From the Quad to the Olympics
Relationships and Twitter Life | B5
OLD GOLD&BLACK W A K E
VOL. 94, NO. 25
Sports | B1
F O R E S T
U N I V E R S I T Y
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“Covers the campus like the magnolias”
Getting high
Overextension and constant
Drug use increases across campus
By David Inczauskis | Staff writer
Despite the efforts exerted by members of various committees on campus drug culture, the amount of reported drug-related cases rose in 2011. The annual university police report for 2011 reads, “The number of controlledsubstance cases increased. There were 13 in the fall semester, which exceeded the tally of 12 for all of the last academic year.” The upsurge in drug crime can be attributed to several factors, all of which are particularly alarming. “The rise appears to be driven by the misuse of prescription drugs, a growing use of illegal substances and the combined use of drugs and alcohol,” the report said. To respond to the increase in use and abuse, the
university has established a task force and reformed the CARE Team, a group of trained university professionals who specialize in “the assessment and interaction with people who may present a threat to themselves or others.” Joanne Clinch, a full-time physician at Student Health, is a member of the CARE Team and works with drug users seeking help. She noted that drug trends at the university are similar to what is occurring at other universities throughout the nation. “Like other colleges, the most abused drugs are stimulant medications,” she said. While the use of Adderall and other comparable stimulant drugs is far from widespread, even a low perSee Drugs, Page A3
Photo by Ian Rutledge/Old Gold & Black Graphic by Renee Slawsky/Old Gold & Black
Kersh announced as fifth provost Alumnus and renowned professor will assume position in July By Ian Rutledge | News editor On Jan. 27, it was announced that Rogan Kersh will serve as the university’s new provost beginning in July 2012. He currently serves as professor of Public Policy and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. Kersh (‘86) received his B.A. in political science from Wake Forest and his Ph.D. in political science from Yale University. Kersh expressed enthusiasm about his return to the university. “I think Wake has both an incredible foundation of practices and values and educational techniques alike, and I am an enormous beneficiary of those values,” Kersh said. Kersh, a US health policy analyst studying childhood obesity, will also serve as a professor of political science at the university. He is also known for the expansion of several programs during his tenure at NYU, like the ad-
dition of international campuses and “residential colleges,” where professors live in dorms with undergraduates. Kersh has also served in previous years at Wake Forest as a member of the selection committee for the Reynolds, Carswell and other named merit scholarships. A search committee, consisting of members from several academic Photo courtesy of WFU Media Relations departments and chaired by President Nathan O. Kersh, announced as university’s new provost, will also Hatch, recommended serve as a professor of political science at the university. Kersh’s appointment. “I also think that, to the extent that it is posMany are likely wondering what Kersh’s plans are or what changes he will make once he as- sible and interesting, the kind of residential colsumes his position. “I think it will be important lege system where students have maybe a closer to keep resources flowing into the university to relationship with faculty outside the classroom support activities that make this a great place, See Provost, Page A3 like student and faculty research,” Kersh said.
Boy’s story draws global attention
WFU documentary provides special insight into horrific history By Renee Slawsky | Print managing editor The Wake Forest Documentary Film Program has recently finished telling the story of Petr Ginz in a new film titled “The Last Flight of Petr Ginz.” Ginz was a Czechoslovakian boy of Jewish descent who was deported to the Terezin concentration camp during the Holocaust. He died at the age of 16 when he was transferred to Auschwitz and killed in the gas chambers. His time in the camps was illustrated by both his writings and drawings in his diary. His diary is similar to that of Anne Frank’s in that it tells of the horrors of the time in a straightforward manner. This diary, though lost for a long time, was published in 2007 as Diary of My Brother when his sister, Chava Pressburger, found it. “The more I read about him, the more convinced I became that our production team needed to do a film about this remarkable boy.”
Sandy Dickerson
Co-director of “The Last Flight of Petr Ginz”
His most famous drawing depicts the planet Earth as he thought it would look like from the moon. Interestingly enough, a copy of this drawing was taken onto the space shuttle Columbia by Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon. The Columbia tragedy occurred on Feb. 1, 2003, which would have been Ginz’ 75th birthday. “I found a copy of his diary one afternoon while I was shopping at a local bookstore,” codirector Sandy Dickson said. “The more I read about him, the more convinced I became that our production team needed to do a film about this remarkable boy.” The university’s documentary film program partnered up with directors and producers from the University of Florida to produce the film. “The Last Flight of Petr Ginz” incorporates Petr’s drawings, diary entries, family photos, magazine articles, interviews and animation to tell his incredible story. Members of the Wake Forest production team even traveled to Israel to interview Pressburger, Ginz’s sister. The documentary crew includes Dickson, Cara Pilson as director of research and associate
See Ginz, Page A3
Business school unveils new Charlotte facility By Madeline Price | Staff writer
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the university’s newest campus of , Charlotte Mayor Anthony R. Fox declared Jan. 26 as “Wake Forest Day.” In addition to the ceremony, there was a leadership breakfast, tours of the new facility and an alumni reception. Over 6,000 Wake Forest alumni have flocked to Charlotte in recent years, thereby establishing Reinemund it as the city with the greatest number of Wake Forest graduates in the country. In his speech, President Nathan O. Hatch said, “the uptown location will be a natural gathering place – somewhere
our alumni can call a second home.” The university offered its first classes in Charlotte in 1995 with a mere thirty students and just one MBA program. Today, there are over 200 students enrolled in the Wake Forest MBA for working professionals, a top ranked program in North Carolina and in the top 10% of the country by US News and World Report. Accountancy graduates have the highest passing rate in the United States on the CPA exam in six of the past seven years. The Charlotte campus now offers two MBA programs in the evenings and on Saturdays. The building is over 30,000 square feet and
outfitted with the latest technology: SMART boards, LCD screens and webenabled video cameras to allow for two“If this doesn’t inspire you to study, I don’t know what would.”
Gloria Hayes Emery Ceremony attendee
way conferencing. Also, there is a facility available for rent by local groups, offering the same state-of-the-art technology that the center is equipped with. Of the work that went into the new campus, David Clark, Assistant Dean of Administration at the Schools of Business, said, “We didn’t have setbacks, but the architects and contractors had some challenges to overcome to renovate the
space for the Wake Forest University Charlotte Center. Several big structural support columns had to be worked around. The crews did such a good job with incorporating them into the design, that many people who toured the facility during the grand opening said they thought the columns were purely decorative.” Besides being an addition to the Wake Forest academic community, this new campus is a welcome part of the city of Charlotte. Bob Morgan, Charlotte Chamber President said that the new center “is yet another example of stel-
lar higher education institutions choosing to move to Charlotte,” and he recognizes the jobs and economic enrichment that this new Business Center will bring to the area in the future. “The programs and services offered here are designed specifically to develop the ethical, engaged and visionary leaders that will keep Charlotte thriving,” Steve Reinemund, Dean of the Schools of Business, said. Just as many administrators collaborated to bring this new campus to fruition and to give speeches at the ribboncutting ceremony, the building itself is “conducive to collaboration,” Erin Kerr (‘10) said. “It has great Flow,”ceremony attendee, Gloria Hayes Emery said of the space, “If this doesn’t inspire you to study, I don’t know what would.”
Graphic by Matt Poppe/Old Gold & Black