News: Speakers series launches virtually Page 5
Opinion: Vending machines require urgent repair Page 9
Sports: Deacs defeat Cavaliers 40-23 Page 12
Life: Deacons need their furry friends Page 19
Old Gold&Black
WAKE FOREST’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1916 VOL. 107, NO. 9
T H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 2 2 , 2 0 2 0 “Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
wfuogb.com
University begins search for new president The search committee consists of board of trustee members, alumni, parents, faculty and one student BY OLIVIA FIELD Editor-in-Chief fielor17@wfu.edu
VID-19 cases. Rue believes that the increase in cases at Wake Forest is likely due to smaller events rather than a superspreader occurrence, as seen earlier in the semester at other schools such as North Carolina Chapel Hill and North Carolina State. “The likely cause of the uptick in cases is small gatherings among friends or family where food or drink is shared so masks are off. We have no reason to suspect a larger spreader event,” Rue said. “[The administration] will be advising the campus [community] soon on precautionary measures we can all take.” The Old Gold & Black reached out to Student Health Service about the spike in COVID-19 cases, but no health officials were available to provide further information at the time.
In February of 1839, Samuel Wait was named the first president of Wake Forest University. Wait, alongside his wife Sarah, were important players in the reform of education and religion in the Southern United States. Almost 200 years later, Wake Forest is searching for its 14th president to continue the traditions of innovation and progress that have defined our university since its founding. After President Nathan Hatch announced he was retiring on Oct. 13, the university released its plan to search for the next president. The search will be spearheaded by a 17-person committee composed of board of trustee members, alumni, parents, faculty and one student. Gerald Roach, the chair of the Board of Trustees, will also serve as the chair of the search committee. “I believe that the committee reflects the values and spirit of Wake Forest. I have complete trust and confidence in my colleagues that we are working for a common goal for all of the constituencies of Wake Forest. We know loud and clear that we serve you and we feel that responsibility and honor,” Roach told the Old Gold & Black. Senior Savarni Sanka is the only student from both undergraduate and graduate programs on the main committee. Despite being in the minority, Sanka explained that she will play the same role as her committee peers: to listen to the university community and find the best possible candidate for the role. “I hope that I can bring student perspectives, needs, and concerns to the table throughout the search process. I want the undergraduate student body to be proud to call our next president its leader,” Sanka said. Initially, Hatch had planned to announce his retirement during the 2020 spring semester. However, when the pandemic hit, Hatch and the board of trustees decided to postpone sharing the decision publicly until the coronavirus and related programming had been adequately addressed.
See COVID-19, Page 5
See President, Page 4
Graphic by Olivia Field/Old Gold & Black
On Tuesday, the university registered 15 new COVID-19 cases on campus, setting the highest number of new cases in a single day this semester. The sudden rise in cases comes after weeks of low daily figures.
COVID-19 cases spike once again on campus Wake Forest registered two of its three highest COVID19 daily tallies this week BY RAFAEL LIMA News Editor limara17@wfu.edu Despite successfully limiting the number of COVID-19 infections on campus, Wake Forest is seeing a sudden spike in COVID-19 cases once again with 11 and 15 new positive cases registered on Monday and Tuesday, respectively. Tuesday’s figure marks the highest number of COVID-19 cases registered on campus in a single day since the start of the semester, eclipsing the previous highest mark of 12 registered on Sept. 12. The
11 positive cases registered on Monday also make it the third highest single-day tally, a significant rise in cases over the past few days after a trend of low COVID-19 figures over the previous couple of weeks. Yet, according to Vice President for Campus Life Penny Rue, the sudden spike in COVID-19 figures is not cause for alarm right now. Although the rise is concerning, she explains that the increase follows the same pattern observed in Forsyth County and North Carolina, both registering an increase in cases as of late. Between Oct. 4 and 17, Forsyth County registered 607 new cases, 124 cases higher than the previous 14-day period between Sept. 27 and Oct. 10 and 240 cases above the tally registered between Sept. 20 and Oct. 3. Over the past 14 days, North Carolina has seen a 19% surge in CO-
OGB
WFU has“ opportunity for change This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board.
...the university is in a unique position to break barriers and hire a Black educator as our next president."
As the search committee begins the process to find Wake Forest’s 14th president, the Editorial Board, and ultimately the entire university community, would be remiss to ignore the gravity of the choice. President Nathan Hatch’s successor will be forced to address the pandemic, the largest challenge facing higher education since the Civil War, before he or she can address any other issue. The president will grapple with the growing mediatization of our society, the mis/disinformation that comes with it, and will be tasked with realizing necessary diversity and inclusion goals (some that have been outlined by Hatch, and some that have yet to be addressed entirely). In acknowledging the monumental dedication of the search committee to locate and hire a president who values
Pro Humanitate, the Editorial Board has multiple recommendations for candidate qualities. First, as referenced above, the Editorial Board believes that the largest and most comprehensive challenge to the university, aside from the pandemic, is addressing both its history with racial injustice and the current experience of Black students at Wake Forest. As a liberal arts school in the South, the university has a distinct opportunity to break barriers and hire a Black educator as our next president. While a Black president would be in a unique po-
sition to understand the everyday experiences of BlPOC students — from outright racism to microaggressions — they would also bring a completely new perspective to Wake Forest via their lived experience. On a similar note, the Editorial Board also recommends that the candidate chosen be able to connect with Generation Z on a deep level. In no way does this mean a president should be chosen on the basis of age, but rather that they actively try to understand the experience of being young: our existential thoughts about the threat of climate change, our relationships to social media and self perception and our experience growing up during a period of extreme political polarization. Lastly, the Editorial Board hopes to see the next president of Wake Forest accept a smaller salary than that of Hatch’s. In
2015, Hatch earned the most of any university president due to additional compensation and benefits totaling close to $4 million. His base salary that year was approximately $900,000, which is comparable to other highly paid university president. The next president should be willing to receive average private university compensation at $600,000, given that other university employees have lost hours and are not receiving hazard pay during a pandemic that will continue into the foreseeable future. The university is in a unique position to meet the moment and choose a president with these qualities. The Editorial Board implores the search committee to take these suggestions into consideration when they make this historic decision that will greatly impact the future of Wake Forest.
Old Gold&Black
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WAKE FOREST UNIVERSIT Y SINCE 1916 OLIVIA FIELD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF fielor17@wfu.edu
CHARLIE BENEDICT
BUSINESS MANAGER
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EMILY BEAUCHAMP
ELIZABETH MALINE
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The Old Gold & Black is published Thursdays during the school year, except during examinations, summer and holiday periods, by Triangle Printing of Durham. © 2014 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 OGB. As part of our commitment to reporting news fairly and accurately, we will not remove any previously published content. If an error in either our online or print content is brought to our attention, we will revise the originally published article with an appended correction. In order to facilitate thoughtful and appropriate debate, profane, vulgar, or inflammatory comments on our website are not allowed and will be deleted. For more information on our commenting policy, please see our website. We reserve the right to reject advertisements deemed inappropriate. Our full policy, and how to advertise with the OGB, can be found on our website.
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News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | Page 3
Deacon Profile: Joanne Clinch
know works best is the use of masks, distancing and hand hygiene. Limiting the size of social gatherings and avoiding large gatherings in restaurants, bars and parties is crucial to limiting the number of people exposed if someone in that gathering is positive. Students’ willingness to report an exposure or a positive test also allows us to quickly test and isolate or quarantine to reduce the spread of illness. Continuing these efforts is essential. The cases we have seen have been related to spread in even small gatherings on and off-campus where wearing a mask may seem unnecessary or unnatural, but so important to preventing illness.
BY CAROLINE WALKER Staff Writer walkct18@wfu.edu
Dr. Clinch is the clinical director of Student Health Service (SHS). She has been involved in university efforts to develop and implement public health guidelines to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 this semester, as well as worked on initiatives to increase transparency about public health, like the university’s COVID-19 dashboard. How have you been involved in the university's response to COVID-19? I began planning the university's response with a team of faculty and staff in conjunction with guidance from our local and state public health officials and infectious disease consultants from Wake Forest Baptist Health in March of this year. My role on this team and to the leadership of the university was to provide up to date information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and the American College Health Association (ACHA) regarding best practices to evaluate a return to campus model for the fall semester. The planning efforts included development of new protocols, policies and resources for the campus community. This work included monitoring virus activity in the country, state and county and when students returned, on campus. The team developed a plan to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 on campus and ways in which to monitor for virus prevalence in the Wake Forest community. I worked with a team to develop a dashboard of metrics to observe which would serve as a monitoring system for both COVID-19 prevalence, but also available resources both on and off campus to address the mitigation and response to cases. The dashboard looks at 14 data points, including the prevalence of COVID-19 in our community and the medical center's ability to manage cases. This team worked with our infectious disease specialists, the CDC and ACHA to determine the most current recommendations for testing for COVID-19. In addition to my partnership with the planning teams on campus, my role as Clinical Director of the Student Health Service included developing testing strategies and protocols for students who presented with either symptoms of or exposure to COVID 19, the protocols for infection control practices in the Student Health Service (SHS) to protect students and medical staff and the education of staff on these new protocols. In addition,
Why do you think cases on campus are moderately low while the total number of cases are rising in North Carolina? Our numbers have been lower, but are on an upward trajectory. We do have protective measures in place to have our community connect with testing quickly through the SneezSafe app and an ability to provide rapid isolation and quarantine guidance when symptoms or exposure occur. We have also kept our gathering size limits at the Phase 2 of North Carolina limits as we understand that a college setting may be at higher risk of spread than the general community. Photo courtesy of Dr. Joanne Clinch
I worked with colleagues to develop a contact tracing system within the university to rapidly identify those ill and exposed to COVID-19 to isolate them from others to reduce the spread of infection. Weekly, the SHS meets virtually with the local county health department to collaborate on this effort. A crucial part of this work included strengthening relationships both on and off campus for expertise and resources to address the pandemic. Why did the university decide to implement certain public health measures like the random testing program, and how did you contribute to this process? The university has developed a plan for testing asymptomatic students as part of the plan to both mitigate and evaluate the impact of [COVID-19] in our campus community. The decision was made in collaboration with guidance from our infectious disease consultant, recommendations from the CDC, NCDHHS and ACHA. Monitoring the prevalence of asymptomatic [cases] in our community helps us to understand the direction of activity. In-
creases in percent positive in this group would provide a signal that cases may be increasing and this information assists us in developing our public health response. Are you surprised with the results of random testing and the number of COVID-19 cases reported on the university's dashboard? I have not been surprised by the results of the random testing. Our low prevalence in September and early October reflected what we were seeing in the level of symptoms reported on the SneezSafe app and in our diagnostic testing in the SHS. It is also aligned with the prevalence in Forsyth County. The recent increases in the percent positive in the asymptomatic population is also aligning with what we are seeing across the country and in our local community. What measures do you believe have been the most successful? The most effective measures have been students' use of masks, social distancing and reporting of symptoms and positive tests. The public health prevention we
What do you expect as we move forward to the colder months? Infectious disease experts expect an increase in cases of COVID-19 as we enter the colder months. Factors that influence this include less ability to be outdoors where virus spread is lessened as well as the gatherings during holidays. Spread of COVID-19 has been seen in these types of gatherings where families and friends not in the same household get together to eat, celebrate and sometimes share housing. All of this can lead to an increase in the number of cases. Do you have anything else you would like to add? I am proud of our students and their efforts to keep our community safe. We need to keep up the work and remain vigilant. Important steps students can take include wearing masks while in their residence halls if around others, avoid places where there are crowds — especially if those present are not wearing masks — and to report symptoms at the first time and not wait several days can all assist in keeping our numbers lower. Editor's note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and AP style.
POLICE BEAT COVID-19 Violation/Underage Consumption • A student who was drinking underage was found in Efird and transported to WFUBMC. The report was filed at 12:48 a.m. on Oct. 15. • Seven students were found in one room in Efird. All seven were wearing masks. The report was filed at 10:38 p.m. on Oct. 15. • A student in Deacon Place passed out in a locked bathroom after consuming alcohol underage. The report was filed at 1:21 a.m. on Oct. 15. • A student admitted to drinking alcohol in their room in Angelou and was transported to WFUBMC. The report was filed at 1:27 a.m. on Oct. 15. • A student who was drinking underage was found passed out and unresponsive
on Quantum Court. The student was transported to WFUBMC. The report was filed at 12:21 a.m. on Oct. 16. • Empty beer cans were found in a suite in Taylor. All found in the suite denied drinking. The report was filed at 11:49 p.m. on Oct. 17. Miscellaneous • Multiple reports of automobile break-ins in Deacon Place were filed between 8 and 10 a.m. on Oct. 14. • An unknown subject used a saw-like tool to cut the catalytic converter from a truck on Student Drive. The report was filed at 6:44 p.m. on Oct. 16.
Old Gold & Black | News
Page 4 | Thursday, October 22, 2020
President: Search for Hatch’s successor begins
Continued from Page 1
“The search committee is focused on getting to work right away,” Roach said. “We will immediately convene conversations with the Wake Forest community in order to meet the goal of having a new president in place for the start of the next academic year.” There are multiple ways that the larger university community can engage with the search process. Most simply, there is a short survey that any affiliated individual can fill out in regards to the next president, as well as a form to recommend a candidate. Over the next month, the committee will also host Call to Conversation-style listening sessions for students, faculty, staff and alumni. The search committee will work with a series of advisory committees made up of students, faculty and alumni. Roach explained that the hiring process will be guided by community input, and there is no official timeline or deadline in place for the selection. “Our goal is to identify the most qualified and desirable candidates so we do not have to operate on a timeline. The search will be broad, diverse and inclusive,” Roach said. “We know our position is attractive and finding the right
mutual fit will drive timing. President Hatch generously has offered to remain president until his successor is in place, so we are able to go about the search with confidence.” In Hatch’s retirement announcement, he made multiple gestures to the continued effort to further diversity and inclusion at the university. Roach echoed the university’s commitment to these issues, and reinforced that finding a candidate who embraces recent initiatives as outlined by the president’s Committee on Race, Equity and Community is a priority of the search. “Wake Forest will continue to open the doors of opportunity wider. So, we have intentionally included a wide range of voices on the search committee and on the advisory committees,” Roach said. “And, ensuring a broad and diverse pool of applicants is an important goal. Whoever is selected as Wake Forest’s next president will demonstrate a commitment to continuing the work underway at Wake Forest to create a more diverse, inclusive and equitable community.” In an interview with the Old Gold & Black last week, Hatch shared his advice to the next president of the university. “Listen so that you learn. I think communities like this are organic things. You have to understand Wake Forest and its
people, how business is done, what expectations are. I think you have to dream big and I’ve always said we’re radically traditional and radically innovative,” Hatch said. “You don’t want ten years from now Wake Forest to be the same.
Sometimes you have to make bets. We did that with Wake Downtown and with other things. That is, you have to move forward. Higher education is traditional but learning changes, students change, and you have to be open to that.”
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest University
The search committee, which includes a wide range of voices in the Wake Forest community, hopes to find a worthy successor to President Hatch.
SG prompts review of off-campus eateries Student Government urged the university to contact restaurants like Campus Gas and Earl’s BY AINE PIERRE Asst. News Editor pierav20@wfu.edu The COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage across Winston-Salem, the state of North Carolina and the country atlarge. North Carolina on Oct. 15 reported over 2,000 new cases, its highest single-day total yet. In this crisis, the state of public health relies wholly on a public willing to follow guidelines and institutions willing to enforce them. According to Student Government (SG) president and senior Miles Middleton, many students have approached him with concerns about off-campus gatherings at places such as Campus Gas and Earl’s. “[The conversations] were … about asking questions and clarifying whether or not we were actually doing something about it, and I think that prompted us to get involved,” Middleton said. Middleton brought up these concerns to the General Assembly during its Oct. 6 meeting and called for increased vigilance. “We’re obviously talking to Earl’s and Campus Gas and saying, ‘Hey, we really need you to help us out here in terms of straining out the COVID-19 restrictions that are still in place,’” Middleton said. Thus began a series of conversations between Middleton and Vice President
for Campus Life Penny Rue. In the end, per Middleton, Rue’s office agreed to contact both Campus Gas and Earl’s regarding COVID-19 guidelines. According to Middleton, the Office of Campus Life confirmed that they have been in touch with Campus Gas, but did not make similar confirmations for Earl’s. The Office of Campus Life, for its part, denies that it has made contact with either establishment. University Police, however, confirmed that they are in occasional contact with the establishments, as well as with Winston-Salem police, who patrol establishments near Wake Forest regularly. “Everyone is working toward the goal of being compliant with public health guidelines [like for] social distancing, mask wearing and group sizes,” said Regina Laweson, chief of University Police. At the Oct. 6 meeting, Middleton also called for “increased patrol” at these establishments, according to the Old Gold & Black’s report of the meeting. This appears to be impossible, however, as the university does not own the restaurants. “These places are not ours to patrol, and we will not be doing so,” Rue confirmed to the Old Gold & Black by email. Outreach by the University Police, however, seems to have been effective. Middleton says that he has observed improvement at Campus Gas, as he has noticed fewer large gatherings there. In addition, Campus Gas appears to be taking the COVID-19 threat seriously, as signage on its door prohibits groups of more than six to enter the establishment.
“Passing by Campus Gas, it looks better, and I’ve gotten word from the administration that Campus Gas has been obviously doing their best and kicked out those who didn’t have a spot … you can’t just hang around [at the establishment],” Middleton said. As far as students go, it is easy to understand how institutions with even somewhat relaxed rules could attract large groups looking for fewer restrictions, but even though these events are off campus, one superspreader event could send students home.
“It took a lot for the administration, most notably our University Police to reach out and say … ‘students are coming [in] a lot, can we make sure COVID-19 restrictions are being followed?’” Middleton said. Middleton added that students also need to do their part. “Continue to be smart, wear a mask and do the right thing,” Middleton said. As of Wednesday night, the university has 52 cases reported over the past 14 days, up from 32 cases on Tuesday afternoon.
Aine Pierre/Old Gold & Black
Signs pasted to the entrance of Campus Gas (pictured) require entrants to wear a mask and keep groups to under six people.
News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, October 22, 2020 |Page 5
COVID-19: Virus’s presence increases Continued from Page 1
Students have taken notice of the uptick in cases on campus and although they are warier about new infections on campus, the general feeling is of trust that the Wake Forest community will be able to weather another eventual spike in COVID-19 cases on campus. “Obviously, it is up to everyone how they want to handle the whole situation, but I think in general students have been pretty good about considering that we are still here on campus. [At the start of the semester], I did not think we’d still be here by this time,” said sophomore Ashlyn Odenwald. For sophomore Megan Waterston, a huge factor in the recent spike in cases on campus is the natural tendency that
students tend to relax on COVID-19 measures as the semester goes on. “I think naturally, as time goes on, people accidentally revert back to how we were used to life [as usual] without social distancing procedures and precautions,” Waterston said. “I do think that originally people were taking it seriously, but I think the long duration of having to handle this new way of life people are maybe slacking a little bit.” Most students seem to agree that the measures taken by the university such as having around 500 asymptomatic tests performed each week, and the mandatory use of masks and social distancing practices are effective in controlling the spread of the virus. Yet, with a large number of students on campus, these measures can only go so far.
“Since everyone is here, they want to make the most of their college experience and, unfortunately, that does mean hanging out with people may be infected with COVID-19,” said freshman Kate Kistler. “There’s really only so much you can do with all of us [students] on campus. Doing random testing and encouraging people to wear masks around campus, I think is the best that you can do right now.” Roughly a month since Wake Forest surpassed 100 COVID-19 in mid-September, the university is now on course to eclipse the 200-case mark with 52 active cases as of Oct. 21. Although students seem more optimistic about the university’s ability to fend off the threat of the coronavirus once more, the past couple of days serve as a cautionary tale of how quickly the spread of the virus can regain steam on campus.
Face to Face Speaker Forum debuts virtually In the first event of the annual series, Pulitzer Prize winning columnists Peggy Noonan and Eugene Robinson discuss the election BY ELIZABETH MALINE Online Managing Editor malied17@wfu.edu Though the Face to Face Speaker Forum event on Tuesday was in fact not face-to-face, the live virtual discussion between political columnists and authors Peggy Noonan and Eugene Robinson, moderated by Dean of the College Michelle Gillespie, was captivating nonetheless. Noonan and Robinson were asked to come in a bipartisan way to speak specifically about the history of the American presidency, our democracy and how it appears to have evolved this election season. Noonan, an Irish Catholic from New Jersey who grew up in a family of staunch Democrats, shockingly realized later in life that she identified more closely with Republican ideologies. She has written the weekly column “Declarations” for the Wall Street Journal since 2000. An aspiring architect, Robinson grew up in Orangeburg, S.C. in the wake of the Jim Crow era. While studying at the University of Michigan, he discovered his talent for writing. He writes a twice-weekly column for The Washington Post. As the Presidential Endowed Professor of Southern History, Dean Gillespie asked pointed questions to each guest, which focused on current political divisions, the president’s tweeting, the future of presidential debates and the upcoming election. In addressing deep political divisions, Noonan and Robinson recounted a time when “political identity was only a part of you, it wasn’t you.” Noonan reminded the audience that Americans have loved arguing about all aspects of politics since the founding of the nation and stressed that as our country moves in a more secular direction, politics have begun to take the place of religion in conversation. Robinson attempted to put this period of political division in historical context. He urged the audience to recount other historical periods of heightened divisions within the country and emphasized that we are currently experiencing another one of those periods. “We are on a new axis and until we define it, everything looks scrambled,” Robinson said. He explains this confusion is made worse by a president who heightens contradictions and who doesn’t know how to embrace those who disagree with them. As a former speechwriter for Ronald Reagan, Noonan reflected on President Donald Trump’s preferred mode of communication: Twitter. She said his unfiltered comments “make people nervous” and show that he doesn’t take the office seriously or with the appropriate gravity. She described it as continually shocking that he is so “frivolous and immature” with his words. Robinson echoed this sentiment, saying that no president has ever been as cavalier with his words as has Trump. “This is a president who doesn’t care about that,” Robinson said. “We knew who he was when we elected him. He was a celebrity. People thought the office would change him, but he approaches every day like an episode of reality TV. ” After witnessing the chaotic first presidential debate, Dean Gillespie proposed a question regarding the future of presidential debates. Though Noonan respects and believes in the future of presidential debates themselves, she believes the fault
in the debate structure falls on the Presidential Debate Commission, which she says is “dead.” “[The Presidential Debate Commission] did itself some damage as it attempted to control Trump,” she said. She feels strongly that debates are a productive exercise and are beneficial in that incumbents are challenged in a way they haven’t been throughout their presidency. However, Noonan implores the commission to review the structure of debates and calls recent debates “boring” and “formulaic.” Robinson agreed, emphasizing that just because we’ve always done something a certain way does not mean we should stick to that for the sake of continuity. “I’m not willing to give up on the idea of presidential debates, although I can’t imagine what the one on Thursday will tell us that we don’t already know,” he said. He is referring to the final presidential debate airing Thursday, for which the debate commission has implemented a new rule. The commission will mute the opponent’s microphone when they are not speaking in order to avoid screaming matches that plagued the first debate. With less than two weeks until the presidential election, Noonan admits she remains concerned about the results and the societal problems that may grow around a long, undecided election. Experts predict the large number of absentee ballots will delay election results. “I hope that if Donald Trump loses, that he is just historically gracious about it,” Noonan said. Robinson noted that there is a possibility we will receive results quicker than anticipated, especially if one candidate produces a decisive win. However, if it comes down to votes in one state, like the 2000 election did with votes in Florida, Robinson says “all bets are off.” “There will be several hard days after the election, no matter the outcome,” Robinson said. Both speakers were careful to assure the audience that no matter how turbulent this time feels, it will pass, as do all turbulent periods in American history. However, that doesn’t take the attention and importance away from this high-stakes election. “I care about democracy because it’s what we have and we have to make it work,” Noonan said. This discussion was part of a larger set of events scheduled in accordance with the Face to Face Speaker Forum, the brainchild of Hatch. “It was his vision to create this signature speaker series for the Wake Forest community and the greater community where Wake Forest resides,” said Sue Henderson, the Executive Director of the Speaker Forum. According to Henderson, all the proceeds from Face to Face will fund need-based scholarships. Henderson was the leader of a team of three that worked to establish the speaker series, which operated in collaboration with University Advancement, specifically the Office of Communication and External Relations. However, the series is an initiative from the Office of the President. Face to Face is a recurring annual series in which the university aims to host three to four speakers that help to bring attention to one of four key categories: political affairs, social justice and global issues, arts and culture and innovation and business. “We like to say that those are sort of our four pillars, where we would bring in speakers that would fit one of those focus areas,” Henderson said. According to Henderson, the ideal guest is “somebody that has the ability to speak in a compelling way about a matter of substance.” While students, faculty and staff at the university as well as other institutions of higher learning in the Winston-Salem area
can access the events for free, community members have the opportunity to subscribe to the series or purchase single tickets 60 days before the event. To date, the series has over 500 subscribers. “Our goal was to bring a high quality, diverse lineup of speakers, both topically and demographically to our campus and our community, to be in conversation around contemporary topics of our times. That’s really the basis of this whole speaker series, and that’s why it’s Face to Face. It’s to showcase that it’s more than one person in conversation,” Henderson said. The guest speaker will always be in conversation with a “distinguished” moderator, typically a member of the university community. Additionally, the discussion format is intended to model inclusive dialogue. Shortly after the series was officially announced in early March, the team was able to sell a substantial number of subscriptions and had huge success “right out of the gate.” However, just days later, the university shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. “Our team began to work tirelessly on how to pivot and as things became more transparents about the pandemic, we were able to reschedule all of our in person events to the spring semester. And then we were able to create a virtual offering,” Henderson said. This fall, the series was slated to host Madeline Albright and Colin Powell, two former secretaries of state, along with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and author Malcolm Gladwell. But each of the events has been rescheduled to occur in-person in the spring or next fall. Until the university can safely host in-person events, the Face to Face team has worked to secure guests for virtual events like the discussion on Tuesday. Though these events were not originally scheduled as part of the lineup, they have garnered attention. “Even though we had to make the pivot, the advantage is when you’re virtual, you can have unlimited capacity, and that has enabled us to engage alumni across the country, to engage students who are remote across the country, who are not on campus with us, and so many other folks from the community,” Henderson said. According to an email from the university, a total of 1,473 households registered for the event, which was free for students, faculty and staff of all institutions of higher learning in the Winston-Salem area, as well as students and faculty from local high schools. For future in-person events, Henderson said there will be a student-only forum at 5 p.m. the day of the event, where students from the local area will have the opportunity to meet with the guest speaker or speakers in a Q&A format. Henderson described this as an opportunity for Wake Forest students to cross-pollinate with other students in the Winston-Salem area. After the event, participants can sign up for a community conversation, which will be moderated by trained Wake Forest students. The series has already amassed over 10 sponsors, including Wake Forest Baptist Health, HanesBrands Inc., Wells Fargo, Reynolds and Truist, as well as several local media sponsors including the Winston-Salem Journal and WFDD public radio. While events may occur virtually for the foreseeable future, the Face to Face Speaker Forum offers the university and local community a unique opportunity to hear the wise words of some of our country’s most influential leaders in prominent fields. “It’s been so much fun and privilege working with my team to create this wonderful asset for our institution and the community,” Henderson said.
Page 6 | Thursday, October 22, 2020
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COVID-19 complicates annual flu season Here’s a list of a few things you should know about the influenza virus and vaccine BY MAGGIE BURNS Science &Technology Editor burnme17@wfu.edu In the midst of a global pandemic, especially one with the amount of uncertainty COVID-19 has brought with it, there are few phrases scarier than “flu season.” As temperatures drop and the season changes, the flu will soon begin to spread as it always does this time of year. Both COVID-19 and influenza are respiratory diseases, so one has the ability to exacerbate the symptoms of the other. The flu, as we know it, is caused by influenza viruses that can infect your nose, throat and lungs on some occasions. The severity of the flu can range anywhere from mild to deadly, much like COVID-19. It is also like COVID-19 in the way that it spreads; the flu spreads through droplets, and can be transmitted during activities like talking, exercising, coughing or sneezing. The similarities of the transmission between the two viruses, although alarming, allows you to be protected from them in the same way; washing your hands, wearing a mask and social distancing. One of the easiest ways to protect yourself against the flu — and possible COVID-19 complications if you end up with both — is to get vaccinated. Here are a few things you should know about the flu vaccine and why it’s so important:
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends getting a flu vaccine in September or October, so you’re fully protected throughout the entire flu season; but getting one at any time in the fall and winter can still be helpful. The flu vaccine will not give you the flu. According to the CDC, the version of the vaccine administered with a needle contains either an inactive version of the virus or one with only a single protein from the virus. The nasal spray version contains strains of the virus that are weakened, so they will not cause you to become infected either. The vaccine given this year will protect you against three or four strains of the influenza virus that are expected to circulate this season, according to the Mayo Clinic. Both Mayo Clinic and CDC recommend that everyone six months or older get vaccinated for influenza. Although, if you have any known allergies to the ingredients in the vaccine or you are not feeling well, you should talk to your physician before being vaccinated. The Mayo Clinic also explains that, even if you were vaccinated last year, you should still get vaccinated this year as well. The influenza virus changes and mutates rapidly enough that last year’s vaccine may not be efficacious with this year’s flu. It is still essential that you continue to follow COVID-19 guidelines in order to prevent it from spreading further; practices such as social distancing, wearing a mask and frequently washing your hands will prevent the spread of both COVID-19 and influenza. If you’re worried about going into a pharmacy or doctor’s office to get the flu
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Flu season will be upon us in the coming months. In light of the COVID19 pandemic, the university is requiring all students to get a flu shot. vaccine, rest assured that the CDC has released guidelines for administering the flu vaccine safely to patients. These guidelines can be found on the CDC website and will continually be updated as the COVID-19 pandemic and flu season both progress. Chronic illnesses — such as asthma, cancer, COPD, diabetes and obesity — can increase your risk of complications
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There are several locations on campus and in the Winston-Salem area to get a flu shot. Students can make an appointment with Student Health Services on the online portal as shown above.
with the flu virus, Mayo Clinic says. So for people with these illnesses, it is even more important to get vaccinated for the flu and protect against complications. Here in Winston-Salem, you can get a flu shot at most pharmacies like CVS, Walgreens and the pharmacy in Publix. You can also go to health departments or Student Health Services to get your vaccination. When going somewhere to get a flu shot, it is still important to wear a mask and wash your hands thoroughly before and after you leave. “The answer to the question ‘Why should you get a flu vaccine?’ is the same this year as it is every year. But there are some additional reasons why it’s extra beneficial to get [it] this year,” says Emily Landon, executive medical director of infection prevention and control at the University of Chicago Medicine in an interview with Scientific American. The CDC explains on their website that now more than ever it is extremely important to stop the spread of respiratory illnesses, such as the flu, this fall and winter season. While there is presently some contention around the efficacy of vaccines and whether or not they should be trusted, it is undeniable that scientists and experts praise the vaccine for influenza. It has proved effective for years now, and is a surefire way to prevent illness and death from the flu. Across the board, experts recommend getting vaccinated and agree that it is one of the most crucial steps in preventing not only the flu but also further complications from COVID-19. As always, continue to be vigilant and safe, and wear your mask.
OPINION
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a t : w w w. w f u o g b . c o m E D IT O R : J a c k P o r t m a n , p o r t j t 17 @ w f u . e d u A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R S : R y a n K i n g , k i n g r m 17 @ w f u . e d u Alexandra Karlinchak, karlae18@wfu.edu
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Aesthetic“values mediate heirarchy Society
Command over aesthetic valuations formalizes class stratigaphies
Jack Portman
Staff Columnist portjt17@wfu.edu
Hierarchy is a means insofar as it can be understood to consist in the language, materials, practices and cosmologies which give rise to — and are wielded with the effect of legitimating — an unequal distribution of power. Many anthropologists emphasize the roles of certain cultural elements in reifying social stratification, such as hierarchical grooming patterns among monkeys, potlatch ceremonies and ontological and cosmological narratives about the world. These are themselves parts of a system of performance, ritual, aestheticism and economy which enables certain
People with greater economic capital inherently possess a greater capacity to act as arbiters of aesthetic value...” members of a group to coalesce great amounts of power and political rights, at the expense of — but oftentimes with at least the implicit consent of — the remaining members of the group. Symbolic forms of power — that is, power which is said to derive from certain strategic behaviors and practices with abstract implications — have the effect of formalizing symbolic and aesthetic systems and social hierarchy. Considerations of the linkages between cultural capital and social hierarchy were largely initiated by social critics and philosophers, only later to be adopted by anthropologists. Pierre Bordieu’s 1979 book Distinction: A Social Critique of Judgment and Taste introduced the concept of cultural capital. Bourdieu posed that the aesthetic preferences formalized by those with great amounts of social capital are necessarily adopted by those
with lesser social capital. The emphasis of aesthetic taste rather than economic factors as a force of class delineation represents a distinction between a primarily economic means of social stratification and a system of symbolic power and cultural capital that reifies social hierarchy. Bordieu’s assessment of the role of aesthetics in structuring and legitimating social hierarchy has broad theoretical and methodological implications, and his conceptualization of cultural capital has remained an object of consideration among social theorists. The distinction between economic value and cultural capital is largely methodological — by operationalizing cultural recognitions of value imbued in particular materials, and considering the ways in which value recognitions reflect and exert power, the role of aesthetic taste in structuring social hierarchy can be addressed. Bordieu recognizes that the various forms of capital, including cultural capital, are essentially reducible to economic capital, and that economic value typically underlays aesthetic valuations. And, as later theorists have illustrated, it is methodologically imperative
to consider the relational implications of value, and the systems of exchange that are thus reflected. Class, as distinct from status, is seemingly relational and consists in the network of subjective relativities between people. Accordingly, value — and the capacity and agentiality to assert it — is largely context and subjectivity dependent. That is, in certain circumstances and to certain individuals value may be conceptualized differently. Needless to say, people with greater economic capital inherently possess a greater capacity to act as arbiters of aesthetic value, while poorer individuals are subject to this aesthetic hegemony. A hierarchy based on wealth as an arbitrary metric doesn’t itself explain gradients of power and agency — when the wealthy use their wealth to command cultural valuations and meanings of aesthetics, wealth becomes a more meaningful delineator of hierarchy. It is largely though not always - in its relations to the valuations of aesthetic material that wealth can be understood as a form of power and legitimator of hierarchy.
“ Flames evoke beauty and comfurt Beauty and Meaning
Human associations with fire illicits insight concerning conceptions of beauty Cap McLiny Guest Columnist mclicp19@wfu.edu
I was sitting by a crackling fire as I thought more about some of the ideas in my article last week which posed a few questions in regards to the nature of beauty. Looking into the flames, their beauty struck me and I wondered why. Growing up, my family and I would always enjoy sitting by the side of a fire either inside or out. If you have ever had the chance to do similarly, perhaps you will understand what I am talking about when I say that there is an indescribable magnetism or hypnosis of sorts that takes over when you look into the glowing embers. A fire seems to reach out and grab your eyeballs if you look at it for merely a few seconds. In some respect, this odd trance seems to be an intense,
We don’t even hesitate to light a candle at the dinner table or curl up next to a flame on a winter evening.” inescapable recognition of beauty on a subconscious level. Like moths to a light, so too are people to a campfire on a summer night. This primitive attraction is likely due to the enormous level of importance fire has had over the course of humanity’s survival. I suppose it is natural that we are inexplicably drawn to flames as the mastery of such is considered to be one of the most critical contributing factors to our species’ prosperity around the globe. What’s odd, however, is how different the traits of fire are when compared to the other parts of life which also might be considered beautiful. Compare flames to the previously discussed example of a flower. Fire and flowers could not be more different, yet we attribute the same quality of beauty to them. It is really marvelous in the true sense of the word, as it is a marvel that beauty can inhabit such an extreme range of subjects. Flames can rip unrelentingly through
forests or sear the skin off of your hand. They can destroy your house in a matter of seconds or blow up your car. In contrast, this can all happen while a flower which we similarly consider to be beautiful sits serenely in a vase. Yet, what is truly distinct about fire as opposed to a flower is how we ignore all of its harmful traits in order to bring it into our homes. We don’t even hesitate to light a candle at the dinner table or curl up next to a flame on a winter evening. Displaying flowers on a table or planting them around the garden is clearly markedly safer than incorporating fire to the degree which we do. But flowers don’t necessarily put us in the same sort of trance that fire does. Is it possible that part of the reason we are so overtly enamored with fire as opposed to other things is that our egos are attracted to the fact we have largely tamed such a potentially harmful element? If this is so, what might this say about our human nature in general and how is it that we are able to convince ourselves that fire’s dangers will not affect us? One partial answer to that handful of questions would be that the good applications of fire far outweigh the
bad for most people in their lives and they therefore have no reason to avoid it on the basis of purely hypothetical dangers. I suppose I might not be so keen to be close to fire if I had some sort of horrific trauma in relation to it. With that in mind in regards to the overarching question as to what makes something beautiful, I suppose this indicates that beauty is something which can change on the basis of personal experience. Those aforementioned questions are one’s which I would be silly in trying to answer in such a short space. Take some time and think about them, though. As I’ve mentioned before, coming to a solid conclusion is not necessarily all that important. However, it’s the deliberate act of trying to discover the nature of things by thinking critically about our surroundings using specific examples that is very important. Hopefully, my observations here will lead you to your own conclusions as you think about the inherent natural beauty which manifests itself in not only fire and flowers but in all things in our world.
Opinion | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | Page 9
“ Vending machines require urgent repair Dining Services
Defective vending machines restrict an essential service to hungry students
These crises could be averted if Residence Life & Housing could send someone to fix and maintain the machine. "
Charlie Benedict
$4.50 and my friend Jake is out another $1.25. I’m am sure others in Dogwood have been similarly robbed of their hard-earned Washington’s. I’m baffled by the dichotomy between the machine not accepting money and being empty. I know for a fact that no one is reliably getting food out of this beast, yet I’ve never seen it with more than four to five snacks. The conclusion I gather from this is that the machine hasn’t worked for a while, and no one has fixed it. This is what drove me to send an email to the Office of Residence Life & Housing on Sept. 20. In the email, I described the situation(s) that led to the me taking such a dramatic response, asked for someone to come out and look at it and extrapolated on why I feel that having a vending machine is necessary. A day later Residence Life & Housing responded, informing me that they would have “someone out soon to correct the issue.” Well, it’s been a month, and aside from a couple gross power bars, the vending machine is virtually empty. Is the technician commuting by ferry from Myanmar? I’m almost a little worried that this hypothetical
Staff Columnist benecc19@wfu.edu
I feel like I ask very little of my housing accommodations. I don’t need mahogany drawers, a luxury mattress or marble countertops to make it work. But one thing I expect — and I really don’t think this is an unreasonable expectation — is a functioning vending machine somewhere in the building that I reside. You see, me and the other inhabitants of Dogwood Residence Hall do not have access to a functioning vending machine. The one in the laundry room rejects all but the freshest and flattest bills, and when you finally find the goldilocks currency that depraved appliance will take, it swallows it up without dispensing the requisite snack. It works just well enough for you to think that the errors are an exception — but as a grizzled twomonth veteran of Dogwood, I can confidently assert that they are the rule, not the exception. Personally, I have been swindled out of at least
Burmese vending technician will open the machine and find evidence from an archaic murder case. Normally, a single malfunctioning vending machine wouldn’t be the end of the world. I know from experience that the machine in the basement of Johnson Residence Hall last year was spotty at best — I simply eschewed it and patroned those with more reliable internals such as those in South and Babcock Residence Halls. But in a COVID-19 world, I can’t swipe into any other dorm to get my vending fix. Furthermore, all dining locations on campus are operating with reduced hours or occupancy. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to wait in line outside Subway at 2 a.m. because more than 10 people were inside, when all I wanted was a Fig Newton. These crises could be averted if Residence Life & Housing could send someone to fix and maintain the machine. I don’t feel that I’m being unreasonable in that request. I am trying to give the school my money. On the admittedly limited times that I find myself doing laundry, I feel my cold, calculating, rectangular metal enemy taunt me. As I stare deep into the abyss of my mortal enemy, its plexiglass shield simply reflects my beautiful face back, mocking me with a silent smugness. This column is an impassioned cry for help to all of those
who claim to make Wake Forest a better place. Student Government, Residence Life & Housing, Hospitality & Auxiliary Services: do something. If I have ignited an intense desire for justice in you, or you simply want to call me a whiny loser, please follow me on Twitter (@CharlieBenedic1). Those of us who have fallen prey to the conniving innards of that wretched excuse of a machine deserve justice. We will not quiver in trepidation any longer. Fix our vending machines.
now. Both of them discussed that they have recently learned the importance of local elections and the strong impact that social media has had on motivating them to become active and informed voters. Teshome has been the one advocating for her family to get out and vote: “I am the one that is passionate about voting and constantly telling family members and parents how important it is to vote every time I see them, ” said Teshome. “Although my family members are active voters, voting was never really talked about until Obama was elected. It was a big thing, and this gave my family hope and made them excited about politics,” said Chamblee. Social media has had an impact on how many college students will vote, in many ways it is how a lot of college students stay informed on what is happening in the world around them. For Teshome and Chamblee, seeing and hearing firsthand the police brutality and other systematic issues that people have experienced in this country made them want to get out and vote.
Marion said “social media has had a huge impact on how I decided to vote, seeing all the protests happening around the country and people talking about voting has formed my views on an independent leaning towards the democratic party” “This summer I was working with other Black women and took some time to look at the Winston Salem Budget to talk to the city council to talk about why so much money is being allocated to the police department when we are on the verge of an eviction crisis,” said Marke. Whether they have been talking about voting with their family members since they were young, or they are now the ones advocating for their family members to vote. It is clear that everything that has happened in the past four years has urged many first-time voters to become active and informed voters. “In my mom’s words, if you don't vote it’s very difficult for people to complain, if you have the opportunity to vote and you don't, you had the opportunity to voice your opinion,” said Marke.
Ryan King/Old Gold & Black
A poorly stocked vending machine located in Magnolia Residence hall.
“ Black women form decisive voting block Voting
Black women voters constitute a crucial voting block and should exercise their political rights
Mariama Jallow Staff Columnist jallm18@wfu.edu
We are living in such unexpected times; the national election is less than a month away and local elections are on the ballot in many states. Young Black women, many of whom are first time voters, can be a deciding block of voters this election. In 2016, of the Black Women that voted, 96% of Black Women voted for Hilary Clinton. We are currently living through a global pandemic, an economic crisis with a record number of jobs lost and some of the most politically and socially polarized times our country has ever seen. “I was raised on the fundamental values that voting is important and you need to have your voice heard in a democracy and play your part,” said freshman Cerrin Crewford.
Young Black women, many of whom are first time voters, can be a deciding block of voters this election. Deb Marke is the assistant director, advocacy and social justice education at Wake Forest where she has been exposed to a lot of different voters, especially Black women: “I think that when it comes to Black women and Black girls, it feels like there is a lot of responsibility and a lot of pressure to take care of our communities. It is really difficult to see people who look like you, people who could be your brother, sister murdered and shot down by state sanctioned violence. In the U.S we vote for sheriffs and politicians who decide how money is allocated in our cities, if we want to see change, we have to put those people in office and demand it.” Sophomore Marion Teshome and Carmen Chamblee a junior at The University Of North Carolina Chapel Hill may not have had a family member strongly advocating for voting in the past but they do
Page 10 | Thursday, October 22, 2020
“ should
Old Gold & Black | Opinion
AmericanDevelopment Politics Personal
Biden
Ambiguous messaging concerning court packing obscures transparency Tonia Christou
Guest Columnist chriam19@wfu.edu
It is just under two weeks to Nov. 3, election day, and Presidential Candidate Joe Biden remains vague on his stance of packing the Supreme Court. The question has arisen as a direct result of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing on Sept. 18 which was followed by President Donald Trump’s subsequent nomination of Amy Coney Barrett. Biden has stated that he is “not a fan of court packing”. In actuality, former Vice-President Biden is not a fan of the position that Trump has put him in, but this does not alter the fact that the American people deserve an answer. “Never before, when an election has already begun and millions of votes are already cast has it ever been that a Supreme Court nominee was put forward,” Biden explained. Biden is certainly correct about that. Additionally, Biden is currently wedged between two very different groups: progressive Democrats in favor of court packing and moderate Americans who view it as a dangerous tactic. Both sides have valid arguments for their views. Progressive Democrats
take stand on court
Perhaps the ideal way for the Biden campaign team to hand the card they have been dealt is to inspect the history of court packing."
ing as opening a floodgate. If the Democrats pass a law stating that this practice is possible, Pandora’s box is opened and either side can utilize it. Perhaps the ideal way for the Biden campaign team to hand the card they have been dealt is to inspect the history of court packing. In 1937, President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced his intention to increase the number of justices up to 15. His reasoning was that the court would become more efficient, but it was also a political maneuver to pass New Deal legislation. The court had previously struck down his attempts to relieve the Great Depression by ruling that the Federal government was overstepping the authority it was granted by the Constitution. Yet, President Roosevelt’s reforms intended to look at the larger picture, not just the events of the time period. FDR saw an issue with the retirement age of justices and the payment they would receive. He did in fact hope to make it more efficient by allowing more leeway for Justices to do their jobs up to the point their age allowed, but still maintain their livelihoods after the fact. The Founding Fathers originally outlined the Constitution in a way where Justices would be appointed for and presumably filling their spots, for life. Life expectancy has changed. Roosevelt hoped to aid this transition. This change did not end up going through and the reforms, due to the state of the economy at the time, passed regardless. Now, what does this precedent mean for Biden and how he should mold his
message? Many of the individuals who support court packing in this case do so because they view Trump and his cohort’s moves as detrimental to Democracy. Their ideologies do not necessarily align with Biden’s, but I believe that they will cast their votes for him anyways. Their ultimate fear is that Trump will be re-elected and they know what a failure to cast their ballots would look like. If Biden does not get behind court packing, that is not their end all be all. For the other side of the potential voter pool, who have less riding on this election, court packing remains a contentious topic. They view it as opening the door that either tool could utilize in the future. They do not like this precedent and they are more in between candidates than the other division. Thus, Biden should instead put out a strong message on court packing. One that mirrors the actual beliefs he voiced in the Democratic primary debates of last year. “I would not get into court packing. We had three justices. Next time around, we lose control, they add three justices. We begin to lose any credibility the court has at all,” said Biden, during onse such debate. If he were to reform the court in other ways, with different intentions than simply turning the partisan ties, that would be a different story entirely. Now, he must instead appeal to the centrist voters that may win him this election. It is unfair to ask of the American people to wait to hear his opinion after their votes have been cast.
Personally, it’s not surprising be rejected is because the ballots are inthat we still have this level of correctly filled out. political interference in this The obstructions that I have mentioned day and age." have many reasons behind them. In Cali-
a much higher rate than any other year because of the pandemic. The statistics about discarded ballots seem to be way too disproportionate to me if they are to be representative of only the Black voter’s unfamiliarity. Although the second example may be less clear, the evident lack of understanding surrounding the issue points to a larger problem. There’s even a turbulent political battle regarding the board of elections. Two Republicans resigned because of rule changes, which allowed for voters to fill out an affidavit to correct their vote instead of obtaining a new ballot — a much more complicated process. This issue, coupled with many other controversial regulations about how mail-in and absentee ballots are counted are the unsolved problems which haunt our democracy. I am optimistic in the change that has come about in this election. More and more people are becoming more educated and active in the voting process, and this will probably lead to more intricate laws — which are often the most impactful. We need to ensure the security of our right to vote. Right now, the decisions of tens of thousands of citizens depends on it. They could be the difference in any election.
believe that Republicans have taken over the court and have utterly scourged the Court’s position of being “above politics.” Firstly, they view Trump’s nomination this close to election day as being unethical and contradictory. Progressives point the attention to Conservatives opinions on former President Barack Obama potentially appointing a Justice following the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. In 2016, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel even tweeted “The American People should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice.” Furthermore, Progressives see a largely Conservative Court as a threat to their rights. Chiefly, they worry about how the court will rule on abortion and voting rights rulings. Representative Alexandra Ocasio Cortez voiced her opinion as well. “We should leave all options on the table, including the number of justices that are on the Supreme Court," she said. Moderate Americans who disagree with court-packing view it as a direct threat to the legitimacy of the courts. The Judicial system is unique in that it does not garner the power to enforce their rulings. Instead, the Courts largely rely on the support from the other branches and the weight that their word traditionally has held. Furthermore, they see court pack-
“ Suppression of voters harms democracy American Politics
Supressing voters undermines institutional strength and belies democracy Connor McNeely Staff Columnist mcnecb19@wfu.edu
Though the voting process is largely a fair and organized operation, there are some problems that appear every election cycle. The authorities amid our government do the best they can to make sure the vote of every citizen counts, but sometimes there are obstructions. This year, in this highly contentious election, we have witnessed many of these obstructions develop before our very eyes. Now, I’m going to put a disclaimer here that I’m not trying to discourage anyone from voting or discredit how much of an impact your vote has. In fact, I’m begging everyone who has the ability to vote to go out and make their voice heard. Many people believe that their vote won't have much of an effect on the presidential or senatorial elections, but what they don’t know is that on the ballot there are lo-
cal and regional elections that are highly important to their daily lives. If you don’t believe that your vote counts, go out and do the research and argue against yourself to make sure that you’re right — because you’re not. However, there are many examples of these obstructions to the voting process. In California, the Republican Party set up unofficial ballot boxes for voters to return their ballots, ignoring the state laws which stipulated that only an election official was eligible to set up drop boxes for ballot collection. The ballot boxes also eliminated the person to person delivery of ballots that were recently put into California law in 2016 — the colloquial term is ‘ballot harvesting’. There have been headlines in North Carolina concerning the probability that black voters mail-in ballots are twice as likely to be rejected than whites. Shocking headlines like these are one of the many problems that I have with the media of this age. Their audience sees the titles of these stories and take no time to read the content of the article. The reason why the mail-in ballots are more likely to
fornia, the Republican Party’s attempt to set up unofficial ballot drop boxes is clearly an attempt to have party officials or third party individuals count and canvass ballots, and possibly tamper with them. Personally, it’s not surprising that we still have this level of political interference in this day and age. Even though it isn’t surprising, it should be unacceptable. It shows a lack of respect for this country and the political system which we have created to honor every citizen. And it also shows the severity of brainwashing that the two party system has inflicted upon the people of the United States. In North Carolina, the mail-in ballots that were rejected because they weren’t filled out correctly, but there is some lingering uncertainty in the regulating the conflict surrounding incorrect mailin ballots. If you search for an explanation for why the ballots of Black voters are more likely to be rejected than white voters, you’ll receive the reasoning that far more Black voters are mailing in this year than any other, and that they’re unfamiliar with the system. But to be fair, every ethnic group is mailing in ballots at
SPORTS
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Online at: www.wfuogb.com Twitter: @sports_ogb Editors: Ben Conroy, conrbd19@wfu.edu Will Zimmerman, zimmwj19@wfu.edu
OLD GOLD & BLACK
Wake Forest beats Virginia at home The Deacs' ground game proved nette of the ACC network said prior to kickoff. too much to handle for the Saturday’s performance proved not visiting Cavaliers only that the stat-lines posted against BY WILL ZIMMERMAN Sports Editor zimmwj19@wfu.edu
It was one of those days that Wake Forest football fans dream about — 60 degrees and sunny, with a slight breeze — prime for fall football (and tailgating, if this were another age). The 750 eager Deacs who filled up the student allotment at Truist Field as the Demon Deacons took on the Virginia Cavaliers on Saturday probably felt a tad sad for their less-fortunate peers, who watched from dorm rooms as Wake Forest put up 40 points and collected a crucial inconference win. Having not played since the demolition against Campbell back on Oct. 2, there was considerable concern that the team that took the field Saturday would not be fit to play. And while the 66 points the Demon Deacons put up against their FCS opponent over two weeks ago were certainly impressive, questions remained as to whether such offensive success could be replicated against a strong ACC team in UVA. “This is the game where we will see who Wake Forest really is,” Jordan Cor-
Campbell were not a fluke, but more importantly, that the Demon Deacons are an ascending team with the talent, motivation and aptitude to win against ACC opponents. Less than four minutes into the game, the Demon Deacons had already completed two drives, worth a total of 127 yards, and good for 14 points. To that point, the redshirt sophomore quarterback, Sam Hartman, had been perfect, completing on all four of his attempts (two of which went for over 40-yards). “We came out like gang-busters in that first quarter,” Head Coach Dave Clawson said in his post-game press conference. Hartman finished the game 16-for27, racking up over 300 yards and one touchdown en route to the victory. In his post-game press conference, Hartman was quick to credit his success in the air to redshirt junior wide receiver Jaquarii Roberson and redshirt sophomore wide receiver A.T. Perry as well as what he called an under-appreciated offensive line. The passing game only tells part of the story of the 40 points the Deacons put up against the Cavaliers. Sophomore running back, Kenneth Walker
III, was again phenomenal, rushing for three touchdowns and 128 yards on 23 carries. Walker’s biggest run of the day couldn’t have come at a more crucial moment. UVA had just capped off a 28-yard drive with a field goal at the beginning of the fourth quarter to level the score at 23 apiece when Walker bounced around behind the line before finding his gap and taking the ball 75-yards to the house. “That was the big play we needed,” Clawson said after the game. Hartman agreed, saying “It pretty much won us the game.” For his efforts, Walker was named the ACC running back of the week. Walker now leads the ACC in rushing touchdowns, with seven over his last three games. The junior kicker, Nick Sciba also contributed offensively. Sciba was perfect on the day, accounting for 16 total points — with four coming from extra point attempts, and the other 12 coming from four field goals, including one from 44-yards out. The defense also stepped up momentously, especially in the second half in which they held the UVA offense to a single field goal. “[We knew that] the better defense was going to win tonight,” the redshirt senior and defensive back, Traveon Redd said, following the game.
The Demon Deacons recorded two interceptions and recovered a fumble off of a muffed short kickoff, giving the team a +9 turnover margin on the season, the best of the Dave Clawson era. “I’m especially proud of our defense,” Clawson said. “We’ve struggled on that side of the ball … so to play the way we did against an ACC team in that second half and only give up three points [was impressive].” Saturday’s game, which was the 50th contest between the two schools, saw the Deacs extend their win streak over the Cavaliers to four, marking the longest in program history. All-in-all, the win was a monumental one as the Deacons try to find a rhythm going into a stretch of the season in which they will play three games in three weeks for the first time. And with seven games against ACC opponents on the horizon — several of which will be against ranked teams — the Demon Deacons need to continue to improve. “This football team has to be an ascending team. We need these wins to keep us going,” Clawson said. “This was really big for our momentum, and to give our team a shot of confidence.” Be sure to tune in next Saturday at 3:30 p.m. to see if the Deacs can extend their win-streak to three when the Virginia Tech Hokies come to WinstonSalem.
CFB: Defense reigns supreme during Week 7 South Carolina, Kentucky and others found the win column over the weekend BY DYLAN TYNES Contributing Writer tynedw19@wfu.edu
Week 7 of the college football season felt unusually quiet. This was the last week before the return of football in the Big Ten, and a healthy dose of teams had byes, including all but four Big 12 teams, among others. But, this year is unlike any other, so the already-meager schedule of games shrunk further with six postponements due to COVID-19 complications, including three contests involving ranked teams. With that being said, there was indeed football on Saturday, and it was indeed odd. On the surface, there was the usual couple of upsets, some close calls and a few blowouts to even the balance. In reality, however, almost nothing about this week was normal. The SEC experienced a plague of interceptions on Saturday. Tennessee’s quarterback, Jarrett Guarantano,
opened the scoring for Kentucky by throwing two early pick-sixes en route to an emphatic 34-7 Kentucky victory. It was the Wildcats’ three interceptions allowed them to win so decisively despite having only seven more yards of offense than the Volunteers. Fifteenth-ranked Auburn fell to unranked South Carolina 30-22 after the Tigers’ quarterback, Bo Nix, tossed three interceptions of his own. But it was Matt Corral of the Ole Miss Rebels who took home the award for most interceptions, with six in his losing effort against Arkansas (33-21). The biggest game of the week, an SEC match up between secondranked Alabama and third-ranked Georgia, of course began with two interceptions in the first four plays. Mac Jones and the Crimson Tide eventually overcame a 24-20 halftime deficit to win 41-24 over the Bulldogs. The Alabama defense looked like an early-2010s iteration of the squad in the second half, picking off Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennet IV twice and preventing any scoring in the second half.
The ACC showed that its middletier of teams is completely unpredictable. Unranked Florida State gained their first conference win of the year over fifth-ranked North Carolina, a statement that would completely mystify any college football observer from before 2019. The Seminoles dominated out of the gate and led 31-7 at halftime, only to barely hang on and win 31-24 after a blight of dropped passes by the Tar Heels. Louisville nearly managed to beat fourthranked Notre Dame; they lost 12-7 in a contest that featured few offensive fireworks from either side. The Fighting Irish will need a whole lot more offensive-spark if they wish to challenge Clemson for the ACC title. NC State managed to overcome a heart-wrenching injury to their starting quarterback, Devin Leary, and defeated Duke, 31-20. The Blue Devils have now turned the ball over 22 times this year, six more times than any other team. In Atlanta, topranked Clemson erased any doubts about its status within the ACC on Saturday with its 73-7 drubbing of Georgia Tech, scoring 35 points in the second quarter alone. The Tigers’
punter even attempted a few passes toward the end of the game, and 17 different players had at least one reception in the blowout. A few minor-conference games commanded attention this week. The Coastal Carolina Chanticleers defended their perfect record with a 30-27 victory over the No. 21 Ragin’ Cajuns of Louisiana-Lafayette. All eyes were on Jonesboro, Arkansas, Thursday night as the Red Wolves of Arkansas State defeated Georgia State in a wild 59-52 game with very little defensive action. And UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel accounted for an eye-popping 650 yards of offense in a 50-49 loss to Memphis in which the teams combined for 1501 total yards. Week 7 proved that even with fewer games, college football can provide enough exciting moments in one Saturday to hold even the most casual fan’s attention. With the Big Ten leading the wave of returning conferences, the chaos will only increase. The next week of college football action will feature highly touted squads such as No. 5 Ohio State, No. 8 Penn State, and No. 21 Minnesota.
Page 12 | Thursday, October 22, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Sports
Wake Forest Men's Soccer suffers first loss The Deacs lost a heartbreaker to Clemson, then bested UNC BY JB BLOOD Staff Writer bloojj18@wfu.edu It was a tale of two endings. Last Tuesday against Clemson, the Wake Forest Men's Soccer team lost a heartbreaker by a score of 2-1 after a late Clemson goal. There would be no heartbreak, though, in Wake Forest's game Sunday against the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. After a hard-fought defensive battle went into overtime, the Deacs broke through in the seventh minute of the extra period to secure a 1-0 victory. The Wake Forest vs. Clemson matchup was originally supposed to occur on Sept. 18, but had to be rescheduled by Clemson due to positive COVID-19 tests within the soccer program. When the Deacs arrived at Clemson's Riggs Field, they were sporting a five-game winning streak against the Tigers, including a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory last year. Clemson had more of a homefield advantage than most teams during the pandemic, as they were allowed 1,000 people in the stadium while full capacity is 6,500. The first half included a superb performance from Wake Forest goalie, junior Andrew Pannenberg. Clemson had four shots on target in the first half, and all four were saved by Pannenberg. Clem-
son was the more aggressive team in the first half, putting up nine shots compared to three from Wake Forest. Additionally, Clemson held a four to two advantage on corner kicks. Clemson also played with a high level of physicality in the half and committed nine fouls while Wake Forest only committed four. Both teams' defenses played well and kept the score at 0-0 heading into halftime. Clemson got on the board early in the second half, scoring just under six minutes into play. Grayson Barber made a run down the right side of the field and crossed the ball into the box where Kimarni Smith one touched it into the net from just a few feet in front of the goal. It was Smith's 20th career goal and gave Clemson a 1-0 lead. Wake Forest quickly responded though, with a brilliant strike from senior Machop Chol to even the score at 1-1. Chol received a pass from freshman defender Garrison Tubbs about halfway between midfield and the Clemson goal. From there, Chol controlled the ball and dribbled it around a defender and as another Clemson defender was coming to cover him, Chol fired off a hard shot from distance that curved around the defender in front of him and then into the back of the net. Chol's extraordinary strike tied the match up at one apiece. A Clemson goal in the 80th minute by Luis Felipe Fernandez-Salvador assisted by Kimarni Smith gave them a 2-1 lead and the eventual victory. It was Wake Forest's first loss of the season. Overall, it was an evenly matched game with
Wake Forest controlling 52% of the possession; possession was also evenly split between the Wake Forest and Clemson halves of the field. Clemson also ended with a 13 to 11 advantage on shots and a six to five advantage on shots on goal. Under Coach Bobby Muuss, Wake Forest doesn't lose often, but when they do, they bounce back immediately. Entering into Sunday night's matchup against UNC, Wake Forest had gone 13-1-1 in games following a loss under Coach Muuss. That excellent record would continue with Wake Forest's 1-0 overtime victory Sunday night at Spry Stadium. UNC entered the game as the thirdranked team in the country after they defeated Clemson 1-0 on Oct. 9. A team that prides itself on its defensive prowess, UNC did not give up a goal in their first two games of the season. Wake Forest's starting defense of junior Holland Rula, freshman Cristian Escribino, sophomore Nico Benalcazar and freshman Garrison Tubbs had an excellent match and only allowed sixth shots all game, only one of which was on target. Pannenberg made the save on the shot on target. Tubbs and Benalcazar played all 97 minutes of the match. Senior Justin McMaster made his season debut for the Deacs in the 33rd minute of the match after being previously sidelined all season with an injury. McMaster had a strong debut playing 29 minutes in total and recording a shot on goal in the 39th minute. The game was a defensive battle, with neither side finding many scoring op-
portunities throughout the match. UNC had a series of back to back corner kicks early in the second half, but those were both unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Wake Forest had a free kick in the 71st minute that was also unsuccessful. The best chance for UNC came in the waning seconds of the second half. With just 52 seconds remaining, UNC had a hard shot from the top of the 18-yard box. However, Pannenberg was wellpositioned and deflected the ball away from the net to preserve the 0-0 score. At the end of 90 minutes, the game moved to a first-goal-wins overtime period. Wake Forest scored quickly in the 97th minute with a goal from junior Kyle Holcomb that might be their best of the season. Sophomore midfielder Omar Hernandez received a pass from Rula near the left sideline facing the UNC goal. From there, Hernandez took a few dribbles toward the corner of the 18yard box and fired off a cross in the air from 10 yards outside the box. The brilliant ball sliced across the box and made its way to the far corner of the six-yard box. Holcomb timed his run perfectly and jumped into the air to head the ball past the airborne goalie trying to punch it away. The ball took one bounce and then crossed the goal line to give Wake Forest a 1-0 victory. Wake Forest's next matchup is on Friday, Oct. 23, on the road against Duke. The Deacs will look to continue their terrific start to the season with yet another big-time win against an in-conference opponent.
COVID-19 continues to linger around the NFL Despite best efforts, the NFL still remains in a state of near-constant flux BY JAKE SINGER Contributing Writer singjr19@wfu.edu The NFL is doing everything it can to keep the league going despite the coronavirus, yet the issue is ongoing and virtually unpreventable. COVID-19 outbreaks continue to impact teams across the NFL. The league had already cancelled the scheduled preseason games, causing teams to play without the normal practice they were used to. The NFL is not playing games under a closed environment in a bubble like the NBA and NHL, and as a result, the coronavirus was bound to have an effect on the league. The league has put together a list called “Reserve/COVID-19” this year, with teams being allowed to exempt players from the active roster due to the virus. The list combines those who have tested positive and those who have been in close contact with someone who has. Teams are not however allowed to publicly announce a player’s health, only that they are currently on the list. COVID-19 testing occurs every day except game day for players and essential personnel as well as anyone who is in close proximity to the players. Entering Week 1, only six
teams allowed fans in the stands, with all holding 25% or less of the respective stadiums capacity. In Week 6, all but four games had fans in attendance. The Cardinals became the 16th out of the 32 NFL teams to allow fans attendance at home games in some capacity. The Tennessee Titans, after violations of coronavirus protocols, are facing a possible fine from the NFL. However, they will not be stripped of any draft picks, forced to forfeit any games or discipline any players or coaches. This brings up the question of whether the National Football Association is being too lenient to teams. 24 members of the Titans organization have tested positive for the virus since Sept. 24. In addition, two of the team’s games have been rescheduled and the training facility was closed for 11 days. According to a source with the knowledge of the findings and the Washington Post, “The review concluded there were issues with the Titans’ compliance with protocols requiring mask-wearing within the team facility." The team remains undefeated after an overtime win against the Houston Texans. As for the Carolina Panthers, they were working remotely on Monday and Tuesday due to what the team called an unconfirmed positive test result by a member of the organization. The Panthers are scheduled to play the New Orleans Saints on Sunday after a loss to the Chicago Bears at home this weekend.
After being postponed a week, the Denver Broncos and New England Patriots played on Sunday, with stars Cam Newton and Stephon Gilmore back on the field after testing positive for the virus at the beginning of October. Center James Ferentz, who had also tested positive for the virus, was able to play in the game. The Patriots team was held out of practice for two weeks before the game. For the Broncos, running backs coach Curtis Modkins tested positive for the virus and did not accompany the team to New England. The Atlanta Falcons were off from practice last Thursday after a false positive but were back to work on Friday. They got their first win of the season, beating the Vikings 40-23 in Minnesota. The Indianapolis Colts shut down its complex after hearing four members of the team received positive results, yet they returned a negative result on Friday morning and played their game Sunday as scheduled. The Colts beat the Bengals 31-27 in a nail biter, overcoming a huge first half deficit. Overall, the NFL is continuing play despite COVID-19 scares from several teams, with the nature of the upcoming weeks and playoffs still a question mark. For now, the league is rejoicing that Week 6 was the first in which there were no postponements or cancellations. It appears for NFL players and fans alike for now, that football is still in play.
Merton Ferron/The Baltimore Sun/TNS
RB Derrick Henry has been a star for the Titans so far this season.
Sports | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | Page 13
Deacon Spotlight: Jason Wagner BY COOPER SULLIVAN Staff Writer sullcg20@wfu.edu
Jason Wagner is a thrower on the Demon Deacons’ Track & Field team. He participates in the shot put and hammer throw events during both the indoor and outdoor track seasons. A sophomore from Collegeville, Pa., Wagner was named 2019’s Mid-Atlantic Athlete of the Year by USATF. Wagner held the Perkiomen Valley High School school records for shot put, hammer and weight throw. Wagner competed in six meets last season where he posted season-bests 13.28m in the weight throw and 13.62m in shot put before the outdoor track and field season was cancelled in March. Old Gold & Black writer Cooper Sullivan spoke with Wagner to discuss last year’s hectic season and what this upcoming season will look like for the athletes on the Wake Forest Track and Field Team. Cooper Sullivan: How did you get into throwing? Jason Wagner: I started in the fifth or sixth grade, quite honestly because I wasn’t very good at baseball. My dad threw in high school so he’s like “hey let’s try this out” and that’s how I started throwing shot put and discus. As I progressed, I picked up the javelin, and in my junior year of high school, I started throwing the hammer. Now here at Wake [Forest], I throw hammer and shotput. CS: Last year was your first year at Wake Forest and you had to adjust to the collegiate athletic scene. What did you learn last season that will help you improve this year? JW: Last season I definitely learned that every competition is going to be a lot tougher than those in high school. At those events, there’s really no competition until you get to the state or national level. Here it’s a different atmosphere. Today I’m
definitely more mentally prepared than I was last year. CS: Do you have any team or personal goals for this year? JW: As a team, we want to try to bring everybody to [the ACC Championship] and hopefully all earn team points. Personally, I want to earn some points in the hammer and try to get there in the shot put as well. CS: Do you feel like the team has a real shot of bringing the ACC Championship back to Winston-Salem? JW: I do. Compared to the past few years, this year the team is definitely better in almost every single event. We also feel like we are more wellrounded as a team than in years past. We can definitely move up our rank in the ACC compared to past years, but this year we are going to be a lot more unified as a team and hopefully be able to bring in more team points. CS: Last year, the season was cut short. You didn’t have an outdoor season at all. And, some schools across the country cut their Track and Field teams, including Brown University and Appalachian State University. Did you ever feel that Wake Forest was going to follow suit, and did you ever have concern for your track career? JW: There’s always a concern with track and field not being a major sport like football or basketball, and that is definitely more concerning now. Recently, I think Minnesota cut their men’s track team, and they are a Power 5 school. So that’s a bit more concerning than a Big Ten program and worrying for us as an ACC program. With that being said, the amount of teams that Wake Forest has makes us a little more secure as a whole.
CS: You haven’t competed since mid-February. How do you think that this substantial time off is going to affect you in your first meet? JW: I think all the time off gave my body good time to do a reset. I was able to get in very good shape during quarantine, and that will help me as I prepare for upcoming meets and will also allow me to recover faster in the future. CS: COVID-19 has affected how athletes can prepare themselves. How has the track team been affected? JW: We can’t all always be together. In the weight room, we are more spread out. We have to be more spread out during practices as well. We are kind of lucky with being the first group [at practice], and there are only about a dozen of us so we don’t have to split up into two separate groups for all of our practices. We are able to get things done faster and in a more unified way now. At the same time, we are kind of anxious about this indoor season because we’re not too sure if it’s going to end up happening because it’s hard to have 200 people inside one building. CS: What are you most excited about for the upcoming season? JW: I am definitely excited for the outdoor season because I missed out on that last year. Outdoor season is also when everyone is able to compete, meaning specifically outdoor events, like javelin, are also able to get out there and do their thing. I want the whole team to be able to compete and the outdoor season will give us that opportunity. Editor’s note: [University of Minnesota Board of Regents voted 7-5 to drop the men’s indoor track team on Oct. 9, per Sports Illustrated]
Photo courtesy of Jason Wagner (pictured left)
Page 14 | Thursday, October 22, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Sports
CFB: Big Ten set to return with a bang Several ranked teams will take the field for the first time this weekend as Big Ten play begins BY BEN CONROY Sports Editor conrbd19@wfu.edu
title that’s eluded them so frequently in recent years. However, Wisconsin will be forced to roll with backup QB Graham Mertz after losing starter Jack Coan to a foot injury during the preseason (per ourlads.com, CBS Sports, and ESPN), which could open a chink in the Badgers’ armor.
After months of tireless debate and speculation, the Big Ten is finally set to return this weekend with an enticing slate of games to kick things off. The conference itself is in a unique position; with other major conferences such as the SEC and ACC already in full swing, it’ll be interesting to see how the addition of a new set of playoff contenders alters the CFB playoff landscape. This weekend represents a huge step forward for college football itself, as the league edges closer to regaining some sense of normalcy as the season progresses. Here’s a look at some of the most meaningful matchups for the first week of the Big Ten season:
Nebraska @ No. 5 Ohio State
Illinois @ No. 14 Wisconsin
No. 8 Penn State @ Indiana
The fighting Illini will have their work cut out for them as they venture into Wisconsin’s Camp Randall, a historically tough venue for visiting teams under any circumstances. This year, especially, look for the Badgers to come out looking for blood as they begin their quest for the Big Ten
Keep your eyes trained on Bloomington as the Indiana Hoosiers host Big Ten powerhouse Penn State on Saturday afternoon. Penn State seems to be in the hunt for the Big Ten Championship nearly every single season, and this year is no different. James Franklin’s squad will lean on
The Buckeye faithful will finally get a look at the highly touted Ohio State offense as the unranked Nebraska Cornhuskers march into Columbus. Ohio State QB and preseason Heisman contender Justin Fields is coming off an outstanding 2019 campaign in which he threw for 41 touchdowns and nearly 3,300 yards; safe to say he’ll be poised for another explosive performance come Saturday afternoon. QB Adrian Martinez gets the starting nod for the Cornhuskers as Nebraska will look to pull off a shocking upset on the road.
Christian Petersen/Getty Images/TNS
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields will be on the hunt for the Heisman trophy during his second season as the starter for the Buckeyes. veteran QB Sean Clifford (per ourlads.com) who returns from a solid showing in 2019 (23 passing touchdowns) as the Nittany Lions begin the mad dash to secure a berth in the Big Ten Championship game at the end of the regular season. Indiana opens as a 6.5-point underdog in the season opener and will need a bit of magic to avoid starting 0-1. No. 18 Michigan @ No. 21 Minnesota This matchup between two evenly matched squads should provide some quality football during the primetime slot on Saturday evening. Minnesota turned heads nationwide last season as they rocketed out to a 9-0 start before dropping a close one to Iowa on
the road. Even so, the Golden Gophers finished at 11-2, capping off the season with an impressive 31-24 win against No. 12 Auburn in the Outback Bowl. Look for standout QB Tanner Morgan to shoulder the load offensively (per ourlads.com) as Minnesota aims to pick up right where they left off. Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines begin the season with high hopes after a 2019 run that featured noteworthy wins over No.14 Iowa and No. 8 Notre Dame. The Wolverines will trot out untested sophomore QB Joe Milton (Mlive. com); his performance will certainly be one of the keys to a Michigan victory. Both of these teams hope to start off this unprecedented season on a positive note with a resumebuilding win under the lights.
Two top seeds set to face off in World Series Los Angeles and Tampa Bay will soon lock horns on baseball’s biggest stage BY MICHAEL BURSTEIN Staff Writer bursma20@wfu.edu The final stage is set. After two backand-forth league championship series which tested the depths of both rosters in a pair of game sevens, only two final teams remain. The 2020 World Series will be a classic matchup between the top seeds from both the American League (A.L.) and National League (N.L.). Representing the A.L. are the Tampa Bay Rays who appear in the World Series for just the second time in franchise history and the first time since 2008. The Los Angeles Dodgers will represent the N.L. for the third time in the last four years while they look to finally secure that elusive, highly-coveted ring. Perhaps most importantly, the 2020 World Series will be played at a neutral site (Globe Life Field) in Arlington, Texas where the Dodgers will serve as the home team in games one, two, six and seven (if necessary) due to their superior record. This Rays versus Dodgers matchup is sure to be a good one. Both rosters are full of stars; some you’ve probably never heard of, while others have been stars
for years. Where these two teams differ is in their experience. Clayton Kershaw is the longest-tenured Dodger, having been with the organization for thirteen years after his debut in May 2008. In comparison, The longest-tenured member of the Rays is Kevin Keirmaier, who joined the team in 2013 and is finishing his eighth season with the organization. While the Dodgers are still young, their recent success gives them the experience edge over the Rays who have had much less recent late-postseason experience and will rely on the older, more experienced players to lead this young team through their tough battle with the Dodgers. The Rays had anything but a conventional path to the World Series. They finished the regular season 40-20 having won eight of their last 10 games and cruised into the playoffs on a roll. After defeating the Toronto Blue Jays 2-0 in a best-of-three series they were feeling good and looked strong. This, however, is where their bumpy path began. In the league divisional series, they faced off against the once A.L. favorite New York Yankees and squeaked by in the fifth game of the series. Advancing the ALCS meant they had a chance to exact revenge against the Houston Astros who knocked them out of the playoffs in 2019. The Rays took a commanding lead after going up 3-0 in the best-of-
seven series. However, the Astros were able to crawl back and tie it at three to force a game seven. In game seven, Charlie Morton of the Rays pitched a gem and is currently the all-time leader in game seven wins. Behind the Rays’ dominant starting pitching anchored by Morton, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow and their hard-throwing bullpen highlighted by Nick Anderson, Peter Fairbanks and Diego Castillo the Dodgers batters are in for a challenge. Additionally, the Rays bats have started to heat up. The young emerging star Randy Arozarena has been impossible to stop and the style of play within the organization is an admirable one. They are an analytics-driven organization with a feisty, fun mentality that has proven to work so far. The Dodgers weren’t really challenged until they reached the NLCS. They finished the shortened and highly unconventional regular season with an MLB best 43-17 record. They quickly took care of business in both the wild card series and the NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres, respectively. However, in the NLCS they found themselves down 3-1 to the second seed Atlanta Braves which prompted three straight elimination games. Behind reigning NL MVP Cody Bellinger (who hit the go-ahead home run in game seven) and newly
added superstar Mookie Betts, they are a serious threat to any team. The Dodgers averaged 5.82 runs per game during the regular season and have a superstar lineup up and down which includes an impressive bench and no easy outs anywhere in the lineup. What will be driving the Dodgers more than anything, more than their star-filled lineup, more than their impressive bullpen and starting pitching, will be their desire to win. They are hungry for the title and to call themselves World Series Champions. They haven’t won the title since 1988 even with all their recent success. If anything is motivating this team, it’s the disappointing ends to the last eight seasons, in each of which they have made it to the playoffs and fallen short every year. While this is bound to be an amazing way to end a weird season, it also has the means to be extremely close. Managerial decisions will be crucial, especially if both teams have to play another seven-game series. There is no time to wait and fall behind, because both teams can make you pay if they get a lead. I give the edge to Dodgers simply because of their experience, their recent hot-streak, and their motivation to be crowned World Series Champions for the first time in 32 years. That said, don’t be surprised if the Rays put up a strong fight and make it another seven game series.
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | Page 15
Old Gold & Black | Sports
NFL: Kansas City locks up Le’Veon Bell Just days after Bell’s release from the Jets, the Chiefs took him off the market BY CONNOR MCNEELY Staff Writer mcnecb19@wfu.edu
In March of 2019, star running back Le’Veon Bell left the Steelers to sign a lucrative contract with the New York Jets, who gave him $25 million in guaranteed cash. Over his two years with the Jets, Bell failed to rush for 1,000 yards and struggled with injuries — namely one to his hamstring — which caused him to miss four games this season. Some time after his return in Week 5 against the Cardinals, the Jets released Le’veon Bell, and the Kansas City Chiefs promptly picked him up. To many, it appears that Kansas City added yet another weapon to what is already the most formidable offense in the NFL. The Bell signing should give some energy to the Chiefs’ running back rotation, since the rookie Clyde Edwards-Helaire hasn’t quite flourished since his dazzling Week 1 performance. The addition of Bell — an experienced three time pro-bowler and a two time all-pro — should make for an
exciting 1-2 punch that opponents will have a hard time defending. Defensive struggles are compounded by the fact that the back have vastly different running styles. Bell benefitted from a patient style of running in Pittsburgh, largely made possible by the Steelers’ experienced offensive line. While this isn’t the scheme that the Chiefs are running, Bell is apt to find success on the ground in Kansas City behind another solid O-line. There’s no sugar-coating the fact that the Jet’s offensive line has been atrocious all season long. And, Bell was pretty much New York’s only offensive weapon. When a football team like that goes up against other competent coaches and players, running backs like Bell don’t prove dangerous because defenses load the box on every down. Trying to be patient and wait for holes to open up behind an offensive line that can’t create any in the first place proved disastrous for Bell and the Jets, prohibiting any development or adequate stat-lines for the Jet’s offense, which ranked as the worst — or close to it — by almost all measures so far in 2020. Now that he has an offensive line in Kansas City that is among the league’s best, the tables could turn for Bell, and his production could skyrocket.
The Chiefs operate a run game that depends upon speed above all else. Their record-breaking offense has been predicated on other-worldly speed, and it’s how they won a title last season. Richard Sherman was outrun by Sammy Watkins. Tyreek Hill was faster than everyone who tried to cover him, and that’s how he got open on that famous third down. It’s clear what Kansas City needs from Bell. They need him to become the best version of himself, meaning the fastest and most athletic version of himself. And Bell’s still got plenty in the tank. At 28 years old, Bell still has a year or two left of his prime, assuming he can rebound from the injuries that he suffered in New York. It’s safe to assume that the Chiefs will get reasonable production from him — but no one should get the idea that he’ll become the premier back of the Kansas City offense. That role belongs to Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who has earned that position with an excellent start to his rookie year. Nonetheless, the Chiefs will likely find plenty of ways to include Bell in the game-plan. As a dynamic running back, and a great receiving back, Bell has a lot of versatility. Versatility, packaged with his experience in Pittsburgh
playing big games week-in and weekout could be very beneficial to the relatively young back, Edwards-Helaire. The fantasy outlook for this signing is not immediate. If you’re thinking that Bell is going to have a breakout fantasy performance in his first week back, you’re going to be disappointed. If I had Bell on my fantasy team — which I don’t — I would wait at least a week to play him, just to get a feel for how many carries he’ll get per game. The game you will want to play him in is that against the Jets where I expect Bell to get an unusual amount of attention from the Chiefs’ offense. Overall, this is a great signing. The Chiefs picked up Bell for only $1 million ($690 thousand of which is guaranteed). If you know Bell, you know that he’s worth much more than this, even though he’s coming back from some gruesome injuries. They say the hardest offenses to defend against are the one that has the most options, and the Chiefs have just finished building that offense. With former NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes under center and standouts Edwards-Helaire and Bell in the backfield, the remaining teams on the Chiefs’ schedule will be hard pressed to find answers defensively.
Rise in COVID-19 cases plagues European soccer Cristiano Ronaldo was one of the most recent stars to catch the virus BY CHARLES HORN Staff Writer horncs18@wfu.edu
As Portugal handily defeated Sweden in a UEFA Nations League match, their star forward and one of the planet’s most famous athletes, Cristiano Ronaldo, sat in the back of an air ambulance as he flew from Portugal back to his luxurious villa in Turin, Italy. Just days after posting a photo of himself and his Portugese teammates enjoying a non-socially distanced team meal, Ronaldo became the latest, and perhaps most famous, athlete to test positive for COVID-19 amid record-shattering rising case counts across Europe. Like many of the world’s top players, Ronaldo had been with his national team (rather than his club team Juventus) during the latest international break. The international break often serves as a headache for club supporters and fans, with managers bemoaning the injury risks and fans decrying the boredom of a weekend without their favored teams. The break, and the competitions within, do have defenders. The Nations League, however, has proved especially polarizing as some call it glorified friendlies while others celebrate
its creation of an equal playing field for all European teams. The competition splits Europe into four tiers, with the top-tier generating blockbuster matches between teams like France, Germany, Spain, and Portugal, while the bottom tier gives opportunity for micro-states to record some of the first wins or draws in their history (San Marino celebrated raucously after drawing Liechtenstein 0-0). But coronavirus has added a new, extraneous factor that has forced national teams into quarantine and disrupted any sense of normality in the European soccer world. Even before the break, players had been forced to miss games after positive diagnoses. Liverpool recently played without their new signing Thiago and star Senegalese forward Sadio Mane in their 7-2 loss to Aston Villa, after each tested positive. In Italy, Napoli were forced to forfeit against Juventus after the Neapolitan health authority ordered the team to stay home after multiple positive tests. Yet as players flew around the world to play in a series of games, interacting with players from different teams with different health protocols, the spread of the virus has prompted questions as to whether the international break should have even been played. The MLS does not observe the international break, meaning players who are called up to their respective national teams miss crucial late-season games for their club. This situation was only
made worse as Peruvian Raul Ruidiaz of the Seattle Sounders tested positive along with another member of the national team. The MLS has already been forced into a number of COVID-19 postponements, as the Colorado Rapids suffered an outbreak. As a result, the Denver club hasn’t played a match since Sept. 23. Minnesota, Columbus and Orlando have also had games postponed after positive tests among players and staff. In Africa, Liverpool were again faced with a selection headache as Naby Keita, and three other members of the Guinean national team, tested positive at their training camp. Crystal Palace forward Jordan Ayew tested positive after returning from the Ghanian camp, and Ghana is now facing further scrutiny as six players have tested positive after returning from the break. No positives or postponements compare to the frenzy associated with Ronaldo’s. This positive and subsequent actions have prompted criticism from top government officials, a total isolation of the Juventus first team (after American Weston Mckinnie also tested positive), and all-out panic as Italy recently recorded its two highest days of infection over the weekend. The Italian Sports Minister accused Ronaldo of breaking the rules in his return, prompting Ronaldo to call him a liar in what became a quickly escalating public row. The Minister, Vincenzo Spadafora, responded in an interview with Italian news service
Ansa, saying, “The fame and skill of certain players does not entitle them to be arrogant, disrespectful to the institutions and to lie.” As fans slowly trickle back into stadiums in some countries across Europe, the feared second wave of COVID-19 infections threatens to upend the hoped return of normalcy and keep the world’s biggest sports stars out of the action.
Gina Ferazzi/Los Angeles Times/MCT
Cristiano Ronaldo has recently tested positive for COVID-19.
LIFE
T H U R S D AY, O C T O B E R 2 2 , 2 0 2 0
PAG E 16
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OLD GOLD & BLACK
A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R S : A n d y K i l l e b r e w , k i l l a e 17 @ w f u . e d u , M i c a h P o r t e r, p o r t m j 1 9 @ w f u . e d u
Netflix release flooded with star performances
The new biopic from filmmaker Aaron Sorkin tells the true story of Vietnam ware protestors, known as the Chicago 7, on trial for inciting riots BY ERIC OMORGIEVA Staff Writer omorei17@wfu.edu The late 1960’s were some of the most politically charged years in American history. With protest movements against the Vietnam War, the start to President Richard Nixon's infamous reign in office and the assassinations of several figures like Bobby Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, there was nonstop unrest and conflict. The recently released Netflix film, The Trial of the Chicago 7, captures just a small, but important part of this era. Months after crazy protests against the war during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, eight leaders from various organizations were indicted on conspiracy charges and for inciting riots. Among the defendants were Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin, David Dellinger, Tom Hayden, Rennie Davis, John Froines and Lee Weiner and Bobby Seale. These figures come from groups like the Youth International Party (Yippies), the Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee and the Black Panther Party, all of which were under heavy surveillance by the government. It was obvious from the start that this trial was a show trial put together in order to make an example of these eight men. The Trial of the Chicago 7 is the second directed film by Aaron Sorkin, who is known for his work writing The Social Network, Moneyball and Steve Jobs. The narrative of this film succeeds in holding interest, introducing exciting turns throughout. On the surface, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a courtroom drama that tracks the major events of this month's long trial. Woven into the courtroom events, we see the defendants
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
The Netflix film, based on the 1968 true story, is written and directed by Aaron Sorkin.
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
The film stars Hollywood icons Sacha Baron Cohen, Joseph Gordon-Levit, Michael Keaton, Eddie Redmayne and many more. It follows the trial of eight war protesters during the late 1960s. try to argue their strategies and most importantly, are introduced to how they got into this situation in the first place. The trial events were fascinating. Every cast member made a mark on the film during these scenes and the tense buildups towards important decisions that affected the case were handled extremely well. The court scenes had outstanding performances as well, such as Frank Langella’s performance as Judge Hoffman. This judge was just the right amount of annoying that was needed to show how corrupt this event was. Going further into the casting, another shining moment was Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Bobby Seale, who absolutely stole the show for the first half of the movie. Although Seale, Chairman and Co-Founder of the Black Panther Party wasn’t even a part of the Chicago 7, he was tacked along the case in order to make the case more convincing with a Black man involved. Yahya stole the show several times and forced the film to struggle over if they even wanted to involve him as much as they did due to his case eventually being separated from the rest. Joseph Gordon Levitt makes a comeback performance as the lead prosecutor Richard Shultz. Mark Rylance, who played the defense lawyer William Kunstler was excellent as well, but the most surprising performance came from comedian Sascha Baron Cohen, who played Abbie Hoffman of the Yippies. Seeing Cohen in a serious role is a rarity, and he knocked it out the park. This story was captivating and is all too timely for current events surrounding protesting and fights for democratic rights. There are several appalling cases of corruption and abuse of power throughout this film, all of which are necessary for further study into how the U.S operated at the time and respecting those who risked their lives fighting for justice, whose histories were marginalized for years because of it. The transition of power between Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon came at the expense of the Chicago 7’s freedom. The Nixon Administration tried their best to make sure this trial was as fixed as possible. Viewers were also reminded of horrifying crimes committed by the government and police, such as the targeted assisassination of the Chicago Black Panthers Chairman, Fred Hampton.
Although the narratives, messaging and casting were strong, the actual portrayals and writing of historic figures and revolutionaries were less than desirable. The most flagrant of these portrayals was Abbie Hoffman, a real like anarcho-communist that was softened down to an average hippie for the film. In his big moment on the witness stand, Cohen recites fairly nice, but strong statements like “I think the institutions of our democracy are wonderful things that right now are populated by some terrible people.” The real Hoffman would have never said something like this. In fact, in his actual testimony transcript from the trial, he says, “For people to make demands of the Democratic Party is an exercise in wasted wish fulfillment. If we have a demand, it is simply and emphatically that they, along with their fellow inmates in the Republican Party, cease to exist.” Along with that, he called for the release of Black Panther founder Huey Newton, the liberation of African Americans in the country, abolition of prisons which would be replaced by rehabilitation centers, and legalized drugs, amongst several other demands. Hoffman did not believe in the government and resented it, which renders Cohen's portrayal inaccurate. Another example of these portrayal inaccuracies was Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Fred Hampton. If it were not for the subtitled prompts of who he was, it would be a toss up on who he was playing. He didn't really look like Hamapton, wore none of Hampton’s most popular clothing and didn’t have the composure or voice of the revolutionary leader. This is the effect of Hollywood’s odd refusal to get down and dirty with revolutionary figure’s true beliefs. Although it had no consequence on the interesting premise and engaging narrative, it harshly weakens the audience’s true understanding of these events and figures. Overall, The Trial of the Chicago 7 is a fantastic story filled with great performances that are sure to gain awards season nods. In fact, it almost feels like it could have benefited more from more lengthy background stories and courtroom action as a miniseries. Even with its character and historical flaws, it is worth the watch.
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | Page 17
Life | Old Gold & Black
Album Review | Fake it Flowers
Rock artist gains fame on TikTok THE HOT Beabadobee releases debut album after much anticipation from fan base on social media BY ELLY HONAKER Staff Writer honaer18@wfu.edu Beatrice Laus of Beabadoobee released her much awaited debut album, Fake It Flowers, on Oct. 16. I first heard about her when she was touring with Clairo last year, then on the backs of two EPs made with Dirty Hit Records London, she dropped her third EP shortly after. These early songs served to solidify her as one of the many lo-fi bedroom acts of the late 2010s. Since the tour she’s hit mainstream success with her song “Coffee” that Powfu remixed into “death bed (coffee for your head)” which reached TikTok virality this year. But beyond these early EPs, a TikTok moment and an international tour, there was always a pulling feeling that she had potential to reach beyond, as if she was a flashing pang that might continue to burn upon touch far beyond these early successes. Feeling out her sound, she has finally put together her debut album, an im-
pressive collection with a coherence that takes a listener back to the days when making music was with the expressed purpose to be consumed as an album. Her self described “bubblegum grunge” allows her silky voice to ride high over heavy guitars, and her nods to late 1990s alternative rock powerhouses like Karen O give the album a weight unlike other comparable musicians of the age. The album starts with two heavy hitters I feel best encapsulate the uniquely girly strain of alternative rock that Laus is getting at. “Care” and “Worth It” both enlist an upbeat Y2K-era pop punkish riff that gives way for her sweet voice to take you along the thralls of late adolescent emotional arcs. An early 2000s movie title sequence pops immediately into one’s head at the sound, and yet there is such a cool factor that cuts through her obvious nods to the past. “Charlie Brown” illustrates a flirtation with a harder rock edge that, though still approachable, allows a listener to glean some genuine pain off the reverberations. And yet there is still “Sorry” that has the softer lullings one would accompany with the dream pop of the day. It is in this that Laus steps in as liaison between the dreamy softenings of lo-fi and the more blistering iterations of rock. She does well in that space.
It’s a great deal more gripping than some of her compatriots in the indie space and establishes herself in another realm entirely. Her nods to influences are much more explicit, she is not afraid to tap into the realm of heavier rock, and this confidence is what makes her music work. She isn’t reinventing rock-n-roll, but she is allowing herself to allude directly to it. To look in its eyes and claim some part of it for herself. I feel as though other young artists might be scared to dip their toes into something beyond a sincere yet simple lyrical composition, guitar, and catchy synth. It seems Laus is following an Eliotesque thought — a good poet will imitate, but a great one will steal. Instead of the endless reiterations of bedroom pop aesthetics that I’ve lamented in past articles, she shifts to a world ultimately more full of depth — good ol’ rock-n-roll. With this heightened field of poetic and sonic inspiration to pull from, she is capable of creating an album that means something beyond the ephemera. If not for anything besides the hope that a connective tissue might form between rock-n-roll of the past and where music is at right now.
Relationships | Hookup Advice
Changing the stigma of hookup culture Women speak out about their opinions pertaining to the hookup scene BY KHUSHI ARYA Staff Writer aryak19@wfu.edu It is no secret that hookup culture is prominent on college campuses in the United States. College students are stressed, overworked and anxious. It makes sense that we don’t have the time and energy to sustain a real romantic relationship. So, how exactly does this phenomenon of the so called “casual entanglements” operate on campus? I interviewed some females at Wake Forest to find out their understanding of romantic love and relationships on campus. A sophomore heterosexual female emphasized, “The dating scene here is an absolute shitshow.” And she isn’t wrong. In her experience, the boys she meets either offer to be “f*** buddies” from the very beginning or establish a friendship based on the expection of eventually turning it sexual. Sliding into her DMs is another way that boys get her attention. What annoys her is the sheer audacity of men to pass unwarranted comments on her body. This was a recurring problem that I encountered while interviewingeach of these women. Lots of boys at Wake Forest take no time to attach sexual connotations to any and every interaction you have with them, reducing girls to nothing more than a sex object made for their appeasement.
A junior athlete agreed that Wake Forest is “definitely a one-night stand school.” According to her, boys don’t even try to suggest casual dating. They would just see her at an athlete party and ask her to go home with them. This is true for most of her teammates and lots of other female athletes. She added that athletes would usually just hook up with each other since t h e y have such a tight knit group. This is interesting because everyone knows about who is dating/ getting with whom at any given point. This brings me back to a similar point sophomore made about the lack of anonymity at Wake Forest. Since Wake Forest isn’t that big of a school, there are times when you get with someone your friend has hooked up with in the past or is currently hooking up with. She said, “Personally, I don’t really care if my friend and I have hooked up with the same guy as long as nobody has real feelings for that guy.” There is nothing new about swiping endlessly on Tinder, however, that seems to be the only option these days. A freshman remarked, “I keep matching with boys who invite me to come over to their dorm to watch a movie but we all know what that means.” It is unlikely that Tinder will give her a real connection but desperate times call for desperate measures, I suppose. With all the COVID-19 restrictions, it is hard for freshmen to meet people in person. A common theme I uncovered for the popularity of the “friends with
benefits” scenario was the ability to get validation without effort. It is like discount dating. You don’t have to go on fancy dinners or plan birthdays for your partner yet you have someone drooling over your pictures and bombarding you with compliments. Everyone likes attention, especially from people they find attractive. Not everyone is a hopeless romantic, but basic courtesy is a universally appreciated behavior. Modern means of communication with all the mind games that you are required to play has truly defeated the whole purpose of communication. Yes, I’m talking about leaving people on read on Snapchat for days or taking a designated amount of time to reply to a text. Sorry to break it to you, we do not like that. Respecting someone you are physically intimate with really shouldn’t be that hard. Hookup culture can be hard to navigate, but something that would make it easier would be to first reflect on what you are really looking for. Setting clear expectations about what you want out of the interaction/ relationship with a specific person would ensure that neither of the two parties gets hurt in the end. There is nothing wrong with wanting something casual or even a one night stand as long as there are clearly communicated boundaries. Sadly, if you are looking for love, it is unlikely that you will find it at Wake Forest. However, I have heard numerous positive stories about Dating Deacons in terms of finding real relationships. There’s still hope for us romantics.
LIST
Top 10 Things to Ponder Over
1. 3. 5.
By Micah Porter Is it good if a vacuum really sucks? Why do “slow down” and “slow up” mean the samething? Why is it called “after dark” when its really “after light?” Why are a “wise man” and a “wise guy” opposites? If love is blind, why is lingerie so popular?
How come ‘abbreviated’ is such a long word?
7.
Why doesn’t glue stick to the inside of the bottle?
9.
Why do we wash bath towels? Aren’t we already clean?
Why do we say something is out of whack? What’s a whack?
If a word is misspelled in the dictionary how would we know?
DRINK OF THE WEEK Candy Corn Cocktail • Is6this oz.a rip-off CakeofVodka a juice shop smootie? Maybe... • 1/4 cup candy corn • 3/4 cup pineapple juice • 3/4 cup heavy cream Add the candy corn to the vodka in a covered jar or container and let the vodka sit for six hours or overnight. Strain the vodka, discarding the candy corn. Pour the vodka into two martini glasses, dividing evenly. Divide the pineapple juice in half, then pour the juice carefully over the back of a small spoon on top of the vodka layer in each glass. Divide the cream in half and use the same spoon technique to add the cream on the top layer of each martini. 21+ only
Courtesy of Maintitlement.com
Page 18 | Thursday, October 22, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Life
Artist Review | Arlo Parks
Arlo Parks hailed as new Billie Eillish At only 20 years old, Arlo Parks has amassed over three million streams on Spotify
BY MADDY ROTHFIELD Contributing Writer rothmw20@wfu.edu
Sweeping the music industry at just 20 years old, British singer-songwriter Arlo Parks is a name you’re going to want to remember. The R&B inclined indie-pop sensation rose to overnight popularity with the release of her single “Black Dog” in May of 2020 during lockdown measures due to the coronavirus. The heartwrenching song describes the feeling of helplessness when watching a loved one suffer from mental illness, a story that resonated with millions as it climbed the ranks of Spotify. Parks has speculated that the reason for the success of the single was due to its release during an extremely difficult time for the whole world in which many were feeling confused, chaotic, and distressed. Driven to whirlwind success, she plans on releasing her debut album later this year. A poet and songwriter, Parks’ music, reflects the angst and confusion of growing up as well as the darker parts of love and emotional torment. Arlo Parks got her start in 2018 with the release of her single, “Cola,” which amassed three million streams on Spotify. Shortly following the release of “Cola” she was signed to Trans-
gressive Records through which she released her first EP, Super Sad Generation in April 2019. Parks, a queer Black London native has spoken often about the mental health challenges of Gen-Z and the struggles of being part of an inextricably connected culture, seen in the title of her debut EP. As an outspoken voice for depression, Parks recently became an ambassador for CALM, the Campaign Against Living Miserably, a prominent UK movement for suicide prevention. As an activist through her artistry as well as her volunteer work, it is clear that Parks isn’t your typical singer. She has bigger goals than attaining commercial success. Self-described as inspired by Portishead and Earl Sweatshirt, Parks’ mournful voice can be easily compared to that of Frank Ocean, King Krule or Daniel Caesar. The type of rainy day, easy listening music that feels nostalgic for past loves and late-night feels. Her voice is soft and soothing, with the tone of a whisper as if she were singing for an audience of one, unbothered by concealing breaks and natural breathiness, which make her so charming. The tone of her music can be compared to the intimacy of performing in someone’s living room, playing on an old piano, melancholy and entirely vulnerable. A large part of Parks’ seduction, besides her absolutely honey-smooth alto voice, is her extreme vulnerability. It’s felt in her lyrics, a deep dive into her experiences with mental illness and heartbreak, as
Photo courtesy of soundcloud.com
Arlo Parks is from London, England, and has always felt like an outsider, a mood that her music reflects in its lyricism, style and tonality. well as in her alluring whispers and deliberate and sonorous voice. If you’ve never listened to her music before, her top three must-hear tunes would be her breakout song “Cola,” followed by “Black Dog,” “Eugene,” and her cover of Radiohead’s 1992 underground hit, “Creep.” Receiving praise from the likes of Billie Eillish, Phoebe Bridgers and Lily Allen, Parks is on her way to becoming a cross-genre superstar. Finding fans among former First
Lady Michelle Obama, and bedroom pop stars such as Clairo and Snailmail indicates that we we should be listening too. Recently featured on Glass Animals’ synthpop anthem of unrequited love, “Tangerine,” it’s becoming more and more clear that Parks is carving out her place in the music industry, and she’s here to stay. Finding herself with a loyal following worldwide even before the release of her debut album, Arlo Parks is a name to know.
Podcast Review | Maintenance Phase
Body positivity podcast takes scientific approach Aubrey Gordon, a body positive Instagram influencer and author, now has a podcast BY ISABELLA MASON Staff Writer masoif20@wfu.edu If you don’t know @yrfatfriend on Instagram, you should. Whether you’re thin, fat or somewhere in between, fatphobia still exists, and Aubrey Gordon, the woman behind @yrfatfriend, is here to talk about it. Up until very recently, Aubrey Gordon has been an anonymous essayist. Within the past two weeks, she has come out with her name in anticipation of her new book she is releasing, What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat, as well as her brand new collaborative podcast with Michael Hobbes, named Maintenance Phase. “We have, sort of, very conveniently as a culture, just collapsed our definition of health into our visual assessment of our own weight. [...] Even very smart people accept fully that how fat you are indicates how healthy you are,” says Gordon, who identifies as fat.
Maintenance Phase is a podcast that, according to their Spotify synopsis, works in “Debunking the junk science behind health fads, wellness scams and nonsensical nutrition advice.” When referring to other ‘wellness’ podcasts, Hobbes notes that, “A lot of other shows seem to have this sort of ‘Are fat people people?’ sort of vibe.” Gordon then goes on to say that Maintenance Phase will operate under the assumption that fat people are, in fact, just as much people as thin people are. As a self-identified plus-size girl listening to this podcast, I’ve found freedom in Gordon and Hobbes words. The work they’re doing to break down anti-fat bias as an understandable and approachable concept is incredible, being that it is so controversial at this time. While Hobbes point of many questioning the humanity of fat people may seem funny, it is also realistic. Gordon and Hobbes go on to talk about Gordon’s experience at a doctor’s office, in which Gordon was prescribed a cholesterol-lowering drug that lowered her cholesterol to a dangerous point — because she had no cholesterol problems to begin with. Maintenance Phase also tackles the tough question of whether or not we are
fully responsible for our own health, and if we should be held accountable for it. Gordon and Hobbes suggest, whether we are healthy, unhealthy, fat, thin or any combination of these terms, that first, unhealthy people are still people who have the same moral strength as healthy people and, secondly, that health is far from one-dimensional. When we view health through a lens of just weight, we don’t get the full picture of socioeconomic, racial, gendered, financial or emotional factors that may play into one’s holistic health. There are many reasons someone may be fat, and, at the same time, these reasons are completely irrelevant to the way fat people should be treated. If you gained weight on medication, if you have an eating disorder, if you have a hormone disorder, or if you just eat a lot of food, you should be treated with the same amount of respect that anyone else would be. Yes, we are generally responsible for the factors of our health which we can control, and at the same time, there are more uncontrollable factors that play into health than there are controllable ones. “Weight and health are two distinct concepts,” says Hobbes, “and sometimes they overlap, and sometimes they don’t.”
Maintenance Phase, though only one episode has been released as of Oct. 18, does a great job of explaining fat politics to its listeners. If you are at all interested in resolving your own personal anti-fat bias, if you are interested in debunking health myths, or if you hate me for writing this article and want to hear what exactly I’m referring to, be sure to check out the first episode of Maintenance Phase and its second episode, which will air on Oct. 20. Maintenance Phase is available on all platforms, including Spotify and Apple Music.
Photo courtesy of spotify.com
Maintenance Phase is hosted by Aubrey Gordon and Michael Hobbes.
Old Gold & Black | Life
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | Page 19
Life at WFU with furry friends
From helping out with a certain condition — mental or physical — to the pure companionship they offer, dogs bring smiles to the faces of the lives they touch on campus BY AINE PIERRE Asst. News Editor pierav20@wfu.edu
Ella and Magpie Virkler While many students were still in school early this spring, freshman Ella Virkler attended a two-week program designed to match those in need of service dogs with a helpful pooch. “I got out of school for two weeks...I was there with two other diabetics and there were four dogs that we could be matched with.” The dogs were trained to sniff for low blood sugar levels in those with Type I Diabetes. If the blood sugar becomes too low, a dog will alert their human so they can rectify the situation and not suffer the dangerous consequences of a low level. “It’s hard for me to wake up for a low blood sugar [level] so she helps me by letting me know, alerting me, making sure I’m up and getting what I need … she catches things
ahead of time so I don’t get to a dangerous spot,” Virkler said. Virkler explains that it was not so much that she chose to bring home Magpie; actually, it was quite the opposite. “It very similar to a ‘wand chooses the wizard’ thing … I was the person she paid the most attention to during the training, and when it was a one-on-one, a dog could come up to you to play, and she always came up to me,” Virkler said. On campus, Magpie is a hit amongst Virkler’s friends and teammates. “Everyone loves her, I’m on the club lacrosse team, they joke sometimes that she’s the mascot of the team,” Virkler said. Magpie also loves lying in the ZSR Library and playing fetch on the quad.
Aine Pierre / Old Gold & Black
Shelby, Lauren and Ethen Horth
Photo courtesy of Lauren Horth
Ethen Horth (a yellow labrador) was supposed to be a service dog, but after failing his training, he became a different kind of support to his student companions, freshman Shelby Horth and senior Lauren Horth. “We ended up adopting him ... he failed out of training because he was a little rambunctious. We’re trying to keep him wellbehaved, though,” Shelby said. Ethen primarily stays with Lauren offcampus, as she is the one who adopted him three years ago as a freshman. However, there are times when Shelby gets to take care of him. “Whenever [Lauren] has classes off-campus or she’s out for the weekend, she leaves
him with me and I still bring him if I have any clubs or any in-person classes, and I’ll bring him to the dining hall, too,” Shelby said. Ethen, while not a service dog in-training, is now registered as an emotional support dog, so he can go anywhere but the ZSR Library with Lauren and Shelby, to whom he provides indelible mental health boosts and incredible joy. Ethen’s favorite thing to do is to swim in Reynolda Village or to eat the free slices of pizza that employees give him at Zick’s. “They’re so sweet to him [at Zick’s]. They ask about him if I don’t bring him with me,” Lauren said.
Mary and Chica Troy Chica Troy is a half-Boxer, half-German Shepherd that Mary Troy adopted in August to take with her to college. The pair lives in an off campus neighborhood with other seniors. Mary adopted Chica to address some of the loneliness that comes with mostly online learning. “I definitely thought it would be super difficult to have a dog in college, but with the online experience it’s definitely nice to have a pet and it’s definitely easier … it’s definitely worth it if you’re a pet person,” Troy said.
The Troys enjoy playing with each other on the tennis courts. “I close the door so she can run around freely on the tennis courts,” Troy said. Troy says that Chica has helped her mental health considerably this year. “I feel like especially with online school, if I didn’t have a dog, I wouldn’t ever leave my house, but now I have a reason to go on long walks,” said Troy. As shown in the picture to the right, Chica and Troy are enjoying the lovely fall weather by taking a walk around Upper Quad.
Photo courtesy of Mary Troy
Page 20 | Thursday, October 22, 2020
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Old Gold & Black | Life