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, N O V E M B E R 5 , 2 0 0 9
VOL. 93, NO. 12
“Covers the campus like the magnolias”
Outside the Bubble... Justice resigns over interracial marriage scandal Keith Bardwell, a Louisiana justice of the peace, has resigned after refusing to marry an interracial couple. Bardwell caused controversy after refusing to perform a marriage ceremony and sign the marriage license of Beth Humphrey and Terence McKay. Humphrey and McKay have filed a federal discrimination lawsuit against Bardwell and his wife.
Event connects students with President “Hang with Hatch” allows informal outlet for concerns By Meenu Krishnan | Contributing writer “Hang with Hatch” provides an opportunity for students to interact with University President Nathan O. Hatch in a casual setting. The monthly event, which takes place for an hour in Starbucks, was started last spring by senior Meghan Haenn, current Student Government president.
The event began as a way to facilitate communication between the president and students. “It’s an informal opportunity, with no set agenda, for students and President Hatch to sit down with a cup of coffee,” Mary Pugel, senior executive assistant to the president, said. The last “Hang with Hatch” occurred on Oct. 20 and encompassed a wide range of topics of interest to university students, from Notre Dame Football to the controversial role of the Alcohol Law Enforcement (ALE). “We talked about class sizes, parking problems,
U.S. sells embassy building in London A Qatari real estate company has purchased the U.S. Embassy building in London. The State Department will remain at the building in Grosvenor Square until a new embassy is finished being built by 2017. Post-Sept. 11 protections to the building, such as blast walls, have caused criticism from neighbors.
Facebook wins against spammer
By Kamie Pamulapati | Contributing writer
lawsuit
For graduating seniors, the real world is becoming a little too real. With the national unemployment rate at 9.8 percent, seniors are facing the possibility of unemployment and financial stress come graduation day in May. “These times are unlike anything I’ve ever seen and I’ve been in this business for 20 years,” Carolyn Couch, the associate director of Career Services, said. According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), only 19.7 percent of 2009 graduates who applied for a job are currently employed. In comparison, 51 percent of those who graduated in 2007 had already secured employment by the time of graduation. The statistics for 2010 are even worse. In a recent survey conducted by NACE, employers expect to hire 7 percent fewer graduates in 2010 than they hired in 2009. These dire statistics are worrisome for seniors who are preparing for their lives after graduation, many of whom will be financially independent for the first time. The tough job market has put pressure on seniors to re-evaluate their plans and prepare for the reality of adulthood. Senior Katie Briedenbach fears that she won’t be able to find a job next year. “It’s a big deal,” Briedenbach said of the current unemployment situation. “A lot of my friends that have graduated college have gone back home because there isn’t anything out there. They’re still looking and they don’t have jobs. I don’t want that to be me.”
Facebook won $711 million in damages against noted spammer Sanford Wallace. Wallace had been sending out false Wall posts and messages to Facebook members’ accounts. Wallace has previously been fined $234 million for spam-related incidents.
E. coli outbreak causes sickness and death An outbreak of E. coli in ground beef has left two people dead and 28 people sick. Of those sick, 16 are in the hospital and three have developed kidney failure. Fairbank Farms in Ashville, NY is recalling more than half a million pounds of ground beef products suspected to be contaminated.
GM and Ford report increase in sales General Motors has reported its first rise in monthly car sales in almost two years. Its domestic sales rose 4.7 percent in October from a year earlier. Sales at Ford were also up 3 percent. The figures from October are important because they are the first not to be impacted by the “cash for clunkers” program.
See Job, Page A3 Graphic by Bobby O’Connor, Photo by Kelly Makepeace/Old Gold See & BlackJob, Page A3
the budget, what (Hatch) wants Wake Forest to be like and the diversity on campus. The president commented on how he wanted not only diversity of race but also of experiences,” freshman Abrams Jamassi, co-chair of the Student Government committee for “Hang with Hatch,” said. “Hang with Hatch” also provides students with an opportunity to simply learn about President Hatch as a person.
See Hatch, Page A3
Festival to exhibit world food, music By Scott Seal | Contributing writer
The first annual World Cultural Festival will take place from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 6 on Manchester Plaza. This event, sponsored and run by the Office of Multicultural Affairs, is designed to be a nonintimidating, enjoyable way to explore the different contributions that world cultures have to offer and to give students the opportunity to spend an evening discovering the intricacies of world cultures. The origins of this event go back to last year where Alta Mauro and Jonathan Cox — the director and assistant director, respectively, of the office of Multicultural Affairs — decided that an office event that celebrated the mannerisms and intricacies of world cultures would be beneficial to life at the university. Cox When asked about the origins of this event, Cox replied that he “Saw the need for an event that would showcase different world cultures to students at Wake Forest.” The World Cultural Festival will offer a “global perspective on diversity” and will “showcase different cultural groups,” Mauro said. “Expect lots of energy and diversity with the purpose of creating a diverse setting and having quality human interactions spanning a broad range of different cultures.” Some students groups such as APSARA, the student Native American dance group, the Organization of Latin American Studnets (OLAS) and Asian
See Culture, Page A3
Faith acts as shield for wayward 16th century daughters By Sara Olsen | Contributing writer
In the second event of the “Liminality and Social Marginality” lecture series sponsored by the history department, visiting professor Eric Dursteler of Brigham Young University spoke on Nov. 2 in DeTamble Auditorium of Tribble Hall to an audience of both professors and students of the university. Dursteler’s lecture, titled “Convents, Conversion and Confines: How to Avoid an Unwanted Marriage in Early Modern Dalmatia,” addressed what Dursteler referred to as “renegade women” in the 16th and 17th centuries. Using the stories of two young women, Dursteler illustrated the ways in which females could achieve independence from their parents during this era in history. Recounting the story of Elena Deodata, a Christian girl living in Venice in the late 16th century, Dursteler described the ways in which religious houses could be used to escape parental demands. Elena, for instance, joined the convent of Corpus Domini to avoid a forced conversion to Islam, as her parents in Constantinople desired. Dursteler continued with the account of Mihale Catterina, who was born a Muslim in the Ottoman
Empire around the same time as Elena Deodata. To escape an arranged marriage, Mihale ran away from home and took refuge in Venice. Like Elena, she used the entrance into a religious house to solidify her choice to become a Christian and remain in Venice. The parallels between the stories of the two girls exemplify the ways in which women in the Early Modern Era exerted their own autonomy. “‘Taking the veil’ was a common way for daughters to rebel against their parents’ wishes,” Dursteler said. Dursteler also emphasized the surprising way in which the unique political boundaries played a role in the two stories. The involvement of the Venetian and Ottoman governments served to protect the girls’ wishes and safeguard them against their parents. As Dalmatia was the border between the Ottoman and Venetian Empires – essentially the Muslim and Christian worlds – the women were able to use the Dalmatian border to escape their parents and achieve autonomy. The stories of Elena Deodata and Mihale Catterina will be included in Dursteler’s upcoming
See History, Page A3
Life | B5
INSIDE: Brieflies
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Police Beat
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Spotlight
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The Hot List
B6
Sudoku
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New Film Program Next Fall, the university will introduce its Graduate Documentary Film Program
In Other News
• Discover the Museum of Anthropology | A2 • “The Unpredictable” challenges body, mind | A3
John DelBianco/Old Gold & Black
Eric Dursteler discusses the ingenuity of 16th century “renegade women” as part of the “Liminality and Social Marginality” lecture series.
Sports | B1 Drowned by Hurricanes A close loss to Miami on Halloween sparks concern over the Deacs’ standing for a bowl bid. Next up is the No. 10 Yellow Jackets
Opinion | A6 Ironic spending Fox-Helser calls out contradictory spending of Republican party on national defense