Old Gold&Black
University gathers in solidarity Republicans must vote against Football looks to start season strong Student tries skydiving for the Trump after Charlottesville first time Page 11 Page 8 Page 4 Page 18
WAKE FOREST’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1916 T H U R S DAY, AU G U ST 31 , 2 017
VOL. 102, NO. 1
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“Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
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The 180,000 square feet of fitness space at the new Reynolds Gymnasium will triple the amount of workout space on campus. The completed phase includes amenities such as study spaces, a rock climbing wall and new showers and the next phase of renovation will add a swimming pool in spring 2018.
Renovated Reynolds Gymnasium opens doors The second phase of the $58 million transformation project adds 180,000 square feet of space dedicated to fitness, recreation and wellbeing. BY NATALIE WILSON News Editor wilsnh15@wfu.edu Those looking to catch up on Netflix or surf social media while de-stressing after class can now turn to the renovated Reynolds Gym, which boasts fitness equipment with Internet access. The second phase of the $58 million Reynolds Gym transformation project opened its doors to the campus community after more than a year of construction to reveal a high-tech fitness and wellbeing center that triples the amount of workout space on campus. “The increased size will certainly help students feel more
comfortable about going to the gym,” said junior Saquaan Revis. The building has 180,000 square feet of lounge space, group fitness space, two multipurpose activity courts, a bouldering and climbing wall and new locker rooms and showers. “The gym has been optimized to really make working out more of an option and less of a time commitment because of increased availability and convenience,” said sophomore Josh Nnaji. Senior Sebastian Irby agreed. “The old gym was so cramped when you were in the weight room,” Irby said. “I felt like I never really had space or that I was always in someone’s way or needed to workout faster so someone else could use my weights after me.” According to university research, the number of students participating in fitness and recreation programs at Wake Forest was already greater than many universities with much larger enrollments before the new facilities opened. More than 60 percent of undergraduate students reported using cardio
equipment one or more times a week, and more than half of undergraduate students reported lifting weights at least once a week. These numbers are expected to grow in response to the increase of available fitness space. “I think people are already enticed simply because it’s a brand new facility and super nice,” Irby said. “I also think that people feel more comfortable now that there is a lot more room for us all to spread out.” The new equipment includes treadmills, incline trainers, ellipticals, step machines, upright bikes, recumbent bikes and rowing machines. Interactive data screens allow personalization and tracking of workouts, and a functional training space offers equipment such as sleds, kettlebells, medicine balls, battle ropes and stability balls. The Reynolds gym was originally built in 1955, and the overhaul of the facilities involved adding steel infrastructure to the building to create more open spaces. The Sutton Center
See Transformation, Page 4
UNC students call for removal of Confederate statue Tensions with police mount as hundreds of students protest “Silent Sam” statue
BY AMANDA WILCOX News Editor wilcaf16@wfu.edu
In the weeks since a white-nationalist rally protesting the removal of a statute of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee turned deadly, debates about the presence of Confederate symbols and monuments in public spaces have been revived. Calls to remove statues of Confederate soldiers have spread from Virginia to North Carolina. For example, Duke removed its statue of Robert E. Lee
from its chapel on Aug. 19. Hundreds of protesters also gathered at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill on Aug. 26 to call for the removal of a Confederate statue on its campus. However, because the UNC campus is public land, the statue is subject to North Carolina state law protecting monuments. Known as “Silent Sam,” the statue was
funded by the United Daughters of the Confederacy and alumni of the university to memorialize Confederate alumni who died in the Civil War and all students who enlisted in the Confederate army. A bronze image on the front depicts a student dropping books as he answers a call for duty and
See Statue, Page 5
OGB
“ Violence and hate speech should not be tolerated This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board.
“There is no place for the bigotry, racism and violence we witnessed in Charlottesville.” These were the words of President Nathan O. Hatch, in a statement shared with the Wake Forest community on Monday, Aug. 14. The Editorial Board of the Old Gold & Black echoes these sentiments and stands firm in denouncing the actions by neo-Nazis and other white nationalists at the University of Virginia earlier this month. Inciting and celebrating violence is intolerable. We should learn from the mistakes of the past and evolve together, as a country, to better embrace our differences as they are attributes that make us stronger. No one should feel inferior or unsafe in this country, or anywhere at all. It is important that we all treat everyone
'Pro Humanitate' is continuing "Pro Humanitate" is gathering toto fight alongside peers ... for gether on Manchester Plaza with the justice that every human candles raised high, spreading light to the darkness cast by the events in being innately deserves."
with justice and equality. Each person is entitled to his or her own opinion, but there is a right way and a wrong way to share these opinions. When doing so takes the form of violence or discrimination — whether it be physical, verbal or psychological — toward any person or group of people, it is detrimental to us all. The bond of humanity and the spirit of living and working “for humanity,” for which our university stands, is broken when even one of us is treated as less human than another. Thus, we must stand together in the spirit of "Pro Humanitate."
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Charlottesville. "Pro Humanitate" is participating in discussions with those whose opinions differ from your own and listening with open hearts. "Pro Humanitate" is continuing to fight alongside peers, faculty, staff and community members for the justice that every human being innately deserves. As a campus community that consists of students and faculty from all around the world, we each bring unique backgrounds and experiences to a new academic year. Despite the divisive political climate that exists in our world, the Editorial Board is optimistic that the 2017-2018 academic year can be one
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News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 3
Deacon Profile: José Villalba
BY NATALIE WILSON News Editor wilsnh15@wfu.edu Wake Forest Provost Rogan Kersh announced Aug. 11 that he has appointed Professor José Villalba as interim chief diversity officer (CDO). The appointment of Villalba follows Chief Diversity Officer Barbee Myers Oakes’ departure to take the same role at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. “To choose someone as interim CDO who's been deeply involved in this work, who had a comprehensive sense of how the university engages." Kersh said, "Villalba is that person. He emerged as a natural and ideal choice.” Villalba’s background includes a faculty position at UNC Greensboro and Indiana State University. At the University of Florida, he received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology, Master of Education and Education Specialist degrees in school guidance and counseling and a doctorate in counselor education. Villalba came to Wake Forest in 2011 as an associate professor of counseling with no intention of advancing to administrative roles. However, his teaching and research concerning health disparities in Latino youth, multicultural counseling and minority populations’ access to and completion of higher education made him a natural fit for conversations concerning diversity and inclusion. “I helped the college be represented in spaces where inclusion, equity, justice, those discussions were being had,” Villalba said. “It made sense for me to sit in those chairs and in those spaces, because that’s been my research and my teaching agenda since 2001.” This was Villalba’s role as the senior associate dean for faculty, evaluation and inclusivity. In Villalba’s new interim position, he is doing the same work on a larger scale, addressing diversity and inclusion for the university as a whole. For Villalba, defining “diversity and inclusion” is not just about defining the diverse groups of stu-
dents, faculty and staff on campus, but rather something more. “It’s not just about defining where the affinity groups are, it’s not just about defining what people’s identities are and what the numbers are and what
the ratios are, but it’s also about the mix,” Villalba said. “It’s about how all of these groups of individuals — those with a certain level of affluence or power and those who don’t have as much power — all interact and get along
Ken Bennett/Wake Forest University
and where the pressure points are.” Whether this is done successfully, Villalba says, comes from collaboration between groups of individuals and offices. The LGBTQ Center, Women’s Center, Intercultural Center and the Center of Diversity Education — which is in charge of providing diversity training to RAs and campus leaders — all facilitate that mix as organizations on campus. “It’s really hard work," Villalba said. "I often tell my students, one of the difficulties surrounding diversity and inclusion is that those are the kinds of words that few people can come to consensus around. When you live in a space that’s perpetually grey, its hard to define, well, is this closer to black or is it closer to white.” As CDO, Villalba hopes to be a direct resource for students. While many students may be familiar with accessing diversity and inclusion administrators through the LGBTQ Center, the Women’s Center and the Intercultural Center, he hopes that students will be comfortable with coming to him directly to address issues. Villalba also emphasizes that he sees the Office of Diversity and Inclusion (ODI) as a forward-facing office that works proactively and preventatively. “We think of where the pressure points may be on campus, then we think of where the successes and the opportunities may be on campus, and then we partner with other folks, whether its admissions or the office of communications and external relations or residence life and housing, and we try to provide a perspective or a worldview that might make their initiatives that much more relevant to all the folks we have on campus,” Villalba said. While the office does necessarily have to be reactionary at times, he has seen it handle sudden events of violence and racism in as positive a way as possible. He believes that the ODI is reactionary in a way that has supported students and has a lasting impact on campus climate rather than simply responding to and mitigating the latest issue at hand for the Wake Forest campus body.
OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE
Hurricane Harvey hits Houston, Avocados and Amazon Echo New gene therapy for leukeprices are lower at Whole Foods mia approved by FDA causing flooding and damage Hurricane Harvey slammed into lower-eastern Texas last week. Houston, its surrouding areas and many places along the coast were hit the hardest by the storm. In Houston, over 50 inches of rain, a U.S. record, fell over the course of four days. Many homes, highways and buildings have been submerged. Roughly 30,000 people have been displaced by the storm. The most recent death toll clocks in at 37 people, but this number is expected to increase as the flood waters recede. Harvey has been called a 500-year storm, meaning that the chance of a storm of this type has a chance of occurring once every 500 years. Recovery is expected to take many years.
In June, Amazon bought Whole Foods for 13.7 billion dollars. Amazon has been expanding into physical locations, and the revenue growth of Whole Foods had been on the decline for five years. Amazon's first day as owners was August 30 and they cut Whole Foods' prices up to 43 percent. Most notably, the price of organic avocados decreased from $2.79 each to $1.99. In the past, Whole Foods' expensive prices had been a deterrent to potential costumers. In addition, Amazon began selling their technology device, Echo, in the Whole Foods stores. Amazon's acquisition of Whole Foods will have effects on the future of the grocery store business.
On Aug. 30, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the first approval of a cell-based gene therapy developed by Novartis. Kymriah is a "living drug" that uses genetically modified immune cells from the patients to attack their cancer. This treatment, also known as CAR-T therapy, will be the first of its kind. Kymriah was approved to treat children up to age 25 who suffer from a type of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and have not responded to standard treatment or have suffered relapses. Every year, 3,100 patients, 20 or younger, are diagnosed with this form of leukemia — a blood and bone marrow cancer.
Page 4 |Thursday, August 31, 2017
Old Gold & Black | News
Transformation: Gym offers multipurpose space Continued from Page 1
Amanda Wilcox/Old Gold & Black
In a recent poll, over 60 percent of students reported using a cardio machine one or more times a week. The new facility greatly expands the number of cardio machines available. addition was completed as the project’s first phase in 2015. The buildings are connected by a floor-to-ceiling glass atrium rather than the original brick to allow as much natural lighting as possible. According to research conducted by the university in planning stages for the renovated facility, Wake Forest wanted Reynolds to be “more than a gym.” As a result, social and wellbeing spaces were prioritized alongside fitness spaces when redesigning the building. The new office of wellbeing will offer massage therapy, a peer educators program, wellbeing coaching and includes a portable kitchen for cooking demonstrations and nutrition workshops and classrooms for training and programming. Many students on campus, especially women, have exAmanda Wilcox/Old Gold & Black The facility features a rock climbing and bouldering pressed that while the weight room can be an intimidating wall, soon to be joined by a pool and cycling studio. place, training in the new space involves less pressure.
“I do think that the gym is very open and less intimidating as a result,” Irby said. “I feel a lot less judgement now that there is so much more space.” Student Health Service has also been relocated to its previous location on the side of Reynolds Gym, and will be expanded during the final phase of the renovation and transformation project scheduled for completion in March, 2018. This third phase will also add an expanded indoor pool, a varsity gymnasium for the volleyball team including locker and training spaces, group fitness studios, a cycling studio, multipurpose spaces and offices for intramural and club sports, and additional classrooms. The renovations are overseen by Frank L. Blum Construction Company.
Candlelight vigil responds to Charlottesville violence Senior Nia McIntosh presented a spoken word poem as part of the service sponsored by the Chaplain and Intercultural Center
BY OLIVIA FIELD Contributing Writer fielor17@wfu.edu
On Aug. 28, students, faculty and staff gathered for a candlelight vigil aiming to address and reflect upon the recent events that occurred in Charlottesville, VA. Taking place on Manchester Plaza, it was planned by the university chaplain and intercultural center, and featured multiple speakers from the student body and faculty. Earlier this month, violence erupted in Charlottesville, VA, during a “Unite the Right” rally that protested the removal of a statue of Confederate leader Robert E. Lee on the University of Virginia’s (UVA) campus. Specifically, during an anti-racism protest, James Alexander Fields Jr. slammed his car into the crowd. He killed 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injured 19 others. Beginning with a statement from interim chief diversity officer José Villalba, the goal of the vigil was to pay respect to Heyer and outwardly condemn bigotry and hate on campus, as well as “promote unity” within the university’s community. Student Government President Spencer Schiller also spoke at the event, discussing the importance of actively condemning hatred while promoting free speech on campus. A native Virginian, junior Char Van Schenk, stood among the crowd as they listened to the speakers. If Van Schnenk had not been out of town during the anti-racism protests, they said that they would have been present during the attack. “I actually know a lot of people who go to UVA and what kind of annoys me is that the friends I have that go to UVA are completely silent about this,” van Schenk said. “So, I think that even though Wake Forest doesn’t
Olivia Field/Old Gold & Black
Speakers including student body president Spencer Schiller and University Chaplain Tim Auman were featured at the candlelit vigil. They condemned violence while emphasizing the importance of free speech. have any connection to UVA, we all have a responsibility to speak up when we see White supremacy in our streets. Not just torch-wielding alt-righters but our professors, the people we work with, the people in our dorms, etc. It’s all a question to being visibly opposed to the threats towards our black brothers and sisters.” Additionally, Senior Nia McIntosh shared a spoken word piece, inspired by Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman?” exploring issues of racism and bigotry. Senior Rakin Nassar, another attendee, discussed the importance of the event for the university’s student body. “Well considering that a lot of the participants of white supremacy at this rally were college students, it is important to feel like those people aren’t the only representation of what an educated college student is and it’s important to have this other representation at our
college campus,” Nassar said. “Especially one like ours, which is a predominately white institution, it is particularly important to constantly represent ourselves as [against] white supremacy.” University Chaplain Tim Auman concluded the event with a speech of similar theme, highlighting the need for students to embrace and try to better understand topics that make them uncomfortable. He ended the night by quoting Civil Rights Activist Vincent Harding’s song “We are Building up a New World.” As a follow up to the vigil, the Pro Humanitate Institute (PHI) and Humanities Institute will be presenting a Charlottesville Teach-in on Sept. 5th and 6th at both 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Continuously, the PHI will host a public panel on the topic, moderated by Professor Melissa Harris-Perry, at 6 p.m. in Wait Chapel on Sept. 7.
News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 5
Statue: Legal questions complicate removal Continued from Page 1
a relief on the base of the statue shows a woman, meant to represent North Carolina, advising students to fight even if it meant leaving their educations. The soldier is “silent” because he carries no cartridge box on his belt, so he cannot fire his gun. It was built in 1913 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War. The statue has been a source of controversy for years, and the university has faced calls for it to be removed for a long time. On Aug. 17, Chapel Hill mayor Pat Hemminger asked UNC to remove it, citing that it “presents a clear and present danger to the students on campus and the community at large.” On the first day of classes at UNC, hundreds of protesters gathered around the statue, which was surrounded by police in riot gear, chanting slogans such as “tear it down.” Two individuals were arrested by university police and a third was arrested by Chapel Hill police. Counter-protesters carrying Confederate flags were vastly outnumbered by those in support of removing the monument.
Kiana Cole, a student at UNC and director of investigations for the UNC-Chapel Hill campus newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel, attended and live-tweeted the protest. “The most shocking part of the protest was how quickly protesters switched messages,” she said. “At one point I was standing near a guy wearing a black bandana sort of like a face mask, and police approached him and escorted him away ... As soon as police began to walk away with him, the crowd was really outraged, and the mission almost instantaneously switched from chants like ‘hey hey, ho ho, Silent Sam has got to go,’ and became ‘cops and Klan go hand in hand.’” She said that a large number of protesters followed the police, and “a good portion of the night became about this anti-cop narrative.” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has penned a letter to UNC System President Margaret Spellings advising the university to remove the statue if leaders “believe there is a real risk to public safety.” However, the UNC Board of Trustees still said it lacks the authority to remove it due to the Pat McCrory-
era Heritage Protection Act of 2015. The state law prevents removing, relocating or altering monuments or markers on public property without permission from the North Carolina Historical Commission. Thus, unless a tenable loophole in the law is identified, the president of UNC, unlike the president of Duke, is unable to instruct the monument to be removed. According to the Daily Tar Heel, the university is unwilling to risk legal consequence. Harry Watson, a UNC history professor specializing in the Antebellum South, told the Daily Tar Heel that maintaining Confederate monuments in public spaces damages the accuracy of Civil War history that is taught because it erases AfricanAmericans from representation. “I want us to remember a story that’s both true and full,” he said. “And the monuments are not teaching that story. If the law is repealed, it will create the opportunity for us all to teach in public a much fuller and more accurate account of what the nation experienced.”
Student band will attend Battle of the Bands competition Wake Forest students in Anonymous Da Band to compete nationally BY NATALIE WILSON News Editor wilsnh15@wfu.edu
Junior Langston Michael will perform with his Atlanta-based group, Anonymous Da Band, in Prince’s Paisley Park to compete in the MUSICOLOGY — Summer 2017 live Battle of the Bands in Chanhassen, Minnesota starting today, Aug. 31. “Anonymous Da Band” was selected as one of the nine finalists from an open pool of over 125 entries from around the world. The online competition required that groups submit a video audition to Paisley Park’s official Facebook page. For the bracket-style competition, three of the nine groups will perform for a live audience at Paisley Park each night for three nights. One group will be selected each night to advance to the final band battle on Sunday, Sept. 3. Between these three finalists, one artist will be crowned the champion and will receive a
unique Artist Development award package, consisting of twelve hours of studio recording time at Paisley Park, a mentorship session with members of Prince’s super group New Power Generation (NPG), and additional career development opportunities to be announced post competition. “We know our competition,” Michael said. “I’ve checked them out, so hopefully we’ll be able to beat them … We’re trying to win.” The unique live performance event aims to highlight “real music by real musicians,” the same motto Prince championed through his life, creative works and live performances. The event takes its moniker, Musicology, from Prince’s 2004, Grammy award-winning album of the same name. “Prince has been an inspiration for me and my whole band for many years, so I’m excited to go up there and check out where he lived and see his studio,” Michael said. Anonymous Da Band has performed for Atlanta-area events such as The Atlanta Jazz Festival, the Wade Ford Concert Series and the Atlanta Beltline Concerts. The group of four musicians released their first album, The Odyssey, in 2015. Michael, who has been performing on saxophone since he was in middle school, also opened for Rae Sremmurd at Wake Forest’s
Shelly Michael/Old Gold & Black
Junior Langston Michael poses alongside the other members of Anonymous Da Band in front of a Honda Odyssey, which influenced their 2016 album, The Odyssey. 2017 Student Union spring concert alongside Dean Chatham. Michael also performs the National Anthem at Wake Forest sports games and played along-
side the university gospel choir at the historic Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton rally hosted at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum in October 2016.
WAKE IN A WEEK Wake Forest Football Game Time: Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. Location: BB&T Field Come cheer on the Demon Deacons in their first football game of the season as they play Presbyterian College. Admission is free with a student ID card. Kick off will be at 6:30 p.m.
Graphic Novel Book Club Time: Sept. 1 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Location: ZSR Library This is a community interest group that meets monthly to discuss graphic novels and comics. The program features thematic discussion groups and readers are asked to share a comic or graphic novel that fits the theme.
MindfulWake Meditation Class Time: Sept. 4 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Location: Reynolds Gymnasium A330 This is an introduction to a better and more simple way of living. MindfulWake aims to give students tools to be selfaware and combat stress in everyday life. No experience is necessary, but registration is required.
Eid al-Adha Prayer Time: Sept. 1 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Location: Collins Residence Hall A002 Attend this prayer service for Eid al-Adha, an Islamic holy day that honors the sacrifice that the Prophet Abraham was willing to make. This service will include a sermon and a small breakfast will be provided.
Pancake Lunch Time: Sept. 3 from 12:15 p.m. to 2 p.m. Location: Wingate Hall, Lower Auditorium This post-worship pancake lunch will be sponsored by the members of the Wake Forest Baptist Church for students. Come to worship and bring a friend. Contact Elizabeth Corney for more information.
Student Union Fall 2017 Film Series Time: Sept. 1 at 7:00 p.m. Location: Benson, Pugh Auditorium On Fridays throughout the semester, Student Union has free showings of popular movies in Pugh Auditorium. This first weekend, come watch Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and enjoy free popcorn.
First Fridays Time: Sept. 1 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Location: Benson 347 First Fridays is a monthly event hosted by the Intercultural Center. Their aim is to provide students with a safe space to connect through dialogue, fellowship and free food.
Welcome Back Pizza Party Time: Sept. 7 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Location: Benson 311 Come join LGBTQ students, faculty, staff and allies at the LGBTQ Center’s Welcome Back Pizza Party. Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options will be available.
Wake Forest Women’s Soccer Game Time: Sept. 3 at 1:00 p.m. Location: Spry Stadium Attend the Women’s Soccer game against Princeton University and cheer them on to victory. Admission is free with a student ID card.
Page 6 |Thursday, August 31, 2017
Old Gold & Black | News
Exhibit showcases Georgia O’Keeffe’s self-crafted image The intersection between the artist’s work and lifestyle are exhibited at the Reynolda House’s “Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern” BY AMANDA WILCOX News Editor wilcaf16@wfu.edu
Georgia O’Keeffe, a pioneering modernist artist known for her early abstract paintings of larger-thanlife flowers and animal bones, wanted every aspect of her life and person to reflect the meticulous sense of austerity and detail that she applied to her paintings. This point was driven home by “Georgia O’Keeffe: Living Modern,” an exhibition at the Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Reynolda Village that combines her art and often-homemade wardrobe with photographic portraits. The exhibition will continue at the Reynolda House through Nov. 19, 2017. Even as a young girl growing up in Wisconsin in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, O’Keeffe rejected the somber Victorian society that she was born into and refused to conform to the world around her. If her sisters wore their hair braided, she said her hair could not be braided. Her strikingly modern aesthetic and effort to create a public image as an independent woman and artist are as apparent in her clothing and photographic portraits as they are in her paintings. In a group photo of the Kappa Delta sorority at her boarding school in Virginia, O’Keeffe’s conspicuous style was already evident; she favored black and white and androgynous clothing. This philosophy influenced her art when she came into contact with the work of Arthur Wesley Dow, a painter who rejected the thenpopular concept of art as a purely imitative medium and advocated for a more abstract approach. O’Keeffe first began to make herself known as a modernist when she taught art in Texas, first at a high school in Amarillo and later at a teachers’ college in Canyon. There, she raised eyebrows by throwing away textbooks that admonished artists to copy nature directly and urged her students to focus on beautiful and radical designs. She described this as focusing on “filling space in a beautiful way,” and she tried to apply that way of thinking to mundane activities like dressing or stamping an envelope. In 1916, when O’Keeffe was just 29 years old, one of
Amanda Wilcox/Old Gold & Black
Matrimonial Mesa in Abiquiu, New Mexico features the bright-red hills that inspired O’Keeffe’s exuberant use of color after she moved to the Southwest. She preferred to paint abstractions of landscapes she saw.
her friends showed one of her charcoal abstractions to Alfred Stieglitz, a renowned New York City photographer and expert in modern art. Stieglitz was impressed enough that he gave O’Keeffe her own one-person exhibition and began a lifelong series of photographic portraits of her. When the two began a romantic relationship by correspondence, Stieglitz convinced her to leave Texas, move to Manhattan with him and devote herself to painting. The exhibition is organized in sections that run through her early years, largely spent in New York City and Lake George in upstate New York, to her later years, where she spent much time in and around Abiquiu, New Mexico. Thus, the progression of the paintings clearly shows how the colors that dominated O’Keeffe’s paintings changed based on the surrounding landscape. She tended to use much more exuberant shades of the colors in the terrain around her — for example, when she painted the mountains and lake at Lake George, greens, dark blues and browns dominated her color scheme. When the leaves changed in autumn, she made use of her favorite colors: red and yellow. While in Manhattan, where she painted what she saw out of her window, she used heavy grays, blues and blacks. Her art underwent an abrupt change when she moved permanently to New Mexico following Stieglitz’s death, where she drew heavily upon the bright blue skies, bleached-white animal bones, brown adobe, and terra-cotta stony cliffs that she could see from her studio in Abiquiu. Indeed, when O’Keeffe started painting in the Southwest, the mystery of her paintings to more middle-ofthe-road art critics in the East only increased, particularly in regards to the still-lifes she created featuring bleached animal bones that she picked up on walks into the desert. Some critics, many of whom had never visited the Southwest, interpreted her paintings of bones as meditations on death and the fleeting nature of life, but O’Keeffe disagreed. She believed that the bones captured the majesty of the high desert and remarked, “When I started painting the pelvis bones I was most interested in the holes in the bones — what I saw through them — particularly the blue from holding them up in the sun against the sky as one is apt to do when one seems to have more sky than earth in one’s world.” In reference to the bones in “Pelvis with the Moon Amanda Wilcox/Old Gold & Black “Shell and Old Shingle No. 6,” painted in Lake George, — New Mexico,” she said, “They were most wonderful constrasts strongly with O’Keeffe’s Southwest work. against the Blue — that Blue that will always be there as
Amanda Wilcox/Old Gold & Black
The White Place in New Mexico was another source of inspiration for O’Keeffe’s work in the Southwest. it is now after all man’s destruction is finished.” Around the time that O’Keeffe’s distinctive paintings of the New Mexico desertscape became more wellknown, numerous renowned photographers such as Ansel Adams began to visit her at her home in Abiquiu to photograph her, and artist Andy Warhol created a screenprint of her in shimmery gold glitter. These images are mixed among her late-life paintings in the exhibition, and her androgynous appearance in the majority of them reinforces her rejection of traditional feminine identity. She also denied any suggestions of sexual allusion in her paintings of flowers and resisted others’ attempts to label her as a feminist. Indeed, when feminist artist Judy Chicago asked her to participate in an anthology on female artists in the 1970s, she declined, stating that “One is a good painter or one is not, and sex is not the basis of this difference.” Therefore, the exhibition makes clear that while O’Keeffe experimented with gender-bending clothing and challenged society’s conventional expectations for women, it was not necessarily her intention to become a feminist icon. In the end, O’Keeffe was reluctant to stand for anything other than herself.
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 7
Old Gold & Black | News
University to host teach-ins to open dialogue Faculty will lead student groups in discussions of Confederate monuments and racial justice using selected texts BY JULIA HAINES Staff Writer hainjm15@wfu.edu In response to the events of Charlottesville last month, the Pro Humanitate Institute (PHI) is partnering with the Humanities Institute to offer a “teach-in” for both students and staff. The event is in part inspired by The Charlottesville syllabus, which was published by University of Virginia (UVA) graduate students following the attacks. The “teach-in” will consist of small student groups meeting in rooms throughout Tribble on Sept. 5 and 6 to discuss topics related to Charlottesville. Faculty members from various departments across campus have volunteered to lead these groups, choosing texts for students to read beforehand to accompany and focus the discussions. Students are encouraged to register for the teach-in online, and are able to choose groups whose faculty member and associated texts best align with their interests. “The goal of the teach-in and the panel is to ensure our campus and community members have ample opportunities for meaningful engagement with the most crucial ideas, persons and events affecting our nation and our world,” said Melissa Harris-Perry, the executive director of the Pro Humanitate Institute. “Each faculty member leading a teach-in session has autonomy over their own session.” Ron Von Burg, an assistant professor in the department of communication and director of graduate studies, is leading a group discussion centered around the implications of public memory and the role that monuments and memorials play. “Monuments and memorials serve an important civic function in articulating our values as a society,” Von Burg said. “I hope students will gain a more critical understanding of how monuments and memorials serve an important rhetorical function in defining our cultural values and the consequences of the values embedded in monuments and memorials.” He has selected two articles to accompany his group’s discussion: “Tools of Displacement” published by Slate Magazine, and “Moments of Rupture: Confederate
importance of critically and analytically engaging with the events in Charlottesville and with the growing visibility of white nationalist movements across the U.S.,” said Matthew Connor, a senior who is registered for the teach-in taught by Erica Still, an assistant professor of English. “I have attended several teach-ins at Wake Forest and I generally find them to be a useful step in advancing the dialogue around campus and national social climate.” Some of the teach-in discussions will pull pieces from the Charlottesville syllabus, an online syllabus which offers academic resources to readers who want to learn more about topics such as Charlottesville’s history regarding white supremacy, the city’s current black business district and UVA’s association with the civil rights movement, to name a few. The opening of the syllabus states, “The Charlottesville Syllabus seeks to explore the local historical and contemporary precedents for this gathering, to give it history and context, to denounce it and to amplify the voices of community members most affected by this “alt-right” occupation of space.” “The syllabus really highlights the complex and multifaceted history and development of white supremacy, emphasizing the particular histories of Virginia and Charlottesville,” Connor said. “It goes beyond the assumption that white nationalism and ‘the alt-right’ are new phenomena by very carefully exposing many of the facets of a racist society which fuel and support these explicit white nationalist groups, from the veneration of Confederate statues to gentrification to continued legacies of segregation and slavery. It ultimately helps us see a Courtesy of Pro Humanitate Institute Students and faculty will engage critically with faculty-selected texts. Some of the discus- more complete picture of white nationalsions will include elements of the Charlottesville Syllabus from the University of Virginia. ism as a powerful current spanning all of American history and not as some new fad among disgruntled white people.” Monuments and a Southern Town’s Search my session, we will be looking at the quesIndividual sessions are capped at 15 peofor its Identity” published by The Politic. tion as to why Jewish people are targeted ple in order to better give students the space Barry Trachtenberg, a professor in by racist groups in the U.S. and examine to have meaningful discussions with peers. the department of history, will be lead- ways in which Jews have historically re“My hope is that these teach-ins will ing his own session on the existence of sponded to anti-semitism and oppression.” illuminate the pervasiveness of racist Students in Trachtenberg’s session anti-semitism and the history of opare encouraged to read Cheryl Green- and nationalist fervor in the U.S. and pression against Jews in America. berg’s essay “I’m not White — I’m Jew- allow our campus community to en“It’s my hope that the participants in ish”: The Racial Politics of American gage more thoughtfully in activism and the teach-ins will become part of a larger Jews” in preparation for both his teach- education that directly resists attempts conversation about ways to combat the in discussion as well as Greenberg’s to perpetuate and exacerbate exclusionhatred and intolerance that is stemming own visit to campus September 10. ary, marginalizing, and oppressive sysfrom the far-right,” Trachtenberg said. ”In “For me, these teach-ins emphasize the tems and movements,” Connor said.
THE MORE YOU KNOW
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Th Th
OPINION OLD GOLD & BLACK
T H U R S D AY, A u g u s t 3 1 , 2 0 17
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at : w w w. w f u o g b . c o m
Henr y Bonilla, bonihj15@wfu.edu D av i d A j a my, a j a m d g 15 @ w f u . e d u
The views expressed in all opinion columns represent those of the article’s author, not the opinions of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board
“ programs can make lasting impacts Pre-Orientation Ajam-Packed Full of Ideas | Pre-Orientation
Pre-Orientation programs are memorable experiences for new and returning students
Not only as a moderator are you the first person the upcoming firstyears know but you ... can change someone’s college career.”
David Ajamy II
themed Pre-Orientation). The joy I get out of leading a Pre-Orientation is immense because as a moderator, you are the first person the upcoming first-years know, plus you become someone who can change someone’s college career. I remember the help my leader for B.U.I.L.D and SPARC gave me throughout my first year, and how much of an impact they had on who I am today. It is because of my leaders I find myself surrounded by people who love me and support me. Not only this, but it also prompted me with opportunties to get involveded on campus and since then allowed me to come out of my own shell and get to know the amazing people on
Staff Columnist ajamdg15@wfu.edu
Coming to college is very scary — we all know that. One must learn the buildings, the social life, make friends and so much more. In a general sense, one must learn how to navigate the campus in its many realms. As I was coming into Wake Forest, I was very worried about college. So I decided to partake in a Pre-Orientation. Since then, I have worked as a moderator/leader in B.U.I.L.D (a social-justice-
this campus. The happiness and support they gave me really motivated me to help someone who was in my position just one year ago. Since I have been a moderator for two years’ and I plan to continue to work with B.U.I.L.D my senior year, hopefully as the student director. I tell people that Pre-Orientation camps are fun and that you will get free friends. I met some of my best friends in my program three years ago. I also met some temporary friends, yet we still shared many nice memories and they helped me feel part of a community just in my opening days and weeks. I was able to have these networks of friends because of the extensive number of spectacular upperclassmen and fellow first years just in my first three days. And it’s thanks to the upperclassmen who put on these programs I had such an amazing experience. We all as students have the ability to shape and change the life’s of the upcoming classes
of Wake Forest and make them feel both included and loved as fellow members of the Wake Forest community.
David Ajamy II/Old Gold & Black
“ to vote with their statements in mind Republicans need Wil(cox) Be Right| Senators
Republican senators who openly dissent against Trump politics need to stick to their word
Amanda Wilcox Staff Columnist wilcaf16@wfu.edu
Donald Trump’s White House exploded with chaos and scandal even before it had the chance to staff up, and the president has indicated every intention of using his Congressional majority to remake our country in his own corrupt and petulant image. But, in reality, the depravation of our Constitution and democratic process will only happen with the permission of our congressmen and senators. As one would expect, Democrats have unanimously responded to the beclowning of the presidency with strongly worded statements of condemnation and more importantly, steadfast resistance to Trump’s agenda. Even Democratic senators who face re-election in 2018 from deep-red states that swung to Trump, such as Senators Claire McCaskill, Heidi Heitkamp, Joe Manchin, Jon Tester and Joe Donnelly have not wavered. Disappointingly, with
But if such a gap between their stated Let’s not get carried away with Flake’s values and voting records continues, attempted shot across the bow of the they will own the Faustian bargain Trump presidency. that the Republican party has made.” Excluding tangible efforts to thwart the possible exceptions of Senators John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, Republican senators have issued little more than sporadic tweets of concern and have proceeded to fall in line to advance the president’s agenda. Some of them repeatedly spout praise for dignity, duty, empiricism and respect for the democratic process. But that soliloquizing rings hollow when it is accompanied by a voting record that is nearly indistinguishable from that of Senator Ted Cruz. I’m looking at you, Senators Jeff Flake and Ben Sasse. In his recent book A Conscience of a Conservative, named after the late Senator Barry Goldwater’s manifesto of the same title, Flake said the words that his Republican colleagues have needed to hear for months. “Too often, we observe the unfolding drama along with the rest of the country, passively, all but saying, ‘Somebody should do something!’ without realizing that that someone is us.” But then the senator fails to specify what must be done — if he sincerely claims the conscience of a conservative, then he will more closely scrutinize his own calls to action.
Trump’s agenda or remove him for office, his broadside simply isn’t as revolutionary as he’s gotten credit for. How can Flake reference the “devouring ambition of despotic men” while, according to FiveThirtyEight, maintain a voting record that aligns with Trump’s agenda 93.5 percent of the time? Based on the lukewarm support for Trump in Arizona, FiveThirtyEight projected that Flake would vote on the president’s side only 60 percent of the time. Senator Flake, if you’re not listening to your constituents or even your own statements, you will soon find that the Senate does in fact have a term-limiting mechanism: elections. Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska has also been critical of Trump’s modus vivendi, but to no greater end than Flake. Out of all of his colleagues, he held out the longest on the “Never Trump” train, calling for an independent candidate to challenge Trump but refusing to be that candidate himself. He is a deep thinker and advocate of public decency, and his good-faith discourse is eloquent and well-timed. His Twitter account is funny, charming and heavy on Dad jokes. But at the same time, per FiveThirtyEight, his voting record has supported the White House agenda 93.6 percent of the time; he voted to confirm nearly all of
Trump’s historically ill-equipped Cabinet, to steamroll the judicial filibuster, and to enact every iteration of the cruel Obamacare repeal-and-replace effort. While sitting on the Senate Judiciary Committee, he denied Merrick Garland a perfunctory meeting, which was completely at odds with his alleged respect for the process. What does it really mean to wax poetic about democratic duty if, when it comes time to choose “yea” or “nay,” you vote like any other partisan hack or right-wing ideologue? Surely it must be demoralizing to be good-faith senators from a party with a flagrantly bad-faith approach. Their words, albeit empty, are arguably better than their colleagues’ silent endorsements. And it’s an unfair standard to expect them to support liberal policies. But if such a gap between their stated values and voting records continues, they will own the Faustian bargain that the Republican party has made just as much as Senators McConnell and Cruz do now. At some point, they will need to refuse to vote for destructive bills that hadn’t seen a single public hearing. They will need to support primary challengers to Trump or challenge him themselves. Sure, they might upset the dogmatic activists of their broken party. But the dignity and democratic duty that Flake and Sasse promote demand more of them. Powerful words without corresponding deeds are as useless as a cup of covfefe.
Opinion | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 9
“ and needs more support NASA deserves Bonilla-fide | NASA
With the possibility of manned missions to Mars, NASA is in a dire position for funding Henry Bonilla
Staff Columnist bonihj15@wfu.edu
The 2010s have been paramount years in renewed interest in manned space flight. Civilians and scientists alike have been pining for humans to return to the moon, visit other planets and venture beyond our solar system since the end of the NASA Apollo missions in the early 70s. But developments in technology, specifically electronics and computers, have made it feasible for humans to economically return to the moon and possibly even land on Mars in the near future. And the organization we all think of when we think of space exploration is NASA. NASA has taken Americans to the moon and played a lead role in the International Space Station since its inception. Our tax-payer-funded space agency has led us to places in the universe that to our knowledge no living creature has
“If we want to maintain ... interest in manned spaceflight, we must develop the tools necessary for deep space travel at a faster rate.” ever reached, yet as inspiring as NASA’s history is, NASA may not be the ones to take us to Mars or the moon again. The agency is in a money crisis. While NASA’s budget has increased every year since its foundation, the percent of the federal budget that it makes up has decreased significantly since the mid-60s, dropping from a high of three percent in 1968 to a depressingly low 0.5 percent of the 2017 federal budget. This has led to project cuts throughout NASA and created significant hurdles for the Orion space vehicle program and Space Launch System rocket program — both of which are crucial for sending humans into the outer throes of the solar system, specifically Mars. The journey to Mars is long and dangerous, so if we want our astronauts to return safely, we must develop the necessary technology to ensure their safety. Developing these technologies will prove to be problematic if we continue to cut NASA’s share of the federal budget. These monetary setbacks are especially troublesome because of how greatly they
affect research progress. Research has been moving at a considerably slow pace when compared to private companies like SpaceX, which famously invented the reusable Falcon 9 rocket. Government support is highly contingent on the ability to produce viable results from research in an efficient timeframe, which is difficult when the budget you are able to work with dwindles in comparison to other branches of the government. So, if we want to maintain government interest in manned spaceflight, we must develop the tools necessary for deep space travel at a faster rate than what we have currently. And the only way to do so would be to divert more funding towards NASA’s projects. If the citizens of the U.S. want NASA to be the ones to put the first humans on Mars, the government needs to allocate more funding towards NASA’s budget. SpaceX founder and owner Elon Musk has already expressed his desire and plans to put humans on Mars, and it is only a matter of time before the company develops the capabilities to send humans to other planets. If President Trump wants to “make America great again,” he should revitalize the American spirit and pride from the great space race of the 50s and 60s. He should encourage the nation to desire to
make history and send the first humans to Mars. He should relift the American fascination with space exploration and our desire to explore the unknown. While his words are usually inflammatory, Trump does get attention for everything he says. Appealing to Congress to support the goals of NASA would not only shine a new light on our President, but it could possibly ease some of the tensions in our incredibly tense political atmosphere through a collective vision to reach the unreached. Developing technologies for the future and dreaming of new frontiers are essential for creating a better tomorrow, economically, politically and socially. And I feel the beset way to do it by sending humans the furthest they have ever travelled in our whole universe.
students creating dialogue that reaches beyond the student body and into the broader Winston-Salem community. Wake Forest is assisting in WinstonSalem’s renaissance, so why not supplement it by pushing for a greener, healthier Winston-Salem? Lastly, there is a need for students to show they care. Pro Humanitate is nothing more than fluffy verbiage if students don’t engage in our changing climate. It needs to be a movement that functions as its own entity, without the need for specific leaders to keep pushing it forward. This change ought to be supplemented by many bright minds, but not dependent upon only a few of them. For a student body that meticulously allocates precious time for worthy ventures, this issue is unquestionably worthwhile. It is, in its very nature, a selfless movement. It requires observation of past mistakes with the goal of substantial improvement. This improvement will benefit all of us, but most significantly the poorest people in our society who have been neglected — left largely to deal with environmental degradation without comprehensive assistance from political and business leaders. These people are the ones who breathe the smog from our factories, the ones living next to coal plants and the ones who have been left voiceless to fend off powerful business interests in their communities. There is no shortage of economic, political and social spheres in need of assistance and change. The current head
of the EPA is actively dismantling the department charged with protecting the environment. Our president has pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord, which places us in the company of Syria and North Korea. The former is in a brutal civil war and the latter opposes joining because the nation’s leaders don’t believe the agreement sufficiently addresses our environmental dilemma. U.S. political “leadership” is not leading on this daunting issue. It is evident that students and universities need to pick up the pieces and devise solutions that will propel the movement forward. Climate change must be sufficiently addressed. And it can, if we harness the capabilities of our entire student body.
Red Huber/Orlando Sentinel/TNS
“ Wake Forest needs to spearhead climate change From a different Engel | Climate change
The student body should needs to take a stronger stance on the pressing issues of climate change Charlie Engel
Guest Columnist engece15@wfu.edu The Wake Forest student body is dormant on the pressing issue of climate change. There exists a dire need for creativity and innovation, and the need for students to boldly engage with the problem. There is nothing that is more pertinent to Pro Humanitate than addressing an existential threat to humanity. The world has already started to feel its immediate effects through dramatic weather changes, exacerbated natural disasters, rising sea levels and melting ice caps in the Arctic. However, the changing climate has yet to impose its most severe consequences. Unfortunately, our student body has been far too passive. We have the knowhow and capability to affect solutions in realms of explanatory dialogue, fresh business strategy, and more ethical approaches to the environment. Further, we can play a major role in increasing awareness for the communities that bear much of climate change’s impact: the poor, communities of color and vulner-
It’s beyond time for [the] student body to ... engage [climate change], and [we are] in a unique position to provide comprehensive solutions.” able people still searching for what is a basic human necessity — clean air and clean water. It’s beyond time for Wake Forest’s student body to critically engage in this topic and the university is in a unique position to provide comprehensive solutions. Given its intelligent student body, esteemed faculty and cutting-edge research, which is most notably observed through the recent addition of Innovation Quarter, Wake Forest has the tools needed to lead. The time is here for Wake Forest students to optimize our resources and engage in a topic that we have been largely left to solve on our own, due to decades of economic and political complacency. Young people know better, and we must do better. What does this challenge afford? The opportunities are vast. There is a critical need for improved business strategies; this involves cleaning up the energy grid, providing services and products that lower carbon emissions and allowing workers to find greater fulfillment in the work they do every day to ensure a habitable earth for future generations. Secondly, there is a need to bridge the gap between technical, scientific jargon and digestible information that wide audiences can consume. This involves
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Page 10 | Thursday, August 31, 2017
Old Gold & Black | Opinion
“ Theatre classes help foster professinal skills Mad About You | Theatre
Theater classes offer many benefits that students may not be aware of
Maddie Jones
Guest Columnist jonemr15@wfu.edu What are you going to do with a theatre degree? How will dance help you in the future? What’s your backup plan? As a theatre major and dance minor, I have received these questions countless times from older professionals through their somewhat gritted teeth. Well, for someone who has never experienced these arts, or taken a theater class,
Every college student ... should take at least one performance class as it provides so many great, hidden learning opportunities.”
these may seem like very valid questions. These questioners seem to think that a performing arts education teaches you only one thing — how to aspire to be an unsuccessful, starving artist — but they teach you so much more. These classes aren’t just for the stereotypically hopeful Broadway performers but for the masses. Theater is a multidisciplinary art form. Every college student, regardless of their major, should take at least one performance class as it provides so many great, hidden learning opportunities across the board. First and foremost, theatre participation
helps you build your confidence on stage as well as with public speaking. There are so many jobs out there that require you to give oral presentations or speak in front of large groups. This is a great way to practice your public speaking skills and overcome your fears with monologues and musical numbers. With these under your belt, all your other public speaking assignments will be a breeze. As theater requires scene work and working with other people to put on a performance, it teaches you how to develop a sense of community as well as learn to build new communities with every group you are told to work with. It promotes compromise and team building, as every participant is necessary and equally as important for the success of the performance. In the real world, there will never be a situation where you get to work solely by yourself, all the time, so learning how to
work well with others is a good use of your time and you just might make some new friends. Improvisation is another important part of theatre because you can use it to ad lib when you forget a line — a useful skill to have. What happens when you’re in a job interview and the interviewer asks you a question you’re not completely prepared for? Do you freeze up and say nothing or do you improvise a confident answer on the spot? Hopefully, with the help of your trusty college theatre class, the latter. You’ll also get to unleash your creative side and simply have fun by creating characters and wearing fun costumes. We could all use a little creativity and fun during our days, don’t you think? Plus, the theatre and dance faculty at Wake Forest are extremely welcoming and encouraging. So, take a theatre class. You won’t regret it.
the maleficent being can pop out of the gloom and end you, but it is in half-light that our mind is most scared, because it creates a narrative as opposed to accepting a two-second demise. In halflight, we can construct a figure who slowly creaks open the bedroom door that sits in our nocturnal fog, or startle ourselves with a figure standing in front of the poster on our far wall. Darkness makes of the world provincial things. Your desk is now a blocky rectangle, your bookshelf ’s edges blur to make an antique. It is this lost definitiveness of things that makes the mind churn out creative thought. It is not the complete unknown though. The known becomes blurred, not extinguished. The objects that make up our intimate space excrete a different energy in the dark than they do in the light. We toss them into our cauldron, and mix them with aspects of a different reality. Sure, this can be scary, but it can be productive, too. It is when we succumb to these creative disparities that lurk in the dark that we expand our
minds and begin to see reality differently. I’m not saying we begin to see things in the light as we saw them in the dark, but our minds begin to mimic the mental patterns used to create our dark reality. That is, we build a new mental architecture motivated by original thinking and driven by the intricate discernments of a creative mind. It causes us to no longer think linearly about flowers in the light. No longer do we catalogue objects via checklists; we begin to inspect, to look for detail and spin objects outward, placing them in a framework that is not as drab as our previous one. The flowers become not just flowers to be catalogued as singular objects in a world of things placed, but things that bloom, things that exist in a world of vibration and movement. Dynamism of the mind makes the world more interesting. It vests meaning and enjoyment out of the ordinary. The hospital lights of objectivity melt into a ponderable and pleasurable subjective. Practice creativity in the dark, and the light becomes that much more interesting.
“ Thinking in the dark awakens the creative mind All is Ferr(er) | Thinking
Lying in the dark causes the mind to work differently, and people should explore it Kyle Ferrer
Staff Columnist ferrka16@wfu.edu
Lying in bed before I fall asleep, I often have some of my most profound thoughts. I think it has something to do with my mind relaxing and relieving itself from the scrapes and jostles of the day as it whizzes by. In these shaded intervals, one of the things I often wonder is why I am afraid of the dark, and when I wonder, I also become afraid again. The longer one ponders the dark, the scarier it gets. The fog doesn’t lift and the monsters don’t
Dynamism of the mind makes the world more interesting, it vests meaning and enjoyment out of the ordinary.” go away — more of them appear. Next time you’re alone in the darkness, stare at the abyss and just think. You can think about tomorrow’s interview, today’s meal or whatever. Eventually, the darkness in front of you will make its way to the fore. The vague outlines of doors and shelves will themselves not form monsters, but construct the wispy reality through which your mind’s creatures will walk. The objects in the room are not central to your waking nightmare, but instead are accessories to a converging point, that point being you lying in your bed, vulnerable and likely sweating a little. It is the power of the imagination that takes over — the creative and generative qualities of the human mind that can create more from less. Total darkness can be frightening, and
Word on the Quad | Welcome Back!
What are you looking foward to most this semester?
“My Birthday!” Riani Carr (‘20)
“Making new memories.” Varun Reddy (‘19)
“My independent research.” Aditya Mudigonda (‘18)
“Branches!.” Isabella Ryan (‘20)
SPORTS
T H U R S D AY, A u g u s t 3 1 , 2 0 17
PAG E 11
Online at: www.wfuogb.com Twitter: @sports_ogb Editors: Kyle Ferrer ferrka16@wfu.edu; Ren Schmitt, schmwm16@wfu.edu
OLD GOLD & BLACK
Demon Deacon football predictions for 2017 The Demon Deacon Football team prepares for yet another season this fall BY RYAN JOHNSTON Online Manging Editor johnrc14@wfu.edu Coming off of their most successful season since 2011, the Wake Forest football team will face high expectations as they begin their 2017-18 season and look to get off to the same 4-0 start that propelled them to a 7-6 season and a thrilling 34-26 win over Temple in the Military Bowl. The first six games of the season will be friendly to the Deacons, as it is to most Power Five schools. After their fourth game against Appalachian State, however, the Deacons will enter into one of the most brutal five-game stretches in college football this season — Florida State, Clemson, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Notre Dame. The team will be lucky to escape with one win among those powerhouses. The first six games of the Wake Forest’s season are reviewed below, and check back next week for part two of Wake Forest football’s season preview. Aug. 31: Wake Forest vs. Presbyterian Wake Forest will begin their season at home against the Presbyterian Blue Hose on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 6:30 p.m. The
Demon Deacons should expect to leave with a comfortable win against the Big South squad that went 2-9 last season, but Wake Forest head coach Dave Clawson emphasized in his press conference on Tuesday that the Football Champioinship Subdivision (FCS) school isn’t an opponent that his squad can overlook. “All the emotions of an opener will be there: excitement, anxiety and nervousness,” Clawson said. “Game ones are always mistake-driven games. That is why there are so many upsets early in the year.” Wake Forest has had mixed performances in season openers under Clawson, crushing Elon 41-3 in the 2015 season opener and narrowly defeating Tulane 7-3 in 2016. For what it’s worth, Clawson says, “This is the healthiest I can ever remember a football team bePhoto courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic communications ing through camp.” Wake Forest should The Wake Forest Football team comes together in a spirited huddle as the season move past the Blue Hose with ease de- opener rapidly approaches against Presbyterian. spite any first-game mistakes, 37-10. John Wolford as the first-string quar- for a late-game comeback repeat of last Sept. 9: Wake Forest at Boston Col- terback, solidifying Wolford’s status as a year. Additionally, Clawson believes that four-year starter for the Deacons. While Wake Forest’s running game is deeper lege Wake Forest fell to Boston College 17- than last year with the emergence of redThe second week of the season will see 14 in last year’s regular season finale, shirt freshman Arkeem Byrd, giving the the Deacons travel north to take on con- Wolford was able to toss two touch- Deacons a stronger two-pronged attack ference rival Boston College on Sept. 9 downs in the outing and Wake Forest than last year. While the Deacons will be tested on at 1:00 p.m. in a game that will serve as had a 14-0 lead going into the fourth a tune-up for Wake Forest’s later, more quarter. Boston College will enter the the road, expect a Wake Forest win with competitive games against ACC foes like season with two quarterbacks with just a score of 24-14. three games of total experience between Clemson and Florida State. Clawson recently announced senior them, severely limiting the potential See Football Predictions, Page 14
Men's soccer defeats first two teams The start of the 2017-2018 season has brought the Demon Deacon Soccer team two confident wins BY RAFAEL LIMA Contributing Writer limara17@wfu.edu As expected from the No. 2 team in the nation, Wake Forest secured their first win of the season in a matchup against Rutgers at the W. Dennie Spry Soccer Stadium. After a shaky first half, the Wake Forest team managed to score three goals in a 10-minute span. The team was led by the brilliant performances of Jon Bakero and Brandon Servania. Both players combined for a total of five assists and three goals. In the first half, Wake Forest started to dictate the game and apply heavy pressure on the Scarlet Knights, until they finally scored thanks to Jon Bakero. But despite the early dominance, Erik Sa for Rutgers scored during a free kick attempt to tie the game. After the goal by Sa, Wake Forest lost some of their rhythm and went into halftime in a tie. Coming out of the break, the Demon Deacons got back on track with consecutive goals by Servania and Logan Gdula. The game began to really open up, and the Demon Deacons triumphed with a final score of 5-1. After losing midfielders Harkes and Hayes to the MLS last season, one would expect their replacements to struggle at the start of the season, but due to the impressive perfor-
mance by Servania, Chol and Justin McMaster, the midfield is far from deterioration. When asked about Servania's performance Coach Muuss commented "It was first-class. What he did defensively to create the opportunities that we had to put Rutgers on their back foot. Him and Jon [Bakero] did a great job defensively tonight." He also added, "We pride ourselves on being a stingy, organized defensive team. We were not stingy during in the first half. Our kryptonite here and in the last three games [was] fouling good teams and good players in dangerous areas. It is worth pointing out that the Scarlet Knights lone score originated from a foul committed by Wake Forest just outside of the box. Following the first game, we interviewed Servania about his amazing first official game wearing old gold & black:
Talk about that connection between you and Jon Bakero, you guys did some pretty nice plays together. In preseason, I had a pass to him, but I took the shot instead. The same went for him. We [both] like to defend, and realized that in order for us to win games, we have to play with each other well. I am just glad we could score a few goals.
How is the feeling of officially playing for the first time as a Demon Deacon? It's crazy, I mean, it's a dream to be on such a great team. How about scoring the first two goals in your college career? I don’t worry about that. I came out and tried to do my best for my team, and it just happened to fall that way. Just gotta thank my teammates for working hard and hopefully there is more to come. What is the main area of the game do you think there is still room for improvement? I still think organization, especially on defense. The goal they scored on us, we weren't focused. I don't know, keep working hard.
Photo Courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic commnications
Freshman Brandon Servania from Birmingham, Alabama was named ACC Player of the Week.
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Old Gold & Black | Sports
Astros organization challenged by Hurricane Harvey As playoff race takes shape and individual performances impress, Houston is sobered by tragedy BY REN SCHMITT Sports Editor schmwm16@wfu.edu As baseball approaches its final month of the 2017 regular season, the postseason picture appears murkier than ever. While the Dodgers, Astros and Nationals reign atop their divisions, the rest of the division leaders will have to hold tightly to their delicate leads, as the league currently abounds with pertinacious clubs seeking to shake-up playoff races in their favor. In the American League, there are eight teams who either currently possess one of the two Wild Card slots or are within 3.5 games of a slot. Currently, the Yankees have homefield advantage in the Wild Card and would host the Minnesota Twins for the one-game playoff. The Twins will spend the remainder of the season fighting off the rest of the prospective Wild Card teams, including a surging Los Angeles Angels club. When the Angels lost reigning AL MVP Mike Trout for several weeks to a thumb injury at the end of May, there was a sense that they would be buried in the postseason race during his absence. The Angels, however, were able to play .500 baseball despite the injury thanks to Cameron Maybin, who performed fairly well in his stopgap centerfield gig, and Andrelton Simmons, who has quietly posted the second-best bWAR in all of baseball. While Simmons’ shortstop defense has astounded fans for years, his value as a hitter
was a question mark until this season, when he has raised his OPS to .787, 100 points higher than last season. Mike Trout, despite missing over a month due to injury, has continued to prove why some consider him to be the greatest player of his generation. Trout owns a remarkable .318/.452/.646 slash line and has posted a career-high 187 wRC+. Not to be outdone by Trout, Giancarlo Stanton has demonstrated that he might be the purest power hitter the league has seen since the steroid era. Stanton has hit 18 homers this month, which ties the big league record for home runs in August, and has totaled 51 this season. With a month left in the season, Roger Maris’s 1961 record of 61 home runs — a number untainted by steroid use — is well within reach, though Stanton would have to continue at his torrid pace to best Maris. With the help of this offensive outburst from Stanton, The Marlins have been able to move within 5.5 games of an NL Wild Card slot. While their offense rivals that of any team, their pitching staff has posted a paltry 4.64 ERA. Realistically, the Marlins could have solidified themselves as legitimate playoff contenders this season if not for the loss of Jose Fernandez, who had established himself as an ace before his death in September 2016. Fernandez posted a career ERA of 2.58, and his 2016 K/9 of 12.49 was the highest of career. The absence of a frontline starting pitcher in Miami causes one to question the feasibility of any success in the postseason, let alone the sustained fortitude in September they would require to claim the second Wild Card slot. There is no such absence in Boston, though, as the sheer dominance of southpaw Chris Sale has forced him not only into the Cy
Will Vragovic/ Tampa Bay Times/ TNS
The Astros and Rangers held a moment of silence before their game in St. Petersburg, FL. The game was originally to be a home game for Young conversation but also the AL MVP conversation. There is no shortage of worthy candidates in the AL, but Chris Sale’s 2.77 ERA, 2.00 FIP, 0.91 WHIP, 12.82 K/9, and fWAR of 7.9 bolster his case to become just the second pitcher to win the AL MVP since 1986. The other most enticing AL MVP candidate — now that Aaron Judge has regressed — is Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve. Altuve has slashed .355/.414/.563 in 2017, and his tremendous bat speed has allowed him to mash 20 homers in spite of his being the anti-Judge; he is listed at just 5’6, 165 pounds. Houston, while not as productive as they were pre-All Star break, still have a stranglehold on the AL West. Unfortunately for the club and the citizens of Houston, Hurricane
Harvey has flooded their city and home ballpark, forcing them to temporarily play their home games in St. Petersburg, Florida at Tropicana Field. Astros owner Jim Crane donated $4 million to relief efforts in Houston, and other athletes and owners have followed suit in support of the city and the daunting undertaking of its restoration. Sometimes baseball proves to represent more than just a game, and Hurricane Harvey serves as evidence that the contrived concepts of rivalry and the clan-like, “us and them” mentality that pervades both sport and society alike can indeed be eliminated, if only for a short time, when one remembers the universal inclusion we all share in the inexorable community of humanity.
Wake Forest XC team seeks winning culture in 2017 Wake Forest’s cross country program seeks to rebuild its roster and mentality while seeking to become an ACC force BY MAX HOFFMAN Contributing Writer hofmmt15@wfu.edu There is a sense of excitement surrounding this year’s Wake Forest cross country team as the squad seeks to make big strides and assert themselves as a competitive force in the ACC. This is all part of a complete program overhaul under second-year coaches John Hayes and Michelle Chewens, who have hopes of establishing a winning pedigree after some disappointing seasons in recent years. “One of the things I set out to do when I got here was to entirely change the culture and expectations of the team,” Hayes said. “We have made some big improvements and I believe we have great potential this year.” On the women’s side, this culture change is already in full effect under coach Michelle Chewens. After a 12th place finish at the ACC Championships in 2015, the team made the jump to 8th in 2016. This year, the women’s team returns three of their top five runners from last year’s squad, including junior Mimi Smith, sophomore Sam Halvorson, and senior Cate Allen — all of whom posted top 40 finishes at this past year’s ACC Championships. The women were also busy over the offseason, adding two important pieces in Hannah Brookover, a transfer sophomore from the University of Florida, and Eliza Lukens-Day, a graduate transfer from Brown University. Together with the returning core, Chewens hopes that both Brookover and Lukens-Day can help the team build on last year’s strong performance. “Going forward the expectation is that we’re consistently improving every year and in the next few years we’re competing at the top of the ACC,” Chewens said. “This
year I’d say placing in the top-half of the conference is definitely feasible.” On the men’s side, the bar is also set high despite a disappointing 13th place conference finish last year — a result Hayes deemed as “unacceptable.” “There’s no way to hide that 13th is not good,” Hayes said. “Expectations are much higher this year.” For the team to make a jump up the ACC standings it will rely on its depth, as the group sports eight to 10 runners capable of stepping up and leading the team. This includes junior Craig Corti, who led the Deacs with a 30th place finish at last year’s ACC Championships, and senior Sebastian Fischbach, the team’s top
runner in 2015, who will return after missing the 2016 season with injury. The team also welcomes standout freshmen Daniel Viegra from Texas and Mitchell Day from Michigan, who will both have opportunities to contribute early on. The season kicks off for the Deacons this Friday, September 1, at the Bull City Classic in Durham, N.C. The team will compete in seven meets throughout the season including the ACC Championships on Oct. 27 in Louisville, KY. By the end of the season, Hayes makes it no secret that he hopes the reputation of the team will be a little different. “We want to be known on campus,” Hayes said. “And not just as the team that sucks.”
Photo Courtesy of Wake Forest Sports Communications
Both the men’s and women’s cross country teams feature a core of returning runners and transfers from other universities. Each team hopes to improve its status among ACC rivals under new coaching.
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 13
Sports | Old Gold & Black
Spotlight: Essang Bassey BY KYLE FERRER & REN SCHMITT Sports Editors ferrka16@wfu.edu, schmwm16@wfu. edu Sophomore cornerback Essang Bassey has been an example of defensive success during this new era of Wake Forest football. During his short tenure here at Wake Forest, he has had a massive impact on the team’s defensive efforts, recording over 17 tackles last season as a freshman, as well as forcing a fumble. Bassey will be returning to the team this year prepared, focused, and excited about the future of Wake Forest Football.
What are your expectations for the team for this season? To just build off that win. You know, there were a few games that we struggled in, or might’ve had an L here or there, so we gotta get those dubs, and keep going to take the next step and take a seven-win to an eight, nine, or 10-win season. How different has your preseason and preparation been as a sophomore compared to when you were a freshman? Well, as a freshman, college football was a lot faster. Now things are slower. After this
camp, I have more of an understanding of how to play defense. Things are coming quicker, even though it’s a new defense. Things are still basic and the same. It’s just a lot quicker and easier for me.
The Football Team opens up against Presbyterian on Aug. 31. What has been the general mood around practice? Just real focused. We take on one game at a time, so all our focus has been on Presbyterian. Just focusing on the details-the little things. Even though they’re an Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) team, we can’t take ‘em lightly, so we’re making sure we’re really focused on everything. A lot of people are wondering about the competition between John Wolford and Kendall Hinton for the starting quarterback position. What different tools do you think each player brings to the field? Well, Hinton is obviously more mobile, so he has aspect you have to watch out for. But they’re both great quarterbacks. They both can throw it really well. Wo l f o r d likes to sit in the pocket more, so you gotta be more in tune in coverage, but, you know, they both can throw it. But Hinton definitely has that mobile ability about him. What would you say was the greatest lesson you learned about football during your freshman year? Just about how much of a process it is. Going from summer, when you first start, to fall camp, to throughout the season. You know, it truly is a process. You have to
focus on each little thing and you can’t get too wide of it. What NFL or college corner do you enjoy watching? Now one of my favorite corners is Brent Grimes, for the Bucks. Last year he was really good. He’s a small guy. What kind of activities do you like to do off the field? Hang out with my friends. Play PS4. GTA, NBA 2K, Madden. Do you have a message for the fans before the start of the season? Just that we need your support. We’d love to have your support each and every game. Stick with us and we’ll make you proud.
Personal Profile Hometown: Columbus, GA Position: Cornerback Height: 5-10 Year: Sophomore Major: Undecided Accolades: -Forced fumble in Military Bowl -High School Team Captain and first team All-State
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic communications
Deac Notes Servania named ACC Player of the Week for No. 2 Deacs On August 28, freshman midfielder Brandon Servania was named the ACC Player of the Week. Servania scored eight goals in his first two collegiate games. Servania is tied in for the national lead for both points and assists. The Demon Deacon’s next game is this Saturday at 8 versus Saint Louis.
Julian Zoblinsky joins Demon Deacon Tennis Roster The Wake Forest Tennis Team added Julian Zoblinsky to their roster for the 2017-2018 season. Zoblinsky is a junior transfer from the University of Texas, where he spent his first three seasons, acheiving a 31-19 record. Zoblinsky is a native of Greenvale, New York. He has been ranked as high as 90 in the ITF Junior Ranking.s He joins the Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Photo courtesy of Texas Sports Athletic Communications Deacs with two years left of eligibility.
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Old Gold & Black | Sports
Men’s soccer: Wake Forest starts season 2-0 Continued from Page 11
Wake Forest immediately started putting pressure on the other team that culminated in a nice pass from Eddie Folds to Luis Argudo who hit an open shot inside the box. A couple of minutes later, assisted by a Servania corner, Kevin Politz headed one in to increase the lead. This game, Wake Forest defended better and created offensive plays with more consistency. Considering that Providence has a more explosive attack than Rutgers, it was quite a feat that the Demon Deacons were able to keep them contained through the first half. It was the defensive job that coach Muss was talking about. To open the second half, Servania connected on a beautiful pass to Argudo, who scored his second goal. During the second half, Wake Forest didn’t show the defensive consistency that was the staple of the first half. Liam Wilson for Providence took advantage of a Wake Forest defensive miscue to score Providence’s lone goal on the match. Demon Deacon goalkeeper Mundet made various key saves to secure the Demon Deacon’s advantage. Jon Bakero, scored the final goal of the team’s eventual 4-1 win.Servania was able to execute at an extremely high level, entrusted by coach Muss to be the playmaker and facilitator for his teammates.. The freshman already has four assists in two matches, to go along with two goals scored. As of now, the defensive consistency is the only main concern. The Deacons did a fine defensive job, but seemed to go through fundamental lapses from time to time. Overall, the Demon Deacons had a pretty good start and got the job done during the first two home games. This season is just starting, but the team already have a lot of promising stories to keep a close eye on. If the first two games are any indication of where might be heading, great things are in store for this team. Wake Forest will play at St Louis for their first away game, this Saturday at 8:00 pm ET. The last time both teams faced each other was last season, during a 1-0 loss at home by the Deacs.
Brian Westerholt/Sports On Film
The 36-year-old Yankees’ lefty CC Sabathia is off to a great start this year with a 2-0 record and a 1.47 ERA.
Football: Wake Forest faces brutal ACC schedule Continued from Page 11 Sept. 16: Wake Forest vs. Utah State The last time Wake Forest played Utah State was in 2014, the debut season of Clawson and Wolford for the Deacons. Wake Forest fell 24-36 to the Utah State Aggies then, but the Wake Forest offense has improved leaps and bounds since that game. Wake Forest posted -25 rushing yards against the Aggies in 2014, a number that would seem unimaginable just 3 years later. Utah State is in the midst of rebuilding their defense, and Wake Forest will likely take advantage of the shakiness to come out on top, 28-20. Sept. 23: Wake Forest at Appalachian State The Sept. 23 game at Appalachian State will represent Wake Forest’s chance to equal their sizzling-hot 4-0 start of last season — within the context of this season, though, it will also represent the last game they’re expected to have a fighting chance in until they take on Syracuse on November 11 on the road. Wake Forest should be 3-0 entering this game and have an abundance of momentum, but Appalachian State is known for upsetting higher-ranked opponents, and Wake Forest will have their work cut out for them against last
season’s Sun Belt conference champions. Wake Forest will win this matchup, 24-21. Sept. 30: Wake Forest vs. Florida State Florida State’s 17-6 win last season against Wake Forest looks promising for a hungry Deacon team on paper eager to seek revenge this year, but smart money says that the Seminoles will come out on top once again this year. Second-year Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois will have another year to prove himself as one of the elite quarterbacks in the country, and Florida State’s incredibly difficult schedule should allow them to prepare well for the Deacons. However, an upset here would do wonders for Wake Forest’s confidence and record, and anything is possible at home. The final score will favor the Seminoles, though, 27-16. Oct. 7: Wake Forest at Clemson Wake Forest will take on Clemson at the midpoint of the season, and will likely have be rebounding from a bruising contest against the Florida State Seminoles. Last season’s Heisman-winning quarterback Deshaun Watson has moved onto the NFL, but the Clemson Tigers are expected to once again lead the ACC with a potent offense. Expect Wake Forest to struggle early on in this game as they adjust to Clemson’s Death Valley atmosphere and fall 45-14.
Brian Westerholt/Sports on Film
Senior quarterback John Wolford will begin his final season as the starter of the Demon Deacons after leading last year’s team to a Military Bowl victory over Temple.
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 15
Sports | Old Gold & Black
ESPN reassigns announcer Robert Lee before UVA game Asian-American announcer Robert Lee removed from UVA football coverage due to fear of outrage BY DANIEL PACHINO Staff Writer pachdb15@wfu.edu
Following the recent events involving nationalists and neo-Nazi’s in Charlottesville, VA, ESPN announced that one of its employees would no longer be broadcasting the opening football game between the University of Virginia (UVA) and William & Mary College in Charlottesville. The reason for this decision: because the announcer’s name is Robert Lee — the same as the infamous general of the Confederate army during the Civil War. In a press release statement, ESPN announced “We collectively made
the decision with Robert to switch games as the tragic events in Charlottesville were unfolding, simply because of the coincidence of his name. In that moment it felt right to all parties. It’s a shame that this is even a topic of conversation and we regret that who calls play by play for a football game has become an issue.” In the days following the decision, ESPN has received a lot of feedback, both positive and negative, for its decision to pull Lee from the game. Supporters of the decision believe ESPN was right to do this and it shows they stand in solidarity with the victims of the recent events in Charlottesville. On the flip side, people against ESPN’s decision to remove Lee from the game say ESPN comes off as a soft in this decision and the company is too focused on promoting an image of political cor-
rectness for themselves. Additionally, denouncers of the decision say had ESPN left Lee on the Sept. 2 game, hardly anyone would have noticed the connection between the two and nobody would be offended by listening to an Asian American announcer with the same name of the Confederate army general broadcast a college football game. This all ties in with the recent politicization of sports and sports media. NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has dominated headlines in sports for the past year not for his play on the field but for using his fame as an NFL player to voice his political opinions on the poor treatment of African Americans in America. He received a lot of backlash and was often called “un-American” for his protests when he decided to kneel during the National Anthem before games. This has
been a dominant story in the news for the past year and plays a big role
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
in why Kaepernick is still unemployed even though his talent is very deserving of an NFL roster spot. Many people are very disappointed with the recent politicization of sports media. Many consumers of sports media are beginning to ask these outlets like ESPN and Fox Sports to simply “stick to sports” instead of turning something potentially subtle like this Robert Lee situation into a full-blown political discussion.
Three Demon Deacons fulfill dreams of playing pro basketball Collins enters the NBA as the 19th overall pick as Mitoglou and Arians sign contracts in Europe BY KYLE TATICH Production Manager tatika14@wfu.edu
John Collins and Dinos Mitoglou both opted to forgo their respective junior and senior seasons and joined graduate transfer Austin Arians as the next three Demon Deacons to follow their dreams of playing professional basketball.
Betsy Mann/ Old Gold & Black
Wake Forest forward Konstantinos “Dinos” Mitoglou averaged 8.9 ppg and 6.1 rpg last season.
Collins was selected by the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 19 pick in the draft and Mitoglou signed with Panathinaikos, one of the best basketball clubs in all of Europe. Arians, who played for Wake Forest during the 2016-2017 season, signed a deal with BC Khimik Yuzhny, to continue his basketball career in Ukraine. John Collins began his Wake Forest career under the radar — as only the third highest rated recruit in the 2015 Wake Forest recruiting class (Doral Moore and Bryant Crawford). As a consensus three-star recruit out of West Palm Beach, FL, ranked as the 161st best national prospect by 247 Sports, many believed Collins possessed the potential to have a great Demon Deacon career. Few, however, could have fathomed that in just two seasons, the 6-10 forward would climb through the ranks to become a first round pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. On Thursday, June 22, Collins did what was once considered unfathomable, as the Atlanta Hawks selected the Wake Forest big man with the 19th overall pick. Collins made the Demon Deacon faithful proud, and proved that coach Danny Manning is truly one of the nation’s best in developing young talent.
Manning joined Collins as a special guest at Thursday’s draft in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., and believes the newest addition of the Hawks will have a “great” career. Collins’ selection by the Hawks has a special Demon Deacon connection as part owner and Wake Forest alumnus Mit Shah (’91) was able to bring in Collins as the next component of a franchise that seeks to improve by identifying and developing young talent. Collins dominated the ACC in the 2016-2017 season, receiving first team accolades, in addition to the recognition as the league’s Most Improved Player. The sophomore led the Demon Deacons with 19.2 points and 9.8 rebounds per game and was the only Division I basketball player to average at least 19 points and nine rebounds. Collins finished the year with 17 double-doubles and the highest player efficiency rating in the country — the second highest overall since 2009. With his 19th overall selection, Collins becomes the 14th Wake Forest player taken in the first round, notably joining Muggsy Bogues, Rodney Rogers, Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, Jeff Teague and Al-Farouq Aminu as the next exceptional
Demon Deacons to achieve such an accomplishment.
Brad Penner/ USA TODAY Sports
Johns Collins was nothing short of a superstar for Wake Forest during the 2016-17 season, when he nearly averaged a double-double, posting 19.2 ppg and 9.8 rpg.
LIFE
T H U R S D AY, A U G U S T 3 1 , 2 0 17
PAG E 16
O n l i n e at : w w w. w f u o g b . c o m e d i t o r : Nicholas DeMayo, demanj14@wfu.edu
OLD GOLD & BLACK
Good Time and the maturation of a teenage heartthrob The new movie shows off Robert Pattinson’s acting range and creative capabilities in his role as Connie, a maddeningly-kinetic criminal with an emotional gravitas
BY KYLE FERRER Sports Editor ferrka16@wfu.edu We are all familiar with Robert Pattinson, the golden-eyed heartthrob who brought every teenage girl’s celebrity obsession to a fever pitch. But Twilight, the 2008 movie based on Stephanie Meyer’s novel, lumped Pattinson into a certain category, one where many young stars go to live out their careers in pretty boy oblivion, yet also where their seriousness as an actor is never questioned, because is it never asked for. Since then, Pattinson has been trying to claw his way out of this archetype. He has taken lesser-grossing roles with director’s like David Cronenberg and James Gray in an attempt to restore faith in his actual acting ability. And it’s beginning to work. Pattinson stars in the new Safdie brothers film Good Time as Connie, a seedy, jittery, smooth-talking criminal who lives in the underworld of New York City. Connie has a brother, Nick, who is “mentally handicapped.” He is Nick’s quasi-caretaker, vested with touching emotional and familial piety. But he is dubious of his brother’s psychiatrist, as well as the sort of glancing healthcare Nick seems to receive. In the film’s opening scene, Connie bursts in on Nick’s session with his therapist, an establishing tableau that is a window into Connie’s loving attitude toward his brother; however it is impudent and unconventional. The plot itself is not an unusual one. The two brothers rob banks — or rather, Connie robs banks — or rather, Connie is a low-level criminal who just happens to be filling his money-void by robbing a bank. The point is, there’s nothing elaborate about Connie’s schemes. He is the sort of fait accompli illegal operator many viewers are accustomed to in film — and in life, unfortunately. But the bank robbery that takes place at the beginning is botched. After Connie and Nick steal the money, the brothers are walking, heads down, through the city and a cop pulls up. He asks where they are going. Nick, skittish and scared, runs. Connie eventually gets away, but Nick unwittingly sprints through a plate glass window and is arrested, unconscious and bleeding. The rest of the film is dedicated to Connie’s adventure through the underworld of New York City to obtain bond money for his brother. Connie solicits money from what seems to be an ex-girlfriend/really close friend who typically doesn’t seem to know the difference, and is quite unhinged. She is played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, who injects the character with glorious insanity.
Among other things, Connie also has a disastrous hospital visit, and an amusement park debacle, all ending up in something that must be seen to be believed. While the plot of the film is somewhat conventional, there is a visual current the film rides that makes it a really enjoyable aesthetic experience. It is as if the Safdie’s took the cinematography of a movie like La La Land, or the calmer version of color in the final fireworks scene in Blowout, and instead of mimicking their conviviality and saturation, simply flipped them over and used their seedy, neon underbelly. There is plenty of darkness, plenty of color reflection on the actor’s faces, that makes the film low-lit, kinetic, and, in a perverse way, quite beautiful. It is a film at once jittery and in-constant-motion, while also inhabiting a sort of nocturnal schizophrenia, a meth-addict’s darting dream. I believe this is what the two Safdie brothers were looking for, to portray the real gestalt of New York’s teeming, nutty (but nonetheless real) underworld. Growing up in both Queens and Manhattan, the Safdies are familiar with the undergirding of the New York scene, filled with drugs and petty crime that is pulled together by near-farcical criminal personas. Pattinson himself looks nothing like anything I’ve ever seen him in. He is shaggy-haired, bugeyed, and extremely affecting — nothing like his robotic, narcotized vampire roles of movies past. He is a criminal in the tradition of Lumet’s Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon: frenetic, passionate and somewhat clumsy in his efforts. He is the guy who, during the entire heist, is shouting letsgo-letsgo-letsgo!, eyes whizzing like flies.
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
Pattinson is quick-witted, smart and also highly likeable. Nick is played by Benny Safdie, who brings the appropriate misanthropic sadness only someone acting handicapped can. His performance is as understatedly powerful as Pattinson’s extroversion is impressive. Good Time is a movie you have seen before. A bank robbery predicament and various relationship crises all wrapped in a titillating drama. But the Safdie brothers do something with this film I haven’t seen before. They paint a picture of the destruction of the lowermiddle class that is powerfully realistic and moving in its aesthetic. You are constantly anticipating, with a pit in your stomach, the next ill-conceived plot Connie is going to try to execute. And you are carried along by the close-cropped camera work, overhead tracking shots and neon beauty of the Safdie lighting and cinematography. If you like conventional stories with artistic triumph and compositional deviation, Good Time is a must. Conversely, if you just want to see what your teenage heartthrob is up to, that’s OK, too. Either way, get to a theater and enjoy the maddeningly enjoyable entropy that is Good Time.
Photo courtesy of imdb.com.com
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 17
Album Review | Lana del Rey
“Lust for Life” introduces a new del Rey In her latest album, Lana del Rey explores issues of love, privilege and hope. BY MADISON ZEHMER Staff Writer zehmml16@wfu.edu Since the video for her single “Video Games” went viral in 2011, Lana del Reyhas established herself as the go-to tragic, femme fatale, alternative-pop singer of our era. She regularly sings about Hollywood, drugs, doomed relationships and identity crises. She certainly has found a niche for herself: her hip-hop influenced, electric guitar embellished, darkly cinematic songs with moody and even downright disturbing lyrics are easily recognizable. Del Rey’s new album “Lust for Life” continues to employ these familiar tactics while expanding her point of view. While del Rey’s former albums have focused on her persona, she acknowledges in “Lust for Life” that there are bigger concerns outside of her bad-boy Hollywood bubble. “Lust for Life” opens with the single “Love,” a hopeful song in which del Rey reflects on the attitude of today’s youth and the common desire to be in love and be loved. The title track “Lust for Life,” featuring The Weeknd, counters del Rey’s
former cynicism in favor of celebrating life’s possibilities. “Cherry” is catchy and biting, utilyzing hip-hop influences to create a sense of agitated longing. “White Mustang” is one of my particular favorites from the album. Like “13 Beaches,” its beauty is in its simplicity, and it has an absolutely gorgeous melody and hook. “Summer Bummer” and “Groupie Love,” featuring A$AP Rocky, are familiar in theme but are enhanced in style by A$AP Rocky’s contributions. Where del Rey has often playing hopeless damsel in distress in the past, “In My Feelings” shows her baring her teeth at her troubled ex-lover. “Coachella — Woodstock On My Mind” is a reflection on the privilege she experiences in the midst of international tensions. “God Bless America — And All of the Beautiful Women In It” is rather tongue-in-cheek, although the track clearly celebrates women. The two gun shots that sound after she sings “God Bless America” are telling. “When The World Was At World We Kept Dancing” has a gorgeous, ethereal chorus, and seems to be a call to action. However, I wasn’t particularly impressed by her collaborations with Stevie Nicks, “Beautiful People Beautiful Problems,” and Sean Ono Lennon, “Tomorrow Never Came.” They aren’t bad, but they aren’t outstanding or very interesting either. “Heroin,” with its hard-hitting songwrit-
ing, disturbing but interesting references and a startling but catchy chorus, is my favorite song on the album. In “Change,” del Rey describes some of the insights she’s had and how she’s become more willing to consider other perspectives and change her thoughts and behavior. “Get Free” is hard for me to listen to because I think it sounds too much like “Creep” by Radiohead, which I’m sure was the intention, but I think it was overdone. Overall, more so than any of her other albums, “Lust for Life” reflects its time period, in addition to del Rey’s usual themes of hedonism, isolation, failing relationships and introspection. In addition, she seems to have a sense of hope and optimism not found in her previous works as she reflects on what she can to do help our world in this tumultuous time.
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Life | Old Gold & Black
Top Ten Best Things about Syllabus Week Wait, do we even have a syllabus week? Anyway, take a look back on this first week at Wake 1. Desirable all-nighters 2. Nap time all day, every day 3. Not caring about “fun facts” 4. Sunbathing is still a possibility 5. You still have money left from summer
Photo courtesy of iTunes.com
Del Rey follows up 2015 album “Honeymoon” with reflective “Lust for Life.”
6. Wake Forest vs. Presbyterian 7. The freshmen are still too afraid to go to the gym 8. A new and improved Pit!
Event Review | Lilting Banshees
Lilting Banshees kick off school year The comedy troupe kept the audience laughing throughout its 15 student-written skits BY MCKENZIE MADDOX Editor-in-Chief maddml14@wfu.edu Broyhill Auditorium was filled with laughter as the 17 members of the Lilting Banshee Comedy Troupe hit the stage with their annual back-to-school performance on Tuesday, Aug. 29. The theater was packed during both of the hour-and-a-half long shows at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. As the Banshees shuffled through their more light-hearted skits, the crowd erupted as troupe members galloped across the stage as elementary school students pretending to be horses on the playground. Smiles filled the auditorium as the troupe showcased a stereotypical example of girls interacting in the bathroom of a fraternity party and highlighted the struggles of Greek and non-Greek interaction at the bus stop waiting for Wake Downtown. Because performance was geared towards welcoming freshmen students to Wake Forest, the troupe exaggerated the personalities of different Greek organizations and played on the nervous emotions that many first-year students experience. The troupe members acted out a stereotypical example of the struggles that freshmen boys face trying to secure rides to a fraternity and repeatedly reminded its audience to always bring ping pong balls to every party.
However, unlike many other previous shows, this show’s repertoire of skits boasted some more darker humor. Playing on the dual meaning of roast, one of the skits had the actors sit in a coffee shop and receive a “roast,” or criticism, based on the type of “roast,” light, medium or dark, their coffee was. In addition, through a series of three vignettes, the Banshees acted out scenes portraying different life moments, such as a wedding engagement, job promotion and the verdict of a medical illness, where one of the actors was thinking they were about to receive great news and were rather met by terrible news and a flash mob. Overall, the comical mix of light-hearted and dark humor made the show extremely captivating from start to finish. The Lilting Banshees, led by senior Sam Ederle, is a student-run organization that performs three comedy shows a year with two in the fall and one in the spring. “Being director of the Lilting Banshees for my senior year in this Troupe is everything I hoped for and more,” Ederle said. “The members of this troupe make life on this campus fun, crazy, weird and awesome all while continuing to create great comedy. We just had an amazing show and I can’t wait to finish auditions and start the process all over again with our new members.” Yet all of the jokes don’t just take place on stage. The banshees spend multiple hours before the start of school writing and preparing for their performances. “Every year you gain a little bit more con-
9. Professors do not hate you, yet
10. Campus Grounds opened back up
Courtesy of Nicholas DeMayo
Drink of the Week Photo courtesy of The Lilting Banshees
The troupe intermixed light-hearted and dark-humored skits in their first show. fidence as a writer and a performer, so it’s exciting to get up on stage and perform as a senior,” said senior Ellie King. “That being said, it’s difficult to grasp that this show is one of the last that the seniors will perform in as banshees. The troupe has been an integral part of my time at Wake Forest, and I know for certain that Banshees has opened my eyes to a whole number of possibilities after graduation, too.” Other seniors on the troupe echoed the same excitement for the new year. “I can’t really comprehend that I only have two shows left with the Banshees,” said senior Meghan Shannon. “I’m so grateful to have had the chance the spend the past three years laughing with some of my favorite people on campus. Welcome to Wake is the perfect way to start off our last year with the troupe and I hope that everyone loves it the way we have the past two weeks.”
Cold-Brew Coffee • 1 lb. of Krankies House Roast • 1 gal. of water • 12 hours Serve over ice and with a little half-and-half Courtesy of Campus Grounds
Page 18 | Thursday, August 31, 2017
Old Gold & Black | Life
Advice Column | Skydiving
Skydiving helps student take risks and fight While many wait until they are older to complete the items on their bucket lists, some students decide to take the jump BY RAVEN MCCORKLE Staff Writer mccorc16@wfu.edu
Don’t wait until you’re about to kick the bucket to start doing things on your bucket list. As someone who is deathly afraid of literally everything, trust me, I know this advice is hard to follow. As someone who is crazy, however, I decided to go skydiving a few weeks ago. Let me tell you, there is nothing scarier than letting a stranger push you out of a plane at 10,000 feet while you plummet to your death at 125 miles per hour. But don’t let that scare you. Now I know what you’re thinking: “Why in the world would anyone decide to do that?” It’s simple. I’m afraid of heights. When I say I’m afraid of heights, I mean I’m afraid of heights. On our 10th grade field trip to New York, I sat in the middle of the room at the top of the Empire State Building and cried my eyes out while rocking back and forth in a fetal position. Flash forward to a few months ago, and I’m sitting in my room thinking, “you know what would be cool? Jumping out of a plane!” I immediately texted my boyfriend who is more afraid of heights than I am and asked if he wanted to go sky-
diving. He agreed, and on Aug. 6, when we were riding up in a rickety plane that was too small for the pilot, me, my boyfriend and the skydiving instructors Frank and Josh, we were having too many second thoughts to name. Seriously, I was saying a prayer to every god I could think of and hoping I hadn’t done anything to anyone to make karma “get me.” My boyfriend, Will, jumped first. You know when you’re driving, and there is a bug in the car, so you let down your window and the bug flies out at a trillion miles per hour? Yeah. That is what happened to Will. One minute he was there, and the next minute, he was gone. Then I was being waddled to the edge of the plane like a baby in one of those little baby harnesses strapped to the front of its mom. Frank, my instructor, told me to put my foot on the step on under the wing of the plane. My legs looked like paper flying in the wind, and no matter what I did, my legs would not stay on that step. The next thing I knew, I was not in the plane anymore, and it became very real to me that I was falling to the earth. Katy Perry was right. I felt like a paper bag drifting through the wind. After the initial shock, however, I was amazed. I remember thinking, “There is a very real possibility that I could die right now. But I’m totally okay with it.” After the freefall, when Frank pulled the parachute, everything went calm and silent. I finally caught my breath and tried to take in the view after knowing I had just jumped out of a plane.
When we finally landed, I knew immediately that I wanted to do it again. That is pretty much all that I remember, because I’m pretty sure that I was so afraid for my life that my mind blacked out for a while. Judging from the videos and pictures, however, it was a really fun time. A word of advice: if something is on your bucket list, or you’ve had even a sliver of a thought of wanting to do something crazy, do it. Don’t wait until you’re kicking the bucket to live your life to the fullest. Trust me, I’m the crazy girl who free fell at 10,000 feet from a moving airplane.
Raven McCorkle/Old Gold & Black
Skydiving from 10,000 feet at 125 miles per hour just might be the greatest thing you ever
Travel Column | Savannah, Ga.
Explore the history and local culture of Savannah The Peach State boasts of many great cities, but one stands above the rest for its laid-back vibe, support of small businesses and walkability
BY NICHOLAS DEMAYO Life Editor demanj14@wfu.edu
For those tired of the Wake Forest bubble, just a fivehour car ride can take you to a city where you can enjoy the fantastic combination of beach, city, food and fun. That city is Savannah, Ga. Like other cities in the Southeast, Savannah is historic. Having been the home of a few famous Americans such as Flannery O’Connor and the setting of some great movies such as Forrest Gump, Savannah has some incredible sights. But its not just a touristy town; Savannah has a culture that supports small business, local products and enjoys the beauty of being close to the shore. The town is super walkable, with the area of its historic center measuring only a few square miles. Because of its small size, Savannah is easy to walk through and see in one day — and maybe one extra day if you want to explore the nearby beaches at Tybee Island. Every morning, and especially every morning in the city, should begin with coffee. To that end, I recommend visiting the Savannah Coffee Roasters — you will know them as the one with the ship on their logo. They offer the widest variety of coffee blends and special single origin roasts that I have ever seen, as well as a full selection of espresso and pastries. After your coffee, I suggest taking a nice walk through the town. Starting at Forsyth Park just south of the city
center and walking toward the Savannah River will take you about a half hour. Along the way, treat yourself to some ice cream at Leopold’s. This famous ice cream parlor serves it the classic way, with a full service soda fountain to make floats, shakes and malts. I recommend getting an ice cream sandwich between two homemade chocolate chip cookies. And while you are there, there’s a ton of movie memorabilia to admire on the walls. The autographed photos of several famous actors adorn the walls, and famous lyricist Johnny Mercer made Leopold’s his favorite local haunt. Lines can get long at this historic shop, opened in 1919. But it is definitely worth the wait. As you make your way toward the Savannah River, you will see the huge court house on the water, and
maybe even stop by one of the local pubs on the water’s edge. But if you continue down just a bit on Bay Street and turn on to Bryan Street, you will get to the City Market. The City Market is a couple blocks long and dressed in cobblestones. Restaurants and little shops invite you in from every side, and walking through is a delight as all cars are blocked from entering. It is the best place in the city to enjoy a drink and maybe a slice of pizza at the quirky Vinnie Van Go-Go’s pizza shop. With a belly full of pizza and ice cream, you have just completed your stroll around Savannah, Georgia. In my experience, the town is incredibly charming with a local culture that is super laid back and supportive of small businesses.
Nicholas DeMayo/Old Gold & Black
Savannah, Ga. sits at the mouth of the Savannah River and the Atlantic Ocean, giving it scenic views of the sea along with a number of local seaside joints to stop along its famous River Street.
Life | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, August 31, 2017 | Page 19
Humor Column | Political Quotes
Politicians may not say what they mean Some politicians leave us with brilliant glimmers of wisdom, while others baffle us with some not-so-enlightening quotes BY AMANDA WILCOX News Editor wilcaf16@wfu.edu
When it comes to memorable presidential quotes, most of us might think of “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country” or “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!” Yet over the years, our politicians and elected leaders have provided us with sage guidance for just about any aspect of life. But in the wise words of Lloyd Bentsen, proven that they are “no Jack Kennedy.” Here are a few highlights. On the promise of future generations: “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?” -George W. Bush On lovable nicknames: “They don’t call me Tyrannosaurus Sex for nothing.” -Ted Kennedy On making progress: “I believe we are on an irreversible trend towards more freedom and democracy — but that could change.” -Dan Quayle On traveling to new and exciting destinations: “I’ve now been in 57 states — I think one left to go.” -Barack Obama “It’s wonderful to be here in the great state of Chicago.” -Dan Quayle
On getting credit where credit is due: “They misunderestimated me.” -George W. Bush On existential crises: “It depends on what the meaning of the word ‘is’ is.” -Bill Clinton On the status quo: “Things are more like they are now than they have ever been.” -Gerald Ford On shameless self-confidence: “If you don’t mind smelling like peanut butter for two or three days, peanut butter is darn good shaving cream.” -Barry Goldwater On the Beatitudes: “Blessed are the young, for they shall inherit the national debt.” -Herbert Hoover On the enumerated powers of Article I: “‘What right does Congress have to go around
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times/TNS
George W. Bush, along with other politicians, are known for humorous shortcomings.
making laws just because they deem it necessary?” -Marion Barry On serving your country: “The President is going to lead us out of this recovery.” -Dan Quayle On covering up your tracks: “It could have been spinach dip or something.” -Monica Lewinsky On getting pulled over for speeding: ‘‘As you well know, Mr. President, railroad carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed.” -Martin van Buren On modern technological conveniences: “By the way, you may have seen that I have recently launched a Snapchat account. I love it — those messages disappear all by themselves.” -Hillary Clinton On epistemological debates: “Reports that say something hasn’t happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” -Donald Rumsfeld On learning something new every day of your life: “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy.” -Nancy Pelosi On being comfortable with your shortcomings: “Goodbye from the world’s biggest polluter!” -George W. Bush
Music Review | Manchester Bands
Two legendary indie-rock bands share influences Joy Division and The Smiths both arose from the Manchester, U.K. music scene, and their styles share many similarities BY HARRISON MCCAMY Staff Writer mccajh14@wfu.edu
Bands are often linked to one another by fans, whether it be through their sound, lyrical content, location or some other factor — but this association is often not appreciated. Joy Division & The Smiths share such linkage due to their similar lineup, melancholic lyricism, time period and location. The two Manchester bands garnered cult followings in the Manchester area that eventually spread throughout the world. When asked on their linkage, Johnny Marr, former guitarist of the Smiths, stated that the one thing The Smiths shared with Joy Division is that they are both “guitar groups,” commenting that while Joy Division was often associated with the Manchester sound outside of Manchester, Marr believed that there was no “particular Manchester sound.” While Marr, in a 1985 television show, seemed indifferent on Joy Division and their connection, Morrissey, former singer and lyricist of the Smiths, appeared more critical of Joy Division. On the other hand, former Joy Division bassist Peter Hook stated in a recent interview that both bands “make great music” and that he found Joy Division’s music better than the Smiths’ but that their vocals were “on par” with each other. Hook also insinuated that at the time he did not appreciate The
Smiths as he does now. Joy Division & The Smiths are also often grouped with The Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. While Joy Division is now known as a critically acclaimed, widely respected, serious band, they got their origins after guitarist Bernard Sumner met Peter Hook at a 1976 Sex Pistols concert, with Ian Curtis and drummer Stephen Morris joining after responding to advertisements. The band quickly became known for their dark lyricism baritone singing, menacing guitar, riff based bass and powerful drumming — with a drummer that knew the importance of rests. At live shows, the band was notorious for dressing as if they were going to an office job, having short sets with little to no crowd interaction and Curtis’ unique dancing style. While some of this upset early fans, many did not realize Curtis’ declining health prevented him from being able to perform arduous concerts. Though only releasing two albums during their time as a band, both became iconic musically, as well as for their artwork — particularly their 1979 debut Unknown Pleasures. After the tragic passing of Curtis, the remainder of the band continued to form the more commercially successful new wave band New Order. The Smiths, a pop band driven largely on the songwriting abilities of Morrissey and Johnny Marr, rose to fame by utilizing melodic and technical guitar playing, a powerful rhythm section consisting of bassist Andy Rourke and drummer Mike Joyce and mesmerizing vocals with a taste for witty criticism of pop culture, the British monarchy, and other types of music. Morrissey is an outspoken animal rights activist and
Photo courtesy of iTunes.com
Unknown Pleasures represents the beginning of the great “guitar groups” of Manchester. critic of the monarchy, naming their 1985 and 1986 studio albums Meat is Murder and The Queen is Dead, respectively. Since their breakup in 1987, each member has pursued a solo career and made appearances in late night programming, with Marr joining Modest Mouse for their 2007 album We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank as well as appearing on the television show Portlandia. Their music became an important aspect to the 2009 film (500) Days of Summer starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel.
Page 20 | Thursday, August 31, 2017
Old Gold & Black | Life
Fiddlin’ Fish opens in downtown Winston-Salem The new brewing company takes on the other “big fish” in Winston-Salem, but holds its own when it comes to great atmosphere and awesome beer BY NICHOLAS DEMAYO Life Editor demanj14@wfu.edu Now that Winston-Salem has basically become the craft/micro-brewery capital of North Carolina, you might be surprised to hear that a newcomer on the scene is punching above their weight to take on the establishment brews. The new brewery, located on Trade Street, is called Fiddlin’ Fish Brewing Company, and it opened to its first customers just over a week ago.
Nicholas DeMayo/Old Gold & Black
A turn around the corner from Marshall Street will take you right up to the Big Winston Warehouse, a huge complex of local craft food artisans such as Black Mountain Chocolate and Chad’s Chai. Those familiar with area also know that Wise Man Brewing opened its doors right down the block just about one year ago. So why would the owners, Stuart Barnhart and David Ashe choose to move in so close to other craft-beer competition? Simply put, it’s because the place is marvelous.
Housing a walk-up bar and immense patio-style seating, the brewing company has made the atmosphere feel casual and fun. Whereas other brewers may come off as intimidating to the amatuer beer conneiseur, Fiddlin’ Fish presents a super simple menu for its patrons carved into wood for a modest, outdoors style. This outdoors style extends to the back wall of the huge seating area, where a mural depicting a guitar-shredding troubadour and giant fish gives a similar impression as public art. It is almost as if the brewery was built around the mural, the hip and folksy centerpiece of a hip and folksy brewing company. The atmosphere continues to impress as patrons may sit with their beers and choose to watch a sporting event on a few of many flat-screen televisions. Social drinkers may also enjoy playing a board game or card game with their squad. The games are available for everyone to use in a communal style. The patio-style seating invites mixing and mingling with other customers, further contributing to the more-casual and overall less-intimidating vibe of Fiddlin’ Fish. But, of course, there’s beer. Seven varieties, to be exact, which include five of the original brews plus a couple seasonal offerings and one-time treats. I tasted almost all of them, starting with the Ardmore Amber. This Englishstyle amber ale is malty, with notes of caramel and hazelnut. It’s a great choice. Another offering that would satisfy your malt craving is the Black Mountain Chocolate Stout. Actually brewed with Black Mountain cocoa nibs, this beer has a smooth, creamy body that leads in with chocolate, but keeps you interested with hints of mocha and a slight bitterness. As for beers that fall on the hoppy end of the spectrum, I would recommend the Double IPA for its bold hop character that went down with a surprisingly fruity aftertaste. This beer is meant to be savored as it is served in a 10 ounce glass rather than a 16 ounce pint. Sniff
this one, as the hops are bright, fresh and floral. Also, given its 8.9 percent ABV, you will definitely want to take your time. On the other hand, if you are looking to enjoy a couple pints over a long evening of hanging out, then the Camel City Session IPA would suit you well. A “session” ale is just one with a lower ABV, and with the lower alcohol-content comes a lighter body that is as easy to drink as it is full of juicy pineapple and citrus flavors. One should never drink on an empty stomach — and to that end Fiddlin’ Fish brings in several local food trucks offering a variety of cuisines, such as La Vie en Rose, Bahtmobile and Taqueria Luciano’s. I was blessed with the presence of Taqueria Luciano’s when I visited, who made some of the best-seasoned barbacoa tacos I’ve ever had. Their menu is incredibly large while their prices are modestly small. I would say more, but I feel as if a whole feature on just their truck alone would not do them justice.
Nicholas DeMayo/Old Gold & Black
With the support of local food trucks and of Black Mountain Chocolate, Fiddlin’ Fish has already begun on the right foot, or should I say the right fin, with Winston-Salem locals. Their casual atmosphere combined with their communal games and use of local products represent some of the best aspects of the Winston-Salem craft-brewery scene. And for that reason, I believe that the newest brewery in town should have no problem Nicholas DeMayo/Old Gold & Black competing with the big fish in our little pond.