First is the bare midriff. Cacharel brought us a ‘70s inspired line with many belly buttons prominently featured during Paris Fashion week this fall. For those lucky students with washboard abs, feel free to make the rest of us jealous. And those of us who love eggnog and Christmas dinner should probably leave this trend to the models for our own good. Sheer fabrics are another trend I don’t quite see catching on with the mainstream university. I personally don’t like to expose my underwear on purpose, and I don’t know many others who do either. For those who have sworn off buying trendy clothes in this current recession, perhaps you could bring yourself to splurge (at least a little bit). One or two, even three, cute and stylish accessories can really spice up your everyday basics.
Some designers opted to further the art deco trend from last season with necklaces characterized by geometric shapes and bold colors. Others forged the way with ethnic inspired pieces of intricate beading and large gems. Bracelets dominated the runway in varying forms. There was everything from delicate single chains to thick layers of bangles. But the real bracelet star this season is sure to be the cuff to be worn either at the wrist or above the elbow with equal style. As always, cocktail rings are just enough flair to take an average ensemble to the next level. My personal favorite accessory trend of the moment would have to be the headband. Brought to many people’s attention by Gossip Girl’s resident bad girl Blair Waldorf, designers James Coviello, Dianne von Furstenberg and Marc Jacobs prominently featured excessively adorned headbands in their spring ‘09 fashion shows. Tory Burch has become increasingly popular in the past couple of years.
Sure, the classic flats are great staples to a wardrobe, but let’s not get carried away and wear patent quilted heeled booties to class. Let’s save those for an extravagant Marc Jacobs fashion show. If you’re not a flats girl, sandals are a great alternative. Urban Outfitters has a whole new line of great casual flats that go great with day dresses or any spring/summer attire. Jack Rogers are also a great alternative. Not only are these shoes comfortable, they are extremely versatile. They can come in various colors, from pastels to bold colors to patent leather. Not only are these sandals great for day wear but they are also great for a night out. Additionally, young Hollywood continues to push the hippie-esque headband-across the-forehead trend as well. No need to worry – budget-friendly accessories can be found at trend stores like Forever 21 and Francesca’s. For those of you that have a little more cash to spend, Monkee’s in Reynolda Village always offers a wide variety of trendy pieces as well.