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Life | B5 Students head to Mexico to study free trade during Spring Break
VOL. 94, NO. 24 T H U R S D AY, M A RC H 1 7 , 2 0 1 1
“Covers the campus like the magnolias”
How Walter became a household name By Jeffrey Turner | Contributing writer
Looking back over the last four years he has worked at the university, Steve Shutt, assistant athletic director for Media Relations, never imagined that a story would cross his desk to rival that of the shocking death of men’s basketball Head Coach Skip Prosser in summer 2007. At least until recently, when he heard the news about Tom Walter and Kevin Jordan — the baseball coach and firstShutt year player whose relationship would soon be much closer than that. Their story was one that would draw the interest of a wide swath of American media — from cable and network news programs to one of Hollywood’s biggest names, Ellen DeGeneres.
A victory in defeat Shutt remembers the day he first heard the news. The introduction of the new men’s basketball Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik wasn’t going as planned, with the new squad quickly accumulating a record of embarrassing losses. Add to that the 3-9 record football notched last fall and it’s easy to see why Shutt’s recent work hasn’t been easy. “It’s been a tough year,” Shutt said. “Obviously, I’d rather be talking about wins.” Consequently it’s no wonder that he never expected to be on the verge of witnessing one of the biggest “wins” of his 31-year career. That’s because it wouldn’t come from the attention a national championship brings, or even a winning record. Instead, it would come from a very private story of struggle and sacrifice — a story that wouldn’t play out under the stadium lights and didn’t need to in order to enrapture the attention of a national audience.
Dialing in the news The news came on a Monday via a phone call from Michael Buddie, a sport administrator for the baseball team. “It was late in the day and Mike phoned me to say he needed to talk with me,” Shutt said. “Mike had to catch a bus to Florida State with the basketball team, so he came in my office and gave me just a quick overview: Tom (Walter) was going to give a kidney to one of his players, Kevin Jordan, the surgery was a week away and
See Walter, Page A3
Photo courtesy of the Associated Press
Spring breakers build hope for families NAACP President exposes Photo courtesy of Taylor Wilson
ences. “Seeing how each person viewed the day’s work and how it impacted them was truly rewarding,” Blackwell said. Sophomore Meagan Hoglund enjoyed spending her break doing something productive and By Olivia Boyce | Managing editor contributory. Her WAB group volunteered with Essentials2Life For some, a week free from in Atlanta. “In the mornings, we university obligations may mean got to work in various homea stint of drunken, beachside less shelters, exposing us to the debauchery. This wasn’t the case, large amount of homelessness however, for 85 students who that exists in Atlanta. Then in dedicated their break to service the afternoons, we tutored at an Habitat for Humanity: South Carolina through participation in a Wake elementary school,” she said. Camp Sequanota, Casa Central and Alternative Break (WAB) program. Each WAB trip was different — some This Spring Break, 10 student groups Essenitals2Life. were in rural areas, others in urban cen“I would rather spend time doing con- ters. Although university students have participated in WAB programs in locations ranging from Florida to New York. struction work in freezing rain over sitting been participating in WAB programs All of the groups volunteered for at least at home watching TV or going to the throughout the country for many years, beach any day,” junior Jacob Blackwell, there was one new program this year — a five full days of service. The WAB groups addressed a variety who worked with eight other students for mystery trip where students signed up of community needs and social issues Habitat for Humanity in New Rochelle, to participate without knowing where like homelessness, disaster relief and N.Y., said. Their WAB group spent the they would be going or what project educational programs for at-risk youth. week working at the Habitat headquar- they would be working on until a week Service projects were completed through ters and volunteering at a restoration before they left. partnerships with non-profit organiza- house. After a hard day’s work, Blackwell tions including Habitat for Humanity, enjoyed reflecting on the group’s experi- See WAB, Page A2
Volunteerism embodies spirit of Pro Humanitate
enduring Jim Crow Laws By Hilary Burns | Asst. life editor
Benjamin Todd Jealous, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), spoke in Kulynych Auditorium March 14. The inspiring talk was called “Beyond Jim Crow: Civil Rights, Human Rights and America’s Ongoing Struggle for Fairness and Opportunity.” “Tonight I want to show that Jim Crow Laws and segregation are not dead,” Jealous said. Jealous is the youngest person in history to hold this prestigious civil rights position in the NCAAP. Provost Jill Tiefenthaler introduced Jealous to a nearly full house. “We are modestly the most successful civil rights groups in the world,” Jealous said. He said that the company has experienced massive growth and success and he is proud of the 25,000 benevolent vol-
See Jim Crow, Page A2
Benjamin Jealous NAACP President
Professors prepare Native Americans for promising future in health careers By Yasmin Bendaas | Staff writer
University professors revived their charge to train members of the Cherokee Native American tribe for heath careers. Last November, the university renewed its involvement with the Medical Careers and Technology Academy (MEDCAT) program through 2015. A $170,000 grant funded by the Burroughs-Wellcome Foundation was awarded to a group of Wake Forest faculty. The grant was acquired by Ulrike Wiethaus, professor of religion and American ethnic studies; Margaret Bender, professor of cultural and linguistic anthropology and department chair; Ronny Bell, Wake Forest School of Medicine professor of epidemiology and director of the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity; Lisa Lefler, research associate at the university and profes-
sor of anthropology at Western Carolina University; and Adrienne Loffredo, the Center for Excellence in Research, Teaching and Learning program manager. “There has been a lot of build-up and organization behind the establishment of this program,” Bell said. W i t h planning beginning as early as 2006 and the university’s involvement with the program for the past three years, a solid foundation has been built for the program’s advancement. “The program is growing nicely,” Wiethaus said.
“Still, we want to keep within the Wake Forest spirit of very personal relationships. “The people involved are all fantastic people. You want people that go the extra mile, and they all really do.” MEDCAT’s purpose as part of the CulturallyBased Native Health Program is to use universities as a base to provide training for Native American students in health careers in order to better serve fellow Native Americans. The university, along with Western Carolina University, is focused on creating a problembased summer enrichment pro-
gram that will take place at the university July 17-20. Through an application process, roughly 25 participants are chosen from high schools in western North Carolina with a primary focus on students from the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, but not excluding other students from the region. Five high school teachers of Cherokee background will also be part of the program to further the employment of problem-based teaching in their
schools. Each year, the summer enrichment program has a theme. This year, the focus will be on diabetes, especially in young children, and nutrition. Real-life scenarios simulated with the use of dummies in the Wake Forest School of Medicine laboratories will provide a hands-on learni n g experience in which stud e n t s are treated like fellow faculty. In addition to the placing of peoples of Native American background into health-related fields, including biotechnology, the MEDCAT program is designed to be culturally sensitive. The perspectives of local Native Americans are always taken into account.
A “Memorandum of Understanding” between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has recently been renewed with the university to promote mutual respect and understanding. Such a collaboration provides a “best-of-both-worlds” learning environment. “As an institution, we want to be engaged in other communities — it’s really a learning opportunity to us,” Bell said. Furthermore, Native American populations have expressed a need for people that they know and trust providing healthcare services. “People want to see their own people when they go to the doctor. “It is important to understand their family situations, their traditions, their language … others can’t relate to them in the same way,” Lefler said.
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