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OLD GOLD&BLACK W A K E

F O R E S T

U N I V E R S I T Y

T H U R S D AY, S E P T E M B E R 3 , 2 0 0 9

VOL. 93, NO. 3

“Covers the campus like the magnolias”

Multiple H1N1 flu cases confirmed

Outside the Bubble...

By Elliot Engstrom | Managing editor

Company predicts electricity will be cordless in near future Eric Giler, CEO of WiTricity, predicts that his company will be able to provide wireless electricity within a year. WiTricity’s wireless electricity converts power into a magnetic field and sends it sailing through the air at a particular frequency. This enables the company to power light bulbs using wireless electricity that travels several feet from a power socket. This technology could free laptops and phones from needing to be charged from cord chargers.

Sesame Street joins the fight against H1N1 influenza Popular Sesame Street characters Elmo and Gordon will be featured in public service advertisements aimed at younger children to practice better hygiene. They will cover healthy habits such as hand washing and covering sneezes.

Deadly wildfire continues to blaze in California A deadly wildfire has charred almost 122,000 acres in Southern California since it began Aug. 26. Two firefighters were killed on Aug. 30 while trying to control the fire. Over 2,500 firefighters are working on stopping the fire, which is only five percent contained.

Dutch moon rock revealed to be chunk of petrified wood A supposed moon rock, which resides at the Dutch National Museum, from the first manned lunar landing has been discovered to be fake. The rock, revealed to be petrified wood, was given to former Prime Minister Willem Drees during the goodwill tour of the three Apollo 11 astronauts. The museum will keep the rock as a curiosity.

United Kingdom releases Lockerbie bomber The United Kingdom has allowed for Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi to return home to Libya to complete his sentence. Megrahi had been serving a life sentence for the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. The jet exploded over a Scottish town in 1988 killing 270 people. Magrahi was released last month to Libya because he has terminal cancer.

University officials have confirmed that as of Sept. 2, approximately 100 cases of H1N1 influenza have been seen on the Reynolda campus. The news does not necessarily come as a surprise, as the university’s Crisis Management Team has been preparing for a possible outbreak of the virus for months. While the presence of the virus on campus certainly is a serious situation, perspective can be put on the current outbreak by comparing the current 100 cases with the 260 cases of influenza that were seen by Student Health Services in 10 days in January 2008. The H1N1 virus, commonly known as “swine flu,” has been making national and international news for many months now, and the university was even explicitly mentioned on NBC’s Nightly News. Despite this targeting of the university by a major national media outlet, the situation on campus does not seem to be any different from that on a variety of others across the country. University officials have placed the influenza response plan into action, which includes increasing access to hand sanitizers, distributing breath masks around campus, allowing students to give “meal coupons” to friends to have food brought to them by others, and keeping in contact with area medical officials. “Student Health Services is staying in frequent communication with the county health department and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center,” Director of Media Relations Kevin Cox said. “We’re not operating in a vacuum.”

Kelly Makepeace/Old Gold & Black

Surgical masks and hand sanitizer were distributed to each residence hall to help stop the spread of H1N1 influenza on campus. The university actually receives a great deal of attention from medical authorities, as it is a sentinel site, meaning that data from the university is sent to the North Carolina Department of Health. While the media hype over the past months has stirred up fear in much of the public, it is not certain that this fear is justified. “The people that die from this are people that have underlying medical problems,” Director of Student Health Services Cecil Price said.

“This is certainly not any worse than a typical seasonal flu.” Even so, the university still urges caution in dealing with the disease. While it may not usually be deadly, H1N1, like any strain of the flu, can still put a student out of commission for up to a full school week. “Someone doesn’t have the flu for two weeks,” Price said. “It doesn’t last that long.”

See Flu, Page A3

Native American students find a niche By Ashton Astbury | Asst. sports editor

When junior Lucretia Hicks entered the university as a freshman two years ago, hailing from the Qualla Boundary in Cherokee, N.C., she felt overwhelmed in making the transition from her quaint Eastern Band of Cherokee town to a bustling campus environment. “Coming from a small town and not having anyone to relate to on a cultural level made it difficult for me,” Hicks said. Intent on ensuring that no future Native American student felt this hardship, Hicks created the novel Native American Students Association (NASA). With encouragement from her mentor Ulrike Weithaus, professor of religion and American ethnic studies, and former director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs Barbie Oakes, Hicks was able to hold an interest meeting for the group at the end of her freshman year at the university and officially launch NASA for the 2008-2009 academic year.

As the group’s acting president, Hicks affirmed that she has several goals for NASA. “First, I would like incoming Native American students to feel like they have a place to turn to and have social support,” Hicks said. “Everyone has that feeling of being lost when they are freshmen. By having this student group, incoming Native American students can have that support they need to excel here at Wake. “Another reason for this group is to present Native American culture in a non-stereotypical way. When I arrived here, there were many people who were ignorant to my culture. I think it is important to recognize each other’s culture in a respectable manner.” According to Hicks, NASA currently has 10 members consisting of students of Native American descent as well as those interested in learning about Native American culture. In addition to holding monthly meetings, the group has helped with several events in the Center for Religion and Public Engagement, which

includes Kaila Clark, community educator for global Indigenous and Native Hawaiian public health initiatives, and Harry Charger, member of the Sans Arc band of the Lakota Nation and spiritual leader. Last November, NASA held the first event to celebrate Native American History Month. The event, titled “Journeys to Success: Native American Voices,” included speakers Joyce Dugan, first woman Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, Lori Alvord, Associate Dean of Students and Multicultural Affairs at Darmouth Medical School and Assistant Professor of Surgery and Psychiatry, Joseph Garcia, current president of the National Congress of American Indians, Andrew Duff, Chairman Emeritus of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society and Michell Hicks, current Principal Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokee. Additionally, Hicks and fellow members of NASA participated in July’s College and Careers Technology program for college bound Cherokee youth interested in careers in the sciences. Led by Hicks, NASA members

held a Q&A session for the Cherokee high school students, which garnered positive feedback from participants. Hicks hopes NASA’s involvement in the program served as motivation for the youth to succeed in school. In terms of NASA plans for the upcoming semester, Hicks hopes to finally receive a charter from the university. Members are currently in the process of planning the second annual celebration in November in commemoration of Native American History Month. In addition, the group will continue to help with events in the Center for Religion and Public Engagement. “NASA is important to me because I want the group to provide support for Native American students and also educate the Wake Forest community about Native American culture,” Hicks said. “Hopefully one day NASA will become a more prominent organization on campus which in turn will attract more Native American students and also continue to break stereotypes.”

Benson Center dining experiences major face lift By Cheryl Johnson | Staff writer

Kelly Makepeace/Old Gold & Black

The new Zoca’s Tex Mex station is a popular place for students to grab a bite to eat.

With the addition of new residence halls and new students on campus, the university definitely has a new look. Although the buildings have remained pretty much the same on the outside, it is what is on the inside that has students’ heads turning in awe. The Benson Food Court recently received a face-lift. Not only has the layout of the center changed, but there has also been the addition of new food vendors. Among these new food additions is Zoca’s Tex Mex station. The university conducted a survey last year to see which type of food the students would like in Benson. In the end, it came down to a close run between Zoca’s and a sushi place. However, due to complications, the sushi bar was unable to be added and Zoca’s took its place. Even so, Zoca’s has already proved to be a very popular eating location for students. This facility offers a number of six-dollar combos to students and faculty. World’s Fare has also been added to the Benson Food Court.

Life | B5

INSIDE: Brieflies

A2

Police Beat

A2

Spotlight

B2

The Hot List

B6

Sudoku

B6

Wake the Weekends New event calendar aims to alleviate weekend boredom, lack of on-campus options

In Other News

• Meet the 2009 Wake Forest Fellows | A2 • Hatch discusses USNWR rankings | A3

It offers the comfort food that students enjoy and crave while away at college as well as international favorites. World’s Fare is open Monday through Friday for lunch and dinner, and at 8 p.m. it serves as a grill where burger and philly cheese steak combos are made to order. Freshens returns as an Energy Zone that offers more than just smoothies. Ice cream treats and energy bars are now available for your enjoyment. Energy Zone’s smoothies have more nutrition than those of previous years. Pick up a smoothie or ice cream treat Monday through Friday 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m. and from 11 a.m.-10 p.m on the weekends. While not new to Benson, Chick-fil-A has also been revamped. It returns as a full service location that continues to feature all of the Chickfil-A favorites and is now open for breakfast Monday through Friday at 7:30 a.m. and on Saturdays at 10 a.m. As with all Chick-fil-A’s, the Benson location is not open on Sundays. Benson has also added an all new Grab and Go Store. The ARAMARK employees have taken popular items from the Sundry and brought

Sports | B1 How they stack up OGB football writer looks at how Wake Forest matches up against Baylor for the season opener Sept. 5

them to Benson. The new convenience store has an enhanced quantity of items from the small sundry store in Benson of previous years. Snack items and beverages, including Starbucks coffee may be purchased. In years past, the Village Tavern in Reynolda Village provided the only true restaurant experience to students stranded on campus with no car. The complete renovation of Shorty’s changed that this fall. Now all students have to do is head over to Benson and walk into Shorty’s to select something from their full menu. The restaurant is open seven days a week. Their new menu came from a combination of surveys to the students as well as looking at different online surveys to see popular food items. With all this change, ARAMARK still wants to ensure that the students’ input is being heard. “We want to stay up to date with the students’ opinions,” Roy Biggers, the dining service manager, said. “They are the ones who help determine what new items are added and which ones are taken away.”

Opinion | A4 Not enough spaces Commuter student sounds off about lack of parking spaces on campus


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