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A2 Thursday, January 27, 2011

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Old Gold & Black News

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Groundhog Day

Brieflies Sophomores participate in annual major declaration The annual major declaration process is scheduled for Feb. 14-18.

Every sophomore should declare a major by scheduling an advising appointment at his/ her desired department during this period.

Students who do not declare by Feb. 18 risk being unable to register for their major courses during major registration.

Major/minor advising and registration will be conducted March 14-25.

Questions concerning the process should be directed to Susan Carlton in the Office of the Registrar at carltosp@wfu.edu.

Summit will feature marketing moguls from around world VF Corporation, the world’s largest apparel company, will sponsor the 21st Annual Marketing Summit that will focus on “Art and Science of Apparel.”

The summit will feature various events and speakers. A case competition will also take place during the summit featuring university MBA and undergraduate students versus students from universities around the country. In 36 hours, the teams will develop a marketing plan to address a challenge given by VF Corporation. The winning team will be rewarded $75,000. The summit will take place at various locations on campus on Feb. 3-5.

University to welcome Jersey Shore star, Snookie Nicole Polizzi, or Snooki from reality television’s Jersey Shore, will be featured along with comedian Michael Dean Ester at a Student Union event. The act features stories from Polizzi’s time on the MTV hit show, accompanying and relevant humor from Ester and previously unknown secrets of the series.

The event will be held at 8 p.m. on Jan. 28 in Wait Chapel.

Tickets to the event will be sold at the door and cost $5 for students with valid student ID and $10 for the general public. Tickets can be also purchased before the event by visiting the Benson University Center Ticket Office.

Reynola House will read in honor of Black History Month From 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 1, the Reynolda House American Museum of Art will hold an African American Read-In. This event occurs as part of the 22nd National African American Read-In being held in schools, churches, libraries, bookstores, community and professional organizations across the nation throughout the month of February.

These events are sponsored by the Black Caucus of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and the NCTE. They have also been endorsed by the International Reading Association.

The museum invites the public to share favorite passages from the writings of contemporary and historical black authors.

Campus recreation gives advice to combat stress with exercise The Professional Development Center will sponsor a discussion titled “How Exercise Can Help Relieve Stress.”

Jill Coleman of Campus Recreation will discuss research that demonstrates how short workouts are an effective way to reduce stress and feel energized.

The discussion will take place from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Feb. 1 in Classroom 1 of the University Services Bldg.

The event is open to all members of the university community.

OGB DIRECTORY PHONE NUMBERS: Newsroom: (336) 758-5280 Advertising, circulation, subscriptions: (336) 758-5279 Fax line: (336) 758-4561 E-MAIL ADDRESSES: General comments: astbac8@wfu.edu Letters to the Editor: leseje0@wfu.edu News Tips: meyeka9@wfu.edu The Hot List: slawrb9@wfu.edu Advertising: business@ogb.wfu.edu

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Springfest

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ACC Tournament

Greek: Pledges Values: Speakers party on campus instill renewed honor

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needed to be different so why not go all the way?”

Go all the way they did. Spending upwards of $20,000, Greek organizations and Student Life led by Zick hired entertainment complete with a band and a DJ, provided food, a cash bar and a complete venue with the lower quad as a backdrop in the Magnolia Room, Green Room and Magnolia Patio — of which was covered in a heated tent which alone cost between $2,000 and $3,000.

It’s no secret that the event was expensive. What does seem to be secret, however, is the origin of these finances. Each Greek organization gave $500 to fund the event, but that left a lump sum of only $10,000 (eight sororities, twelve fraternities). So what about the rest? Well, that seems to still be a mystery.

Rumors have circulated that Zick himself funded the balance (though when asked directly in an interview he was vague on the subject). Others believe that Zick was able to draw from various funds like Student Life.

What is known is that no money was given through SAFE funding — funding that organizations can apply for in certain campus-wide events. “It wasn’t necessarily marketed for the greater student population so money from the university in general wasn’t the best option,” Morrison said.

According to one Greek-affiliated senior who preferred to remain anonymous, this is absurd. “I don’t understand why we [Greek organizations] had to front a majority of the money for an event open to everyone,” he said. “If you didn’t pay you shouldn’t have been allowed to go. Simple as that. It’s ridiculous.”

With a hefty price tag the event went on, and successfully at that.

Members from all organizations, both Greek and non-Greek, were in attendance and, according to many, thoroughly enjoyed themselves. Hosted from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. in Reynolda Hall, Friday’s Pledge Night couldn’t have gone better. “Friday’s event was designed to encourage people to have a good time, celebrate and d a n c e … To me, success is the extent students are safe and responsible and still enjoy themselves and mingle as a community. So from that perspective I consider it a success,” Zick said.

Issues and damages were also kept to a minimum with only one damaged piece of student artwork and a broken glass window pane. A fight did break out but was handled by surrounding students. “Things are going to get messy when you have so many people in one space and it’s so cold out,” Zick said.

Would they do it again? “That will depend,” Zick said, “upon what Greek leadership wants once the Barn is completed. In terms of on-campus, yes. The university won’t sanction off-campus events.”

More importantly, would students go again? “With some changes,” junior Lia Stern said.

“The food was pretty MIA which would have been a nice touch.

And the lights were on for way too long in the Mag Room.

But people were enjoying themselves and seemed to be having fun.”

So with the spring semester in full swing, the university and students alike seem ready to step up to the plate. Zick looks ahead with excitement. “A vibrant, robust campus full of activities with a close community is a huge advantage. The [development of ] more social events on-campus is always changing. Snooki should be interesting.”

Photos by Jenn Paradise/Old Gold & Black

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The first to take the stage, Ken Zick, Vice President of Student Life, underscored how the dinner conversation would encircle the enduring values of the university.

“We have to ask ourselves if our leaders role model,” Zick said. “The Committee on Student Life designed this night to look at that very problem, to ask our leaders to reexamine the way they live their lives.” Timothy Auman, the university chaplain, followed Zick’s address with a prayer that the university — in the spirit of King — rid itself of racism, sexism and all alienation of others.

Giving the keynote speech, Will Keim, a motivational speaker and intercollegiate chaplain, struck a chord of humor before setting his sights on the night’s central theme. “When communities based on character have problems, I’m worried about the rest of them,” Keim said. “If Greeks cannot get along with independents, how are we supposed to win peace with Iran?”

Keim asked the group to see themselves as the solution; he offered a 10-point approach to leadership focusing around mixing action with delegation, showing empathy for others, being a steward of your own body and mind and following your passion. Keim concluded by asserting that honesty always exists on a higher plane than loyalty. The evening closed with individual table discussions between the students and faculty members sharing the tables. The Committee on Student Life asked each table to discuss one of six community topics: purpose, openness, justice, discipline, care and celebration. The committee desired the table to record their conversations, records which they plan to use later. Junior Katherine Miller, an undergraduate member of the committee, characterized these conversations as honest. Miller believed they provoked further thought on campus issues that will move the university toward learning from mistakes and continuing to respect others.

The third day of the week, Jan. 19, brought all students seeking to pledge a fraternity or sorority this semester to an event in Brendle Auditorium that brought self-care and self-respect into the limelight. Present for a second night, Keim relayed largely the same speech he

had the night before to a crowd seeking to become part of the campus Greek community. Senior Teddy Aronson, another undergraduate member of the committee on student life, believed Keim’s speech left the students with a greater sense of the campus’ values. “I believe we have a greater understanding of the Wake Forest community as a result of his involvement,” Aronson said. The conversation on Jan. 20 turned to the topic of caring for people and respecting others. Junior Meredith Leigh-Pleasants, a third undergraduate member of the committee, designed a program for all resident advisors (RA) in freshmen residence halls. “It was good to see the residents and discuss with them the specific aspects of the university community that meant most to them,” junior John Keller, an RA in Babcock Residence Hall, said. “They were allowed, in a casual environment, the ability to define what, to them, is important in community.”

Though the participants largely considered this event a success, few freshmen were actually present at the events.

Faculty and staff, though invited to Keim the event, largely remained absent as well.

The final day of the week, Jan. 21, turned to the question, “What is a community?” Open to all undergraduates, Pledge Night brought together the Greek community in welcoming their new members. Miller looked back at the well-attended night as a success, a qualification she attributed to the conversations throughout the week.

Edward Allen, president of the committee, concluded similarly that the measure of success for the week would be whether individuals began talking about community. “If you talked about it, then it worked,” Allen said. “But it is what we do with the discussions that will make the difference.”

Aronson, too, grappled with this problem. “While the initial goal of this week was to begin a campus-wide discussion about how we are to live out our values, it is more important to continue that discussion as we move forward,” he said.

Old Gold & Black editorial staff transitions

By CeCe Brooks | Senior writer

In her new role as editor in chief, junior Ashton Astbury is at the head of an all new editorial staff at the Old Gold & Black. Astbury began working at the OGB in the news section, eventually becoming an assistant editor; she then moved to the sports section and went on to become sports editor. She is the first editor in chief to come from the Sports section in several years. Astbury spent last semester studying abroad in London at the Worrell House.

“While studying abroad, I realized that the Old Gold & Black was one of the aspects of the university’s campus that I missed the most,” Astbury said. “I couldn’t have been more enthused to return to Wake and the OGB as editor in chief.”

Junior Olivia Boyce will be taking on the role of managing editor this semester. The classification of “junior” is misleading because Boyce will be graduating from the university in December after spending next semester in South Africa. “I am very excited about reinvigorating the paper with new life, and I think our new, young staff is the perfect team for the job. I have worked on the paper since freshman year, and I couldn’t imagine not being a part of the paper for my last semester at this university.”

The position of production manager will continue again this semester after being reintroduced last spring. Former Opinion and News editor, junior Nilam Patel will be stepping into this role. “I plan on increasing the size of the Old Gold & Black in terms of staff members, productions assistants and general readership,” Patel said. “Our readership has been steadily decreasing in the past couple of years so to change that, we’re going to be featuring more hard-hitting stories, investigative pieces and general information that is of interest to students; like our motto, we actually want to cover the campus like the magnolias.” This semester marks the first time in several transition cycles that almost every section has a new editor. “Although nearly every member of our incoming staff is new to their respective position, the energy, motivation and enthusiasm each one of them has brought to the newspaper’s environment thus far is profoundly encouraging,” Astbury said. While junior John Turner takes over full reins of the photo department (he was formerly

Patrick Kelly/Old Gold & Black

While their pages await in the OGB office two stories above, the new editorial board poses for a picture in Benson University Center. co-editor with senior Rachel Cameron), every other incoming staff member is new to their position.

Sophomore Renee Slawsky has moved the Life section after senior Chantel O’Neal graduated out of the section and Boyce moved on to be managing editor. Assisting her with Life is freshman Hilary Burns. Burns has displayed a great talent for writing and extreme dedication to the OGB in her short time here.

Former assistant news editor and sophomore Ken Meyer has been promoted to editor of the section.

In addition to working in news for the past year, Meyer has also done countless graphics in every section. He will be assisted by freshman Lindey Campagne. Meyer is thrilled to have Campagne, a pre-med student help him with the often-stressful section. “We’re looking to expand the reach of the section this semester,” Meyer said. “We’re instructing our writers to perform investigative journalism by seeking out the issues central and examining the topics from all sides; we’re laying out the section in a new, professional format; we’re giving a new face to the section.”

Junior Gary Pasqualicchio and sophomore Matt Poppe will head up Astbury’s former territory, sports. Pasqualicchio is returning to the section, and campus, from a semester abroad in Australia.

He has been a writer for the paper since his freshman year and began working in production during his sophomore year. Poppe followed a similar route, starting out writing and moving into production.

And last, but not least, freshman Jenn Leser is taking over the opinion reins from senior Hannah Werthan, who has worked in the section since she was a freshman herself, and sophomore Meenu Krishnan who is currently studying abroad in Spain.

“This is a precarious time for print journalism with the influx of internet mediums as news providers, and our staff is committed to both a revival of the OGB as a print publication, and also the incorporation of new technologies into production,” Astbury said. “With an emphasis on strengthening editor-reporter relationships, investigative reporting, feature writing, recruitment and distribution, I have high hopes for increasing the OGB’s campus presence this semester.”