OLD GOLD&BLACK W A K E
F O R E S T
U N I V E R S I T Y
T H U R S D AY, D E C E M B E R 4 , 2 0 0 8
VOL. 92, NO. 15
“Covers the campus like the magnolias”
Webcam use to expand interview opportunities By Bobby O’Connor | Staff writer
What is the new age of personal college interviews? Webcams. An applicant to the university can now chose to have a personal interview from the comfort of his or her living room with a webcam, microphone, Skype and an Internet connection. The university began offering these “face-to-face” interviews on a limited basis for early decision applicants and will open it up to all applicants in December for regular decision. About 30 students participated in this type
of interview during the early decision application process. When the university dropped the SAT/ACT requirement for undergraduate admissions in May, they began to strongly recommend personal interviews for all applicants. The university became the first top 30 national university to drop the SAT/ ACT requirement. “While a personal visit is the first choice, the virtual interview is an innovative way to use technology to connect individually with those who, because of financial or other reasons, cannot come
Sakai works to promote technology By R. Hunter Bratton | Staff writer
The university’s Sakai program, a prototype for considering the adoption of free and open-source technologies, began this year. As a product of The Learning and Management System group, formed in mid-2008, Sakai is over-seen by Jolie Tingen, instructional technology consultant for the music department and coordinator of learning management systems, to be an effective way of facilitating interdisciplinary communication. Jeff Muday, instructional technical analyst for the biology department and technical manager of the university’s implementation of the Saki Project, said Sakai is a means of uniting the scholarly needs of digital collaboration with data presentation capabilities. The program comes as a desperately needed solution to the growing condition of pedantic specialization in academia. Muday said the attributes that make Sakai effective are threefold. Sakai is organized and written “by educators for educators,” it is an open-source program, and it is capable of being augmented and improved to cater to the desires of the community. Sakai’s primary utility comes from users employing it to support teaching and learning, support for portfolios and ad hoc group and research collaboration. Notable institutions that use Sakai to support academic partnership include Columbia University, Cornell University, University of Indiana, Harvard University and University of Michigan. Specifically, Sakai allows open space for presenting online projects, portfolios and course Web sites and functions as an alternative to the Blackboard course management system. In addition to the amenities offered by Blackboard, Sakai is less rigid than its counterpart and promotes synergism within the large community by heartening public involvement. This attempt
to campus,” Martha Allman, director of admissions at the university said. The virtual interview, with two-way video and audio, has become an attractive option for some applicants. The university’s Information Systems Department worked with the Admissions Office on the technical aspects and helped train admissions staff to use the technology. The admissions office is currently using Skype software for the interviews. Prospective students will soon have the option of using Adobe Connect software for Web-based interviews that will not
require a Skype account. This will allow students to choose which technology they prefer to use for the interview “This combines Wake Forest’s historic commitment to personal attention with our emphasis on technological innovation,” Allman said. Virtual interviews last 20 to 30 minutes, the same time allocated for inperson interviews. The interviews, in-person or virtual, are weighted equally in the evaluative admission process. The online interviews are similar to what would take place if the student were sitting in the admissions
Behind the Scenes
with Residence Life and Housing By Caitlin Brooks | Asst. news editor Roommate conflicts, emotional distress, the pressures from college and home; when these problems become too much to handle, students are encouraged to seek the help and counsel of their Resident Advisers (RAs). When these issues are too much for even these capable employees of the Office of Residence Life and Housing (RL&H) to handle, the RA passes information on to his or her boss, a graduate student that lives in each residence hall known as the Graduate Hall Director. These students then move up the chain of command within RL&H to the Residence Life Coordinators. There are two of these powerful resources in RL&H, though not many people are aware of their existence until they are in need (Have an irreconcilable roommate conflict? Is that your second alcohol citation?), but Nicole Rodriguez-Pastor and Gavin Roark are always there, at the ready in times of crisis or just to chat. Together, RodriguezPastor and Roark oversee all residence students in the community. Each presides directly over six graduate hall irec-
tors; Rodriguez-Pastor in South Campus and Palmer, Piccolo and the Townhouses and Roark in North Campus. Through these Hall Directors, they are in charge of some 50 RAs each and almost 2,000 students a piece. In addition, Rodriguez-Pastor advises the National Residence Hall Honorary, the only nationwide organization that exclusively recognizes leaders in the residence halls, and Roark advises the Resident Student Association, an organization dedicated to providing a student voice to RL&H. Rodriguez-Pastor and Roark can be found Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in their offices located in Benson 101 and both live in university provided apartments located in their respective areas of campus; Rodriguez-Pastor in Luter and Roark in Kitchin. Because both Rodriguez-Pastor and Roark are married, living in a residence hall proves a unique experience. “I feel like I’m more connected to student life because I live on campus, and I definitely have a lot more sympathy for students who complain about noise because I hear the same things they do,” Rodriguez-Pastor said. “It comes with its drawbacks, but it’s a great commute.” Roark has lived in residence halls on college campuses continuously since the fall of 2000, and he enjoys his two bedroom apartment that he shares with his wife, Jacquelyn who he said, “really made it a home, with a little bit of help from me.”
See Coordinators Page A3
Turkeypalooza serves 310 local citizens Wake Forest’s Campus Kitchen, founded in 2001, held its annual Turkeypalooza event last week before Thanksgiving break. Turkeypalooza started at the university three years ago as part of a national campaign with Campus Kitchens Project. This year, student and professor volunteers served 310 Thanksgiving dinners over the span of two weeks. Student groups including Alpha Kappa Alpha, Grad School Association, Mortar Board, Circle K and the Baptist Student Union also helped for this large event.
Coordinator Melissa Duquette says that the volunteers went to multiple places around town such as the Ronald McDonald House, Prodigals, The Children’s Home, AIDS Care Services, Azalea Terrace, First Assembly of God Prision Ministry and Homeless Ministry. The event was so large that the news station WFMY came to a delivery of to-go meals at Azalea Terrace, the senior citizen apartment complex. For students who don’t know what this is, Duquette explains, “Campus Kitchen is a student driven organization.
See Kitchin, Page A2
Photo courtesy of Melissa Duquette
As part of Campus Kitchin’s Turkeypalooza, local students made Thanksgiving-themed crafts.
Life | B7
INSIDE:
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Outside the Bubble... President-elect announces National Security team President-elect Barack Obama announced the members of his new National Security Team on Dec. 1. The new team features several new faces and some returners as well. Obama named former presidential rival Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State and opted to keep Bush administration holdover Robert Gates, who will remain as Defense Secretary. Obama also introduced retired Marine Gen. James Jones to be White House National Security Adviser, former Justice Department official Eric Holder to be Attorney General, Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to be Secretary of Homeland Security and Susan Rice to be Ambassador to the United Nations. The team will advise Obama on foreign and national security issues centered on wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and global terrorism.
Florida man accused of assault with Christmas tree Authorities say a west Florida man who lives with his parents has been arrested on a felony assault charge after he used a Christmas tree as a weapon to attack his father. According to the Manatee County sheriff ’s report, a 37-year-old man was arrested last week after he threw a 3-foot Christmas tree at his father. The tree missed, but the man then tried to use the steel base from the tree to strike his father. His father and mother were able to grab his arms to prevent the attack. Deputies say the tree could have caused serious injuries because the metal base weighs about five pounds. The man was charged with felony assault. He denied trying to strike his father.
Arrests made for elephant ivory smuggled into U.S.
See Sakai, Page A3
By Sam Cernuto | Staff writer
office, with the exception of the random background noise or distraction. Since the spring, the admissions office has conducted nearly 3,000 interviews, both in-person and via the Web. The majority of these were conducted in the traditional fashion; with an admissions officer on campus or while the officer was traveling representing the university. “This allows us to have personal contact with every applicant,” said Tamara Blocker, the senior associate director of admissions responsible for supervising
Check your list twice
Brieflies
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Police Beat
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Spotlight
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Get help finding the perfect gifts for all of the family and friends on your list for this holiday season.
The Hot List
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In Other News
Sudoku
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• SG sums up this semester’s accomplishments | A2 • Calloway staffer wins prestigious award | A3
Sports | B1 Soccer Advances The Wake Forest Men’s Soccer advances to third round in NCAA Tournament. The team will play at home Saturday, Dec. 6 at 4:30 p.m.
U.S. authorities arrested six people Dec. 3 on suspicion of smuggling African elephant ivory worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, law enforcement officials said. Imports of African elephant ivory have been banned in the United States since 1976. The defendants arranged to have ivory from Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Uganda shipped into the United States disguised as wooden snakes, guitars and statues, authorities said. “The defendants plundered precious natural resources for personal profit,” U.S. Attorney Benton J. Campbell and other officials said in a statement. “Their illegal trade threatens the continued existence of an endangered species and will not be tolerated.” Federal agents tracked at least eight shipments, including one worth an estimated $165,000. Arrests were made in New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Texas.
Opinion | A5 Yearbook worth it? Former editor in chief weighs in on the future of the Howler.