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Greek: Organizations suspended after spike

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“Unfortunately, members of the fraternity and sorority community made decisions that didn’t follow social distancing guidelines and enabled the spread of COVID-19. Those decisions included gatherings of various sizes in spaces on and off-campus,” Adams said. “Recruitment generates a lot of excitement, as does returning from an extended break. I think the combination of everything helped facilitate the surge.”

Although much chatter on campus surrounding the spike in COVID-19 cases earlier this month attaches the exponential growth to Greek life, initial university communication on the matter varied depending on the audience. For instance, Sociology Professor Hana Brown told the Old Gold & Black that, during the faculty-wide meeting on the afternoon of Feb. 5, university administrators and Dr. Chris Ohl specifically stated that student organizations were not the cause of the spike.

“They were insistent in that meeting that the spiking coronavirus cases had nothing to do with campus organizations. That was the word they used, it wasn’t ‘organizations’ — it was really just a friend here and a friend there hanging out after a break. They repeated that line many times: ‘It’s just, you know, a couple of friends who really missed each other, just like you missed your family over the holidays’,” Brown said. “And so they didn’t explicitly say that it wasn’t Greek organizations, but they didn’t respond to any of the many comments and questions that were being sent in the chat from faculty about Greek organizations. They repeatedly [said the spike was] not traceable to campus organizations.”

Brown shared via Twitter that, despite the reassurance given to faculty that transmission was not related to campus organizations, she learned that Hatch had emailed Greek organizations that the spread can be traced back to fraternity and sorority activity. Brown later updated the tweet with a note that faculty were given the 90% data point on Feb. 8, and told the Old Gold & Black that department chairs were informed of the connection on Feb. 4.

“That contrast and those opposing positions really felt intentionally misleading on the part of the administrators who were in that meeting,” Brown said. “And I found that disheartening and frustrating, because if anything has to be the foundation of our COVID response on campus, it has to be honesty and trust. And so when the administration knowingly spread inaccurate accounts of the role of Greek life in the current surge, I think they violated both of those. So that was a violation of both honesty and trust.”

The lack of communication from university administrators described by Brown was also echoed by Kappa Delta President and junior Hannah Hill. While speaking with the Old Gold & Black on Feb. 13, Hill stressed the complicated nature of handling the spike and providing sufficient communication with students. However, in Hill’s view, the university was unsuccessfully juggling two tasks: attempting not to place blame on the public stage while also trying to hold Greek organizations accountable for the spike.

“It’s almost like they’re talking out of both sides of their mouth. They’re trying to say — because I don’t think the school wants to get rid of Greek life — they’re saying to the people who are upset and would say ‘oh we need to get rid of Greek life,’ I think they’re saying ‘oh it’s not Greek life’s fault’,” Hill said. “But then to [Greek organizations] they say ‘it’s your fault you need to get your stuff together,’ so that’s been really frustrating.”

Since the initial spike in cases, university officials and Fraternity and Sorority Life staff have met with Greek organizations and their leaders multiple times. The first of such meetings took place on Feb. 5, and both Goldstein and Hatch were present. According to a student who was present during the Feb. 5 meeting and preferred for their identity not to be disclosed, both Hatch and Goldstein reprimanded organization leaders for the rise in cases and placed specific blame on Greek life activity for the spike.

Of the two organizations currently suspended, Kappa Kappa Gamma was the first to be placed under investigation. The Feb. 4 issue of the Old Gold & Black’s Police Beat .details the breaking up of a Kappa Kappa Gamma party at the Vintage Sofa Bar on Jan. 27. Although the Old Gold & Black has been unable to confirm a connection between this event and their suspension, Adams explained that “any student organization — including fraternities and sororities — that is alleged to host an event that violates the above policy is referred to Student Conduct for investigation.”

Beyond specific communication related to the COVID-19 spike, many leaders of Greek organizations and students alike have expressed concern relating to the general conduct process. Panhellenic President and junior Emily Conway shared that, while she thought the school has been transparent regarding positivity rates and testing, policies surrounding student activity have been less clear. Despite these concerns, both IFC President and junior Nate Seegel and Conway told the Old Gold & Black that IFC and Panhellenic chapters have been working closely with university officials since the initial spike.

“I would like to see the school’s policies regarding COVID regulations be a little less ambiguous and [more] easily accessible,” Conway said. “However, as a Panhellenic council, we see that challenge and have been working to clarify [the situation] by providing a simplified breakdown of rules and regulations to each chapter president. I think that the situation’s gravity has been made clear to each chapter’s executive board through our meetings with Dr. Hatch, Dean Goldstein and other university staff.”

Sharing a similar perspective, Seegel said, “I think the administration has improved its communication with fraternities and sororities in response to the recent spike. In retrospect, had we been able to predict the spread of the coronavirus on campus better, there could have been more effective and broader communication.”

A Feb. 23 letter from Panhellenic leaders emphasizes the work that Greek organizations are doing to address the spread.

“We recognize that there is still work to be done as a Panhellenic community to motivate our members to create a safe and healthy environment for all. We do not condone any behavior that goes against the university’s guidelines. We are actively working to help minimize the spread of COVID-19 by establishing specific guidelines within our chapters,” the letter stated.

In a similar vein, Seegel emphasized to the Old Gold & Black the work that fraternity presidents are doing to ensure that another spike does not occur.

“I am disappointed in any actions by individual members of fraternities that may have contributed to the spread of COVID-19 on campus. As an IFC, we set clear expectations for a virtual recruitment process. If we receive direct allegations that a chapter violated the virtual recruitment plan set forth at the beginning of the semester, we have an internal accountability system that we can utilize. We are prepared to do so,” Seegel said. The ramifications of the spike have reverberated outside of Greek organizations with equal force. After hearing rumors of the university moving to Red status, Junior Christopher Cates was not surprised. Living close to Campus Gas and hearing stories of alleged fraternity parties, Cates was taken aback by the degree to which the university withheld information from faculty and nonGreek students.

“It frustrates me because it was such a lack of accountability,” Cates said. “I think there should be clear communication on what actions are being taken to address [the role of Greek life].”

Moreover, Cates said he believes non-Greek affiliated students bear more of the brunt of COVID-19 on campus than those in Greek organizations.

“Most non-Greek affiliated students are not partying, we are taking precautions, we are not having fun. And then you have students who are partying, and yes they get [the virus], but they all are wealthy, they can deal with the price of a doctor’s visit or a hospital bill, and are able to go to the Best Western, do the module, and go on with their lives,” Cates said. “Then some of us, we are on scholarship and have to keep up with school, and many of us come from low-income families and communities in which COVID-19 is such a risk for us — there are a lot of people who don’t have insurance and can’t afford to go to the doctor or risk themselves by partying.”

Brown, through her lens as a sociologist, echoed the idea that the COVID-19 experience can be much different for students depending on their socioeconomic background.

“We know that students who are part of Greek organizations are more affluent than the student body as a whole at Wake Forest. And that means that COVID-19 is being spread through and by affluent students who have the resources to deal with getting COVID-19 and missing class — you can go quarantine at your family’s second home and be fine. The students who are having to struggle their way through this are the same students that the university is expecting to make sacrifices right now,” Brown said. “And those are the students who don’t have those resources — they don’t have a vacation home they can go to, they don’t have parents who can buy them a plane ticket. In some cases, they don’t even have a permanent home they can go to. Those students and our staff as well, who are the most marginalized, need to be front and center in our COVID response. And right now, they feel like afterthoughts, to put it politely. And that’s kind of what COVID looks like on the global scale, too.”

Graphic by Olivia Field/Old Gold & Black

Campus administration sent conflicting information on Greek life’s role in the recent spike of COVID-19 cases. The Old Gold & Black confirmed 90% of cases were traced to Greek organizations.

Divinity school to house anti-HIV center

The new Gilead COMPASS Coordinating Center at Wake Divinity will combat HIV stigma in Southern faith communities

BY JULIA OCHSENHIRT

Asst. News Editor ochsja20@wfu.edu

The Wake Forest School of Divinity has earned a $5 million grant from Gilead Sciences to house a new center that will fight the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS in Southern faith communities.

The center is the latest expansion of Gilead’s COMPASS Initiative. The three other COMPASS centers are housed at Emory University, the University of Houston and the Southern AIDS Coalition (SAC). Wake Forest will join the SAC in combating stigma but will focus specifically on religious communities.

“Expanding to faith felt really natural for us,” said Korab Zuka, Gilead’s Vice President of Public Affairs. “In our listening tours, organizations and individuals that were impacted by HIV always spoke about the dual education they were receiving [about sexual health] in school and church. We were already working in schools, but we weren’t addressing the church.”

The center at Wake Forest Divinity will train local religious organizations to address HIV/AIDS stigma, create infographics and videos, distribute grants to organizations and churches and use storytelling to facilitate stigma reduction.

“We’ll be highlighting the stories of people living with HIV and the perspectives of faith leaders on HIVrelated stigma,” said Allison Mathews, executive director of the new center.

Mathews hopes to focus the work of the center in Black churches. Historically, the Black church has been heavily involved in social justice movements, but some communities have perpetuated stigma against HIV/ AIDS. In recent years, however, the tides have turned. Mathews noted movements like the Poor People’s Campaign, which is led by a Black minister and promises to fight for the LGBTQ+ community alongside other marginalized groups.

“This is a perfect moment for us to think about how we reframe the role of the Black church in addressing the HIV epidemic,” Mathews said. “We have that history of social justice, and we have newly changed attitudes and an opportunity to build the infrastructure to address stigma [against HIV].”

The School of Divinity underwent a rigorous application process and was chosen in part for its existing infrastructure and focus on the intersection of faith and health.

“There’s a faith-health track [at the School of Divinity], and the fact that Wake Forest Baptist Health is merged with Atrium Health expands the reach of the work we can do into Charlotte and parts of South Carolina and Georgia,” Mathews said.

“The Divinity School has been engaged in this sort of work around the impacts of health,” said Jonathan L. Walton, Dean of the School of Divinity. “It shows up in our curriculum, our Pathways to Ministries program, and the daily and professional lives of many of our faculty members.”

Gilead also searched for an organization with a demonstrated commitment to justice and inclusion, which Walton described as two of the Divinity School’s core values.

“The Divinity School was founded as a just response to exclusion and intolerance,” Walton said. “Ever since then, we’ve welcomed the victimized and villainized, whether it’s women, people of color or same-gender-loving brothers and sisters.”

The center is currently engaged in the hiring process. Mathews anticipates building a five-person staff: herself, Principal Investigator Shonda Jones, a creative program manager, an administrative assistant and a financial manager. The center will begin to welcome requests for grant proposals in late spring and start training faith-based organizations by the end of the summer.

Zuka emphasized that the COMPASS Centers are part of a much larger fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. “We hope we’re able to contribute in a meaningful way to ending the epidemic, but it’s going to take more than just Gilead or our partners. It takes everyone,” Zuka said.

Photo courtesy of Wake Forest School of Divinity

The center will award grants to faith organizations, create materials and conduct trainings.

Students demand better communication

Resident advisors and students are calling for greater transparency from administration on COVID-19 policies

BY AVERY GEHRING

Contributing Writer gehrah18@wfu.edu

Almost two weeks after the student-organized protest on Feb. 13, residential advisers (RAs) and other students continue to seek more transparent communication from Wake Forest’s administration.

Though cases have subsided, the protest highlighted a growing feeling of disconnection between administration, faculty and numerous student groups on campus. Organized mainly by RAs in response to purported miscommunication between the RA community and administration, the protest also seemed to expose a larger shared experience with many other student and faculty groups on campus.

“[The administration] really wasn’t communicating with us about [COVID-19 policies] at all,” said Chidi Ilobachie, a resident advisor in Polo Residence Hall.

Before the protest, RAs and several administrators held a meeting regarding the state of Wake Forest’s COVID-19 positive case count. According to some RAs, the information shared by administrators failed to communicate specific policy changes or how they would be enacted.

“We didn’t really know where any of these policies were coming from,” recalled North Campus Apartments Residential Advisor Shade White. “When it came down to talking about what [policies were] implemented, it was all surface level. It was all about what they were going to do but not how they were actually going to do it.”

Some, like Ilobachie, have observed an improvement in the university’s communication since the protest. That optimism is not shared by all, however.

While there have been reported improvements from the RA community in terms of communication and consideration, the letter the protestors wrote to administrators was ultimately never directly addressed by university administration. Rue Cooper, a residential advisor and co-organizer of the protest, wants to see further transparency from the university.

“The administration will never directly address student concerns. It just becomes part of general conversation. It would be nice if they would give us a transparent response, even if it’s out of their control,” Cooper said.

Though RAs were a major force in organizing the protest, other campus groups have noted inconsistent communication from administration officials. Students involved in the Greek life community, for instance, received an email from President Nathan Hatch regarding their responsibility for the increased case counts. According to the email, over 90% of COVID-19 cases at the time came as a result of Greek-related events. However, only members of Greek life received the email, meaning other students and faculty members received that information second-hand.

“I would like to see the school’s policies regarding COVID-19 regulations be a little less ambiguous and [more] easily accessible,” said Emily Conway, president of the Panhellenic Council. “Sometimes it seems like navigating the Our Way Forward website is a bit overwhelming.”

As some students believe transparent communication is still elusive, the university looks to a possible shift to Yellow status. Yet, as case numbers continue to fall, the protest serves as a reminder from the student community that future policy changes must be more transparent.