FEATURES

Chase Bagnall-Koger, bagncm21@wfu.edu Meredith Prince, prinmc21@wfu.edu Asst: Una Wilson, wilsui20@wfu.edu

OLD GOLD & BLACK

Editor’s Note: is interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

PAGE 5

FRIDAY, JANUARY 28, 2022

DEACON PROFILE Dr. Brittany Battle

BREANNA LAWS

Staff Writer Dr. Brittany Battle is a scholar-activist and an assistant professor in the Sociology Department at Wake Forest University. Her research interests include social and family policy, courts, social justice and carceral logics. She teaches courses on social justice in the social sciences, reimagining the criminal legal system and courts and criminal procedure. She is the co-founder of Triad Abolition Project, a grassroots organization based in Winston-Salem, NC, working to dismantle the carceral state.

Can you tell me a little bit about your background and what brought you here to Wake Forest?

I am originally from New Jersey – South Jersey, at the beach. I have now been at Wake Forest for three years. I did my PhD. in Sociology at Rutgers New Brunswick, which is close to New York City. Before that, I completed a master’s in African American Studies at Temple University in Philadelphia. I did my undergrad at University of Delaware, where I was a triple major in Sociology with a long society concentration — Women’s Studies and Black American Studies. Now, I’m here, and I love being at Wake. I love the students, and I love the opportunities. I get to teach courses that are really interesting to me, and I also do work in the community. I’m the co-founder of a grassroots organization in Winston-Salem called the Triad Abolition Project, and we do work to dismantle the carceral state. So, I’m really happy to be in Winston-Salem at Wake Forest.

What work do you do here at the university?

I teach every semester, and I usually teach the Principles of Sociology class, which is our introduction to sociology. I also teach one of three seminars that I kind of cycle through. One is my Courts and Criminal Procedure class, where we really look at how the law is racialized and what the implications of that are. e second is a course on social justice in theory, method and practice, which I’m teaching right now. In that class, we take a look at social justice works inside and outside academia. e third class that I teach is on abolition and transformative justice, where we take a look at some of the theories, practices and experiments that have been done, and reimagine how we pursue justice. We also ask if justice is something that we can even pursue and what that looks like both in academia and on the ground in the community.

Photo courtesy of Sociologists for Women in Society

Can you talk a little bit about the Triad Abolition Project and how you came to be one of the cofounders?

e Triad Abolition Project was founded in June 2020. I founded it with my comrade, Dr. Bailey Pittenger, who is on the faculty at the UNCSA high school program. Dr. Pittenger is also a Wake Forest graduate — a Double Deac. She did her undergrad at Wake and also a Master’s at Wake. We started it that summer, as the uprisings were getting started, because we really wanted to bring a strictly abolitionist perspective to the justice work and the liberation work that was being done in Winston-Salem. en we began a 49-day occupation of Bailey Park in downtown Winston-Salem on July 15 of 2020. ere, we were demanding policy changes in relationship to the murder of John Neville in the Forsyth County Detention Center by sheri ’s deputy o cers. So, that was how we got started.

What has it been like for you to watch this project grow over the last year?

TAP has been one of the most beautiful, humbling and transformative experiences of my life. e people that I’m working with, building community with, and really dreaming about a better future with are amazing. e ways people have grown and developed their skills and their ideas and perspectives around transformative justice and abolition has just been beautiful to watch. We’ve been able to, with the solidarity of comrades throughout WinstonSalem and Forsyth County, achieve some pretty important policy changes. We’ve also seen, I think, cultural shifts in the way that people think about justice. One of the things that we did last year was a workshop series in the summer, which we’ll be doing again. at was partially funded by the Humanities Institute at Wake Forest. We had community members — including faculty, sta and students — participate in bi-weekly sessions. We really just dug into the practice and promise of abolition and transformative justice. So, we’ll be doing that again this summer with a focus on care work and disability justice. We’re really excited about the possibility that this will be another transformative experience for our community.

How has this experience impacted your work and relationships here at Wake Forest?

It’s de nitely been a source of relationship-building. I have a lot of students that are curious about abolition taking my courses, that reach out for conversations and that do independent research that explores abolition. My work in the community has de nitely helped me be able to kind of support students who are exploring new ways to think about harm reduction, collective care and those types of questions. And certainly, I bring the practice of abolition into my courses and the ways that we build community. In my courses, I think it’s really important for us to be all in it together in a real tangible way and think about the ways that we can support each other — particularly as we continue to navigate this global pandemic.

Are there any additional projects you are working on currently with which students can help?

Yes, I’m often looking for students who are interested in collaborating on these research projects. I have several ongoing projects right now. I’m currently running a social justice research lab as a Research with Faculty course credit. Right now, I have seven students in that social justice research lab. I pretty consistently have opportunities for students to come work on projects every semester and in the summer. ey are typically about important social justice issues and racial justice issues, both locally and nationally. If students are interested, they should de nitely reach out.

In your time here at Wake Forest, as well as your time working on these projects, what do you want to be your impact and legacy on campus?

at is such a big question for me so early in my career. I hope that I’m able to just contribute to building stronger communities and stronger infrastructures for care, whether that’s at Wake Forest or in the community. rough my research on social movements — or the eviction crisis, or the child support system, or the teaching that I do — I just hope that I can contribute to folks being more connected and having more access to care and support.

Page 6 | Friday, January 28, 2022

Old Gold & Black | Features Mindful fashion: Think before you thrift

Wake Forest students look beneath the surface of the new surge in thrifting culture

UNA WILSON Asst. Features Editor

For many college students, thrifting is the pinnacle of sustainable, ethical and affordable shopping. However, as the practice has grown in popularity, concerns are rising over whether thrifting has become less inclusive to the people who shop secondhand out of necessity.

Thrifting clothes instead of buying them from popular clothing brands can have a significant impact on the environment when done mindfully. Though participating in thrifting is no cure for general overconsumption, it is more environmentally friendly than shopping only from big-name brands that may not adequately regulate the effects of product production. Retail companies such as Shein, Zara and H&M sell trendy clothing items for very low prices, making their products extremely appealing to the consumer. In order to make their clothes so quickly and affordably, however, many of these corporations rely on cheap, unethical labor in places like China or Spain, and as a result, create immense ecological damage, according to the Fashion Transparency Index.

Mainstream clothing brands contributing to this production model, known as ‘fast fashion’, produce 10% of all of humanity’s global carbon emissions, according to Business Insider. The fast fashion industry is also the secondlargest consumer of the world’s water supply and pollutes the oceans with microplastics, which can be damaging to global ecosystems.

Alyse Harris, sophomore, is the president of Wayward Fashion, a sustainable fashion club at Wake Forest. She enjoys thrifting for personal and environmental reasons, and wanted to share that passion with more people at Wake Forest.

“When you buy second-hand, you’re slowing down the cycle of clothing going from stores to people to landfills,” Harris said. “For me, it’s an amazing way to spend time with my friends and also find really unique clothing items that I get to give a whole second life to.”

For all its environmental and economical benefits, however, there is rising concern about the surge of affluent consumers in the thrifting market. Oftentimes, thrift stores like Goodwill and Mega Thrift are the only affordable options for lower-income shoppers.

When shopping at thrift stores such as these, Harris says, it is important to be mindful of the community you are buying clothes from.

“I think the real danger in unethical thrifting comes from ‘thrift hauls’, where people just fill a shopping cart with clothes because they’re so cheap,” Harris said. “It brings a sense of worthlessness to the clothes, which is a harmful mindset, and it’s just disrespectful to the people shopping there out of need.”

Harris says that when she thrifts, she brings only a small backpack with her that she can carry her purchases in — usually only five or six items. She also donates the same amount of clothes that she buys back to the thrift store.

“It makes the cycle more fluid to me,” Harris said. “I give back one piece for every one that I take, so that way I’m not draining the community of its resources and I can still build my wardrobe of beautiful secondhand items.”

Since graduating from Wake Forest in 2021, Riley Phillips has continued to run Finders Keepers, the podcast and secondhand clothing business she started with her friend, Meredith Vaughn, while they were still students. Buying clothing from thrift stores to sell for profit in her business is something Phillips always tries to do with mindful and ethical principles.

“Meredith and I hold each other accountable for being super careful about what we take from community thrift stores,” Phillips said. “We never take children’s clothes, underwear, or barely used outerwear, and we generally like to buy clothes that are damaged in some way so that I can fix them with my sewing machine.”

The Goodwill Outlet Store on Peters Creek Parkway offers clothing to purchase at a reduced price from large bins of items. Phillips frequently visits the bins to find clothing for Finders Keepers because of their policy for clothes that don’t get sold.

“Unlike other Goodwill stores, anything that isn’t bought at the bins goes straight to the landfill at the end of the day,” Phillips said. “Even though I feel better knowing that whatever I buy is technically being saved from the trash, I still only purchase a small handful of items, just so that I am not taking too much from someone who might have actually needed it.”

Both Phillips and Harris agree, while thrifting is a great way to shop sustainably, it is important to be mindful of how much you are buying, what community you are taking the clothes from and whether or not you will actually wear the item.

“These days when I go thrifting, I am working on creating my eternal closet.” Harris said. “I keep building on my wardrobe items that are, say, made of really high quality fabric, or go with so many other pieces in my closet — those are the ones I know I’ll keep forever.”

Phillips has a similar outlook. “I like to buy items that I know will work with at least ten to fifteen outfits, so that I can extend the longevity of that clothing’s lifespan.” Phillips said. “Trying the clothes on in the store, or even bringing a tape measure with you to make sure what you’re getting fits can help minimize buying things only to throw them out in the end.”

Wayward Fashion can be found on Instagram at @waywardfashion.wf. The Finders Keepers podcast can be accessed from all podcast listening services, and the shop is located in Design Archives in downtown Winston-Salem on Fourth Street. Their Instagram page is @finderskeeperspod.

“...concerns are rising over whether thrifting has become less inclusive to the people who shop secondhand out of necessity.”

A blind date with Dating Deacons

The Dating Deacons organization sparks romance among Wake Forest students

CHASE BAGNELL-KOGER Features Editor

In 2019, senior Tom Middleton attended a dinner with then-Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch and his wife, Julia Hatch. After switching around the table’s place cards to sit next to the Hatches, Middleton was able to pitch them his idea for a new organization — Dating Deacons, which now o ers students “blind dating that supports the blind.”

“I pitched them the idea for it and Julia Hatch was obsessed with it. Hearing that the president’s wife supported it made it go from a funny idea to ‘Oh wait, this is something I’m actually gonna do.’” Middleton said.

As the idea for the on-campus dating service began to take form, Middleton recruited a team of “matchmakers’’ to help pair students together in a way that would foster genuine connections on dates. Dating Deacons chose to partner with OneSight — a non-pro t organization that provides vision care around the world — to ful ll the ‘supporting the blind’ slogan.

With the help of its social media team, Dating Deacons has rapidly grown in size over the past two years. eir Instagram page, @datingdeacons, regularly posts humorous promotional videos; a few are modeled after Superbowl commercials, while others are memes One even reads, ‘last chance not to be lonely!’. Last fall, 16% of Wake Forest students participated in at least one Dating Deacons event.

“We’ve been trying to grow our social media so that our brand is something that people want to follow for content, not just because it’s a dating service,” Middleton said.

Since its launch at Wake Forest, Dating Deacons has expanded to a total of nine college campuses under di erent names that re ect the school’s brand. For example, the name of the same program at the University of North Carolina is ‘Carolina Cupid.’ Generally, Dating Deacons picks schools that have features

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

The winners of Dating Deacon’s steak dinner giveaway

similar to Wake Forest, like a tight-knit community with many di erent social groups.

To participate in Dating Deacons, participants ll out an online questionnaire about their personality, interests and preferences. However, the survey questions are unlike those seen on popular dating sites; one of them reads ‘Do you pee in the shower?’ and is immediately succeeded by a follow-up question, ‘Did you lie on the last question?’.

Based on the responses recorded on the application, an algorithm matches up students who likely would get along well with each other. Different questions are weighted di erently within the algorithm to ensure the best quality matches are made.

Virginia Wooten, co-president of Dating Deacons, notes that although the algorithm is a sophisticated way to connect the couples, human ‘matchmakers’ always have the nal say in who is paired with whom.

“Last year, during nals season, I went on a Dating Deacons double date with two people I had never met before,” co-president Lawson Morris said. “Turns out we had a ton of mutual friends and we stayed at the restaurant for such a long time getting to know each other. It was so fun.” ough the word ‘dating’ is in the namesake of the organization, Wooten and Morris explain that part of what makes their club unique is that they have rede ned the concept of dating to remove the requirement of romantic attraction.

“When people think of dating, there may be a lot of pressure to make it a romantic thing, but we have made it more of a social experience,” Wooten said.

Recently, Dating Deacons has transitioned to o ering only double dates through their program. Students can sign up with a friend to meet another pair of people on a date either on or o -campus. Middleton explained that this was motivated both by a desire to increase participant satisfaction and to ensure that the environment remains as safe as possible. e ‘exit survey’ from the program revealed that the average rating of an individual date last year was 7.3, while the mean rating of a double date was 9.1. Also, participants felt that having a familiar face nearby may make a blind date feel less risky and more enjoyable.

Although Dating Deacons has remained fully operational throughout the pandemic, current university policies may allow for more in-person group events — perhaps speed-dating along with the ongoing on-campus sign-up and informational tabling.

“Dating Deacons is going to long outlast me at Wake Forest, and I’m so excited to see the future of it,” Middleton said.

Contact Chase Bagnell-Koger at bagncm21@wfu.edu

Chess club welcomes beginners and competitors

The newly re-founded Rook & Bishop chess club allows students to learn the game or compete

MEREDITH PRINCE Features Editor

While many students have picked up a game of chess a few times in their life, for some members of Wake Forest’s Rook & Bishop Chess Club, it has become a passionate hobby as well as a competitive sport.

Rook & Bishop, which was created last year, is technically a re-foundation of a preexisting Wake Forest chess club that became inactive several years ago. When a group of friends decided to start a small group for chess-lovers, they were faced with the challenge of essentially rebuilding a “lost club.”

“We reached out to the school and said we wanted to start a chess club, but then the school told us that there was an existing chess club on their system,” junior Daniel Ruan, social chair of Rook & Bishop, said. “ e question of who actually founded the chess club [is di cult] because it was not us, but it wasn’t active anymore. However, the school wouldn’t allow us to start that brand new club. So, we reached out to [old members] and asked if we could take over. We took over, changed the name and then we essentially restarted the club.”

Faced with the challenge of rebuilding and revitalizing the club, the executive board is working hard to spread the word of their new organization through social media and advertisements around campus.

“We are still relatively new after [restarting] the club, so we are on our way to expand,” Ruan said. “We have posters all over campus trying to get new members to come, but it’s really sad because it seems like nowadays, college students are less into chess, which is somewhat understandable, but we are still trying to get more people to come.”

While the club has around 100 interested members in their group chat, Ruan notes that only about 20 of those members are actually active. With the constant bustle of everyday college activities, commitments and homework, it may be dif cult for interested students to nd the time to sit down and learn or play chess. “I think chess is an interesting form of entertainment, especially nowadays, when not a lot of people appreciate it,” Ruan said. “Once you get into it, you can see how chess can help calm you down, entertain you or give you a way to kill your free time. It’s nice to have a place for people to sit there quietly for a couple of hours and just play chess.”

Senior Alfonso Berguido, president and re-founder of Rook & Bishop, echoed Ruan’s statement that this club can simply act as a state of relaxation for interested players. While the club is trying to give beginners a community to learn and improve, it’s also open to those potentially interested in playing chess competitively.

“We’re a club that wants to have a space that’s open to anybody who is interested in chess,” Berguido said. “You don’t have to be competitive or even know anything about chess. It could be something as simple as you watch the “Queen’s Gambit” and you want to talk with someone about the show. Or it could be on the opposite end, that you want to get better at chess and be competitive.”

e club is a member of the Collegiate Chess League, representing Wake Forest in competitions. Competitive players compete against teams from other universities throughout the semester and even get the chance to compete in playo s with a hefty cash prize. Last semester, one team of four made it to the “championship round,” placing second in a close 8-7 match. Berguido hopes to expand the competitions for interested members.

“We recently connected with UNCB and we’ve also connected with Duke,” Berguido said. “We could host a tournament for the Triad area or North Carolinian chess tournaments.”

Although current members are excited for the opportunity to compete at the intercollegiate level, they also enjoy feeling part of the welcoming community that the club provides for all members. Junior Mitesh Das, treasurer of Rook & Bishop, has formed friendships through the club’s opportunities.

“It’s a really nice community of people,” Das said. “A lot of us met through the club, and I’ve made some really nice friendships within the club. It’s a really welcoming community that accepts a lot of di erent people from all grades.”

If you are interested in learning chess, playing casually or even competing internationally, check out their Instagram account @wfuchess.

Contact Meredith Prince at prinmc21@wfu.edu