News: Camino’s arrival impacts Campus Grounds Page 5
Opinion: Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death threatens democracy Page 8
Sports: Deacons come up short to NC State Page 11
Life: Lizzy McAlpine debuts first album Page 18
Old Gold&Black
WAKE FOREST’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1916 VOL. 107, NO. 5
T H U R S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 24 , 2 0 2 0 “Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
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Code of Conduct regulates student life The public health addendum has led to a higher volume of student hearings this semester BY RAFAEL LIMA News Editor limara17@wfu.edu
Katie Fox/Old Gold & Black
Seventy-seven percent of Wake Forest students are registered on the SneezSafe app, a figure that could look higher when considering students who are attending classes on campus. Yet, daily usage rates stand to improve.
SneezSafe helps contain COVID-19 on WFU campus
The daily symptoms survey aids health officials to detect early cases of COVID-19 at Wake Forest BY ISABELLA MASON Contributing Writer masoif20@wfu.edu As of Wednesday, Sept. 23, the COVID-19 cases on campus have continued to rise to 127 cases, though the rate of increase in cases has decreased by 17.1% in comparison to the previous week. With the university’s promises of an improved COVID-19 dashboard, many students continue to check the dashboard daily. Starting Tuesday, Sept. 22, a new feature has been added to the dashboard, which was highly requested among the student body. This feature shows the COVID-19 Asymptomatic Sample Testing data, which represents only the testing done through surveillance random testing, rather than students who came to Student Health Services with symptom concerns.
Tuesday’s data demonstrates a 1% positive testing rate among asymptomatic students, with a total of 1,258 tests being performed randomly thus far, resulting in 13 positive test results. Over the past week, 600 surveillance tests have been done, yielding three positive test results and a 0.5% positive test rate. One of the most prominent ways that the university is able to get a greater view of students’ health is through the SneezSafe app, which is a web app engineered by Wake Forest Baptist Health and the university itself, designed to be a screening tool for symptoms of COVID-19. According to Cheryl Walker, acting executive director for news and communications, 77% of students are registered for SneezSafe. This figure refers to all students, graduate and undergraduate, on and off campus. It is important to note that many students remain off campus for the semester and as such can request exemptions from registering for SneezSafe. Still, SneezSafe is proving to be a useful tool for many university officials who
Wake Forest has successfully kept campus open since move-in started on Aug. 17, a timeline that sounds short but is on the longer side of higher education in-person operations in North Carolina when considering the early switch to online learning seen at UNC Chapel-Hill and NC State. Yet, despite achieving larger compliance from students, faculty and staff over the past month, police reports of students breaking social distancing and safety rules have also been a frequent occurrence this semester. As of Tuesday, the Office of the Dean of Students has received 281 reports of possible COVID-19 violations on campus through the university’s COVID-19 Health and Safety Compliance Form, a platform that allows students to anonymously report on COVID-19 violations.
See Conduct , Page 4
RBG leaves legacy of empowerment Ruth Bader Ginsburg devoted her life to advancing women’s rights across the United States
are trying to keep tabs on the overall health of students this semester. “[University officials] are seeing students use the tool [to] endorse symptoms, which helps us to connect them with a medical assessment. [Students can also] report a positive test obtained off campus, which helps us to guide isolation, do contact tracing to notify their contacts, place those who were exposed in quarantine and connect them with support; and [allows] others [to] report potential exposures to someone with COVID-19,” said Student Health Services Clinical Director Dr. Joanne Clinch. Clinch made it clear that the SneezSafe platform, when used properly, yields many helpful and informative results. Still, it is likely that fewer than 77% of students use the platform on a daily basis, therefore some may worry about the true accuracy the student body in regards to reporting symptoms.
On the evening of Sept. 18, Supreme Court Justice and feminist icon Ruth Bader Ginsburg passed away in her home at the age of 87. She died of complications related to her metastatic pancreas cancer, which has been a cause of her waning health since 2009. Ginsburg was the second woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and she held the position for 27 years. In her time on the court, she fought vehemently for gender equality starting with her first brief in 1971. This case represented the first time a state law was struck down on the basis that it was gender-discriminatory, and it was just the beginning of a robust career marked by activism that advanced women’s rights.
See SneezSafe, Page 5
See RBG, Page 6
BY TAYLOR THORNTON Staff Writer thortl18@wfu.edu
OGB
University“must focus on mental health This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board.
Unfortunately, the resources in place to address mental health are not adequate in responding to the current demand."
While the university seems to have the coronavirus somewhat under control, there is a burgeoning challenge facing students as the semester progresses: worsening mental health conditions. As coursework picks up and the weather starts to get colder, the effects of the pandemic are undoubtedly weighing on our minds. The Old Gold & Black implores the university to begin planning, if they haven’t already, what to do when it’s too chilly to spend time in the tents and we all have 10 page papers to write and chemistry exams that require hours of focused study. Long before the pandemic, mental health was a concern for many Wake Forest students. It was already difficult for a typical student to juggle his or her course load, extracurricular activities and
social life. But now with the presence of a pandemic, students are expected to live their lives on campus as they were before — staying highly committed to their academics, engaging in campus activities and maintaining some semblance of a social life. It’s no wonder that students are struggling. Wake Forest should ensure that they are not gaslighting students for feeling lonely or unmotivated — getting to be on campus this semester does not remedy all of the emotional effects of living through a pandemic. We should be having a campus wide discussion about
this reality, and acknowledge the absurdity of trying to be a succesful student during a time of unprecedented and profound loss. According to Dr. Kimberly Yonkers, a Yale Medicine psychiatrist, there is a field of medicine called disaster psychiatry that explains why students may be experiencing more extreme mental health concerns than they did previously. Similar to an event like 9/11, tragic events can greatly affect mental health. But unlike 9/11, the pandemic directly affects everyone’s lives and the threat surrounding the pandemic feels even greater because there is no clear end in sight. This trauma can also be compounded by any occurrences that could have alone caused stress for people in the past: family members’ health, financial struggles and strained relationships.
Unfortunately, the resources the university has in place to address mental health struggles are not adequate in responding to the current demand from the student population. Currently, two of the most instrumental offices that assist students — the Office of Wellbeing and the University Counseling Center — are understaffed, as reported by the Old Gold & Black. Prior to the pandemic, this understaffing would have been concerning. Now, it’s outright irresponsible. In a time of need, the university needs to prioritize mental health not only by facilitating more open discussions surrounding this topic on a campus-wide scale, but by filling the empty spots in the offices in order to provide students with the adequate resources they so desperately need and deserve during this time.
Old Gold&Black
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WAKE FOREST UNIVERSIT Y SINCE 1916 OLIVIA FIELD
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News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Page 3
Deacon Profile: Hannah Cook BY CHRISTA DUTTON Contributing Writer duttcd20@wfu.edu
I was good friends with the senior director when I was a sophomore. She was so on top of it. She already had her life figured out to a certain point. She got the best grades and I just really looked up to her so much. She encouraged me to apply for junior director. When you apply for junior director, you are also accepting the senior director position as well so it is a two year commitment. I’ve always loved event planning. I did it in high school. I also say maybe one day I’ll be an event planner after I figure life out a little bit more. And I love the cause! Like I said, everyone is affected by cancer. I couldn’t think of a better event to plan. I’ve had a great team and they are great to work with. Everyone is willing to do whatever needs to get done. That’s been the best part — realizing that everyone is willing to do their part.
Hannah Cook is a senior finance major from Raleigh, N.C. She is serving as the student senior director for Hit the Bricks in a year when social distancing guidelines make it challenging to hold the relay event in the upper quad as is customary. Cook discussed how Hit the Bricks changed due to COVID-19 and what working on the event has taught her as well as her journey to becoming senior student director of the famous relay. How did you become involved with Hit the Bricks? I went to the admitted students day and they had all the tables set up around the Quad with all the different clubs to join and Hit the Bricks was one of the tables. I was confused because they literally had “Hit the Bricks” bricks, like physical bricks, on the table, and I thought that was so weird. So I went up and talked to the girl that was behind the table. Little did I know that in a year I would be in her sorority; she would be a really good friend to me, and then I would go on to take her position in Hit the Bricks. I think that was just a really cool thing to see at Wake Forest — just how much of a tight knit community the school is. Then I joined student government as a freshman once I got to Wake Forest and they created a Hit the Bricks team. It was one the first big events for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund. So I signed up to run for the team and I didn’t really understand what Hit the Bricks was. I just knew it was raising money for cancer research, and I wanted to participate so I signed up to run. Then sophomore year I ran to be a co-chair. I was PR co-chair my sophomore year, and then junior year I was junior director, and now I’m senior director. It’s been a great experience. What does your leadership role with Hit The Bricks look like? What are your tasks as senior director? So as senior director I’m basically the one in charge of all correspondence and all planning of Hit the Bricks. I am in charge of making sure everything runs smoothly. If any issues come up that’s for me to deal with. It’s a lot of emails and weekly meetings with co-chairs. I
What have you learned from being senior director?
ent events we’re including throughout the week to increase engagement and help people get involved. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday night, we will have Quiz the Bricks. We also have Find the Bricks which will be an on-campus and social media scavenger hunt. Another event we have is only on Wednesday and it is Sprint the Bricks. Closing ceremony on Thursday will end us off. It’s going to be livestreamed as we can only have a limited number of attendees there due to COVID-19 guidelines. We are hoping to have student speakers, as well as the chaplain, and President Nathan Hatch. To end it out, we are going to do a socially distant silent lap and a luminary to honor loved ones.
I’ve learned a lot. It’s easy to get caught up in the details of the event planning, the emailing back and forth, and the meetings, but at the end of the day I remind myself that everything I’m doing and everything my team is doing is supporting cancer research. In the end, we’re making a difference in people’s lives. For myself and for a lot of the other people who worked to plan this, they are closely affected by cancer — whether it’s themselves, their parents, or their grandparents, or a friend. We constantly remind ourselves of what we’re doing. Brian Piccolo died at the age of 26 of cancer. It’s crazy stuff that is unfortunately super prevalent. I think I’ve learned that you can work yourself to death with planning and making sure everything is perfect, but at the end of the day, people want to support the cause because everyone is so closely affected by it. I’ve also learned how to be a better communicator and how to make sure I’m leading in a way so that people do not feel like I’m loading them up with work. I want to lead in a way that makes people want to ask for more and makes them want to ask ‘What can I do? Hit the Bricks will take place from Monday, Sept. 28 to Thursday, Oct. 1.
Why did you decide to become senior director of the event? What does Hit The Bricks mean to you?
Editor's note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and AP style.
Photo courtesy of Hannah Cook
also work with the Office of Civic and Community Engagement. I deal with all the logistics of everything — the website, event planning, and anything you can think of really. What will Hit The Bricks look like this year? Rather than a one day event, it is going to be a four day event. In keeping up with the spirit of Hit the Bricks, we are going to do a running challenge. Beginning on Monday, Sept. 28, at 12 a.m. and lasting until Thursday, Oct. 1, at noon, teams can download the free Strava app and they can track the miles they run. At the end of the week, the team with the most miles will be recognized at the closing ceremony, and will receive a Hit the Bricks brick. The team with the most fundraising throughout the week will also receive a brick. We also have a couple of differ-
POLICE BEAT COVID-19 Violation/Underage Consumption • Offenders consumed alcohol underage at Poteat Hall and one passed out in the wrong room in Angelou Hall. All offenders were taken to the hospital. The report was filed on Sept. 16 at 1:51 a.m. • Police found a seven-person party in South Hall. Five students admitted to underage consumption. The report was filed on Sept. 18 at 4:43 p.m. • Offender was seen driving passengers who were not wearing masks near Crown Oak Apartments. The student was contacted and had university policy on driving with masks explained to him. The report was filed on Sept. 18 at 9:45 p.m. • Offenders were written up by an RA for noise in Kitchin Hall. Two of the students admitted to consuming alcohol. The report was filed on Sept. 18 at 10:42 p.m.
• Offenders responded to an RA report of a party with underaged drinking in Kitchin Hall. Eleven students were found, and only two of them were residents. Three students admitted to underaged drinking. The report was filed at 12:52 a.m. on Sept. 19. Miscellaneous • Unknown subject(s) took secured bike from bike rack behind NCA. The report was filed on Sept. 17 at 10:30 a.m. • Offenders were found with cannabis paraphernalia in Davis Hall. The report was filed on Sept. 18 at 10:49 p.m. • Unknown offender(s) broke in and stole items from multiple cars at Deacon Place. Reports were filed at various times between 12:28 and 3:48 p.m. on Sept. 20.
Old Gold & Black | News
Page 4 | Thursday, September 24, 2020
Conduct: students face COVID-19 hearings
Continued from Page 1 “The majority of students are wearing face coverings and maintaining social distance. We are generally encouraged, but plan to continue to be vigilant in working to protect our community,” said Dean of Students and Associate Vice President Adam Goldstein. “We have focused considerable energy on positive ‘Show Humanitate’ messaging to promote safe behaviors and have also worked with students to engage with peers to help everyone take shared responsibility for the safety of our community. But, we have also had some who have not followed the COVID-19-related restrictions added to the student code of conduct.” This fall, disrespecting COVID-19 restrictions on campus is considered a violation of the student code of conduct and subject to the normal range of sanctions from educational requirement to suspension or expulsion. If students are reported to have breached the new COVID-19 restrictions on the student code of conduct, they will be assigned a hearing officer that will listen to their case and determine if they breached the student code
of conduct. Hearings happen on a rolling basis, but given its urgent public health status, COVID-19 matters are given priority. “Because COVID-19 cases are a public health issue, the timeline for these hearings moves a lot faster and the student is notified that they will have a hearing within a few days of the incident,” said Maddy Harris, co-chair of the Board of Investigators and Advisors tasked with advising students through the hearing process. “One of the possible sanctions for a COVID-19 violation is suspension and the university does consider it when handling these cases. Every case is different, so there isn’t a specific situation where a student would get suspended, but if a student endangers the health of others it is a possibility.” Large gatherings and violation of room guest policies have been the most common COVID-19-related violations among students this semester, with some violations having the potential of becoming a superspreading events. On Sept. 12, university police reported a large off-campus gathering involving 150 to 200 students at Fares Lane, breaking both Wake Forest and North Carolina’s guidelines for outdoor gatherings.
“It is important for students to know that we have issued suspensions for behaviors that place the health and safety of our community at risk,” Goldstein said. “These behaviors include hosting social events that exceed the number of attendees allowed and where few are following masking or physical distancing expectations, and not complying with the Student Health Center’s instructions for quarantine and isolation.” The Old Gold & Black reached out to students facing COVID-19 sanctions, but those we spoke to declined to comment on their hearing status for fear of jeopardizing their appeal. Goldstein did not provide a specific number of student suspended beyond confirming that the sanction has been issued. According to Harris, most cases of COVID-19 student violations this semester have risen from smaller indoors gatherings on campus, where students oftentimes misinterpreted room capacity guidelines. “I know a lot of students that have mentioned during their that they thought it was okay to follow the North Carolina guidelines, not the Wake Forest ones, [though] we all signed [an agreement] at the beginning of the semester saying that we had to follow the Wake
guidelines,” Harris said. “[For room capacity limits] it’s one guest per person where you live. So, if you live in a suite of four people each person brings a guest. If you live in a suite of five people and one person brings a guest, that’d be 10 people. But you can’t exceed 10 people. So, if you live in a suite of six people, you can’t have 12 people. That’s probably the biggest thing that students are getting in trouble for.” Students are also expected to wear masks during indoor gatherings with people outside their suite, even if they are under capacity. All new policies and expectations can be found on the university’s Our Way Forward website. If students are still confused or unsure about certain requirements the Board of Investigators and Advisors, the Office of the Dean of Students and the Office of Residence Life and Housing are all sources of information regarding the COVID-19 requirements and expectations. “We are trying to keep everyone on campus for the rest of the year and we are trying to keep the faculty, staff and everyone that works here safe. There are a lot more risks [involved] than just you getting COVID-19 … All it takes is one person to spread it to 100 people, so make sure that everyone stays safe,” Harris said.
Office of Wellbeing adapts to COVID-19 The Office of Wellbeing is providing new mental health support focused on resilience BY ALEXANDRA KARLINCHAK Asst. Opinion Editor karlae18@wfu.edu One thing that people who have gone through periods of anxiety or depression will tell you is that being proactive is far more effective than being reactive when it comes to effectively treating mental illness. This proactive approach can present itself in the form of cultivating and maintaining healthy relationships or even following a sleep schedule to benefit the brain. There is no one-size-fits-all plan that someone can follow to recover from or avoid developing mental illness. In reality, an unending supply of coping mechanisms and resilience-building tools exist and can be strung together into an infinite number of arrangements depending on the situation at hand. To Ashley Hawkins Parham, Program Manager of Wellbeing at Wake Forest, the Office of Wellbeing’s most important duty is helping students realize that their mental health should be approached with the same vigor and attention as their physical health. But with eight dimensions of wellness to cover and one major global pandemic disrupting the lives of everyone worldwide, a new sense of normalcy needs to be developed. The Office of Wellbeing, similar to the University Counseling Center (UCC), is currently understaffed. This understaffing is not the only challenge that the office is facing. Their popular massage therapy is not being offered right now due to Center of Disease Control guidelines. Additionally, programs and initiatives typically hosted by the Office of Wellbeing have either transitioned to an online format or been
put on hold, as they are only truly effective in-person. Among the programs that have been shifted to a virtual format is ResilientWake, a skills-based group that focuses on resilience building. As defined on the THRIVE Office’s website, “resilience is our ability to face those inevitable challenges and changes with grace.” The ResilientWake Workshop Series is one of the many programs lifted off the ground by Parham and is based off of the research she completed regarding positive psychology, counseling psychology and Eastern and Western philosophy. “I created this workshop series that is four sessions and is actually parallel to the KORU structure. We meet once a week for one month,” Parham said when asked about the structure and time commitment behind ResilientWake. “There is no book, no prep work. Basically, you just come and then build a toolbox full of resilience Katie Fox /Old Gold & Black skills.” These resilience skills range from learn- Despite being understaffed during the pandemic, the Office of Wellbeing trauma sensitive techniques to aid in ing continues to offer wellness programs both virtually and in-person. connecting to the mind and body, discussing different perspectives about the world, and provides students with tools such as a are professional spiritual advisors,” Paridentifying negative thinking traps, react- sleep tracker and self-checking strategies to ham said. “Health and wellness coaching ing to failure and working through various monitor their sleeping habits. is action-oriented and is a collaborative life challenges. One of the services offered by The Of- effort between coach and client … You The Office of Wellbeing also hosts weekly fice of Wellbeing that has gained traction establish goals together and have an end Resilient Wake Weekend Challenges and, because of the pandemic has been one-on- goal, which is not exactly how spiritual starting Friday, Sept. 25, these challenges one Wellbeing Coaching. There are cur- guidance works.” will be taking place in person. With two rently three coaches who host free, 30-minWhen asked for any advice to offer stusessions each capped at 10 participants, ute drop-in slots for students to talk about dents sitting on the fence and trying to the first session will teach students how to wellbeing and, if requested, can meet more determine whether or not they should combat loneliness during COVID-19. regularly as the semester goes on. try traditional or non-traditional wellness ResilientWake is just one of the many Wellbeing coaching differs from the pas- work, Parham’s face lit up through the programs THRIVE offers to Wake Forest toral care that the Chaplain’s Office offers screen. students. and the individual or group therapy that “Of course they should take a leap! Why Gold Apron Cooking, in conjunction the UCC offers because the type of advi- not try something new? The worst thing with the student nutritionist, are resources sors that each of these offices provides is so that can happen is nothing … and you’re provided by THRIVE to promote healthy, incredibly different. already there,” Parham said. mindful eating in a realistic way for college “If you go to the counseling office, you If you would like to learn more about the students. The Sleepin Deacon campaign talk with a professional who is meant to services that the THRIVE Office provides, is another event put on by the THRIVE address and heal trauma or challenge. If call the office at 336-758-3089 or go to Office that stresses the importance of sleep you go to the Office of the Chaplain, those thrive.wfu.edu.
News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, September 24, 2020 |Page 5
SneezSafe: Site aids in containing virus Continued from Page 1 Students are also encouraged to track symptoms for both their own benefit and that of their peers. Colleges around the nation, such as Harvard, Stanford and many smaller schools, are encouraging students to do the same. At Wake Forest, reminder emails to sign up for SneezSafe were sent out campus-wide last week for students who were not already signed up.
“The CDC, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and the American College Health Association all recommend that colleges and universities have their students, faculty and staff have a way to monitor symptoms and exposures that connects them to resources to assess those potential signs of COVID 19,” Clinch said. While things have started to look up in terms of the lack of virus spread, university officials are per-
sistent in encouraging students to continue to follow rules and regulations that are still in place around COVID-19. “All students, faculty and staff are expected to complete this survey daily [according to university policy]. The higher the number of those participating, the more effective we will be in reducing the transmission of COVID 19 in our community,” Clinch said.
Camino shifts campus coffee landscape The local bakery’s arrival puts pressure on Campus Grounds, which used to sell Camino Bakery products BY MADDIE SAYRE Contributing Writer sayrmm20@wfu.edu
Campus Grounds, located in Taylor Residence Hall, opened for the semester on Thursday, Sept. 10 and will be providing Wake Forest students and staff with brand new Bobby Boy Bakeshop pastries this fall. This year, however, it will face some fresh competition from a familiar face on campus as well. Its previous inventory came from local Camino Bakery, which is now located just a few yards away at the Z. Smith Reynolds Library. This sudden competition with its former main supplier raised concerns for the student-run coffee shop as they adjusted to reopen business for the beginning of the fall semester. In addition to preparing for proper sanitation within the shop and following COVID-19 protocols, Campus Grounds also experienced challenges in getting vendors approved by the university. This, unfortunately, was the source of Campus Grounds’ unusual delayed opening this semester. “We were waiting to operate not only for students who are consumers, but also staff,” said senior and general manager Heather McCauley. The ZSR Library is a hub for student activity, making Camino Bakery’s new location, formerly occupied by Starbucks, an ideal location for constant business. According to Vice President of Hospitality & Auxiliary Services John Wise, the decision to introduce Camino Bakery was based on discussions with Starbucks over the last two years and about the direction the school sought to move in. “It really was a decision that said our partnership with Starbucks in the library had run its course,” Wise said. “We were looking for what options presented themselves for us to have a coffee shop and continue to offer coffee in the library, something other than Starbucks. Camino is a very well respected, local business, and we felt leveraging a partnership, similar to what we have with Village Juice, was an appropriate direction to go for the coffee house in the library.” The resources and products available to students in the library location are supplied by Camino Bakery’s local bake shop. “We wanted to operate in the same environment we were operating Starbucks – part of the meal plan, same staff that worked there before ...” Wise said. He adds that although Starbucks left the library last year, these employees have been able to continue working at Camino Bakery. McCauley said that the coffee shops in the ZSR Library have consistently had exponentially better business than Campus Grounds. Its location in Taylor brought concerns to the business in past years because the building was reserved for upperclassmen living. Fortunately, Taylor, and other residence halls on the Upper Quad, are now housing freshmen, which McCauley believes is one of Campus Grounds’
Maddie Sayre/Old Gold & Black
Emily Beauchamp/Old Gold & Black
The student-run Campus Grounds coffee shop reopened to steep new challenges, including competition from Camino Bakery and complications from the COVID-19 pandemic. biggest marketing tactics. She is happy new students can easily experience what Campus Grounds has to offer by simply making a trip downstairs. “Always get the freshmen in,” McCauley said. “We have many more freshmen which is really exciting. [Campus Grounds then becomes] something they can start to look forward to for the next four years.” In addition to location, another challenge Campus Grounds has encountered is the difference in payment methods. Because Campus Grounds is separately owned and not under the Aramark contract that covers Wake Forest’s dining plan, the studentrun coffee shop cannot accept Food Dollars. They do, however, take Deacon Dollars, cash or credit cards. “We’ve always had just less business than [the ZSR coffee shop] just because of their ability to take Food Dollars,” McCauley said. Despite this slight setback, “there’s definitely a strong loyal group of students who come to Campus Grounds and that we always welcome.” Wake Forest Deacon Dining and Camino Bakery did not respond to interview requests in time for this publication. Although Campus Grounds operates separately from the dining program, Wise believes this presents a unique draw to the coffee shop. Through a marketing perspective, Campus Grounds’ ability to leverage themselves as a student run entrepreneurial business is a strong suit. “The desire to keep Campus Grounds as a student run enterprise is really at the core of what we all want campus grounds to be,” Wise said. “I think Campus Grounds has a very unique place on campus and I think it has a unique following. It’s an important part of the fabric of the campus.” Campus Grounds’ new walk-up window service creates a friendly and welcoming atmosphere. McCauley believes it is the small, daily interactions be-
tween students and staff that truly build rapport and the shop fosters this experience. “We are definitely like a little family,” McCauley adds. She encourages students to take a brief study break by coming to the window and indulging in a warm coffee and pastry. It is something to look forward to, “especially when you’re on Zoom all day in your dorm, it’s nice for a little bit of social interaction during the day.” In terms of staffing, Campus Grounds has retained all of its employees. The caveat is that, with added COVID-19 protocols in place, Campus Grounds has had to cut working hours and has not hired any new students this fall semester. As of now, there are approximately 15 students working as part of Wake Forest’s Work-Study employment. To be eligible, one must demonstrate financial need. The student shop is hoping to hire more students in the spring if things are normalized. Last year, Camino Bakery’s treats were popular items at Campus Grounds, but despite the quick change in vendors, McCauley has high hopes for what Bobby Boy Bakeshop will bring to Campus Grounds. Bobby Boy Bakeshop was opened in Winston-Salem by a married couple experienced in the culinary arts. The family and community-oriented coffee shop and bakery caught McCauley’s eye as a vendor to potentially source Campus Grounds for this upcoming year, and she looks forward to giving the experience to students and staff on campus. According to McCauley, Bobby Boy Bakeshop will be delivering fresh pastries daily (or multiple times a day depending on customer demand) to Campus Grounds starting this week for the fall semester. Items include croissants (chocolate and ham & cheese), cookies, cinnamon rolls and a variety of breads. She emphasizes the importance Campus Grounds places on freshness and quality of food.
Old Gold & Black | News
Page 6 | Thursday, September 24, 2020
RBG: Students mourn loss of Justice Continued from Page 1
The Wake Forest community remembered Ginsburg on the evening of Sept. 22 with a candlelight vigil and a reciting of the Mourner’s Kaddish, a traditional Jewish prayer to honor those who passed. The event was hosted by the Women’s Center in conjunction with the Office of Jewish Life. Before the meeting, participants were asked to use one word to describe how they felt when thinking about her. The most common answers were “inspired,” “empowered” and “grateful.” The hosts opened the space for an intimate discussion where attendees could share what Ginsburg and her passing meant to them. The shared sentiment in the group was one of appreciation for her perseverance and dedication to gender equality combined with concern and grief over her passing. The group was grateful for the opportunity to collectively mourn a woman who touched our community. “I reached out to Gail [Bretan] who is a friend and a colleague and the Jewish Chaplain on campus, and I said I think we need to hold space for people’s emotions and so it just sort of came together,” said Stephanie Trilling, director of the Women’s Center and one of the hosts of the event. “I wanted to create a space for people to see that they’re not alone in these feelings of grief and sadness.”
Trilling also noted how Ginsburg impacted her career at Wake Forest. “A lot of what I do in The Women’s Center is I advocate for women so that they have equal access to education,” Trilling said. “So many of her decisions focused on women and their rights to education and the fact that we treat men differently than we treat women in this country … [For example,] I lead workshops on salary negotiations because we still have this pay gap. We know that women, particularly women of color, don’t make as much money as men,” In 2005, Ginsburg traveled to Wake Forest University as a part of the “A Conversation With…” initiative that was sponsored by the School of Law. Through this program, leaders and rolemodels in the legal profession came to Wake Forest to be interviewed. Ginsburg was interviewed by law professor Suzanne Reynolds, who is now a dean emerita. “She and I talked with each other like we were in her living room … And we’ve been friends ever since,” Reynolds said in an interview with The News & Observer Looking at Ginsburg’s notable career and legacy, this optimism and determination is evident in her fight for equality. Throughout her career, she filed dozens of briefs which argued that the 14th Amendment applies to women as well as racial and ethnic minorities.
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
After a successful career in women’s rights law, Ginbsurg rose to fame on the Supreme Court for her fiery dissents. “The words of the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause — ‘nor shall any state deny to any person the equal protection of the laws.’ Well that word, ‘any person,’ covers women as well as men. And the Supreme Court woke up to that reality in 1971,” Ginsburg said in an interview with NPR. Stephanie Trilling implores the community to continue to talk about these accomplishments to keep Ginsburg’s legacy alive.
“We should be having conversations about these landmark cases that she ruled on and bring more awareness to the rights that we have that have been protected because of Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” Trilling said. “Even when she didn’t win, her writing and her advocacy raised awareness of these issues and changed hearts and minds about what women’s value and what women’s worth is to our country.”
Wake Forest retools gameday experience Student drive-ins and sociallydistant watch parties are the new norm during the pandemic BY CAROLINE WALKER Staff Writer walkct18@wfu.edu When the clock hit zero, the Truist Field scoreboard marked a resounding 3713 win for the Clemson Tigers over the Demon Deacons. Yet, as one of the many signs parked outside of the football stadium showed, Wake Forest fans still had a lot to cherish in a different score category, “COVID Scores: 71-1,247. Wake Wins,” read the sign. The relatively low number of cases that Wake Forest is experiencing compared to universities across the nation has allowed socially distant events like watch parties to engage students on campus, because the university has been able to stay in the Yellow operating zone. With handmade signs, decorated cars, old gold & black gear and true Demon Deacon spirit, students have continued to cheer on the Wake Forest football team from afar through watch-parties and drivein event alternatives to stadium seating. The Office of Student Engagement has hosted watch parties, in which the game is broadcasted for students in the tents across campus. Each watch party has been limited to 25 participants due to social distancing guidelines, and they have also required the use of physical distancing, mask compliance, contact tracing measures and single-serve food and snack options.
The outdoor watch parties and driveins provide students with the opportunity to socialize with friends while watching the game, which is especially important for getting first-year students — who do not live in suite-style dorms or have access to lounge spaces in residence halls where they could gather to watch the game — involved. “Sports bring people together and, in a world where so much is tearing us apart right now, they are needed more than ever,” said senior Sam Wexler, a member of the Athletic Student Leadership Council. “I am excited for all of the athletes who worked so hard since June to get to play their respective sports and I am excited to have the Demon Deacon hype bringing us all together.” Students have also gathered for driveins hosted by the Office of University Events and Athletics at The Drive at Winston-Salem Fairgrounds, where the winners of a ticket lottery are able to watch the game on a large projector from their vehicle. While there, students can socialize with their friends, play cornhole or throw football, and snack on stadium favorites like hot dogs and hamburgers or check out food trucks, such as Que Viva! Latin Street Grill and Chick-fil-A. Students can win a parking space at the Trust Drive-in for home and away football games by downloading the new Screamin’ Demon Rewards app and entering into a ticket lottery. Each entry can include up to four students per vehicle, and a maximum of 200 vehicles can be randomly selected due to limited space.
The app also incentivizes attendance at Wake Forest athletic events by offering prizes and increasing the chances of winning the lottery based on greater amounts of points accumulated through attendance at games and participation in virtual and in-person athletic events. Students can also earn Dedicated Deac points by staying for the entirety of an athletic event. The importance of fan engagement through these safe alternatives to crowded stands and tailgates at Truist Field has been especially important this year due to COVID-19. “It has definitely been tricky to engage students with no fans allowed in the stands but I think the Athletic Department has done a great job at coming up with alternate options,” Wexler said. “The drive-in watch parties have been an awesome addition that is keeping people engaged and creating as much of a game atmosphere as we can provide given all of the regulations.” The drive-in watch parties have also built on the momentum of the first College GameDay to come to Wake Forest for the Clemson game, with on-campus surprises like the College GameDay bus and exclusive GameDay t-shirts being handed out to students, as well as a virtual pep rally and performance from the Spirit of the Old Gold and Black. “Getting the College GameDay bus, and College GameDay itself, to come was such a huge deal and has definitely been the most successful thing this fall,” Wexler said. “For not being able to have fans in the stands and normal events, the
execution of GameDay was awesome in terms of engaging students and the community.” The university aims to continue to provide spaces for students to safely experience gameday together. To that end, it is continually looking to improve its watch parties, with special attention to Manchester Plaza due to its proximity to many first-year residence halls. There are also plans to streamline the check-in process at these events. Unfortunately, all watch parties and the drive-in for the Notre Dame game have been postponed after seven members of the Notre Dame team tested positive for COVID-19. Yet, the expectation is to continue holding the events as long as Wake Forest continues to operate under Yellow circumstances and college football continues. “It is great that students have a choice to go somewhere to watch games,” said Tim Wilkinson, the Associate Dean for Student Engagement. “If we can figure out a way to bring students together that is safe and within guidelines, we will continue to do so.” Building off the momentum started by watch parties and drive-ins, the university will also welcome fans back into the stadium at Truist Field for the first time this season at the game against Campbell University on Friday, Oct. 2. The decision was made in accordance with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper’s announcement that outdoor stadiums can operate at 7% capacity, which allows for 2,205 out of 31,5000 seats in total to be filled at Truist Field.
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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Experts address fears around COVID-19 vaccine Experts say no one should fear getting a COVID-19 vaccine any more than another vaccine BY JULIA OCHSENHIRT Contrbiuting Writer ochsja20@wfu.edu Since the emergence of the novel coronavirus in December, infectious disease experts across the world have been working around the clock to develop a vaccine. This effort is especially critical for the United States — as we’ve seen all levels of our government fail to take even basic measures to fight the virus, we’ve come to view a vaccine as our last hope. Yet as desperate as many people are for things to return back to normal as soon as possible, [CBS News reports that only 50% of Americans would take the vaccine]. This widespread skepticism is misguided according to experts — they say that when a coronavirus vaccine is available, we should get it. Clinical trials are moving at an unprecedented speed,
which incites fear in some Americans around the efficacy of a newly developed vaccine. Per Science Magazine, one common fear surrounding the vaccine candidates is the possibility of long-term side effects that developers wouldn’t be able to detect in trials spanning only months. The leaders of Operation Warp Speed, the nickname for the federal government’s efforts to manufacture and distribute a vaccine, have all insisted that science, not politics, will govern the vaccine’s timeline. In an interview with Science Magazine, Dr. Moncef Slaoui, the co-head of Operation Warp Speed, went so far as to say he’d quit his job before being swayed by political pressures to release an unsafe vaccine. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, has also repeatedly stressed that no one involved in the vaccine’s production is sacrificing scientific integrity. Testifying before a Congressional subcommittee, he explained that advances in technology and the massive amounts of funding being poured into the project have helped expedite the trial process.
Chief of Infectious Diseases within the section of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest Baptist Health, Dr. John Sander,s explained that while coronavirus vaccines have only been in clinical trials for a matter of months, scientists anticipated an outbreak of a novel coronavirus and vaccine platforms have been in development for decades. “The vaccines that are being tested right now weren’t developed overnight; they were developed over decades of work,” Sanders said. “The Chinese released the genetic sequence of SARSCoV-2, and two days later, the National Institute of Health (NIH) had produced a vaccine. But it’s not because they did all that work in two days — that reflected decades of work to get ready to do that.” Dr. Sanders also described the case of the RotaShield vaccine: developed to prevent rotavirus infections in infants, it was approved in 1998 after standard, years-long clinical trials and was considered to be of high safety and efficacy. However, RotaShield was pulled by the CDC after Phase 4 trials found cases of bowel obstruction in one in every 10,000 vaccinated infants. The
RotaShield case demonstrates that all vaccines, including those with long trial periods, have some chance of causing unexpected effects when rolled out to masses of people. “Nobody should be hesitant to take the vaccine if it’s approved,” Sanders said.“But nobody should think that [the approval of the vaccine] means there won’t be some other issues that won’t be detected. That’s true for every vaccine and every drug.” The coronavirus pandemic has taken nearly a million lives worldwide, and has caused economic and mental health crises. A vaccine won’t fix all of our problems immediately — it’ll likely take many months to become widely available in just the world’s richest countries, and years to reach beyond the first world, per the Wall Street Journal. However, experts agree that we shouldn’t hesitate to take the vaccine when we’re able to. In the meantime, we should applaud the scientists, drugmakers, government actors and companies that are working at a truly astounding speed in the hopes of restoring some sense of normalcy.
Preventable fires rip through the west Wildfires in the west are destorying property and forcing people out of homes BY SOPHIA TOMPKINS Contributing Writer tompsa17@wfu.edu
2020 proves to be filled with one unexpected turn after another. One of the newest unforeseen trends is the extremity of gender reveal parties. One gender reveal party in particular is especially troubling. According to The Guardian, a gender reveal party on the morning of Sept. 5 in El Dorado Ranch Park sparked a massive wildfire, spanning over 10,000 acres. It necessitated hundreds of first responders, and tragically resulted in the death of one firefighter. Sadly, that fire is not unique. There are currently dozens of rapidly expanding fires threatening millions throughout the West coast. Not all of the wildfires were caused by gender reveal parties, though. Many are started by tress knocking over powerlines, dry lightening storms and power transmission lines. The fires have swept over tens of thousands of acres across Washington, Oregon and California, forcing the evacuation of 500,000 residents in Oregon alone. So far, 35 people have been killed with many more missing. Another few thou-
sands ended up in temporary housing with no end in sight. The demands of these unprecedented fires have left a shortage of firefighters. Willing to step in and lend a helping hand, however, are thousands of state inmates. They can earn between $2.90 and $5.12 per day and potentially a reduced sentence in exchange for their heroic efforts. Despite their vital role in helping limit the spread of these devastating fires, many of them are unable to find employment after their release from prison despite firefighting. There are several pieces of legislation working to correct these discrepancies, but it is heavily debated whether these laws will address the true underlying issues with incarceration. Although there are countless first responders working tirelessly to control these wildfires, the effects rage on. The air quality there is now ranked among the worst in the world. A recent Stanford University study suggests the inhalation of wildfire smoke is damaging above and beyond deficient air quality. Many people are now suffering from the impact of smoke intake, triggering distressing cardiac and respiratory reactions like asthma attacks. There have even been links to weakened immune systems, depression, heart attacks and strokes. Another ever-present effect of climate crises are their impacts on environmental injustice. Sadly, once again a natural disaster re-emphasizes the glaring
Photo courtesy of Michael Wynkoop/Idaho Crew 5
Firefighters face the smoke and ash of the wildfire in California. They're working day in and day out to contain the blaze. economic disparity: it is healthier to be wealthier. Backup generators and air purifiers are expensive and in high demand, preventing many from obtaining any sort of relief. It is even more costly for people to flee their homes and go to a (relatively) unaffected area, trapping thousands in their now dangerous environments. The effects of the wildfires aren’t just seen on the West coast, however. The East Coast is feeling its influence too, as the smoke’s interference with the jet stream
reaches 20-25,000 feet in the atmosphere. The jet stream directs the weather pattern, thus carrying the smoke east. The smoke can travel as far as the East coast of the United States, causing overcast skies and haze. As if there weren’t enough reasons to take climate change seriously, here is one more. Many of these fires are preventable, whether by restricting gender reveal parties, paying attention to local fire ordinances or working to fight climate change.
OPINION
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a t : w w w. w f u o g b . c o m E D IT O R : J a c k P o r t m a n , p o r t j t 17 @ w f u . e d u A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R S : R y a n K i n g , k i n g r m 17 @ w f u . e d u Alexandra Karlinchak, karlae18@wfu.edu
OLD GOLD & BLACK
The views expressed in all opinion columns represent those of the article’s author, not the opinions of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board
“ Ginsburg death increases voting stakes SCOTUS vacancy
Pressing SCOTUS vacancy underscores the importance of voting
Sophia Marcheli Guest Columnist marcsl19@wfu.edu
I was driving in the car with my friend blasting music and laughing. We were jolted out of our euphoria at 7:45 p.m. on Friday when the notification came. We drove in silence for the next 15 minutes then pulled up to Davis Residence Hall to spread the news. Me and another girl waited outside my door to tell my roommate who was taking an accounting test. The second she opened the door and saw us, her face fell and could tell something terrible had happened. We told her and after the shock had passed we all hugged each other, crying. Ruth Bader Ginsburg, our Notorious RBG, had passed and we would remember the 18th night of September forever.
It was not simply the passing of an icon and hero, but the end of our protection at the Supreme Court level” It was not simply the passing of an icon and hero, but the end of our protection at the Supreme Court level, and every woman around me knew it. For her entire career on the court, RBG never left the women of America’s corner and fought tirelessly to ensure that women were safe and supported. With her passing the realization hit that there was one less person behind us and our perspectives shifted overnight. RBG had been iconicized by women everywhere and looked to her as a sign of hope and perseverance. We watched On the Basis of Sex and the documentary RBG and were in awe of all that she had accomplished. However, what made her even more amazing, was the fact that she was still an imperative fighter for women and women’s rights. With Ginsburg gone from the Supreme Court, the already overwhelming polarization of our government has increased. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel and President Donald Trump have made it
“ rhetoric
abundantly clear that their goal is to try and replace her seat as fast as possible, ensuring that the Senate remains under Republican control. The timing of her passing and the fear that not only could her seat be filled with a conservative fighting against women’s rights, but the thought that we might endure another four years of Trump is too much and has woken many people up from blissful unawareness. If women weren’t awake before, they are now. It’s become even more evident that we are now all fighting for our rights in this coming election. The stakes are extremely high in these coming months and we cannot afford to sit idly by. Roe v Wade is constantly threatened and now with no more Super Diva RBG, girls everywhere have been awakened to the horror that would ensue if their worst thoughts came true and it was finally overturned. Lawmakers and states have been slowly testing the waters on how close they can get to tampering with women’s health rights. Conservative courts in many states have been slowly chipping away at abortion laws and creating more restrictions. Especially now that Planned Parenthood has stopped receiving Title X funding, it has never been
harder for women to be in control of their own bodies. If Trump is able to replace Ginsburg’s seat before the election, this will unfortunately continue to worsen. Now that Trump has been backed by Senator Mitt Romney who has stated that he does not intend to block whoever Trump nominates for the Supreme Court, the path has been cleared and we can only wait to see if and who Trump will nominate. To many, it feels as if this is the final nail in the coffin that is women’s rights, which still had so far to go. With the threat of a new conservative nominee, and the senate under Republican control, the jokes that girls are going to enjoy their rights while they still can are beginning to seem a little more real each day. So while we may feel helpless as those above us plot to secure a new Supreme Court nominee before election day, there is one thing that RBG’s passing has given us: a new motivation to do our part in the coming election. One can only hope that her passing has lit a fire within women everywhere, reminded them of the fragility of their rights and most importantly, reminded everyone how important their voice and their vote will be in November.
Political Campaigning
Biden’s
Biden’s focus on a call-andresponse strategy may be ultimately ineffective
Tonia Christou
Staff Columnist chriam19@wfu.edu
This weekend, at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, NC, President Donald Trump took to his podium and declared, “If I lose to him, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I will never speak to you again ... You’ll never see me again.” Of course, Trump’s grandstanding and feigned bewilderment were directed towards his 2020 election opponent, former Vice President Joe Biden. In response, the Biden campaign team carried out a tactic that they are well-versed with: using Trump’s own words against him. In a Twitter post, Trump’s remarks are followed by a picture of a grinning Biden, coupled with patriotic fanfare, announcing, “I’m Joe Biden, and I approve this message.” Joe Biden seems to have read up on GenZ humor.
fails to establish identity
[Others] push Biden to move Others with this stance push Biden past harking on Trump as the to move past harking on Trump as central issue of his candidacy the central issue of his candidacy and and craft a direct mesage.” craft a different message. They hope As creative as this brief yet striking for more. For example, Angela Rye, response is, it indicates an overall di- Democratic strategist and previous rective that may be hurting the Biden member of the Congressional Black Campaign overall. The general trend Caucus, stated Biden “should be fois as follows: Trump makes a remark, cusing on a winning message of jusand Biden reacts. Examples are abun- tice and equity rather than doubling dant. Similar instances include his down on Trump rhetoric.” biking ad in response to Trump’s coinAlthough ‘Never Trumpers’ and furage of “Sleepy Joe,” his visit to the city ther left ‘Bernie Bros’ can agree that of Kenosha following Trump’s, and they would prefer Biden in office his explanation that the riots’ violence rather than Trump, this cannot be the came under Trump, not him. sole message in their minds. Serious So, this begs the question: Is being events are occurring in the world right the anti-Trump candidate enough? now. Lives are being tangibly altered Some critics, such as David Zurawik by the pandemic, police brutality, and from the Baltimore Sun, have their doubts. “We are facing monumental, climate change. An onslaught of quesexistential issues with COVID-19, a tions and concerns are not in the spotreeling economy, a growing gulf be- light, and this is problematic. According to the Washington Post, tween the rich and almost everyone else, and what some see as a cold civil “The Biden Campaign raised a record war with what remains of the long- breaking $364.5 million in August,” dominant white culture trying to hold which allows him to outspend Trump back the inevitable tide of multicul- in campaigning advertisement. The turalism and a new order of shared fear is that, with a major focus as the repower.” sponse to Trump as opposed to Biden’s
own narrative, this fleet of advertising will not do much good. Those who do not agree with a Trump-centric narrative argue that this money is being used to state something that is already in the public eye – many people do not want Trump in office and Biden is the only alternative. However, those who agree with Biden’s current platform have valid reasoning as well. They applaud Biden’s limited press conferences and sparse number of events that allow him to avoid being linked too far to the left. As a result, Biden is able to maintain his position as a “not too extreme, but reasonable enough Democrat.” By doing so, he has picked up votes from centrist white voters, playing the moderate card. Additionally, through his multi-racial coalition he hopes to attain minority votes. Yes, this is a “once in a lifetime opportunity to make hope and history rhyme.” Is Biden squandering said opportunity by not inciting enough hope and a want to truly go to the polls for HIM as a candidate? Only November will tell.
Opinion | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Page 9
“ 9/11 emphasizes value of empathy American History
News coverage of the 9/11 attacks affects media consumption of American citizens
As citizens, we all have a duty to place ourselves in the position of those first responders ."
Connor McNeely Staff Columnist mcnecb19@wfu.edu
This year I watched a series of morning shows and programs that had aired on Sept. 11, 2001 and had captured that horrific morning. The purpose of my viewing was to feel the shock and awe of the event as if it had just happened. But as each of the broadcasts were interrupted by the news of the attacks, I found myself more interested in the lead-up than the actual live coverage of the events of 9/11. They left me with a unique impression. I could not help but finish each video thinking of the decades before the attack, and the pervasive sense of optimism that seemed connected to it. Perhaps I reasoned that the decades before were a comparatively happier period of history because I thought of what was to come — all the struggle and pain of this year and also of the perpetual aftermath of the attacks; how the national media would transform; how far the sense of American security had fallen. I began to cherry pick every failure of the post 9/11 era
Intersectionality
Race and
and uphold the world that was before. Even as I unfairly judged this transformation of our country — ignoring virtually all good that occurred after 9/11 and all of the atrocities committed before — I still returned to the attacks every time and found them radically different from anything ever captured on television before that moment. The composite footage of the crash has always been an unbearably terrifying fact to me. I favor the live news coverage over the amateur footage. To watch videos recorded by onlookers on the street of such a catastrophe is extremely dislocating. In history, there are usually only words to describe the destruction of a city — now you can watch the death of thousands of people from a dozen angles, from a dozen live news feeds. Even more horrible are the images and videos of the workers jumping from the towers. Never had American citizens felt so helpless. There wasn’t a thing anyone could do to help them. They could only watch as the victims of this senseless tragedy made it to the windows and waved for help that would not come. You may watch these videos and look at these pictures and still feel shock. The collective and rightful cen-
“ gender
Blackness and womanhood require intersecting social and political analysis
Mariama Jallow Guest Columnist jallm18@wfu.edu
Why isn’t the world fighting enough for Black women? This is a question I have constantly asked myself. After the murder of George Floyd, we watched protests consistently throughout the country and all parts of the world. Powerful companies started speaking out and discontinuing racist products. People all around the world started having ‘uncomfortable’ conversations. After the brutal murder of Breonna Taylor, we saw many of the same things, however her killers have not been arrested or charged, nor was she given the same national attention or energy from the world despite being shot and killed in her home state. The reason being that she was a Black woman and to be a Black woman in this country means you are never top priority. In addition to all the in-person protests, Oprah Winfrey, Beyonce, Joe Biden, Kamala
sorship of such information is the reason The dominant media corporations for this authentic feeling. The sensitive of today must realize the horror that sharing of these videos and photographs pierced the heart of every American on have reserved a space of American his- 9/11, no matter who they worked for tory for mournful observers, and thank- or what job they did, and find empathy fully not for those who wish to belittle or for everything that is happening to ormock the profound pain suffered in the dinary people today. As citizens, we all have a duty to place content. Today, the effects of 9/11 reverberate ourselves in the position of those first in America. We have been attacked many responders and decide whether we will more times. Soon, the video footage of feel and act, or stand and watch. 9/11 has been accompanied by those of other terrorist attacks like the Boston Marathon bombing, and citizens of other countries have become victims of insensible public tragedy. As a nation, we became focused on the prevention of another 9/11. The trauma we endured became the fuel for the longest war in United States history that is still ongoing. Immigration policies have been tightened and are now a focal point of the current presidential administration. Surveillance of all citizens has reached an all time high through the creation of the TSA and the strengthening of the NSA via the Patriot Act. Yet even with these preventative measures, we feel unsafe. And now as you visit CNN, or turn on the news at any time, you quietly watch the calamities in every state of the country, and in every country of the world. Catastrophe sells. The drive of the national and world media is to gather attention, and this can sometimes be an altruistic goal. The citizens of the United Photo Courtesy of Ken Bennett /@wakeforestphoto States should always return to the tangible memories of Sept. 11, 2001, and learn WFU students walk through Sept. 11 memorial on the upper quad. from them.
require intersecting analysis
Black women have to carry the weight of this world on their back and in return Black women are constantly hypersexualized" Harris and so many more celebrities, athletes and politicians have spoken on Taylor's murder and demanded justice. Although it is great for such powerful and influential people to be speaking up and using the power that they have, more than anything it makes me upset. Is this what it takes for a Black woman to get justice? Will celebrity influence make police officers reconsider their use of violence? Does the law only protect the white and privileged? Oppression, racism and discrimination were some of the building blocks of this country and often we forget that we live in a patriarchal society. Black women’s voices and lives are not valued or respected in different social, political and economic circles. Black women have to carry the weight of this world on their backs and in return, Black women are constantly hypersexualized and at the same time criticized for not fitting European and Western standards of beauty. Whether it is the police force, the under representation of our voices in high political offices, or the societal expectation that Black women are constantly strong and unbreak-
able, these are all battles Black women are still fighting every day. Why does it take video evidence of a Black man being killed by the police for the world to suddenly wake up to the noise and violence of police brutality? The continuous showing of Black Death on social media should not become ‘normal’ or desensitized. Officers that are supposed to “serve and protect us” are doing the complete opposite to Black people. Even worse, it subconsciously normalizes within our psyches and creates a dangerous culture of anti-blackness sustained through the proliferation of images of Black death. Black women across the world shouldn't have to have their pain and suffering replayed over and over on the internet for attention to finally be directed on the anti-black and misogynistic violation of our bodies. There is no doubt in my mind that without the social uprising we have experienced in the last couple of months, George Floyd's murderers would not have been charged and Breonna Taylor’s story may never have been made public. According to the New York Times, one of the Police officers involved in this case has been arrested “on charges of endangering neighbors with reckless gunshots, but no one was charged with shooting Ms. Taylor in her Louisville apartment.” However, achieving the bare minimum does not mean people should be even
close to satisfied. We as individuals need to realize the power that we have, especially power in numbers: Black women are tired of being the only ones fighting for Black women. Why is it that when three Black women start a movement named Black Lives Matter, four years later they're all called out for creating a terrorist organization that's attempting to bring chaos in the U.S.? Why is it that we can always find the energy to fight for others when we see injustices in the world, but seemingly most of the world isn't willing to lift its finger when we're being targeted. Even when Megan thee Stallion was shot, peoples’ first instinct was to create memes and make the whole situation a joke. The suffering of Black women is not a joke. In 2015 #SayHerName was created, the goal of this hashtag is to dismantle the perception that Black men are the only victims of police brutality, systemic racism and oppression and victims of the prison industrial complex. If you're truly fighting for Black women, speak up and speak out. Black women deserve, want and need to be listened to, heard and included in society now, yesterday, and for forever. Go check out my podcast episode on The World Through Our Eyes titled ‘Black Women Periodt’ where I dive deeper into these conversations.
Page 10 | Thursday, September 24, 2020
“ precedent
Old Gold & Black | Opinion
Confirmation Precedent Personal Development
Fraught
Conflicting precedents surrounding confirmation process provoke concern Elizabeth Maline Staff Columnist malied17@wfu.edu
Four years ago, it was determined that a process many Americans assumed was immune from partisan games, appointing justices to the Supreme Court, is no longer apolitical. It had always been the expectation that a sitting president appoints a new justice should a vacancy arise. The opposing party was never thrilled, but they would accept the reality of the situation and move forward with the confirmation. No longer is this the case. In February 2016, Antonin Scalia died, effectively leaving a seat open on the Court for President Barack Obama to fill. He proceeded in this process, as every president had done before him, tapping Merick Garland to serve. But Republicans orchestrated an unprecedented effort, eight months before the election, to block Obama’s nominee, and they were successful. They declared that Americans should be given the opportunity to voice their opinions in
poses SCOTUS qualms
Don’t label it a “duty” or a “responsibility” when you and all Americans are fully aware that this is a political play." the upcoming election, after which the new president, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, would move forward with the appointment of a new justice. Though this argument had never been made before, it held up in a Republican-controlled Senate. Following his election, President Trump appointed Neil Gorsuch, who will likely serve on the bench for several more decades and who’s appointment shifted the Court towards the conservative majority it now holds. It’s now September 2020, two months before the election, and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg’s death leaves an open seat on the Court. Normally, Trump would appoint a justice without opposition from anyone, as he is the sitting president. But, Republicans bent the rules last time around to fit their political needs. Should the rules be bent again, to let another election take place before appointing a replacement? Not according to Mitch McConnell and President Trump, who are arguing that they have an “obligation” to fill Ginsberg’s seat as quickly as possible, even though just four short years ago they did everything in their power to assure Amer-
icans it was necessary to delay this process until after the election. This argument is not only completely and utterly hypocritical in every sense of the word, but it is insulting to Americans’ intelligence. We aren’t stupid. We saw what happened in 2016 and we see what’s happening now. Don’t label it a “duty” or a “responsibility” when you and all Americans are fully aware that this is a political play. If Republicans are going to continue using their political power for their own benefit, departing from historical precedent, they need to own up to it for what it is. They need to drop the “obligation” act and at least pick a better, more convincing argument. Lucky for them, there is one. There exists a Constitutional loophole that actually allows Republicans to both delay and push forward a nominee, so they don’t have to hide behind their weak justifications. The Constitution does not put a time frame on our government’s need to consent to a nominee. While it was customary for a sitting president to immediately nominate a justice, nothing in the constitution says this has to be the course of action. While critics may believe delaying the confirmation process is unethical, it is not unconstitutional. But Republicans are pursuing a dangerous path nonetheless. They can play all the partisan games they want now, but the time will come when the roles are reversed and
Democrats won’t be afraid to strike back. In a world where the party in power gets to make the rules, they can quickly push through their own appointments and block opposing ones whenever it’s convenient for them. Fraught confirmation processes consume lawmakers’ time and energy, when Mitch McConnell could have instead left the process alone and maintained that the current president appoints justices when a vacancy arises. So, what’s it going to be? Are we supposed to simply revert back to historical precedent and let Donald Trump appoint a justice, calling 2016 an unfortunate fluke? Do we follow the new precedent set by Republicans in 2016 and demand a justice not be appointed until after the election? Or do we accept a new reality where the party with more political power gets to decide the rules on a case-by-case basis? If the latter is what determines the future of the confirmation process, it will only further intensify political polarization and division. Further, it will politicize the judiciary as a whole, a branch that was intentionally designed not to be political. But a decision needs to be made. The Supreme Court is one of the most influential bodies of our government and justices make decisions that impact all Americans for generations. The process in choosing these justices should not be left to chance.
signment instructions and reminders a puzzle. Canvas does try to list all things a student must accomplish on its To-Do list, but it isn’t especially reliable when some of those assignments are input by professors in a way that doesn’t register them as worthy of that list. And my intention is not to point out that Canvas isn’t being used effectively because due-dates aren’t served to students in a way that eliminates the need for them to plan and organize that sort of thing on their own. Rather that larger issues of a similar nature are also of a similar cause. Much of my dissatisfaction with using Canvas seems to stem from the lack of consistency in how professors use the program. It can be surprising how significantly one canvas course site can differ from another because each professor has had different ideas on what features they want to use to supply course content to students. Some professors might host the majority of their assignments on the 'assignments' tab (as you might expect), some might choose to list them under the 'modules' tab along
with PowerPoints and other lecture materials, others might list it all all under the 'syllabus' tab, and others under the 'files' tab. Even though all of a student’s course information is (or should be) located on one app, the various ways in which they must navigate the app to obtain what you want based on their professor’s whim, saps the program of its convenience and ease of use. It seems the training that occurred for Canvas has given professors a good hold on the program, but didn’t include any suggestions or guidelines on how each feature should be utilized so that students won’t need to adapt to each professor’s individual use of the program. Though, one could argue that this is all a part of the learning curve of making a university-wide switch to a new program, and that it’s occurring at an exceptionally inconvenient time. After all, when the transition began we probably didn’t expect to be relying so heavily on online learning. Perhaps then this can serve as a suggestion, from one student, as to how that online learning can be made more manageable as a challenge existing among many others.
“ Implementation of Canvas lacks consistency Canvas
The variety of features on Canvas can make using it unnecessarily difficult Ryan King
Staff Columnist kingrm17@wfu.edu
I consider Canvas to generally be a superior program to Sakai. It has a variety of useful features and tools for students and professors alike, a sleeker user interface that doesn’t feel as dated and unfriendly, and a mobile app that for me has become indispensable. Unfortunately however, despite the fact that the university has completed its transition away from Sakai and has been solely using Canvas to operate its class pages for some time now, a number of frustrating issues linger in regard to how it’s been implemented. Or rather, the sense I’m getting is that some of the issues I face with online learning are those that can be solved by Canvas, but aren’t because it isn’t being used effectively as it
...the various ways in which [students] must navigate the app saps ... its convenience and ease of use." could be. Instead of being a way to reduce confusion as we all learn to adapt to online learning, it at times seems to be just another source of confusion. It has added another issue to which we must adapt and learn, on top of the logistical ones that we already face. I would think I’m not the only one that has found it harder to keep track of assignment and project deadlines without the tangible structure of synchronous, in-person class meetings, but it seems to me this isn’t an unavoidable issue. In the sense that Canvas acts as a hub for all communications related to coursework, it should serve to students all of their assigned responsibilities in one central location. Though, the understanding that all we must do as a student is listed somewhere in that app (and sometimes this isn’t even always the case) isn’t necessarily a relief, because the extensive amount of features that Canvas offers can make finding as-
SPORTS
T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 2 4 , 2 0 2 0
PAG E 11
Online at: www.wfuogb.com Twitter: @sports_ogb Editors: Ben Conroy, conrbd19@wfu.edu Will Zimmerman, zimmwj19@wfu.edu
OLD GOLD & BLACK
WFU falls in shootout to NC State The football team saw considerable improvement, but were defeated by the Wolfpack for the first time since 2016 BY WILL ZIMMERMAN Sports Editor zimmwj19@wfu.edu Wake Forest’s offense came to play last Saturday night, but defensive struggles proliferated, and the Wolfpack came away with the victory, 45-42. From the whistle, the Demon Deacon defense was on their heels. It took less than two minutes and only five plays for the Wolfpack to march 75-yards down the field and find the endzone on their first drive. And after a quick four-and-out, NC State’s offense was back on the field. Their next drive: nine plays, 82 yards and a touchdown. Down 14-0, redshirt sophomore Sam Hartman and the Wake Forest offense found their groove without a second to spare. Following the four-and-out, an impressive 75-yard drive was capped off by a short touchdown pass hauled in by the leaping Jaquarri Roberson, a redshirt junior. Throughout the rest of the first half, both offenses continued to roll, and both defenses continued to flounder. Wake Forest scored two touchdowns on the ground on their ensuing drives, the first from redshirt-junior Christian Beal-Smith and the second from sophomore Kenneth Walker III. The successful run game was a welcoming sight to Head Coach Dave Clawson, who had stressed the importance of finding the ground game early and often after logging a whopping total of 37 yards on 34 carries last weekend against the Clemson Tigers. The improvement was noticeable: BealSmith and Walker worked effectively as a one-two punch, combining for a total of 40 carries, good for 170 yards and four touchdowns. “He’s really a complete back,” Clawson said of Walker, during his post-game press conference. "We didn’t have any balance last week, so we came out intentionally and tried to run the ball. He got those tough yards when we needed it, and that’s something to build off of.” Hartman concurred, calling both of the backs “prolific.” In the first half of the game, redshirt freshmen Taylor Morin continued to build on last week’s success. Morin caught three passes for over 50 yards in the first two quarters (before failing to reel-in either of the two balls thrown his way dur-
ing the second half of the game), one of which was a 27-yard reception on a fourth-and-ten. That catch-and-run set up an 11-yard run by Beal-Smith for a touchdown on the very next play. Walker added another touchdown before half to bring the Demon Deacons level with the Wolfpack, 21-21. In the second half, Wake Forest again fell behind early. While the Deac’s first three possessions ended with punts, the Wolfpack scored touchdowns on their first two drives to take a 35-21 lead. The lead was cut to seven when senior Ja’Sir Taylor returned a 45-yard interception for a touchdown. The pick was Taylor’s third in his past five games. Wake Forest scored a touchdown on their next drive when Walker found his gap and darted untouched into the endzone from 13-yards out, again bringing the game level, 35-35. But Norm Hall/Getty Images/TNS when Beal-Smith fumbled the ball late in the third quarter in Demon Deacon territory, the Wolfpack kicked a field goal Taylor celebrates his pick-six in the third which ended up being the different in the game. quarter, his third in the past five games. Both offenses scored touchdowns on their following drives before Wake’s offense stalled late in the fourth quarter. A turnBy the end of the game, Hartman had completed passes over on downs followed up by a poorly executed two-minute to eight different receivers. Besides Roberson and Morin, the drill saw the Deacons fall to 0-2, both overall and in ACC- graduate student Donald Stewart was a prime target, roping in play. five completions for over 40 yards. A dejected-looking Hartman made it clear that he underDefensively, the Demon Deacon’s unquestionably need stands the importance of putting up points at the end of the to shore up their game. On Saturday, the Wolfpack racked game as he fielded questions during the press conference. up 270 rushing yards, almost 200 passing yards and six total “We’ve got to win those two-minute drills and that starts with touchdowns. me. I’ve got to hit my throws,” Hartman said. “[Otherwise], “I’m very concerned,” Clawson said of his defense. “NC it’s the same old-same old: Wake Forest quarterbacks missing State’s ability to run the football was the difference in this throws and losing games. Can’t really do anything about it.” game. When we had to, we didn’t get off the field enough. The blame for the late game struggles cannot fall solely on This is problem number one that we’ve got to get fixed.” the shoulders of the quarterback, however. “[We gave up] two Thankfully, the Demon Deacons will have some time to sacks in the two-minute drill, usually you can’t overcome one,” address these issues, as the contest slated for next weekend Clawson said. “When it’s a three-man rush, the protection against Notre Dame was cancelled Tuesday after seven of the needs to hold up a little bit, and we didn’t hold up enough to Fighting Irish players tested positive for COVID-19. The allow our guys to get open.” break is a lucky one, considering that through two games this Dropped balls, which were a major problem last weekend, season, ND has beat opponents by a 66-point margin. again plagued the Demon Deacon’s. But despite the limited The following weekend is the Demon Deacon’s bye-week, help he received, Saturday’s overall performance was another so the next scheduled game is at 8 p.m. on Oct. 9 against step in the right direction for Hartman, who completed al- Campbell at Truist Stadium. The players are confident that most 64% of his passes and racked up 236 passing yards on between now and then, time spent on the practice-field and 36 attempts. in the film-room will have the team prepared to pick up the “When [Hartman] got into a rhythm [we looked similar to season’s first win. last year’s offense], but we need [our receivers] to make plays “We have flashes where everyone is cooking on all cylinders, on the outside. We’ve dropped five or six deep balls now in so we know we can do it,”Taylor said. two weeks. [Making those big-time plays is] the next step our Hartman echoed a similar sentiment: “We know what we’re younger receivers have to take,” Clawson said. doing, we just have to trust each other.”
Demon Deacons land top target Carter Whitt Whitt, the highly-touted four-star recruit, becomes the second addition to the 2021 basketball class BY CHARLIE BENEDICT Business Manager bennecc19@wfu.edu Deacon Nation secured a massive win on the basketball recruiting trail Monday afternoon with the commitment of 4-star point guard Carter Whitt. Whitt, the 63rd best recruit in the 2021 class according to 247Sports, had received 12 different crystal balls to Nebraska by “recruiting insiders.” Whitt also received offers from NC State, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, Memphis, Virginia Tech and Boston College. Whitt, a native of Raleigh, NC, played his first three years at Leesville Road before announcing his transfer to New Hampshire’s Brewster Academy. Although rumored to be considering reclassifying to the Class of 2020, Whitt is on track to graduate from Brewster early and may enroll at Wake Forest as early as this December. If he does so, he would likely redshirt this
season, thus preserving his four years of eligibility. Being from North Carolina, Whitt is well versed in the history and pageantry of the Tobacco Road schools. “[Coach Steve Forbes believes that] Wake is going to be ‘the’ school in the state of North Carolina, and that’s the type of coach I want to play for. We’re going to be the best team in the state,” said Whitt in an interview with 247’s Les Johns. As a junior at Leesville Road, Whitt averaged 22 points, nine rebounds and eight assists a game while leading the Pride to a 21-8 record. According to high school basketball analyst Brian Snow, Whitt’s strengths are his feel for the game and high basketball IQ. Snow also notes that Whitt excels at leading fast-breaks and pushing the ball up-court, something that should bode well with Forbes’s aggressive offensive style. Offensively, Whitt shines in the pick and roll, and he has a keen ability to attack the hoop and finish through contact. His shooting has dramatically improved since his freshman year at Leesville, but further room for improvement remains. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, Whitt mentioned his good relationship with Forbes. “He’s a guy I can talk to about anything, and most importantly, I really trust him,” Whitt said.
“I think it’s the best fit for me because Coach Forbes runs a guard-driven offense that allows for a lot of freedom. I’ll be able to have the ball in my hands to create, which is when I’m at my best.” A common theme seen through analyzing Whitt’s game is that he makes the players around him better. Whitt intends to continue that trend, telling Sports Illustrated that he’s reached out to 4-star center Jonas Aidoo, 4-star forward Alden Applewhite and 3-star wing Lucas Taylor. All of them have outstanding offers from Wake Forest. Whitt, whose father graduated from Wake Forest, toured the campus in 2019 with former Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning, but has not been back since. COVID-19 has impacted collegiate athletics in many ways, but the strain it has placed on recruiting and building relationships cannot be overstated. “I can’t tell you guys how relieved I am to have this decision out of the way,” Whitt said. “It’s been stressful, but I know I made the best decision for me and that’s what I’m most happy about.” Currently rated as the best player from North Carolina, Whitt will join South Carolina native and 4-star combo-guard Robert McCray IV in Forbes’s inaugural class. The class is currently ranked #28 in the nation and #5 in the ACC.
Page 12 | Thursday, September 24, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Sports
Maya Moore: Much more than an athlete Maya Moore spearheaded a movement to reverse Jonathan Irons' conviction BY HASSAN LADIWALA Staff Writer ladiha17@wfu.edu
“More than an athlete.” It’s a term popularized by LeBron James imploring athletes to use their platforms to affect social and political change across the country. It’s also a term that Maya Moore clearly takes to heart. Moore, a 6x All-Star, 5x WNBA First-Team honoree, 4x WNBA Champion, 2014 WNBA MVP and flat-out one of the “nastiest” women’s basketball players to ever grace the hardwood, announced in February 2019 that she would be taking a sabbatical in order to find her life’s purpose. She said at the time, “I’m sure this year will be hard in ways that I don’t even know yet. But it will be rewarding in way’s I’ve yet to see too.” Over the next few weeks, it would become clear that Moore saw criminaljustice reform as a major part of her calling. Even before she left the WNBA, Moore spoke about how her greatuncle’s work in a prison ministry had
a big impact on her. However, there was one incarcerated man’s case which stood out in particular: the conviction of Jonathan Irons. In 1998, Irons was sentenced to 50 years in prison for first-degree assault, first-degree burglary and armed criminal action charges. No blood, footprints or fingerprints tied him to the crime, yet he was found guilty by an all-white Missouri jury. Irons was 16 at the time. Irons and Moore first met in 2007, before Moore’s freshman season at the University of Connecticut. Moore, who believed Irons had been wrongfully convicted, became increasingly involved in the fight to exonerate him, attending his hearings and visiting with him and his defense team during her time away from basketball. Last October, with Moore watching, Irons took the stand in shackles and stated his innocence, facing crossexamination from the prosecution — something a public defender had dissuaded him from doing during his initial trial, citing his youth and lack of education. At the time, Moore believed that this was a huge step in overturning Irons’ conviction. Nearly eight months later, Moore’s words held true as Irons walked out of the Jefferson City Correctional Center a free man after a
judge had overturned his conviction four months earlier. “I feel like I can live my life now, I’m free, I’m blessed, I just want to live my life’s worth of God’s help and influence.” Irons said upon his release, just before taking his first steps as a free adult. “I hope to be an agent of positive change, I want to encourage and inspire people and share my story with whoever will listen. I want to be an advocate, part of the conversation going forward, for justice and police reform.” It looks like Irons will have some companionship in his fight for social justice; just last week, he and Moore appeared on Good Morning America to announce that they had gotten married over the summer. “We wanted to announce today that we are super excited to continue the work we have been doing together but doing it as a married couple. We’re excited to share this new chapter of our life together,” Moore said, through a beaming smile. Moore compared the overturning of Irons’ conviction to lifting a Final Four trophy, saying when she heard the news that she felt “redemption” for taking time off basketball. Maya Moore’s story is a reminder to all of us (especially Laura Ingraham) why it’s so important for our athletes to be “more” than just
athletes and they should never be told to “shut up and dribble.” Now, it’s time for us to shut up and listen to their message.
Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images/TNS
Maya Moore left her WNBA career to pursue justice for Jonathan Irons.
New options available for intramural sports Much has changed in the world of intramural sports for the fall semester BY BRIDGET ANNINO Contributing Writer horncs18@wfu.edu
As the fall season truly begins, the once-familiar respite of heading over to Poteat field to compete in an intramural soccer game is but a distant memory. In the era of COVID-19, the intramurals we long took for granted have been replaced with contactless sports and eSports Leagues. The roster for fall 2020 intramural sports looks a little different than usual, with popular options such as basketball, flag football and soccer vacant from the menu. And while the Reynolda Gym is also functioning in a very different capacity than in years past, the Wake Forest tennis courts, cornhole boards and many other options are still up and running for students yearning to participate in intramural sports safely. As a school, Wake Forest boasts one of the largest collegiate intramural sports programs in the country, with almost half of Demon Deacons participating each year. As such, the lack of options this semester will not go unnoticed. While sports league options for this fall are somewhat slim, there is a new variety of competition available: eSports. Over half of the options for leagues are not in-person, but instead online and catered to gamers. With options like
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, FIFA 20: Champions League, Fortnite and Madden NFL 20, among others, this semester is a gamer's paradise. Although most of the intramural offerings are eSports this semester, there are also various tournaments and flash challenges that have been tailored to adhere to this semester’s COVID-19 restrictions. New offerings that are socially-distanced include cornhole, squash, disc golf, darts, Kan Jam, Tic-Tac-Toe tournaments and logrolling, along with many more. Never heard of logrolling? Neither had I. Thankfully, Campus Recreation lifeguard Julia Wilson helped explain what it entailed: “Basically, it’s a competition between two people to see who can stay standing on the log in the pool for the longest amount of time.” “It’s actually quite fun to watch,” she added while chuckling at the image in her head. Wilson explained that while LogRolling is a contactless sport, the splashing of water and sprinting and kicking techniques of log rolling triggers a rush of adrenaline similar to that which water polo did last semester. “It’s definitely strange not having water polo and normal intramural opportunities for students, but I think that Wake has done a great job of offering new socially distanced sports,” Wilson said. Wake Forest’s ability to tailor and tweak the intramural program for this semester has truly been impressive. The
Photo Courtesy of PlayStation.Blog/Flickr
Wake Forest will offer many eSports intramural leagues this year, including Rocket League, a popular racing/soccer hybrid. efforts have been well received by the 3,000-plus students who participate in intramural sports annually. Wake Forest’s effort towards emphasizing the safety of students and staff throughout their programming has also been commendable. “They’ve taken the precautionary measures very seriously this semester,” Wilson explained. “Even as a lifeguard, we received special training on how to make all the swimmers as safe as possible.” While these opportunities don’t constitute the normal offerings for Wake Forest Intramurals, it is clear that the
university is trying to create as normal an environment for us students as possible. North Carolina is fortunate enough to have warm weather until early October, so these intramurals will still (hopefully) be played outside up until students go home for winter break. By the spring semester, staff and students alike hope that Wake Forest will be able to bring back the beloved intramural sports including flag football, volleyball, soccer and other big team sports. Until then, I guess it’s time to start getting creative and learn how to logroll.
Sports | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Page 13
Deacon Spotlight: Chase Oliver & Isaiah Parente
BY COOPER SULLIVAN Contributing Writer sullcg20@wfu.edu
Men’s soccer is off to a strong start this season, as they beat Pittsburgh 3-2 in an exhibition match on Sept. 13. Freshman Chase Oliver scored two of those goals in his first taste of collegiate soccer. Oliver, from Kennesaw, GA, is one of Coach Bobby Muuss’s eight recruits for this 2020-21 season. Oliver is a midfielder who played at Atlanta’s Woodward Academy and was a part of Atlanta United FC’s Developmental Academy and Concorde Fire club teams. The loss of many seniors this past year has forced many of the younger players to step up into their new leadership roles. Isaiah Parente, junior midfielder from Medina, OH, is one of the two captains this season. Parente has been second on the team in assists these last two years and was named to the 2019 All-ACC third team. Old Gold & Black sports writer Cooper Sullivan sat down with Oliver and Parente to discuss this upcoming season, the pandemic and calls for racial equality. Cooper Sullivan: First off, congrats on your win against Pittsburgh. Chase, you scored two goals including the game winner. How do you feel about the rest of the season after this strong debut? Chase Oliver: It felt good getting those two goals. You know, as a freshman, I was extremely anxious for that first game. First time being in the jersey in Spry [Stadium], which as you know has a lot of history, it felt good to be able to bag two. But it’s just an exhibition, we’ve got some bigger games ahead, so I am just trying to stay levelheaded, stay humble and keep working hard. CS: What is the key to keeping up the momentum in the season opener against Louisville on Friday and then for the rest of the season? Isaiah Parente: I think it’s just working hard every day, we have a practice. You know, with
COVID-19 going on, I think everyone doing their part and wearing masks, socially distancing, washing our hands and doing the little things will allow us to keep training and keep momentum moving forward. This past weekend the guys had great vibes and good banter. I think the training this week was really good, and I think that training hard is just going to keep moving the momentum forward. CS: You mentioned COVID-19, how else has the pandemic affected how you guys have prepared this year, especially compared to past years?
IP: I think team functions, I think being close around each other. We try to get around each other as many times as we can, but now it’s only a certain amount of guys in the locker room, a certain amount of guys here and there. The amount of games may have changed but we can’t control that. We can only control each and every day. CS: Isaiah, your first two years here, you made it to the Round of 16. Now leading this team as a captain is that the expectation for you guys, to go far and contend for a title? IP: The expectation is we want to win. Each game we want to win. It takes a lot to get to the College Cup. I know everyone says “Oh, but the years past,” but I think each year is a new year and it’s exciting. If we take it one game at a time I have no doubt that everybody on the team wants those ambitions and knows that our goal at the end of the day is to raise trophies. So I think that it can be our expectation but one game at a time. Even one training at a time, we can’t look too far ahead. CS: Is there anything you guys see that could possibly prevent you guys from reaching that position? *Both shake their heads no immediately*
CS: Both the football and basketball teams have made statements about the Black Lives Matter movement. What has the soccer team been doing? CO: We have actually been doing quite a bit. Over quarantine, while we were away, we had been having Zoom calls twice, sometimes three times a week, just to reconvene and talk about what’s going on because you can’t avoid it. We’ve done several things; if it’s the instagram posts, we made a video together of a statement that we all put together, just the players. The coaches read over it and supported us fully. We’ve implemented new masks and a new logo that says “Different But United” and that means a lot to us. IP: Our team is very diverse and there is no tolerance for racism. We have to look to the left and right of each other and we have to treat everyone with respect and equality. Just like Chase said, we have our new patch “Different But United,” which we wear during the pregame and it’s on our game-jerseys as well. We have bands that say “Black Lives Matter.” I think there is no tolerance for racism, from the men’s soccer team to the community and everyone at Wake Forest. CS: Chase, as a Black student here at Wake Forest, do you think the university, administration and students alike, is doing a good job addressing BLM and racial inequality? CO: Absolutely. Being a Black student at predominantly white university, the way the university is not shy to talk about it and is opening dialogue about this makes you feel a lot more comfortable. Being able to talk to your peers that are not the same demographic as you allows you to build different opinions and learn different things. That’s what I think this is all about, just learning from each other and trying to build as one.
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications
(Left) Chase Oliver, a freshman from Georgia. (Right) Isaiah Parente, junior, goes in for a slide tackle in a game against University of Pittsburgh.
Page 14 | Thursday, September 24, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Sports
NFL: Injuries plague stars throughout week two NFL’s week two provided its fair share of highlights, drama and intrigue across the board BY BRUCE HAYWOOD Contributing Writer haywbc16@wfu.edu Now that players and fans alike have gotten over their week one jitters or possible meltdowns, week two provided fan bases with another action packed slate of games. Thursday night’s “Battle for Ohio” saw the Cleveland Browns win 35-30 over the Cincinnati Bengals. Browns QB Baker Mayfield bounced back from an abysmal week one performance, and RB Nick Chubb had two touchdowns to hold off Bengals rookie Joe Burrow’s impressive threetouchdown outing. Sunday’s midday and late afternoon games had some exciting contests and some that likely made fans say, “I’ve seen enough! I’m turning the TV off!” The teams that fell into the “this game was over before it started” category were the usual suspects: the Jets, Giants, and Washington Football Team. On the first play of the Jets-49ers game, 49ers RB Raheem Mostert ripped off an 80-yard TD. The 49ers never looked back, winning 31-13. The Giants lost to the Bears, 13-17, and the Giants also lost their star RB Saquon Barkley for the remainder of the season to an ACL tear. After an exciting second-half comeback against
the Eagles in week one, the Washington Football Team came back down to earth, losing 30-15 after being held scoreless in the first half to the Cardinals. In the Denver Broncos — Pittsburgh Steelers matchup, Broncos QB Drew Lock exited the game early with a throwing-shoulder injury. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh RB, James Connor, overcame his ankle injury to rush for 106 yards, leading the Steelers to a 26-21 win. The Jacksonville Jaguars surprised some with a close contest despite losing to the Titans 33-30. The Miami Dolphins lost a tight game to the Buffalo Bills, 28-31, in a performance that shocked Buffalo’s fearsome defense. The Indianapolis Colts saw their rookie RB, Jonathan Taylor, breakout for his first 100 yard rushing performance as they beat the Minnesota Vikings 28-11. The first and second overall picks of the 2016 draft, Jared Goff (LA Rams QB) and Carson Wentz (Philadelphia Eagles QB), respectively, had two very different performances as Goff tossed three TDs and Wentz tossed two INTs, leading to a 37-19 Rams victory. Lamar Jackson’s Baltimore Ravens got the best of Deshaun Watson’s Houston Texans in a 33-16 win. Needless to say, Watson is really missing DeAndre Hopkins this season after he was traded away to the Cardinals. In an NFC North Division matchup, QB Aaron Rodgers threw a pair of touchdowns and RB Aaron Jones had a massive performance with 168 rush-
Kirk Irwin/Getty Images/TNS
After a lackluster showing in week one, QB Baker Mayfield led the Browns to their first victory of the season over the Cincinnati Bengals on Thursday night. ing yards as the Green Bay Packers bested the Detroit Lions 42-21. In an NFC South Division matchup, Tom Brady had one interception, but he looked more like his usual self with 217 yards and a touchdown pass in a 31-17 Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ win over the Carolina Panthers. In the AFC West Division matchup between the LA Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, LA Chargers rookie quarterback, Justin Herbert showed off his cannon for 311 yards in his NFL debut. However, the reigning Super Bowl Champion Chiefs spoiled Herbert’s first game with a 23-20 overtime win. Finally, the Dallas Cowboys — Atlanta Falcons game proved to be the most exciting game of the day. After three early fumbles for Dak Prescott & Co., they won 40-39. Fun Fact: The Falcons made the kind of history no team wants. Teams that have scored at least 39 points without any turnovers
have gone 444-0 since 1933. With Sunday’s loss, the Falcons snapped that streak. Sunday night’s primetime matchup featured Cam Newton’s Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Seahawks QB Russell Wilson threw an amazing five touchdown passes, and their defense held off the Patriots with a goal-line stand in the final seconds to secure the 35-30 win over the Patriots. Monday night all eyes turned to the New Orleans Saints and Las Vegas Raiders matchup, which was the first game played in the Raiders, “Death Star,” the nickname for their enormous new complex, known officially as Allegiant Stadium. Though standout RB Alvin Kamara dazzled for the Saints with a two-touchdown performance, the Raiders pulled out a 34-24 victory behind excellent performances from QB Derek Carr and RB Josh Jacobs.
Stanley Cup Finals even at one after Lightning win The Tampa Bay Lightning struck back against the Dallas Stars to equalize the Stanley Cup Finals BY NICO PANOS Staff Writer panonc19@wfu.edu Finally, the conclusive stage of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is upon us. Two teams remain in the Edmonton bubble, but only one champion will be crowned. For a season unlike any other, which has taken more than a year to complete, the two worthy contenders eyeing the biggest trophy in North American professional sports, Lord Stanley’s Cup, are the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. The Lightning have been one of the most dominant NHL teams over the course of the past two seasons, so there was much pressure on the team and head coach Jon Cooper heading into the bubble. Last year, after tying the single season points record, the Lightning fell by way of a first round sweep to the Columbus Blue Jackets in what was one of the most shocking upsets in recent playoff history. The catalyst for this season’s postseason run has been the Lightning’s incredibly deep offense. The Lightning’s top line, led by former Hart Memo-
rial Trophy winner, Nikita Kucherov, has already racked-up a team high 26 points during the team’s postseason run. With star center Steven Stamkos missing most of the playoffs due to injury, the budding-star, Brayden Point has proved his own worth as a more than capable second-line-center. In fact, Point has been one of the best centers in the league during the postseason, accumulating 25 points to date. And, with a cavalcade of exciting players up and down the offensive lines including the likes of Ondrej Palat, trade deadline acquisition Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson, the Lightning offense will be incredibly hard for the Stars to slow down. Defensively, the outstanding blue line has been led by arguably their most important player, Victor Hedman, who leads the team with a plus/minus ratio of plus-17. Other key contributors include Ryan McDonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk and Mikhail Sergachev, who hope to impress the nation as the Tampa team have sneakily been one of the best defensive teams in the league. Reigning star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy has been up for the Vezina Trophy each of the past three years, making him on the game’s elite goalies. Clearly, head coach Jon Cooper has the pieces to finally earn the title his team has always shown the potential to get.
Out of the Western Conference come the Dallas Stars. Coached by former Tampa Bay Lighting assistant Rick Bowness, the Stars are in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2000. The Stars owe much of their postseason success to their strong defensive units as well as the play of their starting goalie, Anton Khudobin. During the Western Conference Finals versus the favored Vegas Golden Knights, Khudobin willed his team into the next round, frustrating the high-powered Golden Knights attack and putting himself in contention for the Conn Smythe trophy (awarded to the most Valuable Player during the playoffs) en-route. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen and his partner John Klingberg deserve some credit too, as they have stood tall in front of Khudobin all season long. During game one, it was the Stars’ offense that garnered the post-game headlines. The Stars found the back of the net four times, with goals from Joel Hanley, Jamie Oleksiak, Joel Kiviranta and Jason Dickinson propelling the team to a four-to-one victory. Offensively, the Stars have had a much tougher go then one might expect from a Stanley Cup finalist. While certainly not a push over with forwards like Jamie Benn and the former face of San Jose Sharks, Joe Pavelski, leading the way, the Stars have been more reli-
ant on snapping a few goals into the back of the net and then frustrating the opposing team to the end of the game. While it’s maybe not the most exciting hockey strategy, it gets the job done as the find themselves in a strong position to hold up the cup if they can limit the striking attack of the Lightning.
Tom Fox/Dallas Morning News/TNS
Left wing Jamie Benn plays a crucial role in the Stars’ offense.
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Page 15
Old Gold & Black | Sports
Club soccer ready to kickoff 2020 Women’s club soccer feels privileged just to get on the field and practice again BY AINE PIERRE Staff Writer pierav20@wfu.edu Wake Forest’s Women’s Club Soccer team will look a lot different this year in light of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the team will still be on the field, if not in a traditional sense, according to junior Nicolette Robinson, one of the team’s captains. Due to the fact that a traditional game of soccer involves physical closeness (one cannot steal a ball from 10 feet away, for example), the team has decided to forego all scrimmage matches. Inter-team play was effectively halted by the university’s travel policy, which prohibits club teams from travelling for inter-school games, and the team will not hold any intrasquad matches, either. “We had to submit a practice proposal to get approved, and the proposal included drills that followed COVID guidelines ... we have to do 10 feet apart, wearing masks at all times and with proper cleaning procedures, which for us just means wiping down the balls.” According to Robinson, the number of people on the team who wanted to play
this year (even without scrimmage matches) was the determining factor in the decision to play. “We asked everyone if they’d feel comfortable playing without scrimmaging, of course, and [following] COVID guidelines, and everyone said they wanted to. So the participation and enthusiasm from our current teammates was basically the driving force to keep us going and keep us playing,” Robinson said. The team held tryouts in three rounds over three different days: Monday, Sept. 14, Wednesday, Sept. 16 and this past Monday. Overall, Robinson found that the interest level has stayed the same since pre-pandemic. “We had about 40 people try out, and last week, we had about 50 people sign up, but only 40 people actually showed up,” Robinson said. During practices, the team will do various soccer drills, like shooting-on-a-turn drills and conga line drills (which involve dribbling through cones at fast paces). This will help keep players conditioned and improve the team’s skill for when they can once again play against other club teams in the area. “We’re really planning on ... doing more individualized training and technical drills that work on footwork [and passing], drills that include shooting ... as well as conditioning, which is something that we usually don’t include too much
because even though we are competitive, we try to make it a little bit more fun,” Robinson said. “But a lot of the girls really agreed about wanting to improve before next season.” According to Robinson, due to the size of the field on which the team practices, there is no need to limit attendance at practices, meaning the entire roster of about 30 players will be able to practice at the same time.
On Sundays, Robinson and her co-captains plan to hold more fun practices that are geared toward player enjoyment and socialization than skill development. “[We’ll] kind of have a Sunday just to get together and pass the ball around and make it a little bit more leisurely and fun,” Robinson said. “It will take the place of what we normally do on Sunday...we play games [as in matches] on Sunday mornings.”
Photo Courtesy of Nicolette Robinson
The women’s club soccer team pictured above with alumni Tyler Cameron and Matt James. The team is adapting to new COVID-19 regulations.
Another poor man’s fantasy football guide Here’s what happened in week two, and what to know for week three BY ESSEX THAYER Contributing Writer thayse20@wfu.edu Editors note: All points and statistics are PPR League scoring The stories from Week Two: Week two was the week of the young quarterback. Joe Burrow backed up a solid Week one debut with a stellar second act against the Browns on Thursday night, picking Cleveland apart to the tune of 316 yards and three passing touchdowns, which translated to 24.54 fantasy points. Josh Allen turned in one of the week’s best performances, tossing four touchdowns and 417 yards for 34.48 points. Dak Prescott had one of the most surprising performances of the week, hovering in negative figures for much of the first quarter before turning on the gas in the second half, ending the game with 39.8 points. Kyler Murray had a great week as a runner, scampering for two touchdowns and 32.14 points. In terms of non QBs, Leonard Fournette appears to have found his footing in Tampa Bay, scoring two touchdowns on 116 total yards for 27.6 points. Aaron Jones also had a fantastic week, finding the end zone
four times, amassing 45.6 points against the Detroit Lions. Nick Chubb followed a lackluster Week one performance against Baltimore with a 124-yard, two-touchdown performance against Cincinnati, notching 26.3 points. Terry McLaurin caught one touchdown and produced 25.5 points. Lastly, Tyler Higbee pulled in three touchdowns for 28.4 points. Injuries also dominated in Week two. My sincere condolences go out to any team starring Saquon Barkley or Christian McCaffrey. Accordingly, make sure to look at backup running backs in situations where starters have picked up injuries (I like Tarik Cohen in Chicago, Dion Lewis in New York, and Jerick McKinnon in San Francisco.) Looking ahead to Week Three QB I like: Kyler Murray If you didn’t know already, this kid is for real. Murray has averaged 29.22 fantasy points over two weeks, putting him well within the Top 10 of NFL QB’s. He’s set to face a horrendous Detroit defense in Week three. Plan accordingly. QB I don’t like: Patrick Mahomes I know this may come across as controversial, but after a tough week against a modest LA Chargers defense, Mahomes and the Chiefs have to play the best defense in the league, the Baltimore Ravens. He may not play terribly, but I expect Baltimore to hold Mahomes to less than fantasy owners are used to.
RB I like: Nick Chubb As mentioned above, Chubb had a spectacular outing in Week two against the Bengals. In Week three, he goes up against another weak run defense in the Washington Football Team. Expect him to get a lot of touches, and for the Cleveland offense to be dominant on Sunday.
Players on my Waiver Wire Watch List: Joe Burrow: QB, CIN Derrell Henderson Jr.: RB, LAR Joshua Kelly: RB, LAC Miles Gaskin: RB, MIA Jalen Reagor: WR, PHI Marquez Valdes Scantling: WR, GB Buccaneers D/ST
RB I Don’t Like: Clyde Edwards Helaire After an impressive debut in Week one, Edwards Helaire did little to satiate fantasy team owners in Week two, only rushing for 38 yards. As with Mahomes, Edwards Helaire goes up against a much better run defense in Week three. The Baltimore defensive line is stout, and unless he picks up valuable goal line touches where points are more abundant, I expect Edwards Helaire to repeat his lackluster Week two performance. WR I Like: Deandre Hopkins Having Kyler Murray as your quarterback and facing the Detroit Lions is a sign of impending success for Hopkins. He’s also averaged 24.95 points through two weeks, which certainly doesn’t hurt. WR I Don’t Like: A.J. Green The Bengals receiver draws a very tough assignment against lock-down Eagles corner Darrius Slay. He held Terry McLaurin to minimal points in Week one and can consistently stymie a No. 1 wideout. Expect Slay to do the same against Green.
Norm Hall/Getty Images/TNS
Murray delievers a tight spiral during his week two game.
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KANYE ADVOCATES for songwriters The latest activity in his string of antics, Kanye West starts a proverbial "war" with Sony and Universal for the master recordings of his music
BY ERIC OMOROGIEVA Staff Writer omorei17@wfu.edu
On Sept. 14, Kanye West tweeted, “I’m not putting no more music out till I’m done with my contract with Sony and Universal,” and what proceeded to follow for the next 10 days was a string of trending tweets, contract voids and a rush of communication with the music industry’s top executives from partners like Viventi, Bollore and Universal Music Group in a declaration of war for the master recordings of his music. West, known aside from his legendary career as a rapper, producer and fashion designer as a controversial public figure, never lets the foot off the brake in makingsure everyone is listening when he has something to say. He let the world know that Sony and Universal were not allowing him to acquire or purchase back the master recordings to his music, and through his personal struggle gaining his own rights back, he has started a push for Photo courtesy of @kanyewest onTwitter change in the industry to allow all artists to have transparency in their contracts and gain their own One of Kanye West's tweets about buying back his masters. He continued his Twitter rampage by tweeting over a hundred images of pages of his record deal documents. masters back. Many of West's early tweets did not gain much traction due to their confusing nature, but the publishers to stores, company commercials and star spent years battling Warner Bros Publishing, peak of the attention came when West upload- usages in TV Shows, movies and trailers. Every going as far as to change his name to an unproed a video of himself urinating on one of his 21 time you hear your favorite song at one of these nounceable symbol representing “love” and writGrammy Awards, a tweet that has gained over places, someone is paying for it. Not only that, ing the word “slave” on his face as a showcase of 750,000 likes and nearly 30,000,000 views on but the artists themselves are rarely the ones prof- the injustices he faced in gaining his rights back. the platform. He also breached all 10 of his exist- iting. Why? Because in many cases when an artist Throughout all of this, Prince also advocated for ing contracts by leaking them page by page over signs a contract, they are signing off the rights to other artists, only to fall on deaf ears without the nearly 100 tweets. This sounds crazy and abnor- their music as a means of getting more money up- support of his peers. mal; however, due to West's position as a well- front through contract advances and the royalties More recently, pop star manager Scooter Braun, respected icon, billionaire company owner and off of physical, digital and streaming sales. Ever who manages major acts like Justin Bieber and a part of the lineage of artists taking their legal since the dawn of the pop music industry, art- Ariana Grande, assisted in the purchase of Big battles public, these cries for freedom from his ists have been taken advantage of by these major Machine Label Group for $300M, a company contracts might not seem that odd. labels and publishers. Many, artists are not origi- that owns the masters for Taylor Swift's music. The fight for music rights, masters and pub- nally educated in music business or law, may not Despite her push to buy back her recordings, she lishing is one that a majority of music fans are have the best lawyers and are unaware of what was ultimately denied, and in order to gain some unaware of. It’s a complicated business that ulti- exactly they are signing off on, which allows any- ownership back she would have to re-record the mately comes down to the licensing of music by one to easily slide in a critical mandate in the fine entirety of her catalog as brand new releases. print hidden in the middle of a contract. West has a point, primarily because of his Explaining away West’s manic behavior would unionized approach to the cause. If all artbe easier if he kept his bold opinions to politics. ists could work together rather than fight these Extreme actions like contract leaks and urinating battles individually, they’d be much better off. on Grammy Awardsdemonstrate that West is tak- Interestingly enough, West might be the only ing this issue seriously. Universal has reasons to person capable of leading this movement, given sue him for tons of money, major award shows his charisma, notability and drive. Even through are likely to blacklist him for disrespect, and he his outbursts, he has continued to draw interis likely in the midst of making his lawyer’s life est from top executives at these companies for much harder, but none of that matters to West. phone calls and meetings, as well as seemingly If it takes that to educate millions of fans about avoiding repercussions for his actions. He’s althe cause and draw public attention to the ac- ready wealthy enough to force a purchase back tions of his record label, then it was worth it. It's for his rights in court, so he has nothing to lose. clear West hopes that the next generation of art- So far, West has shown progress by announcing ists does not to have to fight the same battles. His his work alongside Vivendi to create a Y Combisituation isn’t the only in history, and the fact that nator for the music industry, which would force this keeps happening to musicians is surely a sign contract transparency and guarantee signees that something must change, even if it takes radi- know exactly what goes where. This strategy was cal action. developed and used successfully at companies Photo courtesy of @kidbuu on Instagram Notable fights for music masters include the like AirBnb and Dropbox. For the first time in A still frame of the video West posted of him- late Prince, who was a stepping stone to the privi- awhile, West’s wild side has been led with direcself urinating on one of his Grammy awards. leged position West is in currently. The iconic tion and hopefully more progress will be made.
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Page 17
Life | Old Gold & Black
Podcast Review | How I Built This
THE HOT Guy Raz hosts NPR podcast LIST How I Built This is great for anyone with an interest in entrepreneurship BY LINDSAY HAYDEN Staff Writer haydlb19@wfu.edu If you are in the market for a new podcast, look no further than NPR’s hit show How I Built This, hosted by Guy Raz. The show opener puts it perfectly: How I Built This is “a show about innovators, entrepreneurs, idealists and the stories behind the movements they built.” Every week Guy Raz, a news journalist turned podcast host, sits down with some of the world’s most inspiring, eclectic and entertaining entrepreneurs to give listeners a behind the scenes look at what it’s like to start some of the world’s most successful businesses. With nearly 300 episodes recorded, Raz has raised the curtain and allowed listeners to hear from the founders themselves about how businesses like Ben and Jerrys, AirBnB, Whole Foods, Bumble, Panera Bread, Instagram and more were built from the ground up. When a business like Lululemon or Tempur-Pedic comes to mind, most people’s first thought is of their billion dollar net worth and overwhelming success. Little do they know that for many of the world’s most successful founders, they failed time and time again, often hitting rock bottom financially and
emotionally before eventually navigating their way to the top. Raz highlights in his show that big failures are actually a common denominator among some of his most successful guests. His vision behind How I Built This is not a 60 minute question and answer session about how great it is to be a successful entrepreneur, but rather a deep dive into some of the most challenging moments along the way. Raz’s personable demeanor and casual format makes his guests relatable to the audience rather than putting them on a pedestal for all they have accomplished. When interviewing Bobby Trussell, founder of Tempur-Pedic, much of the episode centered around Trussell’s near mid-life crisis at age 40 when his career in horse racing came to an abrupt end. In a nearly impossible situation with no income and a family to support, Trussell stumbled upon the opportunity to travel to Sweden to hear about memory foam mattresses and pillows that Americans might like. While luck played a role, Trussell spoke of how the resilience he developed during his darkest moments was key in forming his outlook on how to run a successful business later on. In a recent interview with Inc.com, Raz summed up the message of why telling the difficult parts of someone’s story is so important: “Failure is really, really interesting,” said Raz. “I think it also gives hope to people who may not yet have achieved the kind of success they’re hoping to achieve.”
Top 10 Valid Reasons for Getting Pulled Over
By Micah Porter
1.
Your imaginary friend was having a baby Photo courtesy of spotify.com
NPR’s How I Built This is hosted by former journalist Guy Raz.
By telling stories like that of Bobby Trussell and Tempur-Pedic, How I Built This has grown into an outrageous success since it’s initial launch in 2016. Attracting listeners from all ages, occupations and walks of life, the show has risen to the top of the charts, and is currently Apple Podcasts’ #1 Business Podcast in America. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the show started releasing an additional episode a week called “How I Built This — Resilience Edition.” In these episodes, Raz catches up with past interviewees and picks their brain about how they are using resilience to navigate the unexpected terrain of the past six months. Next time you are looking for inspiration or just need an easy listen to pass the time, consider opening up your podcast app and giving How I Built This a try.
3.
enjoy meeting new people, particularly in uniforms 5. You
You enjoy flashing lights behind you
7.
BY KHUSHI ARYA Staff Writer aryak19@wfu.edu Every now and then, in between my constant hustle and mundane routine, I pause. I take a moment to take in what I’m really working for. Here I am, sitting in my PJs at 11:35 p.m. on a Saturday night, writing my unfiltered thoughts. In a world filled with social media, perfectly edited photos and fancy lifestyle tips, it has become impossible to accept mediocrity or worse, failure. I, personally, don’t like doing a number of things, yet I force myself to do them anyway. Not glamorous or inspiring at all but it’s true. Everyone sees the outline, the final picture. Nobody knows what happens behind the scenes. The contradictions of our daily life seem intriguing to me. We are told to give our 100% without focusing on the result of our effort; yet, the result should be nothing short of perfection, because if it is, then we didn’t try hard enough. Again, not inspiring, but certainly true. It’s safe to assume that everyone here is juggling multiple responsibilities. We are at
You enjoy sirens and flashing lights behind you You can pay by credit card and you almost have enough miles for a flight
you driving, it was 9. Ityourwasn’t pet monkey Ticket? I wasn’t even speeding, mom!
Life isn’t all about the hustle “Work Forest,” after all. I see people simultaneously balancing 17 credits, three clubs and a part-time job. It seems to be a norm, if not an expectation to constantly stretch yourself thin in order to truly excel in your college career. Now, don’t get me wrong, I do think it is inspiring to be surrounded by overachievers. All the internships, leadership positions, classes and social interactions are extremely meaningful and play a huge role in professional growth. However, it is quite easy to get trapped in this rabbit hole of hustle culture. No matter how hard you’re working, there’s always someone who seems to be working harder. So where are you supposed to draw the line between hard word and over-exertion? The answer is subjective, as it should be. Everyone has their own goals, and, in my opinion, it is important to stay true to yours. Just because a friend applied for an internship abroad doesn’t mean that you should too. Of course, the converse is true is as well; a friend procrastinating isn’t an excuse to procrastinate your work. My point is, be intentional with your time, engaging in activities that truly bring value to your life. Ask yourself the purpose behind the work that you’re putting in. On any given day, you make a multitude of choices. Whether it’s doing homework, running errands, meeting up with a friend or working a job, there’s always a reason for that
Your Taco Bell giftcard was about to expire at midnight Test driving a new car: Had to give it a thorough test
Lifestyle Column | Hustle Culture
Despite the pressures of academia, take the time to appreciate your surroundings
You thought you’d get a reward if you got more “points”
choice. It’s nice to remind yourself of the bigger picture since all these little things accumulate to form the life you want. So yes, succeeding academically is an integral component of a successful college career but so is having a stable mental health. Investing time into building meaningful relationships is just as important as studying. There are eight dimensions of wellbeing: social, physical, intellectual, emotional, spiritual, environmental, financial and occupational. It’s hard to maintain a balance among all of them. In fact, I would argue that there is no such thing as “a perfect balance.” Some days might be better for your social and intellectual wellbeing, some for your financial and emotional and that’s completely okay. The key is to recognize patterns and identify what part of your well-being needs more attention in the long term. At the end of the day, all your hard work is pointless if it isn’t bringing you joy. We’re always in anticipation of what’s coming next that we forget to ground ourselves in reality. As you are reading this, try to fully experience this moment in time. Take a deep breath and for once just pause for a second. Look around, admire the people you see, the sounds you hear, and the smells you recognize. This moment will be gone before you know it, so might as well take it in while you still can.
DRINK OF THE WEEK Snickerdoodle Latte
Is this a rip-off of a juice shop smootie? Maybe...
• • • •
1/2 cup milk 2 tbsp. light brown sugar 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 cup espresso or strong brewed coffee
Pour the milk into a small jar, add light brown sugar and cinnamon. Shake or stir. Heat milk mixture in microwave. Pour coffee or espresso into a mug and then add warm milk.
Courtesy of House of Yumm
Page 18 | Thursday, September 24, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Life
Album Review | Give Me A Minute
Lizzy McAlpine releases debut album McAlpine’s music is defined by her lilting lyrics and orchestral instrumentals
BY CATHERINE REGEN Life Editor regecl17@wfu.edu
I honestly didn’t think finally succumbing to social pressure and downloading TikTok for entertainment purposes over quarantine would have a major impact on my life. But I was very wrong. Among the cooking tutorials and point of view (POV) videos I came across a 32-second-video of Lizzy McAlpine singing in her shower. In the clip she sits on the floor of a bathroom with her guitar, and sings a quick verse entitled “1975.” That video now has over seven million views, and the sound has been used over 2,500 times by other users. I probably account for at least 200 of those views alone. It only took that one clip, and I was hooked. So I followed her Instagram and enjoyed her melodic voice every time I managed to catch a Live or when she would post short videos. Out of curiosity I clicked the little link on her profile to see which accounts we had in common. Among our shared follows were all my favorite artists, which I took as a sign that there were good things to come.
Little did I know I would be graced with the single greatest album I’ve ever heard. Saying that feels like hyperbole, but it’s not. The album is one of the most sonically and lyrically beautiful collections of sound that I’ve ever been lucky enough to listen to. And I do mean lucky; I followed her in mid-July and she released her album, Give Me A Minute on Aug. 13. Rarely in life are we so immediately rewarded with the art of our favorite artists so soon after recognizing we cherish their work. I was lucky. Let me warn all of you that I am not a typical music listener. I can listen to a single song for hours and never get sick of it. In terms of genre preferences, I really only have one criteria: I have to know the words, so that I can sing along. Despite singing about singularly personal experiences, I find that her music is special because I can connect to it on an emotional level. In “Apple Pie” she sings about finding a place that feels like home, the smell of apple pie isn’t home to me specifically, but I recognize the searching feeling she describes. McAlpine’s lyrics sneak up on you, the melodies are soothingly catchy, and you’ll find yourself humming along to the chorus of “Headstones and Landmines” before you realize that you too know the numbing pain of loss.
The instrumentals remind me of Nora Jones (hello cymbals), but McAlpine’s voice is entirely her own. She clearly sings her own harmonies, and layers them gently one after another, until the sound envelops you in sweet tones. If the lyrics and melodies weren’t enough, the production is so intentional with each song, you can hear each decision being made. I mean, the violins on “To the Mountains” alone is criminally perfect. My favorite song on the album rotates every week with my mood. Last week I would have said, “Pancakes for Dinner” but now it’s “To the Mountains.” “To the Mountains” is the perPhoto courtesy of amazonmusic.com fect song to play driving through the Lizzy McAlpine sits atop a hill in North Carolina mountains in the fall. a London Park in her cover art. It elicits visions of sunset colored trees, the music swells like the hills and val- with this music as a whole, I’m findleys of Highway 52. The song itself has ing that it was kismet. Destined from faint bird chirping laid over the breaks the start. I found the artist through between lyrics, as though if you close a random app algorithm. The album your eyes McAlpine is sitting outside was released within weeks of her music singing directly to you. The protagonist of The Catcher in being on my radar. After falling in love the Rye, Holden Caulfield, has a quote: with it, I internally dreamed of how “What really knocks me out is a book rich and lush each song would sound that, when you’re all done reading it, on vinyl, and the next week funds for you wish the author that wrote it was a record edition were being raised on a terrific friend of yours and you could Bandcamp. Even the cover art appears call him up on the phone whenever to be taken from Primrose Hill in you felt like it,” and that’s how I feel London, the park next to the Worrell about this album, I wish I could just House where I studied abroad. I honcall McAlpine and pester her with my estly don’t know if you should listen to questions. Now that I’m sitting down it, I’m starting to feel like Give Me A and thinking about my relationship Minute was written just for me.
Film Festivals | TIFF and Venice Film Festival
TIFF, VFF kick off award show season
In a year impacted by COVID19, award shows are slowly but surely adjusting
In a normal year, the combination of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and the Venice Film Festival, alongside the slightly smaller New York Film Festival (NYFF) would mark the proper start of movie awards seaBY BEN WILCOX son. Movies that gain momentum from Contributing Writer festival season from limited audiences wilcbr19@wfu.edu that carries from September until midFebruary. Classic movies like Slumdog Millionare, The Princess Bride and La La Land have all won the prestigious “People’s Choice Award” at TIFF, along with some controversial movies such as Green Book. Rarely do you see an instance of a movie coming out of nowhere in late December, as was the case last year with Sam Mendes’ 1917. For better or worse, the buzz from these festivals carries a lot of weight in the awards conversation. Normally, other prestigious festivals, like Cannes, would precede and set a tone for what to expect going into these festivals. However, this year, Cannes was canceled, and many other awards and festival dates have been delayed. TIFF and Venice were able to shift to a socialdistanced or online-oriented format, allowing the pre-selected audience to participate in the 2020 festival. In a movie Photo courtesy of imdb.com year that would’ve already been light on Francis McDormand stars in mainstream content before the current Nomadland, an leading contender. situation, this festival is an oasis amid
a desert. Out of movies to hit a worldwide release this year, the pickings seem somewhat sparse between the current projected 2020 lineup of Spike Lee’s Da 5 Bloods, First Cow and Never Rarely Sometimes Always. The summer movie season was supposed to provide us with a new Wonder Woman, James Bond, and Wes Anderson film, all of which are yet to be released. Thanks to these festivals, movie discourse can finally pick up for the first time in months. From TIFF and Venice, there have been a couple of standouts for cinephiles to keep an eye on. The film coming out with the most heat being the winner of both the 2020 People’s Choice Award from TIFF and the Golden Lion from Venice. This already renowned project is a Frances McDormand vehicle titled Nomadland. Rising director Chloé Zhao wrote and edited this film, which focuses on the life of an American Nomad, living off the grid. McDormand stars amongst a cast of mostly non-actors, with Zhao opting to portray most of the nomads with real people living that lifestyle. The buzz around this movie has been strong, putting McDormand in the driver’s seat to win for Best Leading Actress, which would mean securing her third acting Academy Award, an extremely rare feat. Another notable feature that debuted
was Pieces of a Woman, which supposedly holds powerhouse performances from both Shia Labeouf and Vanessa Kirby. Despite hot starts in this awards season, more than any before it, this season is a marathon, not a sprint. In the wake of the pandemic, the Oscar eligibility window has been extended to Feb. 28, 2021, and the Academy has their eyes set on a mid-April awards show. This elongated awards season is unprecedented in recent history. The awards season is a window for studio execs to shake hands and play politics, and for stars to headline various press events to promote their movies. In a normal season, favorites fade and underdogs rise. In the example of the 2016 film, Nate Parker’s The Birth of a Nation was a surefire favorite to rake up awards when it was acquired at the Sundance Film Festival in January for a record price, only to fade once reaching wide release and was hampered by scandals involving the director and star. On the other side of the coin, campaigning successfully leads to mediocre movies, such as Green Book, winning Best Picture. An awards season from September to April further emphasizes the fact that this season is a test of patience and endurance for both the studios and antsy viewing audience.
Old Gold & Black | Life
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Page 19
Movie Review | Boys State
A24 documentary is purposefully political The documentary follows the activities of the 2019 American Legion Texas Boys State BY JACK PORTMAN Opinion Editor portjt17@wfu.edu
Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss’s Boys State, released earlier this year to Apple TV+, explores the all too readily extrapolative proceedings of the 2019 American Legion Texas Boys State. The film, produced in partnership by A24 and Apple Original Films, is a political spectacle — a tragic comedy animated by 1,200 adolescent ideologues vying for social capital, leverage and dirt. Boys State will inspire little optimism in the future of our political machine and those who will helm it. The film’s conceit is fairly heavy handed, and its cynical view of democratic politics is certainly a view already shared by many. But, to use the parlance of my own cohort of adolescent-minded boys, Boys State is certainly clown. Every year, unbeknownst to me, the American Legion (an organization of American military veterans) hosts a sizeable swath of politically minded highschool aged boys (in this case, politically minded Texan boys, which feeds into the humor) for a week of political jockeying and bureaucratic intrigue. Notable alumni of Boys State include Samuel Alito, Beau Biden, Cory Booker, Dick Cheney, Bill Clinton, Tim Cook, Mike Huckabee, Chuck Grassley, Tom Cotton, Michael Dukakis, Tom Brokow, Chris Christie, Rush Limbaugh, Tim Scott and Scott Walker. Throughout the week, the Boys must develop party platforms for whichever faction they are assigned, elect party leaders and vie for the (meager) bipartisan support necessary to elect their chosen gubernatorial candidate. The result is basically a LARPing (Live Action Role Playing), Lord of the Flies-esque experience that illustrates the ease with which the politically minded among us can adopt less than ethical values and practices in the pursuit of power. The film follows a handful of participants as they seek electoral support, prepare and deliver speeches and seek to quell the body politic’s impulse for shenanigans. The anonymous mass of predominantly white Texan teens is at times itself a character, and numerous scenes — particularly those portraying speeches — contrast familiar characters who are followed throughout the documentary with the remainder of the party’s membership. The audience — the boys who aren’t primary characters in the film but exist in the periphery — is almost always a highly boisterous one, and is certainly given to vocalizing their support or disapproval of policy and rhetoric. One would rarely hear such audible asides from DNC and RNC audiences, but the lax attitudes and relatively low stakes of Boys State is conducive to speaking one’s mind. Among the general Boys State population, calls for secession from the nation were common — for apparently no other reason but that doing so would be funny. Heckling was also a common form of communication between the population and those in power. The Boys State hecklers, by shouting their
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
Boys State follows 1,200 Texan male students as they compete to construct a state government entirely of their own invention. Although an exercise oriented around teaching, the players are cutthroat.
opposition to certain policies or elected persons during speeches and in formal settings, illustrate a certain barrier to communication that exists between the general public and the governing elite. The disruptive nature of the hecklers, whose vocalized political desires often encapsulated right leaning positions on guns and abortion, seemed to convey a sense of disconnection — not only a dissonance in the political values themselves but in how these values are communicated and engaged with. They constitute a chorus of nobodies (nobodies, that is, from the documentary’s perspective) who must shout in order to be heard and who must do so at unconventional times in order to magnify the gravity of their remarks. Another discomforting, albeit intuitive and fairly unsurprising element in the Boys State political process, was the use of social media as an opinionswaying tool. It isn’t clear whether the advent of targeted social media activities in the documentary was a decisive moment in the campaign; however, the use of memes (at least one of which was racist) as a means of lampooning oppositional political figures and their policy stances seemed to suggest that similar forms of offensively satirical political discourse are on track to become mainstays in the American political landscape. Just as the body politic was often prone to heckling as a means of communication, memes represent another subversive communication channel wielded by the masses when formal avenues for discussion and participation are less viable. Much of the appeal of Boys State lays in the typologies of political identities the main characters reveal. The campaign appears to pit hopeful idealists against cynics and schemers, leaving the former feeling violated and resentful, and the latter boastful and self-righteous. However, most interesting to me was the fluidity of the Boys State collective — the ways the anonymous boys responded to, and sought to shape, policy and
persona through increasingly contested forms of communication and embodiment. How vested were those with little to lose or gain? Did they care about the political process? What was more important, generating widespread support for an agreed upon set of policies or generating and exploiting controversy surrounding your opponent? McBaine and Moss’s film captures an eerie, albeit obvious, incongruity in the democratic process. But don’t watch it for the value of its commentary; watch it because it’s funny despite its seriousness and heartwarming despite its cynicism.
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
The boys who make up the characters of this film are both idealists and schemers.
Page 20 | Thursday, September 24, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Life
McCalls is a Reynolda Village staple McCalls has been a Winston-Salem business since the 1920s, moving from it's original storefront on Fourth Street to its current home in Reynolda Village BY BRIDGET ANNINO Contributing Writer annibk18@wfu.edu
Nestled inside a cowshed, instead of manure and bales of hay, a tiny and charming boutique has called it home since 1979. Hand sewn linens cover the walls and dainty carefully crafted children’s toys canvas the windowsills. The smell of fresh holly and spruce waft up from the candles lit around the store and the faint jingle of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” hums in the background. Now envision the 1920s, when WinstonSalem was the wealthiest city on the East coast between Pennsylvania and Atlanta. In the time of the booming tobacco industry, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was the second largest tobacco company in the U.S., according to the R.J. Reynolds website. Winston-Salem was thriving and growing as a prosperous and powerful city on the East Coast. The McCall family store has withheld the true test of time. It has been a staple for the Winston-Salem home-decorating and clothing market since 1925. The store has survived and flourished through many challenges including the Great Depression. The store began when William McCall, a Lebanese immigrant, moved to Winston Salem and opened up a small shop inside the Robert E. Lee hotel downtown. The store soon blossomed and moved to a storefront in downtown Winston-Salem. During the 1920s to the 1940s the store survived the Great Depression and relocated to Spruce Street in downtown Winston-Salem while expanding its inventory to children’s clothes, gifts and accessories. Eventually in 1979, the McCall store moved to Reynolda Village, which was once part of the R.J. Reynolds estate. Finally the current owner, Sara-Peyton McCormick, acquired McCalls from Betty McCall, William McCall’s daughter, in 2014.
“Honestly, it’s a joy to own a store in Reynolda Village. The McCall family was lucky to find an atmosphere that is so quaint and simple just like their store was from the start,” said Sara-Peyton McCormick, the current owner of McCalls. “The Village consists of a bunch of small buildings which were repurposed. We have the cattle barn, the secretary’s cottage, the bookkeeper’s cottage and many more.” McCalls was one of the first stores to join Reynolda Village, just after the Village was purchased by Wake Forest University from the R. J. Reynolds family. “I guess we all survived,” remarked William McCall Jr., the 93-year-old son of William McCall Sr.. His voice is shaky and warped from years of talking to and diagnosing patients. Mr. McCall is an active physician who has been practicing for over 70 years. Fittingly, the phone call was brief because he needed to go into his clinic shortly after. “There was actually a lot of development happening during the Great Depression in Winston,” McCall said. “For instance, the Graylyn and a lot of the other big houses that you see around town were built.” The Great Depression is often regarded as a hushed secret to most who were not there to witness it themselves. Ms. McCormick revealed, “I’m not completely aware of the effect of the Great Depression, it’s one of those things that sort of died with them.” When asked about the reason why people keep coming back to McCalls over the years, McCormick shared, “There’s a certain nostalgia associated with McCalls. A sort of reminiscing of the past and the sharing of experiences of happy memories.” McCalls has been a fundamental part of Winston-Salem’s history and has been a legacy for almost a century. “We get a lot of customers who remember going to the downtown location with their Moms and Grandmas in the 1960s.”
Although the location has changed, the atmosphere of McCalls has stayed relatively the same since the 1920s. Preciously guarded in the back of the store, they still have a few of the hand-sewn linens that were on display in the store in 1920. Although the store has tried to stay authentic to its roots, the market has changed greatly in response to the community’s demands. “It’s sad to think about how society has changed since the late 1900s,” said McCormick. “It’s definitely become more of a ‘throwaway society,’ which is sad, you know?” Ms. McCormick is certainly right. Today’s society no longer uses ornately sewn linen tablecloths, or fine china silverware anymore, instead many homes find plastic tablecloths more convenient. The clothing market has shifted significantly throughout the years. It has changed from shopping in small boutiques to online shopping from mass outlets. “Probably the biggest thing that has changed is online sales through social media. We sell a lot of our children’s clothes over Instagram and ship all over the country,” McCormick said. This technique is certainly different from how the McCall store was run in the 1920s. McCormick adds, “They may have had customers in Charlotte, Greensboro or Raleigh, but certainly not across the country. We ship to Texas and California everyday.” Ms. McCormick has done everything in her power to keep the charm and legacy of the McCall store alive while molding it to modern society. “We’ve had to keep up with the rest of the world in that sense, but I like to think that the atmosphere is still fairly similar. We still have some little old lady things in here” McCormick chuckles and smiles down at her hands. “That’s what makes McCalls special.”
Photos courtesy of mccallsreynoldavillage.com
(Left) William McCall emigrated from Lebanon and moved from New York to Winston-Salem to open his clothing store. (Center) the first McCalls storefront on Fourth St. downtown in 1926. (Right) Sara-Peyton McCormick the current owner and manager of McCalls, who bought it in 2014.