Candidates for student govern-‐ ment present their platforms Page 4
Opinion: N.C. anti-‐LGBTQ en-‐ courages discrimination Page 11
Baseball on track for great season Page 13
Student takes a trip to St. Petersburg Page 16
Old Gold&Black
C E L E B R A T I N G 1 0 0 Y E A R S O F W A K E F O R E S T ’ s S T U D E N T N E W S P A P E R VOL. 100, NO. 11
T H U R S D A Y , M A R C H 3 1 , 2 0 1 6 “Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
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Wake Forest comes together to celebrate Springfest Student U nion i s h osting Springfest t his w eek — a t ͺͶ years ago BY CHRIS CASWELL News Editor caswck14@wfu.edu Students came together this week to participate in various activities to celebrate the spring season as part of Student Union’s traditional Springfest. “Springfest has become one of Wake Forest’s most beloved traditions on campus,” said Nia McIntosh, chair of the Festivals committee of Student Union. “Dating back to 1976, Springfest has been well-attended by many generations of Wake Forest students. This year, the Festivals committee of Student Union is excited to keep this valued event alive with a jam-packed week full of fun activities that will appeal to all students on campus.” Student Union has planned activities each day of the week — the first on Monday — culminating in “Shag on the Mag,” an annual dance held in a tent on Manchester Plaza. “Springfest is one of my favorite Student Union activities of the year because of the large turnout it produces, and it creates an even stronger sense of community,” said sophomore Preston Bowers. On Monday, Springfest opened with a midday ice cream and cake social to get students excited for the week’s upcoming activities. “It’s a good way to welcome the new season,” said freshman Ryan Grady. “I think the campus is livelier with the nicer weather.” Student Union hosted a movie on Tuesday night on the Magnolia Quad with a showing of “National Treasure: Book of Secrets.” Students had the opportunity to watch the movie outdoors on a large projection screen. On Wednesday, students flocked to Davis Field to attend “The Golden Exchange” — one of the most anticipated events. Food trucks parked next to the field, and there were a variety of activities such as a rock climbing wall, a fortune teller and treasure hunts. Many students, however, were most excited about the petting zoo.
See Springfest, Page ͽ
Chelsea Bellomy /Old Gold & Black
Provost Kersh spoke about the university’s success in his annual address. He said Wake Forest must examine the trends and reasons for the successes to make the university’s future the best it can be.
Provost gives annual address Kersh e xamined W ake Forest’s success to improve even more in the future BY MILLER LIGON Asst. News Editor ligorm15@wfu.edu Why does Wake Forest succeed? This was the topic proposed by Provost Rogan Kersh Monday afternoon in Pugh Auditorium during his annual address to the faculty and student senate. Serving his fourth year as provost, he joked that this was his “senior oration.” This year, he focused on ways that Wake Forest has succeeded and how the university has grown to receive national accreditation. However, he made it clear he was not
doing this to brag, “beat his chest” as he put it, or disregard areas that need attention as he had focused on in his past three yearly addresses. Instead, he insisted we look at why we have been doing so well in order to establish trends and expand upon them in the future. Sophomore Makenna Brezitski supported Provost Kersh’s assertions. “Focusing on our weaknesses makes us better, but our strengths should not be overlooked,” Brezitski said. “We should definitely capitalize on what got us this far.” After his introduction, Kersh told the story of his visit to William & Mary where their provost gave him great compliments and was genuinely interested in how Wake Forest handled certain parts of the university.
“We have become a model for other places,” Kersh said. Kersh summarized in three main points why he thinks the university has become an exemplary university. First, the university’s research and creative works have been engaged and impactful. Secondly, the university has extended its reach to national levels. Lastly, it has capitalized upon its distinctive community. Examples were given about each point in order to prove their importance. On the topic of our research, Kersh said our “pedagogy,” or method of teaching, has won the university several awards. Two of the most notable are the AACSB award for the faculty evaluation for the new busi-
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