News: Presidential debate turns into shouting match Page 5
Opinion: Cultural differences inform views of trust Page 10
Sports: European prospect commits to Wake Forest basketball Page 11
Life: A24 invites students to documentary panel Page 19
Old Gold&Black
WAKE FOREST’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1916 VOL. 107, NO. 6
T H U R S DAY, O C TO B E R 1 , 2 0 2 0 “Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
University pushes for higher voter turnout Voter turnout rates among Wake Forest students have been below 50% over the past four elections BY MELISSA COONEY Staff Writer coonme17@wfu.edu If you’ve been on social media at all in the past week, you have likely viewed many graphics reminding you to register to vote in the upcoming election. We’ve all heard it before, the youth vote is so important, and it is up to our generation to choose the leaders we want for our future. Right? Right. Historically, young voters do not cast ballots nearly as often as their older counterparts do. In the 2016 Presidential Election, only 53% of registered young voters (aged 18-25) cast ballots in North Carolina, according to The News & Observer. According to the campus report conducted by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education, 76.1% of Wake Forest students registered to vote, but only 43.3% of registered students actually cast a ballot in 2012. In 2016, the voter registration rate decreased to 73.2%, and only 41.1% of registered Wake Forest voters cast ballots. Clearly, there is a discrepancy in this
data. Why are the majority of Wake Forest students registering to vote, but a significant amount of registered voters do not cast ballots? There are lots of theories. Young voter turnout is a struggle every single year across the country, not just at Wake Forest. Deb Marke, assistant director of advocacy and social justice education in the Office of Civic and Community Engagement (OCCE) feels as though the youth voter turnout is dependent on the way each individual has been socialized and views the concept of voting. Additionally, it is understood that not every politician perfectly captures the issues that young people find important, which could deter young voters from casting ballots. At Wake Forest, however, Marke recognizes the fact that students have hectic schedules and are generally fairly busy. Very apparently, voting was not a priority for just under half of the student population in 2016. “It’s really easy to get caught up in the Wake [Forest] bubble and forget everything going on around you. It can sometimes seem like one more thing that’s on people’s plates,” Marke said. Despite recent statistics, Marke, who is the coordinator of the Deacs Decide election engagement project, is optimistic about Wake Forest voter turnout this year. “I’m really, really hopeful. It seems like there’s a lot of energy all around campus,
and folks are really clearly putting a lot of emphasis on voter registration, which is awesome, so I am really hoping that we have the same energy for voter turnout,” Marke said. Beyond the walls of campus, Marke is confident in the young vote across the nation. “Based on what they are projecting, it seems like voter turnout has already seen a major increase from 2016 based on the absentee ballots that have been received. I think that’s a good sign,” Marke said. Senior Jenna Mayer is the Programming Fellow in the Deacs Decide election engagement project. Mayer hopes her peers show up and vote during this election period, but is not sure what will happen based on her experience on campus. “Generally, I have mixed views about WFU students’ motivation to vote. I have definitely seen a lot of voter apathy among students throughout the past three years on campus. I am hoping that the high stakes nature of this election cycle, however, will encourage more students to put in the effort to get their absentee ballot or early vote,” Mayer said.
See Vote, Page 4
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App State student passes away from COVID-19 On Monday, Appalachian State sophomore Chad Dorrill passed away from COVID-19 complications BY CATE PITTERLE Contributing Writer pittcj20@wfu.edu A student died at Appalachian State University after testing positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 29, as announced by university officials. At Wake Forest, just 86 miles down US-421 N the tragedy is hitting close to home. Chad Dorrill, a sophomore, contracted COVID-19 early this month. According to Appalachian State, he lived off-campus and took all his classes online. An exercise science major and accomplished basketball player, Dorrill was diagnosed with a rare form of COVID-19 that led to neurological symptoms, according to his uncle, David Dorrill. “The doctor said it was a one-in-a-million case — that they’d never seen something progress the way it did,” said Dorrill, according to the New York Times. “It was a COVID complication that, rather than attacking his respiratory system, attacked his brain.”
See COVID-19, Page 5
COVID-19 misinformation circulates on campus Multipe COVID-19 misinformation flyers have appeared on campus disencouraging safety measures BY OLIVIA FIELD Editor-in-Chief fielor17@wfu.edu
Graphic by Emily Beauchamp/Old Gold & Black
The registration rate shows the proportion of Wake Forest students that registered to vote that election year. The voting rate portrays the proportion of students who voted out of all eligible voters. The all institution voting average shows the proportion of people who voted out of all eligible students from 1,100 universities.
With its own lengthy Wikipedia page, misinformation surrounding COVID-19 has been circulating since the pandemic began. From the effectiveness of masks to the origins of the disease, conspiracy theories have become another challenge for countries to tackle in trying to curtail the spread of the virus. Over the past two weeks, multiple flyers spreading disinformation about the pandemic have been found on Wake Forest’s very own campus. The first flyer, which was put up in multiple rooms in the ZSR Library on Sept. 17, posed the question “Tired of wearing that mask?” and included a QR code. Once scanned, the code leads to a website titled “Not From a Bat. com” which references the debunked conspiracy theory that COVID-19 was created in a laboratory.
See Plandemic, Page 6