Graduation | Old Gold & Black
Thursday, February 28, 2022 | Page 5
SPORTS
LIFE
The Sports Section: Essex Thayer & Christina DeNovio
Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletics
The Opinion Section: Maryam Khanum & Sophie Guymon
Photo courtesy of NBC News
Over the course of this semester, we achieved many of the goals we had been working towards for the Opinion section of the Old Gold & Black. While the news section diligently covered the numerous notable and chaotic events occurring in Wake Forest’s periphery, we at the Opinion section made it our job to
Looking back on this past year, one can’t help but wonder if this is in fact the greatest year of athletic success in this school’s history. And if it has been, it’s worth reflecting on how amazing those events were, and how grateful we are to have been able to cover them for you. Football had one of their best statistical seasons since 2006, a year the Demon Deacons won the ACC Championship. Along with winning the Atlantic Division and taking part in the ACC Championship, Wake Forest reached their highest ranking in program history — No. 10 — while also winning a high-profile bowl game and amassing its highest student attendance ever at 90%. Men’s basketball electrified the city of WinstonSalem under the leadership of second-year head coach Steve Forbes, turning a 6-16 team from last year into a 25-10 squad that came one win away from the NCAA Tournament. We all remember dancing on the court after an exhilarating 22-point win over North Carolina, a team that made the NCAA Championship. More recently, men’s and women’s golf both secured an ACC title in the past two weeks, only the fourth time this has happened in conference history, and the first time it was done by a school not named Duke. Along with that, men’s and women’s soccer, women’s basketball, cross country, field hockey and volleyball all had spectacular runs of play during their individual seasons.
OPINION communicate the perspectives of Wake Forest students, ensuring that their voices and concerns could be heard. When we took issue with the actions of the administration and the campus climate, we expressed that, whether it was through articles on the Weaver Fertilizer Fire, our ‘No Humanitate’ article, staffer Aaron Nataline’s article on the planned construction of a road through Davis Field and Conor Metzger’s article on YikYak culture on campus or criticisms of university response to shooting threats. We also gave our staffers the opportunity to engage in conversation with each other through our newly created “Deacs Debate” column, where students debated everything from the benefits of nuclear power to the existence of God. While we reserved space for creative freedom in the Opinion section, we also made sure to cover important political and social matters through our other columns, “The F-Word” and “Oval Offense”, which spotlit relevant feminist and political issues respectively. Our articles covering ongoing events won three “Best of Student News (SNO)” recognitions over the semester, including an article from staff writer Natasha Heisenberg on the suicide of Wake Forest Law alum and public figure Cheslie Kryst. One of our priorities this semester has been stimulating conversation and awareness around issues such as
And Wake Forest is not done yet. Men’s and women’s tennis, baseball and track and field all have the remainder of their seasons ahead of them, with hopes of success and a championship in mind. The sports section of the Old Gold and Black has been so fortunate to cover each and every single team on this campus in their successes. Stories such as “Field hockey’s one goal: a final Sunday,” “Women’s golf claims ACC Crown,” “At 8-1, Sam Hartman won’t stop working” and “MBB celebrates signature win over UNC” were incredibly fun to report because our teams this year were truly exceptional. We were also incredibly proud to report on the successes of Dave Clawson and Steve Forbes in a long-form special insert that highlighted the success of football and men’s basketball, along with the impact these individual coaches had on their programs. It took a lot of hard work from a lot of people to make the story happen, and we were happy to bring it to the readers. The Old Gold and Black has taken us to some special places this year: football’s bowl game in Jacksonville, the ACC Basketball Tournaments in Brooklyn and Greensboro, Cameron Indoor at Duke, Kenan Stadium at North Carolina and many other venues. It’s been special, and we won’t forget those experiences. We hope our reporting did these amazing teams justice and we appreciate your continued support.
mental health that are often stigmatized. We gave our writers the opportunity to talk about relevant issues in pop culture, especially ones that took social media by storm. These articles included content about the Will Smith vs. Chris Rock Oscars fiasco by staff writers Conor Metzger and Robert Yount, and an analysis of the previous YouTube Rewinds by Life editor Adam Coil. To finish the semester off, we dedicated an issue to women in public forums and the struggles they have faced. This edition called attention to a number of prominent women relevant in politics, including Justice Ketanji Brown-Jackson, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, journalist Assia Djebar and others. However, the expression of opinions through a public avenue such as journalism can come with criticism, a possibility that any opinion writer should be prepared for. An article by Opinion Editor Sophie Guymon on a controversial incident that occurred at the Wake Forest Medical School was picked up by The Daily Mail and Fox News, generating negativity towards both the Opinion section and the Old Gold & Black as a whole. One thing we have learned through our time as Opinion Editors is that criticism should not serve as a deterrent to making one’s voice heard — if anything, it should encourage it. Expressing an opinion that others may not agree with is an admirable thing, and no one person can take that away from you.
The Life Section: Josie Scratchard & Adam Coil It has truly been a wonderful year for the Life section. The changes that the section has gone through are incredible and so worthy of praise. This past year has seen the growth and development of Selinna Tran’s conception, “Life Through The Lens”, as well as other new, exciting sections. “Life on The Street” made its first appearance in the fall semester and a comeback in the spring, covering the hidden gems of the Winston-Salem shops. Not only that, but “Adam’s Culture Column” appeared with a briefing of some of pop culture’s modern treasures and a new perspective on cultural explorations. This year was truly a year of experimentation. We added new features like crosswords, completely redesigned the section’s layout and had writers take part in writing the “Hot List”, but what made each edition so special was the wonderful writing done by our talented writers. We would like to recognize one writer in particular, Yushuo Wang, who wrote six spectacular articles this year — taking home a “Best of SNO” in the process. Her writing has provided a much-needed window into the lives of international students at Wake Forest, exposing us American-born students to struggles and complications that we would otherwise have no idea about. While her articles approach most subjects from the standpoint of her international identity, there is also a universal element to the feelings of academic inadequacy or uncertainty surrounding identity that her writing has explored. With a fresh, quirky writing style and a dedication to helping out the Old Gold & Black, Yushuo has been an invaluable component to both the writing and production aspects of the Life section. Alyssa Soltren was our first “Best of SNO” award winner this year with her article titled “Finding meaning in the unthinkable”, which dove deeply and honestly into the reality of mental illness in this country. She touched on the importance of being there for others and staying connected with those we love through her personal experience. The Life section lends itself to a wide variety of topics, and this year was no different. We covered existentialism, “The Emoji Movie”, niche music, reality TV, WinstonSalem and just about everything in between. We are always blown away by the creativity and variety in the Life section. Writers consistently provide us with articles that aren’t the standard movie review, but something more. From analyses of celebrities to actors’ performances to pop culture critiques, the Life writers have stayed transformative in presenting standard ideas in a fresh light. Abby Komiske and Sofia Bazant lead the way in articles written with Komiske writing eight and Bazant writing seven. There were so many fantastic writers this year, and we want to simply say thank you for all of your effort and dedication as well as congratulate all of our new staff writers! The enthusiasm that we’ve encountered is so encouraging and wonderful to see. If next year’s Life section is anything like this past year’s, then the future is bright, imaginative and inspiring.
