News: A renovated Cam- Opinion: Anonymous op-ed sets pus Grounds opens doors dangerous precedent Page 9 Page 5
Sports: WFU soccer defeats Geor- Life: Wake Radio attends Hopscotch gia Southern Eagles Music Festival in Raleigh Page 11 Page 16
Old Gold&Black
WAKE FOREST’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1916 VOL. 104, NO. 3
T H U R S DAY, S E P T E M B E R 13 , 2 018 “Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
wfuogb.com
Barn indefinitely closed to studentsponsored events The Sutton Center and other venues will act as student social spaces for future events BY REN SCHMITT News Editor schmwm16@wfu.edu
ing national elections,” said Assistant Dean of Students and Pro Humanitate Institute Executive Director Marianne Magjuka. “Deacs Decide fosters democratic capacities, such as considering complex issues from multiple perspectives, communicating across difference and thinking critically about pressing issues in our community.” To commence the initiative, on Wednesday, Sep. 12 Deacs Decide held a launch party on Manchester Plaza featuring music from Wake Radio, food, civics trivia and voter registration stations. Campus political organizations from both sides of the aisle and local civic organizations were represented. In addition, Deacs Decide invited every candidate running for local office from both political parties to attend.
In the wake of the shooting death of Winston-Salem State University student Najee Ali Baker on Jan. 20 at the Barn, Wake Forest’s Campus Life division conducted a review of event management policies. This review led to the decision earlier this semester to suspend social events hosted by student organizations in the Barn until the best future use for the facility is determined. “Student leaders were engaged over the spring semester as part of the Event Planning Protocol Committee to review potential changes to late night events,” said Timothy Wilkinson, the Associate Dean for Student Engagement. “Throughout the summer, multiple groups were engaged in a comprehensive review of the incident in January, as well as a risk assessment of late night events hosted by student organizations. Many of the recommendations that came from this group will be included in final event planning recommendations.” Though student organizationsponsored social events may not be hosted at the Barn, the Sutton Center was named as an alternative site for hosting events, including late-night events. “This change is in line with students’ long-stated desire to transform the Center for Wellbeing into ‘more than a gym,’” said Penny Rue, Vice President for Campus Life, in a statement shared with student organization leaders. “Our goal is to make the Wake Forest Center for Wellbeing a nexus of student community and involvement.” Late-night events at other locations, including fraternity lounges, will continue to be permitted, though all event-hosting practices have been and will continue to be scrutinized.
See Deacs Decide, Page 6
See Barn, Page 4
Olivia Field/Old Gold & Black
The Pro Humanitate Institute’s Deacs Decide effort launched at a party on Wednesday, Sep. 12. It was attended by local candidates and political organizations from across the political spectrum.
Deacs Decide initiative begins The political engagement project launched by the Pro Humanitate Institute hopes to promote voting BY AMANDA WILCOX Online Managing Editor wilcaf16@wfu.edu
Eight weeks before the midterm congressional elections, the American body politic faces the contradictory phenomena of simultaneous political polarization and civic disengagement. Recent poll data from the Pew Research Center indicates that 71 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of Democrats cite negative views of the opposing party as a major reason to affiliate with their own party. Americans on opposite sides of the political spectrum also find it increasingly difficult to talk to one another or find common ground —
for example, 81 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats report that they cannot agree on basic facts. At the same time, political participation is lagging, especially among young people. Only 46 percent of voters aged 18 to 29 cast a ballot in the 2016 election. In response to both problems, the Pro Humanitate Institute has launched Deacs Decide, a campuswide political engagement project, in an effort to register students, faculty and staff to vote and to raise awareness about issues at stake in the midterm elections. The nonpartisan initiative aims to encourage students to engage civically at the polls and beyond and to interact with ideas different than their own. “[The Pro Humanitate Institute] has a long history of engaging the campus and local community dur-