News: Unaffiliated women meet-up is held Page 5
Opinion: Collegiate life obscures love and sex Page 8
Sports: Student-athletes mourn Kobe Bryant Page 11
Life: The Politician scores a second season Page 19
Old Gold&Black
WAKE FOREST’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1916 VOL. 106, NO. 16
T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 3 0 , 2 0 2 0 “Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
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Kyle Korver speaks on racism NBA player and author of an article about white privilege delivers powerful speech BY ANDY KILLEBREW Asst. Life Editor killae17@wfu.edu
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Campus Recreation Instagram
Students can visit the Safe Office by entering the side entrance of Reynolds Gym and walking down the hallway from Student Health Services. They can also access a private waiting room in room B104.
Safe Office welcomes two new counselor/advocates
After a search that began last semester, the vacant positions in the Safe Office are now filled BY CAROLINE WALKER News Editor walkct18@wfu.edu
The announcement that the Safe Office is now fully staffed comes at a critical time. Reports of sexual assaults are on the rise as campus attitudes about interpersonal violence shift, and support systems for the campus community are in even higher demand. “This is one of the most important offices on campus, so to reload and refresh has been really exciting for us,” said Penny Rue, the vice president of campus life. The search to fill the two vacated positions in the Safe Office had begun last semester. The search committee was composed of administrators and stu-
dents, including Christine Love Sterk from the University Counseling Center (UCC), a leader from the Title IX Office, student advocates involved in the Support Survivors Coalition and representatives from other campus partners. After months of searching, they were finally able to identify five finalists, from which two were eventually selected. In January, stand-out applicants Stephanie Duisterhof and Bethany Miller accepted their offers of employment as counselor/advocates for the Safe Office. These two counselor/advocates bring a breadth of experience in fields related to the work of the Safe Office to address, combat and prevent interpersonal violence. They have also expressed enthusiasm about working on initiatives that will impact the way students think about issues like sexual assault and misconduct.
In April of 2019, Kyle Korver found himself thrust into the national spotlight after publishing an article titled “Privilege” in The Player’s Tribune. Korver enjoyed considerable success during his NBA career, even recording the highest 3-point percentage in a regular season in NBA history, but “Privilege” brought him notoriety outside of basketball. The piece addressed problems of white privilege and racism from Korver’s position as a white player in a predominantly black league. On Wednesday night, Korver sat down in Wait Chapel with Jonathan Walton, dean of the School of Divinity, to discuss that piece and its context, as well as other lessons from Korver’s long-tenured NBA career.
See Korver, Page 4
Lilting Banshees host classics show Paying homage to those who came before them, comedy troupe performs fan favorites
Duisterhof has had five years of prior clinical experience, including her most recent stint as a victim advocate with the Marine Corps in Okinawa, Japan. She began work at the Safe Office on Jan. 13. Since then, Duisterhof has been acclimating herself to the specific needs of the students and orienting her work toward the weaknesses of the university, while also drawing upon its strengths. “One thing I’ve noticed specifically here on campus is that it feels like a lot of different entities are invested in care for survivors, between faculty and different organizations, like the Office of Wellbeing,” Duisterhof said. “It’s a good feeling to know that we’re here to support the survivors, but the campus is circling us and here to support the survivors, as well. That’s something I feel that is special to Wake Forest.”
Causing the audience in Brendle Recital Hall to erupt with laughter over and over again, the Lilting Banshees hosted their first show of the semester, “Lilting Banshees: Classics,” on Jan. 24. As the title suggests, the comedy troupe performed revamped versions of sketches from the past 15 years. Senior Alec Gannon, the director of Banshees, said the decision to showcase past material was inspired by a 25-year reunion hosted by the troupe in 2019. “That weekend, the former Banshees performed a few of the sketches that we featured in this past show,” Gannon said.
See Safe Office, Page 6
See Banshees, Page 16
BY OLIVIA FIELD Editor-in-Chief fielor17@wfu.edu
OGB
“ Unaffiliated meet-up is stepping stone for change This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board.
Though the Greek community can be welcoming ... it can also be quite isolating for unaffiliated students."
As Greek Life continues to be everpresent on campus, a group of female students has decided to organize a series of unaffiliated women meetups (turn to page 5 for more information). For those who decide not to rush a sorority or withdraw from the recruitment process, the group aims to provide support and a space to be oneself. The Editorial Board of the Old Gold & Black applauds these women for working to create a sense of community outside of sorority affiliation. It is the hope of the women who founded this initiative that they can provide the support and guidance they wish they had following their re-
cruitment processes. In organizing the meet-ups, these women fill a gap in resources that were not previously offered at the university. Although the Office of Student Engagement works to regularly provide and remind women of the availability of counselors before, during and after recruitment, talking to students who they can directly identify with can be more helpful and feel more natural. Though the Greek community can be welcoming for those involved, it
Old Gold &Black
THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WAKE FOREST UNIVERSIT Y SINCE 1916 OLIVIA FIELD
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF fielor17@wfu.edu
CHARLIE BENEDICT
BUSINESS MANAGER
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EMILY BEAUCHAMP
ELIZABETH MALINE
PRINT MANAGING EDITOR
ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR
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>> NEWS Caroline Walker, walkct18@wfu.edu Senior News Advisor: Lillian Johnson, johnlg16@wfu.edu
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>> OPINION Jack Portman, portjt17@wfu.edu
>> LIFE Catherine Regen, regecl17@wfu.edu Assistant: Andy Killebrew, killae17@wfu.edu
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can be quite isolating for unaffiliated students. Unfortunately, the presence of social media can often heighten feelings of loneliness that unaffiliated women feel. Especially during the first weeks of membership when there are many new member events, it can be hard not to feel excluded. These women are providing the university’s community a service that can help alleviate some of the stress unaffiliated women may feel. While this endeavor specifically aims to help unafilliated women, the Editorial Board of the Old Gold & Black also acknowledges that the rush process for fraternities can also be alienating for the unaffiliated male com-
munity on campus. Even further, the Greek system in and of itself excludes the gender non-conforming and nonbinary population at the university. The establishment of the unaffiliated women meet-up is ultimately the first step in confronting the status of our campus's social ecosystem. The Editorial Board of the Old Gold & Black is confident that students will continue to participate in a healthy Greek system, while also working towards creating a more inclusive campus community. Groups that focus on promoting friendships outside of a fraternity or sorority will be key to fostering an expansive sense of belonging for all of campus.
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News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 3
Deacon Profile: Victoria Parker
BY EMILY BEAUCHAMP Print Managing Editor beauea17@wfu.edu
Junior Victoria Parker was elected as the president of the Panhellenic Council this past semester. She has high hopes for the future of Greek Life and plans to emphasize women's empowerment, increase diversity in the community and partner with other organizations of campus. While her life as a Panhellenic woman is important to her, she also has made her mark on many other communities accross campus. How did you get involved with the Panhellenic Council? Last year I applied to the executive board of Alpha Delta Pi (ADPi) and I applied as the Panhellenic Delegate for my chapter. I was really excited about that position because it was half ADPi, half Panhellenic. During that year, I saw how the Panhellenic executives worked and saw how other delegates worked. I was really passionate about Panhellenic so I kept doing that and applied for Panhellenic exec this year. What do you hope to accomplish as the new Panhellenic president? I think that my main goals as Panhellenic president is to carry on some of the great stuff the previous exec did, like the Women in the Workforce panel and getting the Panhellenic scholarships out there and available to everyone so everyone is able to be part of a sorority. Then some new initiatives, for example, we just added the Vice President of Inclusion position, and Anjili, who has that position, has some really great ideas to work with women’s history month and to do another Call to Conversation; so carrying on previous successes and morphing them into our own successes. Panhellenic has made a huge push to promote female empowerment. What are your thoughts on this campaign? How do you plan to address this during your term? I think that campaigns, like the Call to Conversation and the Women in the Workforce panel and things like that, empowers women. Collaborating with other groups on campus, this semester and next semester, we’re going to be doing a lot of stuff with the Women’s Center, which has the same goal as us — to empower women and be resources on campus. Partnering with them will be a good way to achieve that goal and move forward. What does female empowerment mean to you? I would say female empowerment means standing your ground — knowing where you stand on a situ-
Photo courtesy of Victoria Parker
ation, thought process or problem and then holding your ground, standing firm and not letting other people sway you. By being strong in your own beliefs, you’re able to empower everyone around you. When you see a strong woman who is like, “this is what I’m going to do, and this is how I’m going to get there,” just being around her you feel empowered. I think that if all of us get to that point where we are very strong in our beliefs and slowly empower everyone around us then everyone will be empowered. What other things are you involved in on campus? Aside from being Panhellenic president, I’m also the Director of Academic Affairs for ADPi, which is the ADPi Scholarship Chair. I book study rooms, help people with papers and help people study. I’m also the president of Catholic Community, which is actually a very big organization, as there’s over 1,000 Catholics on campus. I’ve been very passionate about that since my freshman year, and I served as their Vice President Peer Minister last year. I’m also on Student Budget Advisory Committee (SBAC) as the co-chair, which is under Student Government. I’m technically an assistant treasurer and I work with allocating the $600,000 that the university gives us to give to student organizations every year.
What’s the one thing you can’t live without? My heated blanket, because I feel like the weather here is really weird even though I grew up in Winston-Salem. I like having my heated blanket because if it’s cold outside I can get warm but if it’s hot outside, I don’t have to turn it on. Also, my suite can never decide on a temperature, so it’s nice to have. What’s something that most people may not know about you? I’m from Winston-Salem, I was born here and then I went to college at Wake Forest so I have never left. My family owns a retirement home in Winston-Salem that my great grandmother started. Family is important to me because I grew up surrounded by both sets of my grandparents and my parents all working at this one place where I would spend my time. Are you planning to further continue the family legacy with the retirement home? Yes, I hope to finally move out of Winston-Salem for five or six years, not see the world, but see any other part of America besides Winston-Salem. Then I’d probably come back and have my family and kids here because it is important to me.
POLICE BEAT Larceny • Unknown subject stole shoe from dryer in Magnolia Hall. The report was filed on Jan. 22 at 9:02 a.m. • Unknown subject stole clothes from Johnson Hall. The report was filed on Jan. 23 at 5:18 p.m. • Unknown subject damaged gym equipment. The report was filed on Jan. 25 at 3:03 p.m. Underage Consumption/Intoxication • Offender consumed alcohol at an off-campus Chi Psi party and was transported from Johnson to Student Health. The report was filed on Jan. 25 at 3:00 a.m. • Offender consumed alcohol underage and was transported from Luter Hall to Student Health. The report was filed on Jan. 25 at 5:07 p.m.
• Offender consumed alcohol underage, was issued a citation and was transported from Davis Hall to WFUBMC. The report was filed on Jan. 26 at 1:26 a.m. • Offender consumed alcohol off-campus, was found lying in the grassy area outside of Johnson and was transported to Student Health. The report was filed on Jan. 26 at 1:31 a.m. Miscellaneous • Noise complaint was reported at a house on Brookwood Dr. used by Chi Psi fraternity members and the party was shut down by WSPD. The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 7:30 a.m. • Driver was issued a warning for overloading his car with passengers and three females were removed. The report was filed on Jan. 24 at 11:26 p.m. • Disturbance was reported at a Chi Psi party with 80 to 100 students and the residents of the house located on Palm Dr. were issued a citation. The report was filed on Jan. 25 at 4:24 p.m.
Page 4 | Thursday, January 30, 2020
Old Gold & Black | News
Korver: Basketball player addresses racial issues Continued from Page 1
From here, Korver mentioned his fervent efforts to educate himself on matters of race. He read books, conversed with friends and tried to devote more attention to the injustices that people of color experience regularly. Another critical lesson came at the hands of Christian rapper Lecrae. When Korver came to Lecrae with an idea for an anti-racism philanthropy event that involved dodgeball and Georgia Tech fraternity boys, Lecrae was quickly dismissive. Lecrae took Korver to a shelter for immigrants that day instead, and Korver said this event proved to be monumental for his personal development, opening his eyes to his own immense privilege. In conversation, Walton defined privilege as “that which we don’t have to think about every day.” Korver ran with this definition, pointing out the various privileges in his own life: his sex, race, two-parent household and career. This discussion also allowed Korver to express his beliefs about the responsibility of the privileged. He promoted the idea that those in privileged positions have a responsibility to speak on behalf of those
without it, and that refusing to do so was grossly negligent. Korver also explained that he felt a heightened duty to speak out against racism because of his self-identification with the Christian religion. He cited Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in its indictment of the moderate white Christian as the biggest enemy to racial progress. Korver coupled the letter with his belief in Jesus as an ultimately privileged man in order to motivate him further. When given a final opportunity to speak to the gathered audience, Korver evoked the lessons that he learned from the late Kobe Bryant. He admired Bryant’s intentionality and saw it as central to choosing to do right in everyday life. His message resonated with many, including sophomore attendee Mark Zavertnik. “[I] was inspired to be more intentional and more proactive in finding ways to enact change both at Wake Forest as well as in the community,” Zavertnik said.
To begin the evening, Korver and Walton spent a considerable amount of time discussing Korver’s introduction to the sport and his changing notions of leadership and character throughout his career. Korver regaled the audience with stories of leaders he encountered in his playing career, such as Allen Iverson, Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James. He was especially complimentary of James, mentioning his selflessness and ability to lead through joy, rather than fear. Though Korver picked up plenty of basketball lessons from figures such as these, he found that maintaining a healthy distance between his personal and professional lives became increasingly difficult. While discussing this, Korver summed up his basketball philosophy. “I will run longer than you, you’re going to get tired, I’m going to shoot it and I’m going to make it,” Korver said. “And that’s how I live my life.” Because of this relentlessness, Korver said that he began to see issues fester with his family, particularly in his relationship with his wife. The constant grind of an NBA schedule taxed their marriage, but Korver kept putting his career above the needs of the family. In Milwaukee, he began to recognize his negligence. Korver drew a link between acknowledging “blind spots” in his marriage and becoming prepared to accept the flaws in his perspectives on race. While in Atlanta, Korver alluded to the growing awareness of race that he felt following the murder of Trayvon Martin, the subsequent growth of the Black Lives Matter movement and the violence he saw inflicted by police on his then-teammate, Thabo Sefolosha. “I started to understand that I don’t understand,” Korver said. These incidents inspired Korver to seek instruction from others on matters of race. At this point in the evening, Korver shared several moments that radically altered his perceptions of race. While trying to explain his feelings about race to a black friend, Korver claimed he was “colorblind.” In response, his friend offered that “when you say you’re colorblind, you choose not to see parts of me that matter.” Photo courtesy of Wake Forest News Korver saw that, by taking this perspective, he was willfully allowing blind spots to block him from seeing the Kyle Korver, who plays basketball in the NBA and is the published author of an article about privilege, spoke on the issue of racism at Wait Chapel on Jan. 29. full complexity of issues involving race in America.
FAST FACTS ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS What is a coronavirus? A virus is designated under the category of coronavirus if it has the capability of causing illnesses varying from colds to more severe illnesses like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). What is the name of this specific virus? This virus has been named the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). Where did it orginate? The virus originated in Wuhan, China. Many of the first reported cases have been traced back to Hua Nan Seafood Wholesale Market, a bustling market with animals and people in close proximity.
cific outbreak has shown a tendency to be transmitted from human to human through close contact with infected persons. What are symptoms of the virus? Symptoms include: • fever • coughing • headache • runny nose • sore throat • shortness of breath How many have been infected or died? Thousands of people have been infected by the illness and more than 100 have died.
How is it transmitted?
Have cases been reported in the United States?
Coronaviruses can be transmitted from animals to humans. However, this spe-
The first case in the United States was reported in Washington.
Has it spread to other countries? Cases of the coronavirus have appeared in fifteen countries so far including: • Taiwan • Thailand • Japan • South Korea • Malaysia • Nepal • Singapore • the United States • Australia • France What preventative measures are currently being taken? An emergency committee of the World Health Organization (WHO) was formed in Geneva, Switzerland, but has not announced an international public health emergency yet. The Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC) is screening passengers arriving at major airports in the United States upon return from travels in Wuhan.
The U.S. State Deparmtent has issued a warning about travel to China. What is Wake Forest currently doing about it? The Student Health Service (SHS) sent an email notifying students, faculty and staff about the situation of the coronavirus on Jan. 24. SHS is advising students who have recently been to Wuhan to wear a mask and report to the staff so that they can be placed in an isolation room. The staff is also seeing anyone else who reports symptoms of the virus. Students from Wuhan have also been provided with information about the outbreak and instructed to report to the staff if they experience any of the symptoms. SHS will continue to assess the situation based on updated protocols and statements issued by the the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC in regard to this breaking issue.
News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 5
Students hold unaffiliated women meet-up BY MELISSA COONEY Staff Writer coonme17@wfu.edu Greek life is hard to miss on campus, with a student body that is 49% affiliated by the spring semester. More specifically, 60% of female students are in a Greek organization. This year, 94 women out of over 500 women originally registered had withdrawn from formal recruitment by bid day. Since then, that number has only increased. There are women who withdraw from recruitment every year for numerous reasons. For example, some women attend bid day and participate in the first few days of their new sorority’s activities before ultimately deciding that Greek life is not for them. In other cases, women receive their schedules on the second or third days of recruitment to find out that only one or two sororities invited them to return. This can cause anxiety among potential new members who witness other women being invited back to the maximum number of parties each day. According to a 2012 Q&A on the Wake Forest parents website, withdrawing from recruitment before it is completed is often because “[the women] have their heart set on a particular sorority, and if they don’t get invited back to
the next event, they choose to not pursue any other groups.” Simply put, women slip through the cracks of recruitment every year. That’s why, in 2019, a group of then-sophomore women decided to band together to help out students struggling with similar problems to the ones that they had grappled with just the previous year. Juniors Maddie Porter, Kaley Vontz, Bridget Ring, Megan Roddenbery and Amanda Cummins all opted out of recruitment in 2018 at varying stages of the process. Each woman has a unique story, but they all shared the same struggle exactly two years ago. Their experiences are not anomalies by any means. Last year, the friends were discussing the ways in which they had formed such wonderful friendships from a situation that had seemed so isolating and lonely at first. Porter had the idea to start a program to help guide first-year students who withdrew from recruitment and show them that they are not alone. She wanted to introduce them to other women who had experienced similar struggles to find a sense of belonging. “I realized that there are so many women who were all going through the same thing and how helpful it is to make connections and form relationships with those people,” Porter said. “In my experience, the best way to lift my spirit in
MEGAN RODDENBERRY “Withdrawing from recruitment and thinking you don’t belong anywhere can be really hard to go through. But we have all had such great experiences and made great friends in and out of Greek life so we wanted to make these girls feel like they can do the same. We created a non-affiliate meet-up to let these girls meet each other and realize they are not alone. Wake Forest has so much to offer besides Greek life and you can find girls you’d call ‘sisters’ no matter if you’re affiliated or not.”
hard times is having a support system of other people who can truly empathize with what you are going through. That’s what I wanted to create for these women on campus.” The first event they organized was a pizza party in Zick’s. Last winter was the inaugural meet-up, and the group was able to connect with first-year women who were struggling after recruitment. After success in 2019, the group put on another meet-up on Jan. 23. Ninetyfour women who withdrew from the recruitment process were emailed about this meet-up, and 18 attended. “We didn’t want another ‘formal’ event after they had already been through so many in the previous week,” Vontz said. “We answered questions about our lives at Wake Forest if they had them. We also helped them create a GroupMe so they could plan to do things together, and invited others who couldn’t get to go.” The administration has taken notice of these informal meetings and the connections the women can make from the creation of a space to talk about shared challenges and fears about finding community and fitting in. “At the event, I noticed a great deal of authenticity and vulnerability in what the upper-level students were sharing with the first- and second-year women in
AMANDA CUMMINS
“I’m really happy we are able to help these girls connect with one another so that they can find community, the same way a pledge class does and the way my friends have. After recruitment, I felt alone and left out, and it’s nice to know you are a part of something. Going into this, I thought that if we could help one girl know she’s not alone that’s enough. I’m very pleased to see how the event has grown and expanded over the past few years.
MADDIE PORTER KALEY VONTZ “I decided to talk to administration about the problems I, and many other women like myself, experienced. I realized that there are so many women who were all going through the same thing and how helpful it is to make connections and form relationships with those people.”
the room,” Stephanie Trilling, director of the Women’s Center, said. “They shared their stories — both their struggles during and after recruitment — as well as the positive parts of finding friendship and happiness outside of Greek life.” In addition, Porter, Vontz, Ring, Roddenberry, Cummins and junior Logan Cioffi spent bid day in the Women’s Center answering phone calls from parents of women who withdrew. They also held open office hours for anyone who needed a safe space to talk. “I really was happy to offer support on bid day in the Women’s Center, but was very disheartened to know that I, along with all of the wonderful people who volunteered to help me out, were the only people available for the 90-plus women to speak to post-bid day, because all other offices were closed, as it was a Sunday,” Porter said. When asked about her goals for the future of the group, Porter explained that she plans to continue putting on events for the remainder of her time at the university. “Since we will all be seniors, I’m hoping that some of the women who benefited from the meet-ups and feel a similar passion for the goals of the group will take it over so it can become a part of Wake Forest’s campus in years to come,” Porter said.
“When I first withdrew, it seemed like the end of the world. I wished I had a group of girls who showed me that social life existed past Greek life. Now, I have an amazing group of friends all throughout campus and an amazing experience at Wake Forest, and I want everyone to have that, no matter if they are affiliated or not.”
BRIDGET RING “This event means a lot to me because I found my best friends after withdrawing from recruitment and I think it’s really important that we facilitate a space where other girls are able to have close relationships fostered as well.”
Page 6 |Thursday, January 30, 2020
Old Gold & Black | News
Safe Office: counselor/advocates begin work Continued from Page 1
While Duisterhof is still new to the university and adjusting to the specific needs of the students in her line of work, Miller is a veteran bringing an insight into campus culture and the university’s institutional operations as an alumna from the graduating class of 2015. In addition to this unique insider perspective, she has had experience working for the Safe Office in her former position as an on-call responder. Miller is also familiar with the surrounding town of WinstonSalem through her work in the field of inpatient mental health and volunteer work for Family Services of Forsyth County. Even though Miller has focused on observing and attending to the needs of this community for many years, she looks forward to changing the trends of the past and branching out to explore and implement new policies aimed at support, treatment and prevention. “A lot of my primary interests for this semester lie in striking a balance between direct student care and macro-level policy work,” Miller said. “These are things that I have experience in and I’m interested in, and I like the idea of this position, because it gives me the space to do both.” As the new counselor/advocates also contemplate new directions for the Safe Office and ways in which they can better address the needs of the student body, Emily Palmieri, the assistant director for specialized services, has also reimagined that way in which the Safe Office and the UCC operate. “One of the changes to provide more sustainable support to them is taking care of some of the administrative support that has divided them in the past,” Palmieri said.
To address these previous issues regarding a lack of adequate support and a unified sense of community, the counselor/advocates will now report to Palmieri in the UCC and they will also be given more sustainable and strategic administrative reinforcement. Even so, discussions about the role of the Safe Office will continue. So far, some of the hopes expressed by administrators include more collaboration between the Safe Office, Office of Wellbeing and UCC. Additionally, a Safe Office retreat will be held in February to formulate plans for the upcoming semester. For now, though, the Safe Office will continue to work on promoting the framework from the NASPA Culture of Respect Collective (CORE) to which the university belongs. The three main pillars comprising the CORE framework include policy, education and survivor support and the goal of CORE is to address and prevent sexual harassment and sexual misconduct on campus. “[We are] working to change culture around interpersonal violence issues on campus,” said Daniel Paredes, acting director of the UCC. The Safe Office also emphasized that the involvement of faculty, staff and students is important in shifting campus culture toward collaborative efforts and that open conversation will help students feel supported. The hope is to alleviate the majority of the burden of prevention that students have had to previously bear mostly alone and then to redistribute it among others who can help, including supporters, advocates and community partners. Sophomore Olivia Thonson, the president of the Intersectional Feminist Collective, expressed her enthusiasm about the work that the new counselor advocates will perform.
“I’m excited to hear about prevention work,” Thonson said. As part of this collective conversation about how to prevent, treat, and develop policies in regard to sexual assault and misconduct, students are also invited to participate in CORE luncheons in which they will dicuss and develop action steps alongside administrators. The first one will be held mid-February. Understanding what the students need is critical to providing well-informed care and treatment, as well as implementing effective policies and prevention strategies targeted toward the student body. “What comes to mind is the students and getting immersed in the student body so that I can be of good service to anyone that needs it,” Duisterhof said. As the Safe Office emphasizes the student body’s role within its model of operation aimed at providing better care and support for students, the counselor/advocates will engage with students and listen to their input. Opportunities for students to become more involved with the Safe Office include participation in a peer education network and an open support group for survivors of sexual assault. Expanding upon these efforts to address the needs of the student body, another search to fill a vacant leadership role in the Title IX Office has commenced following the departure of Tanya Jachimiak, former director of the Title IX Office, on Jan. 23. Jachimiak will to relocate to Michigan State University, where she will work as the associate vice president for Civil Rights and Title IX Education and Compliance. While the university has expressed support for Jachimiak in her transition to a new role, support for students is also a primary concern. Until a permanent director is chosen, the university has named Tonya Deem as the interim director of the Title IX Office.
English students design exhibit of rare books Newly curated collection in the library showcases antiquarian works of 18th century British literature BY JACK PORTMAN Opinion Editor portj17@wfu.edu An exhibit of rare, antiquarian books of 18th century British literature are currently on display in the library’s Special Collections and Archives room. Curated by Megan Mulder, the special collections librarian, the gallery and its materials were designed, selected and executed by Jessica Richard’s fall 2019 18th century British fiction class. The students chose which texts to include in the displays after researching the selected works. The exhibit, titled Books, Authors and Readers in Eighteenth Century England, is composed of materials belonging to the archives. Accompanying each book included in the displays are information sheets which provide valuable historical and personal context. The volumes in the exhibit vary in their contents. Richard’s students sought a broad representation of books from the relevant region and time period so that the full social, personal and artistic functions of books could be examined. To this effect, the students incorporated technical, scientific and referential books, such as Samual Johnson’s 1755 volume, A Dictionary of the English Language, in which the Words are Deduced from their Originals, and Illustrated in their Different Signficiations by Examples from the Best Writers. This book’s associated information sheet informs the viewer that this particular volume, which outlines a history of the English language, was initially owned by a woman named Ann Burnes. The book’s size, according to information from the exhibit, suggests that it was owned by a relatively wealthy person and was likely displayed on a pedestal.
Visitors of the exhibit who are familiar with the works of Jane Austen will be pleased to find fascinating specimens of her writing. The exhibit showcases an 1818 copy of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, which were published together in four volumes following Austen’s death in 1817. Interestingly, the insert included in this edition, penned by her brother Henry, is the first known biography of Austen to be published. The exhibit also displays a first edition print of Jane Austen’s foundational novel Emma, which was published in 1816. Mulder, who has curated rare books at the university for over a decade, explained that she relishes the opportunity to expose student curators to the university’s archive of rare texts. “They look at the collection with fresh eyes, often finding out interesting things about a book or making connections that I might not have thought of,” Mulder said. Though she expressed partiality to all of the volumes which are on display, Mulder said that she is especially drawn to those that bear inscriptions or marginalia from their original owners. Knowing a particular book’s provenance can help historians and literary scholars to understand trends in literacy and style. “Our copy of the first edition of Jane Austen’s Emma is signed by its original owner, Sarah Harriet Burney,”Mulder said. “She was the sister of [the] famous novelist Frances Burney, whose career was an inspiration for the young Austen. So the book is a tangible link between two important literary families of the long 18th century.” In addition to the volumes compiled and researched by Richard’s class, a mini-exhibit assembled by Julie Park, a visiting curator, is also on display. This exhibit examines commonplace books, scrapbooks and “friendship books,” which are journals composed of contributions that are made by individuals from a particular group and reflect prevailing tastes and interests. These journals offer unique perspectives
on friendship, identity and culture, all of which can supplement historical knowledge. For instance, the exhibit includes James Pringle Barclay’s sketch-book titled “Monstrosities,” which compiles 467 of the owner’s gruesomely humorous drawings as a testament to his powerful imagination and a weary acknowledgement of the social realities of the time. Park’s collection, curated during her month-long tenure as a visiting scholar, was the inspiration for Richard’s students, and was thus included in the broader exhibition. The resulting fusion of technical, diarial, scientific and fictive texts gives visitors a sense of the full functional capacities of books during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The exhibit explores the relationship between class and book ownership, as well as develops the notion that books both spread information and facilitate personal and communal reflection.
Jack Portman/Old Gold & Black
The exhibit is on display in the Special Collections and Archives Room in the library.
News | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 7
Syrian family localizes refugee crisis An examination of the life of Syrian refugees in Winston-Salem provides insight into broader aspects of the refugee crisis BY GABBIE ALBERT Contributing Writer albegc18@wfu.edu The names of the family members have been changed to protect their identities. Upon entering the home of the Antoun family, it appears as though nobody lives there — at least not permanently. There is one couch, one floor lamp, and a quaint kitchen with few appliances. The white walls are covered with dirty handprints and the wood floors are characterized by training bicycle skid marks from the training bicycle that the boys ride around the house. No pictures, no artwork, no character. Even with five kids, there isn’t a toy out of place — but that’s only because they have none. Every material or aesthetically pleasing item that the Antoun family claimed ownership of was left behind. This house, which has been their residence for over two years, does not look like a home, because to them, it still doesn’t feel like one. Yara Antoun and her husband immigrated to Winston-Salem in 2017, in search of a better life for their five children than that which they were born into. Their home city, Daraa, Syria, was plagued primarily by protests that then escalated to civil warfare. The Syrian Army began its attack on Daraa in February of 2012, and by the time the Antoun family was granted entry to the United States, there was nothing left of the place they once considered home. According to the Triad City Beat, in 2015, about 1,000 Syrian refugees settled in the Piedmont Triad area. With organizations like Wake Forest University’s Student Association for the Advancement of Refugees (SAFAR) aiming to help them integrate, it is perceived that upon arrival to the United States their troubles would end. But based on the continued struggles of the Antoun family, that is hardly the case. “Nothing [has] been easy,” Yara Antoun said. “Five children does not make it any simpler.” Her five sons are all between the ages of 5 and 11. They don’t see themselves as refugees, but merely trav-
elers who have adventured through Syria and then Jordan and now the United States. “How do you speak Arabic?!” 7-year-old Yousef asked me as he bounced up and down on the living room couch, his thrifted white polo covered in dirt. “Only me and my brothers can speak Arabic! Nobody else in school knows what we’re saying.” Regardless of how the boys view themselves, integration has become a significant challenge for immigrants in the United States today. The current political climate has clouded the inclusive melting pot it once projected itself as, and the increasing influence of xenophobic sentiment toward immigrants was furthered by the Trump administration’s “Muslim Ban.” Once a source of pride, today international communities are subjugated more than ever. Contrary to what most misinformed Americans believe about the refugee experience, once the struggle of escape is overcome, the rest don’t cease to pop up. “They were thrown into this situation without having a say,” said sophomore Leah Rodman, who volunteers with SAFAR and tutors the Antoun boys. “I’m doing this job because I want them to have a positive experience. Immersion into American culture isn’t easy.”
The boys struggle to complete their school work each week, not just because of their language barriers but also because of the education they lacked in their early foundational years. Spending the greater part of the past five years seeking refuge between Syria and Jordan, the Antoun boy’s ability to compute addition and spell their names was not the priority. Their safety was. “I want to be able to compensate for them as best as I can what they missed out on the past few years,” Rodman said. “I hope that I’m able to help the boys learn what they might not be taught in school, because they’re not given individualized attention.” I visited with the family as Yara Antoun prepared dinner before her husband went to work for the night. This was the little time they had to spend when everyone was home at the same time, and I didn’t want to interfere in any way. I had come to gain insight but not to intrude on the family’s time together. One of the few things that did not waver as they uprooted across the world was their longing to be together.
Graphic by Emily Beauchamp/Old Gold & Black
SG GENERAL ASSEMBLY BY MICAH PORTER Staff Writer portmj19@wfu.edu I. Executive Reports President Mellie Mesfin clarified the requirements for the upcoming Student Government elections, as well as explained her goal to design a clearer elections rules packet. Mesfin made it clear that candidates are prohibited from forming campaign teams, requesting a campaign manager or passing out flyers at this time. Mesfin also explained that the campaign spending limit is $125 for executive candidates and $45 for senatorial candidates. Speaker of the House Miles Middleton explained his efforts to build connections with Winston-Salem State University through a student government coalition. Treasurer Andrew Wilson reminded everyone that club budget requests are due next Monday, along with a training
module that is required to be completed before submitting a budget request. Secretary Laura Horton described her efforts to decrease hardships for lowincome students. Horton has made efforts to secure textbook reductions for students on financial aid and scholarship, and will have several meetings in the upcoming weeks to accomplish her goal. Horton is also working toward supplying condoms in the residence halls, as well as approving additional printing money for students in need of financial assistance. II. Committee Reports Academic Committee promoted an upcoming event to learn about renting in New York City. Representatives from the New York real estate company, Cooper & Cooper, will have a workshop at 5 p.m. on Feb. 5 in Benson 409 to help students navigate housing options. They are also working to organize events for Faculty Appreciation Week.
Campus Life Committee announced graphics and plans for Mental Health Week. The theme is “Let’s Talk,” and events related to that topic will be held each day. The committee also informed students that Google forms are available for those interested in sharing their experiences with mental health struggles during the week. Diversity and Inclusion Committee reported progress in their development of friendlier sexual education during freshman orientation. This committee is additionally working to initiate a program for students to donate books at the end of the semester that will be given to low-income students at the start of the following semester. Judiciary Committee has spent time restructuring the language of the student government elections packet, as well as establishing a requirement for treasurer candidates to have experience with the Student Budget Advisory Committee before running.
Public Relations Committee reported on work done to complete the Mental Health Week video and their plan to use students in the construction of the video. Additionally, the committee has begun live streaming Senate meetings to incorporate the student body in a new way. Physical Planning Committee described efforts to get hot water in dorm sinks and to advocate for new machines in the gym. Finally, the Student Organizations Committee reported that they are continuing to work on restructuring the way in which clubs gain chartering. III. Constituent Concerns Senator Gaby de la Vega reported seeing mold on the water fountain dispensers in Botswick Residence Hall. If this is seen anywhere on campus, students are urged to submit a work order form as soon as possible.
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“ require humanitarian focus Billionaire ethics Ethics and Economy
Accumulated wealth should be allocated towards global crises such as climate change Kate Federer
Staff Columnist fedekm@wfu.edu
I came across a popular tweet that stated if only a handful of the world’s most prosperous came together to fix the climate crisis, we could see significant progress in the next few years. For as long as there has been a rich-poor divide, there’s been debate over if the wealthy should fix the world’s problems. Ancient royalty was blamed if their kingdoms suffered, the robber barons were looked on to help those harmed by the industrial revolution, and so on. Today, the gap between the share of wealth between billionaires and pretty much everyone else has grown to a vast size (just as history has predicted). The masses are looking to the fraction of the 1% to help. When Notre Dame cathedral went ablaze in April 2019, it was estimated that the damage would
Love and Relationships
Collegiate Media portrayals and shallow infatuation preclude the experience of love for many Gaby Gonzalez
Guest Columnist gonzgc17@wfu.edu
Love. What is it? What does it mean? How do we get it? Or, more importantly, how do we know we’ve gotten it? These are all questions that, at some point or another, you may have asked yourself. Romantic love is, perhaps, one of the greatest phenomenon’s observed in life. Romantic love is presented to us throughout modern media in an idealized manner (think: The Notebook). It is as though we are told by the world around us what love is supposed to look like and how to attain it (i.e. if you’re not writing him a letter every day for a year, then it’s not love). One problem, however, is that love is not tangible. It is not something that can be shown to others and told “look, this is love.” Love, from a philosophical standpoint, is much deeper than just
The U.S. and other guilty countries are trillions of dollars deep into an issue that needs a solution before its collapse.” cost nearly $600 million and was met with pledged donations of almost $835 million. I am a proponent of culture, and value art and architecture in the centuries-old church; however I wonder why we consider those pieces and that structure finite and priceless, but we don't draw the same attention and aid for the environment, something just as precious? Experts suspect that the damage from the Australian forest fires may cost up to $70 billion alone, and that is only for repairs. This does not even include funding possible progressive environmental systems to be implemented in the future, like a deterrence from coal use and policies against pollution from corporations. Australia is not alone in feeling financially helpless in regards to saving its habitat for humans and wildlife, as the United States often blames how expensive it would be to switch entirely to renewable energy and to regulate companies’ outputs. Everyday people feel like they can not make much of a change besides pleading to their representatives and making decisions on a lower, household-size scale, like choosing electric cars or relying on
“life
public transportation, installing solar panels, and refraining from using wasteful products. Presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg pledged to spend $500 million on efforts to drastically reduce the U.S.'s dependence on coal in the next three years (New York Times). Until he is elected, however, he can not focus on changing policy on his own However, he can filter money into lobbyist and activist groups that are stronger than the common voter in making a difference. Before entering the presidential race, the billionaire promised to fund the campaigns of candidates with progressive environmental agendas. Unfortunately, it is predicted that the reversal of coal use could cost up to $950 billion to replace hardware and storage capacity for wind and solar in just the U.S. (Clearview Energy Partners). Lucky for Bloomberg, his business is not necessarily at risk with action against climate change. Many billionaires sit in boardrooms and make decisions to gain profits,so it is expected that they are reluctant to support significant regulation, let alone pledge financial help. Ironically, Exxon Mobil pledged $1 million toward a carbon tax, advocated by Americans for Carbon Dividends (CNBC). Although this may sound like progress from a company that is one of the main culprits of the crisis, its owners and board members will still be reaping in the dough once the
company, one of the world’s most successful, can pay off that tax. This conflict of interest can not be avoided so long as oil distributors remain on top. The U.S. and other guilty countries are trillions of dollars deep into an issue that needs a solution before its collapse. What Bloomberg has promised should be viewed as an opportunity for genuinely impactful philanthropy that would have lasting effects on future generations. Kim Kardashian was criticized last year for being a proponent of fighting climate change, while also taking multiple private jets constantly. The wealthy can take preliminary steps to invest in a better environmental future by spending their money on more environmentally-friendly products and activities. Next, they can understand the influence they have in the future of their companies to make environmentally conscious decisions around what they invest in, how responsible their production is, and so on. Finally, and unfortunately in the world we live in, policy change stems from cash. Funding campaigns and groups that are vigorously acting to convince their local and federal governments to become stricter in their approach to better the planet is crucial. Not all of the wealthy are responsible for the decline of the earth, but their contribution to saving something so fragile would secure an impressive philanthropic legacy.
obscures true-love and sex
Our society has placed higher Now, take these conceptions of and standards on wedding days questions about love and ask them than on maintaining a heathy, while on a college campus largely overshadowed by a sex-driven Greek sysloving marriage itself.” that. What can be said with certainty about love is that it is difficult to define. Many a philosopher has tackled the love question, take Robert Nozick for instance. In “Love’s Bond” he proposes the idea that there is a state of infatuation or obsession, and then, separately, there is “true” love. The key distinction between the two, Nozick would say, is that when true love is realized, two people love each other for who the other person is, and not for specific characteristics that the other person holds. In a state of infatuation, the focus may be on how another person makes you feel in their presence, and how (much) you think about them in their absence. Regardless of whether you agree with Nozick’s perspective, what can be said is that in one case (infatuation), the focus is on the now — the butterflies, giddiness and, potentially, what qualities or things a person can offer. And, in the other case (true love) the focus is on the deeper connection — knowing your partner rather than just knowing things about them.
tem. As young adults in this environment, how are we to find our answers for what love is and what it means? If it’s true that we are influenced by our environments and its part of our very nature to want to “fit in” to that environment, I find that it’s increasingly difficult to form a healthy conception of (romantic) love while on a college campus. Think about it. The “motions” we go through on this campus, especially if you are a member of the Greek system (and honestly, even if you’re not), teach us one thing: sex. It’d be naïve to say that X fraternity mixes with Y sorority because “those are some really nice girls and I can’t wait to treat her right.” No. The social ordering and proceedings of the Greek system prioritize sex. X fraternity mixes with Y sorority because “those girls are hot and I’m trying to get laid.” Obviously, I recognize it’s a bit outlandish to say that the Greek system runs on sex, but when considering how my, or others, views on love (what it means, how it forms) are influenced it becomes pretty clear that there does seem to be some focus on it. I also recognize that this understanding is not true for everyone — it is very possible (and it happens
often) to be in a serious romantic relationship and feel that you know what love is while in college. However, the concern lies within the overarching development of our conceptions of love. Perhaps my largest concern is that college — and Greek life — feeds into the idea that “sex is love.” Our society and the community we all take part in for four years of our young adult life can be pervading our ideological conceptions more than we may think. Think about it this way — the social gatherings we partake in aren’t because we are genuinely interested in getting to know one another. We do not attend them with the hopes of building that “deeper connection” with someone. We all, generally speaking, partake because we’re hoping to end the night in someone else’s bed. Essentially, we’re not looking for love and I’d dare to say, that at this point, we don’t even really care about it. Whether or not you think this is a problem or not is for you to decide. However, I am afraid that the lack of focus on having romantic relationships, or at least viewing our relationships as sexual transactions, could have repercussions later down the line when it really is time to think about love. Given the ways we are influenced while in college, it is worrying to think that many of us may take these interactions as the basis for love.
Opinion | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 9
“ Drawing presents unique methodology The Arts
A propensity for language provides little groundwork for new medium Kyle Ferrer
Staff Columnist ferrka16-@wfu.edu
I’m not a natural at drawing. It’s only been two weeks of class, yet I’m sure I won’t be incurring any figurative jealousy. But if I think about it, I’m not a natural writer either. To be a good writer, one must be a good reader, a professor said to me once. But even careful reading takes practice and habituation, patience and recursion. Learned presence. Some of these are more slippery and rare than others, but most can be acquired. Here’s James Baldwin, telling you that very thing: “Talent is insignificant. I know a lot of talented ruins. Beyond talent lie all the usual words: discipline, love, luck, but most of all, endurance.” So maybe I’m just an early quitter in the studio. Although the more likely picture is
The drawer’s severe discernment seems out of reach, and repetition appears a condescending antidote.” of maximum effort running in place, remaining untalented, and becoming a practiced ruin. The strangest aspect of drawing, to me, comes from its ideation process. Or at least the one I can’t conceive: looking at three-dimensions and translating them into two, while maintaining the appearance of three. Perhaps every novice gets caught up in mimesis, and has ceaseless, self-conscious doubts. Though with writing, an appeal to the imagination is enough: picture a square. But drawing cannot appeal or rely on the mind to do all the invisible lifting; it must re-produce and anticipate, in minute detail, the eye. It must beat it. Whereas I can knead language along a series of graduating steps, even my carefully refined circles look skewed and stretched. Drawing takes the writing process and squashes it into a scary binary: convincing existence or “artist’s rendering,” code (when aimed at me) for “you’re really learning a lot,” or silent oversight. I can’t conceptualize drawing any more than I can Mandarin symbols. The shorthand of visual translation
− proportion, angle, shade − still hasn’t not created for me any perfect pictures. I misread even those basic tenets in embarrassing ways. Great drawing has always had an aura of art ex machina, and the process remains opaque. Degas sketches seem easy and unreal, a few loose lines gently triangulated into beauty. Those same lines, in transit to the finished piece, somehow perplex my sense of the world. The space intimated between sight and page is bereft of some mysterious instinct, frustrating whatever artistic process I know into paralysis. From a world of words, I’ve come to the silent, stable articulation of figure. The quick arithmetic of shape space-relations makes metaphor, synecdoche or any other linguistic trick seem like an evasion of truth. My lines accumulate in similarly evasive ways, into embarrassing monsters, often starkly shaded and mis-proportioned, with the angles of a Tim Burton storyboard. And what’s worse, my imagination feels impotent. The methods I’ve learned to sculpt sentences seem convoluted, tortuous, compared to the Hemingway-esque succinctness of a shape re-created. I’ve never been jealous of Hemingway except now, as I desperately try to find interdisciplinary comfort.
Drawing, at least my rudimentary sort, seems like a kind of math and logic, and similarly, Hemingway’s writing has always felt like Marie Kondo without the joy − simple and Spartan and cleaner than me. The drawer’s severe discernment seems out of reach, and repetition appears a condescending antidote. Maybe I’m just pissed at the rules, but I will always feel impotent, ignorant and overly elaborate when it comes to pencil and page. Even talking about drawing, condensing fluffy, art historical monologues into adjectives, seems pompous and over-complicated. Unable to sustain the healthiest mode of creation, the mind is then forced to resort to the dessert cart of words. So what do I do? Well, keep trying to sync up my two minds: the hypertrophied linguistic one, and the infant still grasping at the simplest logic. I’m an artistic nonathlete, a producer of nothing. To be frank: I have not been this blatantly bad at something in a long time, in part, because life will gladly shrink toward us, impelled by spells our talents cast. Untalented elsewheres often remain invisible from our tiny vantage. But drawing has invaded my Eden, made paradise lost. As Milton says of Adam and Eve, recently banished from bliss: “the world was all before them…” and, if I can add my spin, it was propped up on an easel.
who beat her handily even in the rubyred Grand Canyon State. A few months later, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) appointed her to fill the seat of the late Sen. John McCain (R). Now, she faces a formidable challenger in Democrat Mark Kelly, an astronaut and centrist who is married to former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D). Since establishing his run, Kelly has been one of the most prolific fundraisers among Democratic Senate candidates and has millions more cash on hand than McSally.
McConnell (R); South Carolina — Incumbent Sen. Lindsay Graham (R)
“ Jones, McSally and others contend for office Election Season
Presidential policy can only be effective so long as it finds senatorial support Amanda Wilcox Staff Columnist wilcaf16@wfu.edu
Next week, Democratic presidential candidates will face off in Iowa at the first contest of the 2020 election cycle, and caucus-goers will have the first pass at choosing who Democrats should uphold as the party’s standard-bearer in the general election. If elected, almost any one of the candidates would be the most progressive president in U.S. history, as evidenced by the ambitious agendas that each has set forth. If Senator Bernie Sanders is elected, single-payer healthcare won’t just fall out of the sky by the grace of God. Neither will an Ultra-Millionaire Tax if Senator Elizabeth Warren is elected; nor will Universal Basic Income if Andrew Yang is elected. There’s one major, inconvenient fly in the ointment: it will all need to get past the U.S. Senate. And for that, a Democratic majority would be a start. Republicans currently hold the majority, and even though the GOP must defend more seats than Democrats, most of those seats are in states won by President Donald Trump in 2016. Two Democrats are also trying to get reelected in states won by Trump. Democrats need to pick up four seats in 2020 (three if they win
In order to take control of the upper chamber, [the Democrats] have a tough road ahead.” the presidency) in order to take control of the upper chamber, so they have a tough road ahead. Our future president’s policy agenda is only as good as its support in the Senate, so here is a rundown of the races I’m watching most closely this year: Alabama — Incumbent Sen. Doug Jones (D) Jones only narrowly squeaked out a win in a 2017 a special election to fill the seat vacated by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions — and that was only after his opponent, Republican Roy Moore, faced accusations of sexual misconduct involving teenage girls. Going into the 2020 election, Jones faces tough headwinds, especially in a state where 59% of voters approve of Trump (per data from Morning Consult). According to The Hill, early polling data puts most of Jones’ Republican challengers (including Jeff Sessions) ahead of him. His bestcase scenario is a second face-off against Moore, although the GOP is unlikely to renominate him. Arizona — Incumbent Sen. Martha McSally (R) McSally ought to be feeling apprehensive — after all, she’s never actually earned her seat at the ballot box. In 2018, she ran for Republican Jeff Flake’s open seat against Democrat Kyrstyn Sinema,
Maine — Incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R) Collins, who some Democrats imagined to be a moderate early in the Trump administration, enraged the left with her vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 after he faced allegations of sexual misconduct. Since then, Democrats have mobilized in force to oust her. After Maine Speaker of the House Sara Gideon (D) announced her primary run, she raised $1 million in a week; she’ll also have access to $4 million raised by a crowdfunding campaign for the general election. With an impeachment trial for Trump ongoing in the Senate, Collins has a new political minefield to navigate. She came out on Jan. 6 in support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R) efforts to block Senate Democrats’ demands for additional witnesses — further undermining her image as a stalwart moderate. North Carolina — Incumbent Sen. Thom Tillis (R); Kentucky — Incumbent Sen. Mitch
In addition to the toss-up races I discussed, I’m watching a few other races in which Democrats face more of an uphill climb, but are running good, principled campaigns against Republican incumbents who utterly, hopelessly sold their souls to the Trump camp. Here in North Carolina, lawyer and veteran Cal Cunningham is challenging Tillis, who boldly proclaimed in a Washington Post op-ed last year that he would vote against Trump’s effort to circumvent Congress and secure wall funding by declaring a national emergency at the southern border. Then, he turned around and voted for it, clearing up any ambiguity about whether or not he was vertebrate. In Kentucky, former Marine fighter pilot Amy McGrath (who formerly attempted a campaign against Republican Rep. Andy Barr in 2018) is running to take on McConnell, who has weaponized dysfunction, chaos and gridlock in the Senate and held hostage budgets, health care and Supreme Court seats. McConnell’s record-breaking unpopularity and Democrat Andy Beshear’s outside-lane victory in last year’s governor’s race suggest that McGrath shouldn’t be written off. Finally, in South Carolina, Democrat Jaime Harrison raised more in the last three months of 2019 for his bid to unseat Graham — a Trump lap dog if there ever was one — than any candidate ever brought in during a single quarter in South Carolina history.
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 10
Opinion | Old Gold & Black
“ Artistic modernity casts laze as mystery Contemporary Art
Pretentious aesthetics permeate contemporary art markets Connor McNeely Staff Columnist mcneb19@wfu.edu
In 2019, Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan sold an intrepid little piece of art entitled “Comedian,” for $120,000, a move which gained significant media attention. The reception of “Comedian” was mixed — some praised Cattelan who remains a notable prankster in his field, and some questioned whether “Comedian” was even art at all. This was the artist who cast a fully functioning toilet in solid gold and titled it “America.” But I remember reading about this absurd banana that was sold for $120,000 and being captivated by the brilliance of such a statement — because that’s what it was for Cattelan — a statement that would unquestionably spark intense debate about how our culture values pieces of art and pieces of commodity.
Global consumerism may out it, no one knows what they are have infected most forms of looking at. artistic expression in our cul- That’s why “Comedian” is essential for anyone who wishes to gain perture...” spective. This work of art deserves to “Comedian” is a commonplace, low be in the genre of contemporary art it both questions and celebrates value object taped to the wall with as the current movement — although little care for the quality of exhibi- most artists and passionate observtion. Bananas are an easily accessi- ers would argue that art is now defyble item of food with a short shelf- ing structure, time and genre. life. This opposes traditional works Truthfully I loathe almost everything of art which have remained intact that art in my time has to offer. From for hundreds of years. The banana Max Ernst to Yayoi Kusama, all of is duct-taped to the wall, and not it is so brutally pretentious that I’m protected whatsoever. If one thinks cringing at my keyboard thinking about it as a reflection on what we of the inordinate amount of money now consider art, the possibilities made at the creation and auctioning of Cattelan’s inflected meanings are of these ‘works of art.’ Global conendless. sumerism may have infected most With the current trajectory of ex- forms of artistic expression in our pression, a work like “Comedian” culture, but it’s for damn sure that was clearly inevitable. Everyone, contemporary art has maintained all more or less, is perplexed by the of its integrity. It is a rightfully sestatus of paintings, drawings, pho- questered community of crackpots tography and sculpture, whose pur- that feed off of an imagined genius. poses and beauty have become inac- Need I mention the sheer depth of cessible to anyone without a college money laundering that takes place degree. The casual observer missed within this high society, and the evthe jump that artists took from nar- idence is within a moment’s reach. rative — which was truly more of It’s a $67.4 billion market and it’s a plunge off the cliff of reality — expanding into a smaller collection until all that is perceptible now is of members. the meaninglessness of their falling. A good example of this absurdiNow, art depends on context. With- ty is “Onement VI,” a painting by
Barnett Newman. It’s a blue square with a line down the middle. Those who admire it have a great deal of things wrong with them. Newman describes his work as revolutionary, one that features a “zip” down the middle which his passionate observers term as “a rip that opens the universe, a crack in space and time.” Legitimate ‘critics’ say that it has never been done before, but they clearly haven’t seen much of anything below their penthouses. Anyone, and I mean anyone with a rational mind and an able body can do that. To end this on a positive note, I’ll submit my hope for a future in contemporary art that most likely will never come. I would like people to accept reality for what it is, and for them to maintain some solid structure while also subverting it, showing the ordinary man or woman how they can escape. A great example of this is “Portrait of An Artist,” by David Hockney. This painting can represent many things to many people, just like any work of abstract expressionism. It makes me think of the division between the subconscious and the conscious. But unlike Newman’s “Onement VI,”this one was difficult to produce and is a lot more interesting to look at than a dumb, big blue square.
“ Personal recovery deserves acknowledgment Student Life
Seeking help can seem intimidating, but is well worth the effort
It took some time after entering recovery for me to realize just how unhealthy my behavior was.”
Joseph O’Donnell
When I entered recovery in January 2011, I was a 20-year-old sophomore at Wesleyan, majoring in the College of Social Studies and an outspoken member of the Wesleyan Student Assembly. I drank alcohol heavily, but recall thinking that I didn’t have a problem. I thought I was just a “work hard play hard” student like everyone else. It took some time after entering recovery for me to realize just how unhealthy my behavior was. But through facing uncomfortable parts of myself in supportive 12Step group settings and seeking individual counseling, I began to heal. I slowly started reconnecting with understanding friends and making new ones. My academic performance improved. No more blackouts and hangovers. But I still felt that I was between two worlds − the only college student at the 12-Step meetings off campus, and the only student in recovery on campus. Was I really the only college student in recovery? Probably not, but it felt that way. There was no estab-
Guest Columnist odonje17@wfu.edu
Nine years ago today, on Jan. 30, 2011, I felt completely defeated by alcohol and drugs, and I reached out for help. Feeling out of options, I attended a 12-Step recovery meeting near the Wesleyan University campus, and admitted to a bunch of smiling strangers that I have a problem and need help. It did not feel liberating. I ruminated about my blackout the night before, and felt uncomfortable while people in the meeting talked about gratitude and God, serenity and Steps. I felt sad and angry the rest of that night, but a few people gave me their phone numbers and encouraged me to call them the next day. They invited me to go to more meetings and get to know other people in recovery. “You’ll be alright kid,” a member in his 40s with over 20 years of sobriety told me. “Just keep coming back.”
lished recovery support community on campus, nor any means of connecting with other students with similar experiences. Things changed for me when I started at Wake Forest School of Divinity in 2017. I connected with an amazing group of Wake Forest undergraduates in recovery working with Peter Rives, the Assistant Director of Wellbeing, to establish the Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC) on campus. Together, our group established a confidential email account two years earlier, recovery@wfu.edu, for students in need of help and connection, and began building a network. We started meeting on a weekly basis to check in and support each other, first in various available rooms and by Spring 2018, in our own dedicated Recovery Lounge located next to Student Health and the Safe Office in the side entrance of Reynolds Gym. We grew from over four students at the start to now over 18 students, some of whom have graduated and continue to thrive in recovery around the country and the world. We still meet weekly to check in, and we also gather often for social events like bowling, escape rooms, trampo-
line jumping, going out to eat and watching Wake Forest sports games. It has been an incredible opportunity and essential part of my personal recovery to be part of the Wake Forest CRC these past three years, and this community is what I wished for as a newly sober sophomore nine years ago. I hope that this message may reach just one or two students who are in recovery already and may be feeling isolated on campus, or who are considering recovery and don’t know where to start. Reach out, connect with our members, and come attend a CRC or 12-Step meeting with us. Remember, if you are struggling and need help: You are not alone, and the Wake Forest CRC is here for support. If you are concerned about your alcohol or drug use and would like to connect with other Wake Forest students in recovery, please email recovery@wfu.edu. If you would like to learn more about the Wake Forest University Collegiate Recovery Community (CRC), follow us on Instagram and Facebook @wakeforestcrc. And feel free to e-mail me personally if you have any questions or want to talk about recovery: odonje17@wfu. edu.
SPORTS
T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 3 0 , 2 0 2 0
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Online at: www.wfuogb.com Editor: Amanda Wilcox, wilcaf16@wfu.edu Assistant Editor: Ben Conroy, conrbd19@wfu.edu Will Zimmerman, zimmwj19@wfu.edu
OLD GOLD & BLACK
Students mourn, honor Kobe Bryant The basketball legend tragically perished early Sunday in a helicopter crash near Calabasas, Calif. RENTING CAI Staff Writer cair17@wfu.edu “Kobe with the fadeaway —s got it!” the commentator’s voice echoed at the Reynolds Gym. Several students stopped their workout, gathered in front of the TV and watched in silence. It was a re-air of Kobe Bryant’s 60-point farewell to the NBA in memory of the former Lakers legend. On Jan. 26, Bryant died in a helicopter crash outside Los Angeles, striking emotions and sentiments around the world. All nine passengers in the helicopter died, including Bryant’s 13-year-old daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant, according to CBS News. The cause was reportedly the extremely foggy weather, as “visibility was so low Sunday morning that Los Angeles police had grounded its helicopters,” according to police department spokesman Josh Rubenstein. More than just an athlete, Bryant impacted a generation in his 20-year career. Like a lot of sports fans, many Wake Forest students grew up watching Bryant’s games and were devastated about his sudden passing. “When the news came out, I spent 20 minutes lying in bed, crying. I played a lot of basketball growing up, and when we made a bad shot, we yelled ‘Kobe.’ It’s funny, but that’s how much he meant to so many people,” said sophomore Johnson Cook. “He [Bryant] was a dad, a husband. Vanessa [Bryant], she lost her daughter, their family lost a sister, and that’s the worst part of it. Beyond just playing basketball, he was a good dad.”
Jayne Kamin-Oncea/USA TODAY Sports/TNS
Fans leave messages on memory boards at Staples Center on Jan. 29 in Los Angeles to remember the late Kobe Bryant. The NBA star died with his daughter and seven others. Wake Forest Men’s Basketball paid tribute to Bryant’s passing by wearing his signature sneakers during Monday’s training. In an open press conference, Head Coach Danny Manning and players shared their condolences. During his NBA career, Manning competed against Bryant. “He was an ultimate competitor, always well prepared, mentally locked in and focused. It was an honor to play against him for a lot of years,” Manning said. “There is no replacing Kobe Bryant. People talked a lot about the basketball side of it, but he was a lot more than a basketball player. Especially at this point in his life, what he dedicated to was his family." To players like junior Olivier Sarr and sophomore Isaiah Mucius, Bryant had always been an inspiration in their basketball career. “My first jersey was a Kobe Bryant jersey,” Sarr said. “He was and he still will be an inspiration for me — the way he was working, how he put his mind into work and his dedication to life.”
Mucius remembered Bryant’s work ethic: “Wanting to be like Kobe and having all his shoes — he’s the guy I grew up watching. The stuff he did looks so effortless, but he definitely did so many reps in the gym to make sure he was confident,” Mucius said. Beyond domestic impacts, Bryant’s legacy spread across the globe. Sophomore Shilin Yu, a Chinese international student and longtime NBA fan, shared his feeling on Bryant’s passing. “I was shocked and numb at first, and in 10 minutes I started to feel sick,” Yu said with misty eyes. “To me, he was the most persistent person and player, and his spirits inspired so many people that he became an icon beyond basketball all over the world.” For junior Simon Oh, a Korean international student, Bryant’s passing made him ponder life and death. “It really feels strange … everyone in my friend group who plays basketball is inspired by him,” Oh said. “It’s just a casual thing to mention Kobe in my life, and it just makes me think of mortality and how precious life is.”
Deacons fall to Cavaliers in overtime With the continued absence of Childress and Brown, Wake Forest struggled against Virginia defense BY CHRISTIAN ODJAKJIAN Staff Writer odjact18@wfu.edu Without the services of top two scorers Brandon Childress and Chaundee Brown, Wake Forest (9-10, 2-7) came just shy of defeating defending national champion University of Virginia (14-6, 6-4), falling 65-63 in overtime on Sunday in Winston-Salem. “I thought our guys put us in a situation to win the ball game,” said Wake Forest Head Coach Danny Manning. “We had some guys make some plays, we had some guys play really well. Disappointed in the outcome, but definitely happy with the fight our guys displayed.” It was the sixth straight missed game for Brown, but only the second time in his entire Demon Deacon career that Childress hasn’t suited up. The senior floor general suffered from a foot injury during practice earlier in the week, ending the streak of 49 straight games started. Wake Forest led by two with under a minute to go in regulation. Eleven seconds after being subbed in, Virginia’s Jay Huff knocked down a three from the corner to give the Cavaliers a one-point advantage. Two free throws by Kihei Clark stretched their lead to three with 20 seconds remaining. Manning elected to use a timeout with 10 seconds to go. Redshirt senior Andrien White got fouled while launching from long range, knocking down all three free throws with
1.7 seconds left on the clock. Virginia Head Coach Tony Bennett tried to ice him by calling two timeouts from the time between the foul and the last make, but White was not fazed. In overtime, Wake Forest never led, but once again had the ball in the final moments. Down two with eight seconds left, Manning called timeout once again, which upset some fans, who would’ve rather seen the Deacs try to capitalize on an unset Virginia defense. Manning defended his decision. “I didn’t like the way we were spaced out on the floor, so I called a timeout," he said. Graduate student Torry Johnson drove to the baseline and made a short pass to junior Olivier Sarr, who wasn’t able to get a shot off, and the Hoos escaped with a two point win. White scored 21, one shy of his season high of 22 he set during the Clemson game earlier in the week. He shot 10-11 from the free throw line and extended his streak of games with three or more three-point field goals made to four. He played all 45 minutes in the loss. “When you’re playing like that, you’re not coming out,” Manning said. Bennett’s squad is hurting from the losses of Kyle Guy, DeAndre Hunter and Ty Jerome, but continues to be an elite defensive team. Virginia leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing a diminutive 49.7 points per game. That defense made an immediate impact on Wake Forest, as they shot an abysmal 1-15 from the field during the first eleven minutes. However, they were able to keep the game close with strong defense themselves, only trailing 12-4 at the end of the horrific stretch. Wake Forest overcame this embarrassing start with a very impressive stretch. A switch was flipped and the Deacs couldn’t miss, finishing the half shooting 8-9 from the floor,
six of which came from downtown. The 31 point barrage in less than nine minutes gave Wake Forest a 35-28 halftime lead. A strong start to the second half stretched the lead to as much as a dozen, but the Deacs cooled off again, and Virginia clawed their way back into the game. An 18-4 run by the Hoos helped them regain the lead at 46-44 with just over eight minutes remaining, and the Deacs never led again by more than two. Junior college transfer Thomas Woldetensae led the way for Virginia, scoring all of his points from deep, making 7-14 of his three-point attempts for 21 points. “He’s continuing to learn the system, and where he can be aggressive,” said Bennett. “He’s not afraid to shoot. And I like that.” Elite Eight hero Mamadi Diakite scored an efficient 16 points on 7-10 shooting to go along with seven rebounds. Point guard Kihei Clark added 13 and eight assists. Sophomore forward Isaiah Mucius provided a huge spark for the Deacs in this game. His 16-point, 10-rebound line doesn’t speak to how well he played and the amount of energy he brought. He shot the ball confidently, hustled, and pumped up the crowd as well as his teammates. “We all know that we gave 110%,” said Mucius. “We are close to turning that corner.” The loss marked Wake Forest’s eighth against Virginia. Virginia was able to build off their performance on Sunday with a signature victory against fifth-ranked Florida State Tuesday night. Wake Forest will look to get back in the win column after back to-back tough losses on Wednesday night as they face a strong Notre Dame team in South Bend. The Deacs will return to Winston-Salem to face off against Clemson once again on Saturday.
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Old Gold & Black | Sports
Deacs' 2020 football schedule is released Highlights will include a match-up with Notre Dame at Bank of America Stadium BY SAMANTHA WEXLER Staff Writer wexsn17@wfu.edu
The much-awaited 2020 Wake Forest football schedule was officially released by the ACC on Thursday, Jan. 23. The Demon Deacons are currently tied for the second-most wins in the Atlantic Coast Conference since 2017 and look to continue that dominance on the turf next season. Additionally, Wake Forest will return five All-ACC performers to the field this fall: 2019 Biletnikoff semifinalist Sage Surratt (redshirt junior), 2019 Lou Groza semifinalist Nick Sciba (junior), 2019 ACC leader in tackles-forloss Boogie Basham (redshirt senior), safety Nasir Greer (junior) and center Zach Tom (redshirt junior). The schedule will provide a challenge for the talented Demon Deacon team, facing seven bowl teams from this past season, including four within the Atlantic Division. The three not in the Atlantic Division are in-state rival Appalachian State, Notre Dame and Louisville. These three teams ended their seasons with victories at the New Or-
leans Bowl, Camping World Bowl and Music City Bowl, respectively. The always-challenging Clemson Tigers will visit Winston-Salem this year after defeating Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl and falling to LSU in the national championship. The Deacons take on Clemson in the Tigers’ last game of the regular season on Nov. 21 in WinstonSalem. Boston College, Miami and Florida State all gained a bowl-berth and FCS squad Villanova qualified for the 24-team FCS playoff. The Deacons' opener this year will once again fall on a Friday as the team travels to Norfolk, Va. to take on Old Dominion. The game will be the firstever meeting between the two schools. It is also Wake Forest’s first visit to Norfolk since playing Virginia Tech in a neutral site game in 1958. There are numerous unique matchups on this year’s schedule, with one long-anticipated match-up being the game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. The home opener for the Demon Deacons, the game will be on Friday Sept. 11. It will be the Mountaineers’ first visit to WinstonSalem since 2001, when the Deacons posted a 20-10 win. On Saturday, Sept. 26, Wake Forest will return to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. They will look to repeat the victories of their past two
games there — the 2007 Meineke Car Care Bowl and the 2017 Belk Bowl. The Demon Deacons will be the designated home team against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Wake
Forest won’t play Notre Dame again until 2023, and it looks to be a big event for the numerous Wake Forest alumni and fans in and around the Charlotte area.
Photo courtesy of Winston-Salem Journal
Wake Forest redshirt junior wide receiver Sage Surratt had a breakout season in 2019. He is slated to return in 2020.
MLB Roundup: Outfielders find new homes The Atlanta Braves and Cincinnati Reds each add key pieces in the outfield BY REN SCHMITT Senior Writer schmwm16@wfu.edu
In stark contrast to the previous two offseasons, the 2019-2020 winter has moved quickly, and now, after the signings of Marcell Ozuna and Nick Castellanos, the free agency pool is all but dried up. The top name left on the market, Yasiel Puig, perfectly illustrates the sort of options that still remain for teams looking to upgrade in free agency. There is still some upside to be found, but if a team wants to add a real impact player, it will have to look to the trade market, which is beginning to become increasingly active. Let’s take a look at the impact these most recent free agent signings may have on their new clubs. Marcell Ozuna, Atlanta Braves, 1 year, $18 million Ozuna’s contract, which exceeded his qualifying offer from the Cardinals by only $200,000, mirrors the deals signed by Josh Donaldson and Yasmani Grandal last season. Ozuna is hoping to rebuild some of his value on a short deal in order to earn his long-term deal after the 2020 season.
Hyosub Shin/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/TNS
The St. Louis Cardinals' Marcell Ozuna hits a two-run single in the ninth inning against the Atlanta Braves on Oct. 3, 2019. For the Braves, the deal presents little risk. Ozuna satisfies their need for a power bat to plug the lineup hole left by Donaldson’s departure, and Ozuna’s 2017 season in which he posted 5.0 fWAR demonstrates the sort of production he has been capable of in the past. Last season, he posted a career-high 11.3% walk rate, though his .243 batting average was a career low. His .259 BABIP suggests some unfortunate batted ball luck in 2019, and it would not be surprising to see his wRC+ rise to the 120-125 range in 2020, especially considering the fact that he will no lon-
ger be playing 81 games in the pitcherfriendly Busch Stadium. Ozuna will take over duties in left field, where he has usually played serviceable defense, though he struggled a bit there in 2020. Atlanta will experiment with utilityman Johan Camargo and the developing Austin Riley at third base, and overall, the production that the Ozuna deal projects to create will roughly replace the value Donaldson provided for the Braves last season. Nick Castellanos, Cincinnati Reds, 4 years, $64 million
The Reds have pushed in their chips, and with good reason. The NL Central is set up to be the most tightly contested division in baseball next season, with the Reds, Cubs, Cardinals and Brewers are all capable of winning the division crown. Castellanos struggled with the Tigers in the first half of last season, but once he was traded to the Cubs, he caught fire, posting a 176 wRC+ in the month of August. The Reds are betting on his bat staying hot and carrying his value, as his defense is atrocious. In 2018, he posted -24 OAA (Outs Above Average), the worst total in MLB. Though he improved to -8 OAA last season, he still finished 78th in MLB in that category. The Castellanos deal is a bit of headscratcher for the Reds, as they were already deep at the outfield position, but they still have time to trade one of their many starting-quality outfielders to upgrade at a position of weakness. Though it seems like a longshot, some have suggested that Cincinnati may try to trade Nick Senzel, a former top-10 prospect, in a deal to acquire shortstop Francisco Lindor from the Indians. With about two months to go before Opening Day, there is still plenty of time for several big names to find new homes. Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado and Kris Bryant are all rumored to be available, and though free agency has more or less ended, the trade market could get interesting in a hurry.
Sports | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 13
Deacon Spotlight: Bobby Seymour BY SAMANTHA WEXLER Staff Writer wexlsn17@wfu.edu The 2019 ACC Player of the Year in baseball, junior Bobby Seymour put together one of the top offensive seasons in Wake Forest history on the baseball diamond last spring. The honor put him in an elite class of Demon Deacons, as only the seventh player in history to be named ACC Player of the Year. In his sophomore campaign, he led the NCAA with 92 RBIs and led the ACC in hitting, a full 16 points above the second-place finisher. He batted a robust .377 with 20 doubles and nine homers and also led the ACC with his 89 hits. In his freshman season at Wake Forest, he made 52 starts and played in 54 total games as Wake Forest’s primary first baseman. He ranked third on the team with a .286 average and ranked second in doubles (12) and third in RBIs (32). He was stout against ACC opponents, recording all seven of his home runs against them. One of his freshman highlights included hitting a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth of a victory over High Point University in May. Prior to Wake Forest, Seymour was ranked the No. 10 prospect from Indiana as well as the No. 14 first baseman nationally. Though hailing from Indiana, he went to high school and played club baseball in Illinois, where he was ranked the No. 13 prospect overall. He helped lead his team to the state tournament where they finished runner up in 2015. After a challenging summer that saw his competition with the U.S. Collegiate National Team fall due to an appendectomy, Seymour looks to come back stronger and lead the Deacons to their final goals in Omaha.
the incoming freshmen and others on the team go to summer school and get ahead in the classroom, and still get their work in here at school. Now with this season coming up in three weeks, we have a ton of guys coming in and doing extra work. Preparation is not only on-the-field work, but off-the-field as well. We have so many guys who work the mental side of the game just as much as the physical. Our team work ethic is off the charts. SW: There has been a very high standard of play under Head Coach Tom Walter. What in particular does he bring to the program to continue this dominance?
BS: The culture here at Wake Forest is truly unbelievable. It’s a privilege to have these facilities and wear the Wake Forest uniform every single day. We see a lot of pro guys come back, and we have seen over the years how much work they have put in to perfect their craft, and that in my opinion is what makes Wake Forest so much different. I believe that the guys who go out and put the work in that they need to do to put them at that high level, then the rest will take care of it self. SW: What are you most excited for this upcoming season?
BS: It’s an honor to play for Coach Walter. The little things he does for all of us day in and day out is something everyone of us will be grateful for the rest of our lives. He brings a fire into the dugout every single day, and he doesn’t care who we are facing or who is on the mound, he just wants to win. That’s what separates him, and that’s why he is such a great coach.
BS: I just can’t wait to get back on the field. I had a very short summer after having to get my appendix taken out, so definitely just to get back on the field and help take our team to Omaha.
SW: There are exceptional levels of former players in the MLB now. What is the culture of the program in terms of continued success after Wake Forest?
BS: Definitely, I am always calling my dad about things in life. He’s always someone I can talk to so definitely him and the rest of my family.
SW: Outside of the team, do you have any people who have influenced your experience here?
Samantha Wexler: The team obviously lost some great players after last season and had some great players come in as well. Can you speak to what it took to develop this year’s team chemistry to continue the success of the program? Bobby Seymour: Every single year we lose great players to the draft because here at Wake Forest we produce players who are ready to make that next step towards professional baseball. That being said, it is always different seeing new guys in the locker room in the beginning of the fall, but we have every single one of our guys brought in on the same message: get to Omaha. When everyone has the same goal in mind, you can be a very dangerous team. SW: Can you speak a little on the preparation that the team has been doing since last season ended to prepare for this season? BS: We had almost every returning player play summer ball in their own specific leagues, and that’s great for them to see that live pitching every day and for pitchers to face hitters every day. Also, we had all of
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications
DEAC NOTES Four Wake Forest women’s field hockey players named to All-ACC Academic Team
Two more firsts for Wake Forest track and field at the Clemson Invitational
Wake Forest field hockey placed four members on the All-ACC Academic Team, the league office announced Wednesday. Isla Bint (right), Kelsey Gill, Meike Lanckohr and Anne van Hoof received the honor for the Deacons. Minimum requirements for selection are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 cumulative average during one’s career. Athletic achievements during the most recent season are also considered.
Wake Forest’s Aleeya Hutchins and Joaquin Martinez (right) De Pinillos each claimed first place on Jan. 25 at the Bob Pollock Clemson Invitational. Over the two-day tournament, Wake Forest claimed six first place finishes and six seconds. On Saturday, Hutchins won the women’s 800 meters. Joaquin Martinez De Pinillos won the men’s 3000 meters, finishing two seconds in front of his nearest competitor.
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications
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Old Gold & Black | Sports
An analysis of NBA All-Star starters Antetokounmpo, Embiid, Siakam, Walker andYoung will lead the East; James heads star-studded list of starters for the West BY NICK LALLI Staff Writer lalldp18@wfu.edu The NBA unveiled its All-Star starters this past week for the upcoming All-Star Game, which will occur on Feb. 16 at 8 p.m. in Chicago. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Joel Embiid, Pascal Siakam, Kemba Walker and Trae Young will represent the East. LeBron James leads an impressive cast of starters for the West, including Anthony Davis, James Harden, Luka Dončić and Kawhi Leonard. I’ve chronicled Antetokounmpo’s incredible season in the past, but his teammates are no slouchers. Embiid has helped lead the Philladelphia 76ers to a 30-17 record on the strength of 23 points, 12 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, earning his third All-Star appearance. Siakam has emerged from Leonard’s shadow to lead the Toronto Raptors to a second seed in the East while averaging 24 points and eight rebounds per game. This will be his first All-Star appearance. In the backcourt for the East, Kemba Walker earns his fourth All-Star game appearance, as his 22 points and five assists per game have led the Boston Celtics to 30 wins. His running mate will be Trae Young, whose candidacy was heavily contested due to the Atlanta Hawks’ awful season thus far. Nonetheless, Young’s numbers prove his mettle, as he’s averaged 30 points and nine assists per game to earn his first All-Star game appearance. James has had yet another historic season for the Los Angeles Lakers, averaging 25 points, a league-leading 11 assists and eight rebounds. This will be his 16th All Star
Mike Mulholland/TNS
Detroit Pistons forward Blake Griffin drives against Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo at a game on Dec. 4, 2019 in Detroit. The Bucks won the game (127-103). appearance. His Lakers running mate Davis, whose admirable season I’ve also covered prior, earns his seventh straight nomination. The two have helped the Lakers to a first-place standing in the West at 36-10. Harden has had another incredible offensive season, leading the league with 36 points per game and leading the Houston Rockets to a 28-17 record. Dončić has put up incredible numbers of his own, recording a near triple double per game with 29 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to 28-17 as well. Finally, Leonard has averaged 27 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals per game to propel the Los Angeles Clippers to 33-14. The voting system used to nominate these players was comprised of votes from fan, current NBA players and a
media panel. The reserves will have been selected on Jan. 30. Expect to see big names like the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, the Washington Wizards’ Bradley Beal and Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons earn the nod as reserves for the East. In the West, the Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic, the Portland Trail Blazers’ Damian Lillard and Houston’s Russell Westbrook will likely hear their names called. As a final note, the reigning first pick in the draft, Zion Williamson, made his NBA debut last week against the Spurs. In three total games, he’s averaged 19 points and eight rebounds per contest on an astounding 66.7% from the field in only 22 minutes. The Pelicans will undoubtedly be a fun team to watch the rest of this season.
With star defenders, Liverpool chases perfection After heartbreaking seasons in the past, Liverpool’s goal-stopping ability has allowed them to dominate the Premier League BY CHARLES HORN Staff Writer horncs18@wfu.edu
Placing the ball past Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, Mohamed Salah wheeled away, ripping his shirt off in jubilation, and stood in the shadow of the Kop, the famed stand at one end of Liverpool’s Anfield stadium. Salah’s goal capped a 2-0 win against Liverpool’s bitter rivals and extended the club’s lead atop the Premier League to 16 points with a game in hand, a seemingly insurmountable margin over last season’s champions Manchester City. For the first time this season, the air was soon filled with chants of “We’re gonna win the league” from the gathered Liverpool faithful. For many clubs, this confident song would have been heard for weeks; Liverpool has dominated this season, and many have resigned themselves to their eventual victory as early as November. However, Liverpool fans’ caution stems from a long barren spell for the club, marked by nearmisses, glorious success and tragic failure. In 2014, the same song rang through Anfield as Brendan Rodgers, now manager of Leicester City, seemed poised to best Chelsea and Manchester City. Yet in a pivotal match late in the season, captain and lifelong Liverpool player Steven Gerrard slipped against Chelsea, letting Demba Ba through to score what proved to be the title denying goal. Manchester City emerged victorious by two points. Liverpool won the old First Division 18 times, yet since the incorporation of the
Premier League in 1992, Liverpool has never won the competition. This year, Liverpool’s run of bad fortune seems set to change. Now owned by the Fenway Sports Group, who own the Boston Red Sox, and counting investors such as LeBron James, Liverpool has undergone a remarkable revitalization that has seen the team become a dominant force in European soccer. In the Premier League, Liverpool has not lost in 40 games, including a record this season of 22 wins and one draw. Liverpool has not lost at home in the league since April 2017 and are seeking to become the first side since Arsenal’s “Invincibles” won the title in 2004 to finish the league season undefeated. Central to Liverpool’s success is the development of a world-class defense. In 2013-2014, Rodgers’s runner-up side conceded 13 more goals than Manchester City and 23 more goals than Chelsea, undermining their stellar goal production, a credit to a prime Luis Suarez. Yet under German manager Jurgen Klopp, and thanks to a series of signings, the club now boast a stellar defensive record, conceding only 15 goals thus far, nine fewer than their closest defensive competitor, Leicester. Virgil van Dijk dominates the center of the field, with his success domestically and in the club’s victorious Champions League campaign manifesting in his second-place finish at the Ballon d’Or awards behind Lionel Messi. Supporting van Dijk is Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker, who has been a marked improvement over error prone keepers Mignolet and Karius. In fact, Becker and van Dijk are Liverpool’s club records signings, with transfer fees in excess of $160 million. Perhaps more important than Liverpool’s goal stopping ability is their defense’s offensive involvement.
The full backs, Scottish left-back Andrew Robertson and right-back academy product Trent AlexanderArnold, are redefining the position domestically, running rampant on the flanks and are currently regarded as the finest full-back pair in world soccer. AlexanderArnold sits second on the Premier League assist rankings with 10, nearly eclipsing his own record from last season of 12 assists by a defender in a Premier League season. For all of Alexander-Arnold’s creation, Robertson may still be a more developed player, especially in terms of defensive consistency. Both their offensive impact arises from Liverpool’s system, which perfectly suits their own abilities. Attacking, Liverpool plays close to a 2-3-5, with Alexander-Arnold and Robertson overlapping the wingers, usually Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah, allowing deep runs that allow crosses from the touchline and further overlaps creating space for the wing players, with Roberto Firmino dropping deeper and playing one-twos that split defenses and create goal scoring opportunities. Many successful teams have deployed fullbacks as functional wingers, such as Dani Alves for Guardiola’s Barcelona, yet Robertson and AlexanderArnold set new heights for production and especially defensive consistency. With Liverpool set to win the Premier League, the aura of caution appears to be waning, as players and fans begin to reckon that their long drought may be finally ending. Klopp has adapted his brilliance at Borussia Dortmund to the English game, and although it has not been an easy road since his 2015 appointment, it would appear that his plans have come to fruition. Yet past their success, the level of perfection achieved by Liverpool speaks to the importance of defensive construction and tactical innovation, even in the age of $100 million transfer fees.
Thursday, January 30, 2020 |Page 15
Old Gold & Black | Sports
McGregor puts on a quick show at UFC 246 In 40 seconds, the Irishman handed one of the world’s premier fighters the fastest loss of his career BY WILL ZIMMERMAN Asst. Sports Editor zimmwj19@wfu.edu At UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 246, it took the Irishman, Conor McGregor, only 40 seconds to knock out the Cowboy, Donald Cerrone. The fight took place at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas in front of a jam-packed crowd. Notable attendees include Chris Pratt, Matt Damon, Megan Fox and Tom Brady, among others. It seemed as though McGregor had the upper hand even before the fight began. The Irishman radiated confidence as he strutted into the octagon under the green and orange lights to the roaring of the crowd and “Hypnotize” by The Notorious B.I.G. The fight was McGregor’s first since his loss in the title fight to Khabib in UFC 229, which took place back in October 2018. The bout, which was the main event on Jan. 18, was an important one for McGregor. He was coming off of successive losses, one to Khabib and the other from a technical knockout at the hands of boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr., who was 49-0 coming into that fight. McGregor, who is an MMA fighter by training, lost in the tenth round of the bout in his professional boxing debut. McGregor ended his losing streak in epic fashion, with an incredibly impressive showing against one of the most
Steve Marcus/Getty Images/TNS
Welterweight fighter Conor McGregor is interviewed by UFC’s Joe Rogan on Jan. 18.
experienced and qualified fighters in the UFC. From the second the opening round began, McGregor took the offensive. He charged toward the Cowboy and threw a punch towards his head. Cerrone ducked and dodged the punch, but McGregor immediately followed through with a knee that landed right on his nose. The blow left Cerrone visually stunned, and McGregor quickly followed it up with a blow to the face from his razor-sharp shoulder blade. McGregor used his shoulders effectively by changing his elevation and before Cerrone realized what was going on, McGregor landed several more blows, one of which seemed to break Cerrone’s nose. After a
roundhouse kick to the face and a few punches, Cerrone fell to the floor and within seconds the fight was called as a KO. Not all in the world of UFC were captivated with McGregor’s quick work. Nate Diaz, who attended the fight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, let it be known that he was not impressed. “Cowboy doesn’t care about winning and losing, so (McGregor) didn’t have a very hard fight on his hands,” said Diaz per ESPN’s Marc Raimondi as quoted in BJPenn. com, a mixed martial arts news website. With the Irish flag draped around his shoulders, McGregor talked with Joe Rogan after the fight. McGregor, when asked about what was next, told Rogan that he intended to stay within the welterweight division but did not name anyone in particular he wanted to fight next. UFC president Dana White mentioned the prospect of a possible rematch between McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov, which would be tremendously lucrative for the sport, especially considering the circumstances which surrounded the end of the last fight between the two men. After that fight, back in 2018, Khabib fought some of McGregor’s entourage after getting word of comments that McGregor made about his Muslim faith. It is also possible that McGregor could return to the boxing ring. Hours after the fight with Cerrone, Floyd Mayweather posted a photo on his Instagram of himself alongside McGregor with the caption “Mayweather-McGregor 2, 2020.” Whatever McGregor’s next move is, it is sure to be entertaining. No matter where the Irishmen goes, the eyes of the MMA world are sure to follow.
Club hockey faces off against Hokies, Blue Devils Wake Forest Men’s Ice Hockey squeaked past Virginia Tech and dominated Duke BY JB BLOOD Staff Writer bloojj18@wfu.edu One week after winning their division and clinching a spot in the ACCHL playoffs, the Wake Forest Men’s Club Hockey team continued their strong run with a close 5-4 win against Virginia Tech and a dominating 4-1 win over Duke. The two wins bring the Deacs’ record to 11-3, with two games remaining before the playoffs. “We got some kids back who were studying abroad, which is helping us with balance,” said Wake Forest Head Coach Dave Pasquale. “So we’ve been able to run four lines which helps as we get into the third period. We’re starting to wear some teams down.” Wake Forest ’s first game of the weekend, the 5-4 victory against Virginia Tech, was a nail-biter until the very end. Virginia Tech opened up the scoring in the first four minutes of the game, but Wake Forest’s sophomoreJennings Lobel answered back two minutes later with a hard shot from distance that sailed into the net to even the score at one. Lobel was assisted by senior captain Blake Mueller and freshman Michael Kenney. Nine minutes into the second period, Virginia Tech capitalized on a power play to retake the lead. Two minutes later, Virginia Tech had a penalty for tripping, which gave Wake Forest a power play. The Deacs took full advantage of the opportunity, and senior Macrae Robertson scored on a powerful shot and was assisted by Mueller and senior Matt Solviletti. Wake Forest took its first lead of the game with a little under five minutes remaining in the second period. Lobel scored his second goal of the night off of a rebound in front of the net. He deftly flicked the puck past the goalie to make it a 3-2 game. The back-and-forth continued when Virginia Tech scored 41 seconds later to even the game up at three-all heading into the third and final period. Wake Forest retook the lead with 18:14 remaining
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Men’s Club Ice Hockey’s Instagram
The ice hockey Deacs clinched a playoff spot in the ACCHL tournament this year. in the game with a goal by senior Jack McGowan. The Deacs recovered a rebound and passed to McGowan, who hit a hard slap shot from distance. The game was tied back up again with a little over 10 minutes left when Virginia Tech scored on a fast break. With the game tied at four with under 10 minutes left, sophomore superstar Drew Gebhardt broke the stalemate to give Wake Forest the 5-4 lead and eventual victory. Gebhardt, who made the ACCHL All-Star team as a freshman, raced down the ice and received a pass from
sophomore Nick Keroack before hitting a blazing shot into the net. “Keroack made a great chip giving me a chance to chase down the puck and fortunately it snuck by the goalie,” Gebhardt said. The Wake Forest defense clamped down in the waning minutes of the game and preserved the 5-4 lead as time expired. “We finally started shooting pucks on net. The goalie gave out a lot of rebounds so the key was to get it into the zone and get pucks on net,” said coach Pasquale said Wake Forest beat Duke 4-1 in the second match of the weekend, but the final score was not nearly as close as the match appeared to be. The Deacs had a 67-11 advantage in shots on goal and Duke did not have enough players to field two full lines. The Duke goalie shut out the Deacs for nearly the entire first period. But just as it looked like the first period would end scoreless, sophomore sensation Brendan Gregoire scored to make it a 1-0 game. Gregoire, who has 13 goals on the season, deftly shot the puck over the goalie’s left shoulder and into the net. “[Freshman] Ryan Siffringer did a great job winning the face-off and [senior] Solviletti made a great pass on the break out to me and I was lucky enough to be able to slide it over the goalies shoulder,” Gregoire said. Wake Forest scored again midway through the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Sophomore Will Caulkins scored his first career goal on a hard shot that went past the goalie. Duke’s only score of the game came with a little over a minute left in the second period off of a power play. Wake Forest’s final two scored came within 16 seconds of each other in the third period. After a Duke penalty gave Wake Forest a power play, senior Eric Khalouf scored off a rebound to put the Deacs up 3-1. Soon after the next face-off, Keroack scored to give Wake Forest the 4-1 victory. Wake Forest’s next game is on Feb. 1 on the road against Duke.
LIFE
T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 3 0 , 2 0 2 0
PAG E 16
O n l i n e at : w w w. w f u o g b . c o m e d i t o r : C a t h e r i n e R e g e n , r e g e c l 17 @ w f u . e d u
A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R : A n d y K i l l e b r e w , k i l l a e 17 @ w f u . e d u
OLD GOLD & BLACK
Banshees bring back their classics Campus favorites, the Lilting Banshees, hosted a sold-out show on Jan. 24 featuring sketches from the past 15 years for their first show this semester
Continued from Page 1
Senior Alec Gannon (left) attempts to sell an exercise program titled "You are so F**cked" during a "commercial break." Senior Grace Franzese (right) plays a toddler plotting to kill her parents.
(Senior Cooper Blaze) and university-niche jokes about being unaffiliated, it felt like the sketch could have been written days before the show. Also a decade old, “Dean Shore (Junior Joey Smuckler) v. Sheen Dore (Blaze)” was another example of the common sense of humor that Gannon described earlier. Lovingly parodying the university’s barber, knowing that the sketch was written years ago emphasized the sense of nostalgia that ran throughout the production. When asked about their favorite moment of the night, Gannon, Franzese and Trabanino all had the same answer: the ending of the sketch “Wanna See My Secret Box.” Originally written in 2005, a student (Sophomore John Paul Jeanes) accuses his roommate (Sophomore William Bradford) of looking through his secret box and proceeds to share a letter he wrote of having a crush on him. The roommate admits that the feeling is mutual, and they ended up improvising a kiss right before the auditorium went black. “None of us knew the end of that sketch was coming, and backstage we were all having the same feeling as the audience: ‘Oh my god are they gonna kiss?’ Obviously I've read the script and seen the whole show rehearsed a bunch of times, so usually the only thing new to me by show night is how the audience reacts to it,” Franzese said. “It
was fun to have something on stage, in front of a whole crowd, that surprised even me.” Although he was hesitant to name his favorite sketch, Gannon ultimately shared a similar sentiment to Franzese about the excitement surrounding the brazen kiss. “To hear everyone in Brendle cheer like crazy for those kids would make any director proud,” Gannon said. “I love this troupe, and every kid in it.”
Olivia Field / Old Gold & Black
“I think our troupe really looked up to those alumni, and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that their sense of humor isn't so different from ours — Banshees will be Banshees. We loved their jokes, and we wanted to pay homage to the Banshees that made the troupe what it is today,” Gannon said. The show, which sold out in hours, was comprised of 14 sketches written by alumni. Normally, the current members write the sketches themselves — bouncing ideas off of each other until they are satisfied with the final product. Senior Grace Franzese said that performing the old sketches was completely different than taking the stage with material they wrote themselves. “Doing our own stuff, and having it be on stage for the very first time, is way more personal. I think most of us feel way more attached to it. But it was exciting going through the sketches of Banshees past and putting together a show with it,” Franzese said. Junior Mariana Trabanino echoed this same idea. “It was interesting because there was that expectation to perform it how it was performed back then, but once you got comfortable with your character you kind of played around with it and made it your own,” she said. Gannon explained that the rehearsal process for the Classics show did not differ much from their usual approach. “It still took memorizing lines, practicing blocking, gathering props. However, what made this show easier, is that for some sketches, we could go back and ‘watch the film’ if we needed to,” Gannon said. “I think we took old sketches and wanted to slap this current troupe's stamp on it. But at the end of the day, we were standing on the shoulders of some really funny people.” Riffing on a presidential debate, the first performance of the night was also one of the most recently written. Featuring two sorority girls competing to be the newest Sigma Alpha Epsilon little sister, the sketch was from Franzese’s first year in Banshees. “All of the original actors from that sketch were people who were in the troupe with me my freshman year,” Franzese said. “Apparently the original version was nothing like it, and they overhauled the whole thing the night before they voted on the show for that semester.” Some of the oldest sketches of the night elicited the best responses from the crowd. A play on Beauty and the Beast, the Banshees performed a musical titled “Biddie (Sophomore Alexandra Karlinchak) and the GDI (Freshman Tommy Murphy)” that was almost 10 years old. With characters like “Fratston”
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 17
Life | Old Gold & Black
TV Show Review | Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
THE HOT Hell is under new management There’s a new type of magic LIST in the third instalment of Netflix’s witchy series BY CATHERINE REGEN Life Editor regecl17@wfu.edu Part three of the series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina premiered this week on Netflix. This is the shortest installment yet, comprising of only eight episodes. The show left our fateful heroine in dire straights; she had just put her father’s (Satan) soul into the body of her incredibly attractive warlock boyfriend. The entire Church of Night had collapsed with the disappearance of its patriarchal head, Father Blackwood. Not to mention Sabrina’s Aunt Zelda has decided to take over the entire institution and rebuild it under the worship of Lilith, #feminism. The plot picks up almost precisely where it left off, with all the characters in relatively similar predicaments, which have only exacerbated with time. Sabrina’s central conflict is her newfound responsibility as the acting monarch of Hell. While previous seasons have had several main plotlines running along with minor b-stories, this season has all fronts of the witch community coming together
to face a common enemy: the Pagans. As the most. Once again none of these each of the cliffhangers from Part 2 are numbers made any sense and added wrapped up in the first couple of episodes more comedic relief than revelation of in part three, our attention is brought to talent. I will say that the Baxter High the problem at hand: another religion. cheerleaders were pretty impressive, alThe topic of religion and using it as a though it seemed like the showrunners vehicle for comedy and drama, rather were capitalizing on the release of the than as something to be taken serious- CHEER docuseries. Regardless of the ly, is a major tenet of the show’s ethos. kitschy b plots, Part 3 was still enterIn this season, the audience is asked to taining. challenge the rules of this fictional world and the realms between heaven and hell that were just established. While the newest instalment offers a different threat for the beloved characters, it ends up taking it to, if not over, the line of believability. In fact, the entirety of last two episodes are dedicated to the introduction of time travel, and subsequently its solution. The pace of the action is set at a rapid tempo, so the viewer doesn’t have time to question the logic of a time loop or find glaring plot holes. Once again, the story wraps up with a few key cliffhangers, leaving fewconclusions for most of the minor characters. The show still has the incredible visual effects that it is known for, not to mention new abilities and creatures. It does Photo courtesy of imdb.com seem that the presence of Ross Lynch demands some sort of musical number Kiernan Shipka stars as Sabrina each season, but this season had by far Spellman in the darker reboot.
Album Review | RICH YOUNGIN
Stunna 4 Vegas releases his junior album The album is comprised of 12 new songs from the 24-year-old rapper BY NICO KOLEV Staff Writer kolens18@wfu.edu
Stunna 4 Vegas’s RICH YOUNGIN feels like an abundant waste of time. Though the album is only around 29-minutes in length, which is a refreshingly short runtime, each song drags so long that it feels like an hour-long project. There is scarcely an entertaining flow or original beat on the album. Stunna’s callouts and grunting at the beginning of most of the songs feels directly ripped off from the edgy and bombastic energy of recently famous rapper, Comethazine. Stunna is not the only one treading on familiar ground, though. Offset’s feature on “UP THE SMOKE” is very entertaining and offers a reprieve from Stunna’s tiresome vocals. Unfortunately, Offset’s flow feels directly ripped from his song “How did I get Here?”, the second track on his 2019 album FATHER OF 4. Though this is not the biggest gripe in the world, the laziness coming from both Stunna and his collaborators is rather disappointing, and ultimately holds back the project. The content on this album is the relative familiar fare for the typical
rapper: flexing the braggadocious lifestyle, women and men drooling over Stunna’s meteoric rise to fame and a fair share of threats towards those that do not approve of Stunna’s lifestyle. Though it’s not a unique subject, most rappers are able to add their own unique flare, something that Stunna very much fails to do. It is quite ironic that Dababy and Lil Baby have features on RICH YOUNGIN, considering the criticisms that both artists have received for choosing repetitive beats and using the same vocals/flow. Stunna seems to have become afflicted with the same bad habit. He attempts to bring life to his songs by yelling and having a moderately engaging flow, but the style quickly loses all of its momentum. “4 Hunnid,” the last song of the project, perfectly embodie this album’s lack of impact. The song is completely forgettable, has no memorable beat or fun lines and does not feel like the last track of an album. An album should go out with a bang, but “4 Hunnid” is perhaps the farthest thing from a ‘banger’ as possible. It’s quite a mystery as to who this album is for, because it isn’t energetic or catchy enough to be a club or party hit, and it isn’t particularly original or lyrically unique for a genuine listening experience. So it’s honestly a disappointment in all respects. At this point, it’s difficult to say what Stunna’s defining trait as an artist is.
Top 10 Songs of the Week By Wake Radio Members of Wake Radio compiled their top songs of the week
1.
“Good News” by Mac Miller “The Box” by Roddy Ricch
3.
“Where & When” by P Money and Giggs “24” by IDK
5.
“The Lay Down (feat. H.E.R. & WATT)” by DRAM
7.
“Distant Memories” by Les Rallizes Dénudés
9.
“Str8 Outta Mumbai” by Jai Paul
“Zalim – Alaturka” by Banu
“heartbreak emoji” by NOLANBEROLLIN
“As Long As You Love Me” by Justin Bieber
DRINK OF THE WEEK BIRTHDAY PUNCH Someone must be turning 21 this Saturday. This is what they should drink to celebrate.
Photo courtesy of amazon.com
Stunna 4 Vegas’s album was released mid-January of 2020. There are a few rare lines that echo the same positive lyrical flavor of a rap legend like Gucci Mane. One of the better lines is “Got more drip on my wrist, it’s the Ice-age.” No one is expecting Shakespearan level writing from Stunna 4 Vegas, but it seems that some tough love is necessary. Stunna should take a break for a while and really think about what motivates him to make music. It’s very difficult to recommend this album to anyone. It is a strong 4/10. Maybe just listen to “UP THE SMOKE” and “RUSSIAN” instead.
• • • • •
1 pint orange sherbet 1 pint strawberry sherbet 1 pkg. frozen strawberries 1 liter bottle of Sprite 1 cup of vodka
Do not prepare too far in advance of serving. Place frozen sherbet and strawberries into a large punch bowl. Add the Sprite and vodka, stirring to incorporate. As the sherbet melts, let it mix into the beverage. Serve in chilled glasses with ice. 21+ only please
Courtesy of Catherine Regen
Page 18 | Thursday, January 30, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Life
Movie Review | Underwater
Fear abounds in the depths of Underwater Kristen Stewart stars in this new underwater science fiction thriller alongside an all-star cast BY KYLE FERRER Senior Writer ferrka16@wfu.edu
The film Underwater is a middle-finger-to-the-man placed under the sea, with a rebelliousness more jagged than the any slick pseudo-politics its involves. It’s more rich, eschatological fantasy than boring memorandum. At times notably vivid and well-framed, Underwater satisfies its sci-fi/horror billing, gently echoing canon (usual suspects like The Thing, Alien) in a tight 95-minute clip. The film stars Kristen Stewart, which is pretty much all you need (and most of what you get), though Underwater’s commitment to genre means it’s also peopled with light and retractable stock characters. So while the film layers in tropes, and surprises us with some sophisticated camerawork and striking compositions, it anchors itself in the magnetism of Stewart who, though maybe working slightly below her pay grade, reminds us that she alone turned shy talking into importunate genius. Stewart sometimes humanizes her lines too much, especially for a film about sea monsters. Narrated in her least-garrulous way, Stewart’s voice, unlike Brad Pitt’s, whose tedious narration of Ad Astra bloated the film badly, filigrees Underwater with aphoristic spunk. It’s a welcome respite from the film’s otherwise breakneck speed (even underwater, where figures move with forced languor, we are pushed up inside helmets enough to make Underwater feel like a space movie). The Kepler station, where Stewart’s Norah works as a mechanical engineer, is the world’s deepest drill. We are told through news clippings, running under the opening credits, that the project is steeped in an environment so deep its surrounding perils remain unknown. Within five-minutes of Underwater, a large portion of the workplace blows, and we are taken on a beautifully focused scramble, cameras following with a grip akin to a Crank action sequence. Norah is immediately competent and relatively calm, although her compassion for the numbered dead stalls some of her decisiveness. As she moves through the wreckage, we move through swift introductions that assemble the film’s traveling
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
Kristen Stewart sits in costume with her co-star Vincent Cassel. Their characters are members of an engineering crew trapped seven miles beneath the ocean’s surface with an unknown creature. cohort. Emily (Jessica Henwick), a bright, young researcher and nervous chatter, Smith (John Gallagher Jr.), her co-worker and love-interest, Paul (TJ Miller in a satisfying gallows humor role) and self-sacrificing “Captain” as he’s only named (Vincent Cassel, allowed to keep his accent) populate the film as various human expiration dates. So, what caused the explosion? Based on the visuals, some lumbering Godzilla-Poseidon amalgam pissed off about the neighbors, who also has heat-seeking lackeys attached to its skin that pick off the crew one by one. Underwater is one of those films where you can guess the order in which people perish — and when — but that’s ok. It is heady for other reasons, namely Stewart, cinematographer Bojan Bazelli and director William Euback, who hasn’t directed much, but has fourteen cinematography credits to his name. Less a visual bonanza than a submerged and subdued Niconlas Winding Refn film, Underwater’s visuals disappear for stretches, which makes ignition-by-Kristen
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
Norah (Kristen Stewart) earnestly discusses plans for the wellbeing of the engineering crew with Emily (Jessica Henwick), Smith (John Gallagher Jr.) and Captain (Vincent Cassel).
(the most striking compositions contain only her) doubly noticeable. Plus, with its short run time, Underwater has no time to filibuster, which means characters speak their lines and briskly exit, nodding to the genre as they go. Allowed to commit to pace and vision (and Stewart), Eubank makes the film feel like a torpedo chasing its explosion. We tend to give directors a film’s possessive: a Martin Scorsese picture, Spike Lee joint, etc. But even Eubank knows Underwater, without Stewart as anchor and universe unto herself, doesn’t have a pulse, and dies, unseen, as genre fodder. Without Stewart’s unique command, Underwater becomes amnesia. I don’t mean to be blithe, but Stewart really does recue this film from anonymity (“ah, yes, the new Kristen Stewart underwater movie”), and in doing so, hopefully makes viewers notice its other virtues. It’s widelyknown that once a director bolts star-power onto a film, the project stands a chance of making money. And that is true for Underwater, though I’m talking about a greater return. A rare actor can simultaneously draw attention to themselves and to their medium, emanating a personal light that draws in technical beauty. At least in Underwater, Stewart makes the creativity invested in a film seem (almost) adequate to its actor. Her Beat-intensity and charged, velvet voice bleed into the film’s musculature. Stewart’s depth drips highlighter onto the film reel, raising all the film’s hidden achievements to the surface, and one trusts if Stewart picked the project, the result must contain as much talent as she does. It doesn’t, but she makes it acceptable to think so. And even still, it must be said, there are a few itchy moments where it’s clear Stewart belongs back upstairs. But with a completely forgettable script, Stewart’s delivery makes the sci-fi shoptalk and narrative philosophy sound either warranted or committed or (dare I say) meaningful. I saw the run time of Underwater and immediately decided to see it. After a holiday season of great films all at-or-over two-hours-and-fifteen minutes, plus with Magnolia streaming on Netflix again, I craved an in-and-out that could also satisfy. But there’s hardly such a thing as brevity anymore in the theater. Even bad films are too long. Quick rides that tattoo us with memorable stories are difficult to find. Mostly, they’re first-feature anomalies like Lady Bird. Now, Underwater is a far cry from Lady Bird, but it’s at least tight.
Life | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, January 30, 2020 | Page 19
Burrito Boys | Part 2: Chipotle
Burrito Boys: Chipotle is a fan favorite
Chipotle is fun, unique and (from what their employees claim) authentic. The only factor that counts against Chipotle’s spotless record is its distance from the university and the costs associated. Given that Chipotle is six miles from campus, you either have to make the trek in person or take advantage of one of the food delivery services online. Chipotle’s sticker prices, however, are extremely reasonable, with fully equipped burritos running from $6.50 - $7.50. The
Freshness - Micah: 8.3, Matt: 8.8 Chipotle offers many different cuts of meat prepared in different ways, and their homemade queso goes well with everything. After one bite of the carne asada burrito, I immediately became aware of a multitude of flavors I was unfamiliar
Customer Experience Micah: 7.6, Matt: 7.7 For a restaurant with such high quality products, the atmosphere of Chipotle is generic in nature, resembling the interior of nearly every other modern restaurant. Although its lack of originality in design does not detract from the quality of food, I would like to see Chipotle incorporate more elements of traditional Mexican architecture into their layout.
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Price - Micah: 7.4, Matt: 7.9
Easily the freshest burrito option for those on a budget or a time crunch, Chipotle promises speed, service and, as their motto states, “food with integrity.” Stepping up to the counter, I ordered the carne asada burrito garnished with fresh cilantro, cheddar and salsa. After laying a bed of rice and beans, I thoughtfully added garlic, salt and pepper to liven up the natural flavor of the beef. Finishing off my order with a gentle squeeze of lemon juice for added tartness, I sat down to try out my creation. Motyl ordered the vegetarian option, and to my surprise, was somehow just as satisfied with his meal as I was with mine. The texture of MY burrito was dominated heavily by the bed of rice, beans and meat, but held traces of creamy guacamole and crunchy vegetables.
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Matt Motyl contributed to the reporting in this article. Continuing the journey of finding the best burrito in Winston-Salem, freshman Micah Porter, along with guest critic, freshman Matt Motyl, test out Winston-Salem’s very own Chipotle. Located near Hanes Mall in the Southeast part of town, Chipotle offers an array of “mission-style” burritos that taste just as fresh as they look. From start to finish Chipotle provides a top tier dining experience, giving the customer much more than a good burrito.
Quality - Micah: 8.5, Matt: 8.9
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with. The composition of herbal spices and aromatic slices of meat made for a savoury heaven in my mouth. For lovers of an authentic burrito, you need not search any further. Chipotle’s ingredients taste so fresh you would think they’re growing a garden in the back room. Co-critic, Motyl, commented on the burrito by claiming, “I don’t think they could have made that burrito better.”
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BY MICAH PORTER Staff Writer portmj19@wfu.edu
combination of size and flavor, however, more than offsets the challenges of reaching the restaurant. The complete package that it is, Chipotle also invites customers to purchase add-ons such as queso and guacamole for an additional charge.
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Chipotle is a less regional litmus test, with locations across the country
The employees at Chipotle, however, add another layer of excellence to the restaurant’s repertoire. Knowledgeable about product and flavor, the staff at Chipotle are helpful, and not in an “in your face” kind of way. Their only hope is that you enjoy the food . . . but that’s a given. Overall: 8.2
TV Show Review | The Politician
The Politician gets second season on Netflix The anthology series received two Golden Globe nominations BY ELIZABETH MALINE Online Managing Editor malied17@wfu.edu The lasting impression of Ryan Murphy’s first Netflix series (part of his $300 million deal with the streaming service) is synonymous with that of the opening sequence. It features a wooden box filled with emblems of a boy’s identity: trophies, presidential biographies, I could go on. The box turns into Payton Hobart, the protagonist of the series. Payton is attractive and charming yet hollow inside, not unlike the series as a whole. Set at the wealthy Saint Sebastian High School in Santa Barbara, The Politician pleases the eye with California valley scenery, family estates, eclectic wardrobes and Hollywood eye candy (Ben Platt, Gwenyth Paltrow and Zoe Deutch star). While these elements are intriguing at first, the glamour wears off, leaving the viewer with Murphy’s flawed execution of a series that could have delivered a more authentic rendition of a modern-day student body election. Payton’s single life goal is to become president of the United States. He iden-
tifies two prerequisites in achieving this goal: becoming the school’s student body president and attending Harvard, following the path of several U.S. presidents. Peyton’s privilege and unwavering support from his friends and mother insulate him from reality. He genuinely believes his girlfriend, Alice, will one day be his first lady and his high school friends, who double as his cabinet, will follow him to the White House. This is compelling and even comical at first, until their level of investment becomes overly theatrical. It doesn’t help that the actors are too old to be playing high schoolers (resembling Glee, another one of Murphy’s high school melodramas). However, the series does tackle some important issues such as gun reform, depression, suicide and the extreme anxiety high schoolers feel to overachieve. The inclusion of proud LGBTQ characters as well as sexually confused ones portray a realistic picture of what it means to be a teenager today. Arguably, one of the most important issues explored in the series is the current lack of civic engagement in politics. The fifth installment of the series titled, “The Voter” focuses on undecided and uninterested students who unknowingly determine the outcome of the election. This episode could stand on its own as a short film, a tragic representation of American voting behavior and political engagement.
Photo courtesy of imdb.com
Gwyneth Paltrow stars as Georgina Hobart, Payton’s mother. She agreed to take the role after her husband wrote it for her. The further the campaign progresses, the more outlandish the series becomes. One of Payton’s friends has an affair with his girlfriend. Another has an affair with the opposing candidate’s running mate. Someone tries to poison Payton twice in one week. The series explores too many plot lines without allotting the necessary time to any one of them. Payton does win the election, but only by default. His competitor forfeits which leaves Payton with no electoral mandate and he fails to enact any real change. Worse, Harvard rescinds its admission offer after learning of Payton’s campaign coverups. Payton eventually attends NYU, struggles with alcoholism, loses Alice to a Harvard man and gives up politics for good. In
short, not the life he planned. Cue Platt’s stellar rendition of “Vienna.” After hitting rock bottom, Peyton reluctantly returns to politics with a renewed sense of self, challenging a veteran New York State Senator and setting the stage for season two. Despite general dissatisfaction viewers felt while watching The Politician, Murphy leaves storylines unfinished, giving people a reason to keep watching. The series is witty, has visual style and is pleasant enough in the moment to sustain viewers. Season two (premiering in July 2020) gives Murphy the opportunity to portray Payton’s next campaign as more serious and thoughtful than his last, leaving the petty, high school drama behind. Hopefully he does.
Page 20 | Thursday, Jauary 30, 2020
Old Gold & Black | Life
Motherwell exhibit opens in Scales Running until the end of March, Hanes Gallery hosts an exhibit of Robert Motherwell's collages and collage-prints
BY JACK PORTMAN Opinion Editor portjt17@wfu.edu
Seemingly interested in the redundancy of the imagery proliferating throughout his daily experience, Motherwell’s incorporation of commercial packaging and printed materials as crucial design elements reflects a consideration of the connectedness between mass-produced aesthetics and art products. Sophomore Maddy Barnick was particularly impressed by Motherwell’s role in popularizing contemporary aesthetics while grappling with abstraction and ambiguity. “Motherwell was a core artist during the late 20th century who helped shift the American art market towards Contemporary Art. This Motherwell collection embodies the quintessential contemporary flare of the undefinable — specifically 'The Red and Black No. 10'," Barnick said. "This mixed medium work combines rich red colors contrasted by black rectangles, then layered with green sheet music which, I think, gives the work a puzzling aura. The Motherwell exhibition at the Hanes Art Gallery is a great addition to Wake Forest's history along with many other past shows. I am grateful to have conscious forms and ideas. The improvisatory and dissociative style shaped the cadences of Motherwell’s work, placing his commercial materials in dialogue with apparently subconscious shapes and methods. Motherwell reflexively articulates the extent to which mechanically reproduced aesthetics and mundane commercial imagery penetrate his subconscious experience. The exhibit, which opened Jan. 20, will remain available to the public until March 29. Bright, the event’s curator, along with Claire Alitzer of the Dedalus Foundation, who served as an assistant curator, will host two gallery walk-throughs on Feb. 3. On Feb. 4, an additional gallery walk through will be hosted, and Louis Goldstein will perform Morton Feldman’s "Triadic Memories." On March 26, Bright will deliver a presentation concerning Motherwell’s oeuvre titled “Beyond Cut & Paste,” followed by a showcasing of works by the Fluxus member Ben Patterson performed by the Durham, NC group, Polyorchard.
A selection of collages and prints produced by the American artist Robert Motherwell are currently on display in the Hanes Art Gallery. The exhibit, curated by Paul Bright and titled Motherwell: product. placement., explores the artist’s interest in commercial packaging and printed materials. Motherwell consistently returns to imagery stemming from Gauloises cigarette packages by reproducing them in differing sizes and colors, incorporating their ready-made elements into abstract collages and integrating other commercial and print materials alongside. Conceptions of the nature of products and production are interrogated in Motherwell’s work, as he combines mass-produced material with seemingly organic — although continuously re-created — paint strokes and Rorschachesque ink blotches. The distinct blend of commercial material and abstraction locates the work within Motherwell’s relationship to and experiences with consumerist culture and the ubiquitous monotony of mass-production. watched the progression of the gallery, and I am excited to see what comes next.” Motherwell, an abstract expressionist and a member of the prominent New York School, produced over 1,000 paintings, prints and collage-prints throuhghout his career, many of which incorporate actual collected objects such as envelopes and musical notation, or otherwise recreated found-materials through enlargement, replication and color-shifting. A graduate of Stanford, Harvard and Columbia, Motherwell decided to fully pursue painting after a vacation to Mexico with the artist Robert Matta. During this foundational trip, Motherwell met the actress Maria Emilia Ferreira y Moyeros, whom he would marry, and was introduced to the practice of automatism, which would shape his methodology as an artist. Automatic drawing was a Surrealist technique which allowed for the articulation of sub-
Jack Portman / Old Gold & Black