Issue 1/18

Page 1

News: North Carolina gerrymandered map ruled unconstitutional Page 4

Opinion: Is there a war on campus conservatives? Page 8

Sports: John Wolford shines in Belk Bowl Life: Student reflects on Page 9 semester in Florence Page 14

Old Gold& Black WA K E F O R E S T ’ S S T U D E N T N E W S PA P E R S I N C E 1 9 1 6

VOL. 103, NO. 1

T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 1 8 , 2 0 1 8 “Covers the campus like the magnolias”

wfuogb.com

President Hatch ranks highest compensated university president Hatch earned just over four million dollars in 2015, signaling a huge spike in salary from previous years BY HEATHER HARTEL & BECKY SWIG Editorial Staff harthf15@wfu.edu & swigrr15@wfu.edu

burn], Cade [Carney] — all of them made huge plays,” Wolford said. “They gave me MVP but they could have given it to anyone on the offense.” Normally when an offense scores 55, it wins with ease. But not in the 2017 Belk Bowl, which was one of the highest scoring bowl games in history with a combined 107 points and 1,260 yards. “It was a crazy game,” Wolford said. “We got up early and then fell behind. But I never had a doubt. This team has been through a lot, so a close game wasn’t going to faze us. And we got it done. That is what mattered most.” The Deacs scored 31 unanswered points in the first half after facing a quick 14-point deficit following two blocked punts. Scotty Washington turned things around for the Deacs as he created space in the first quarter and got open for a 50-yard touchdown to begin the offensive attack for Wake Forest. On subsequent possessions Wolford spread the ball around and found Hines for two first-half scores and another to Serigne from 37-yards out.

Wake Forest president Nathan Hatch was named the highest-compensated college president by Chronicle of Higher Education in a report published this week. In 2015, the most recent year with public data available, Hatch earned just over four million dollars. This salary bump has caused many students, faculty and staff to question and speculate why his compensation drastically increased from previous years, moving Hatch to the top of the list. In light of the recent report, it is important to note how Hatch’s salary is broken down. His base pay was $839,944 while he had a bonus of $92,000. The remainder of his earnings, which totaled $3,009,376, is placed in the “Other” category, according to the Triad Business Journal. This includes employerprovided vehicles and parking, payments for housing, travel, meals and more. The “Other” category accounts for many of Hatch’s expenses. Further, Hatch has never before made this much in a year. The hike in 2015 was due to a deferred compensation retirement plan that was agreed on when he was hired in 2005. In this plan, Hatch was set to earn a bonus after his 10th-year as university president, which fell on July 1, 2015. His base salary of $839,944 is comparable to other highly paid university presidents, but the additional compensation is why he tops the charts. “I think it’s great that the school and President Hatch worked in his contract to receive these benefits after being at the school for 10 years,” junior Garret Bader said. “The average tenure for a president is around 6.5 years, so for President Hatch to stay here shows commitment and offers the school a lot of benefit. Staying here for a long time allows him to set long-term goals and follow through on them, not leave them to someone else. I have a lot of respect for President Hatch and what he has done for the school. Hopefully we see him stay for another 10 years.”

See Belk Bowl, Page 9

See Hatch, Page 5

©WFU/Mitchell Loll

Head football coach Dave Clawson celebrates with the Belk Bowl trophy on Dec. 29. Clawson has been credited with rebuilding the Wake Forest football program.

Wake Forest wins Belk Bowl The Demon Deacons defeated Texas A&M by a score of 55-52 on Dec. 27 in this year’s Belk Bowl BY KYLE TATICH Senior Writer tatika14@wfu.edu “If you write the movie script, as soon as he walks out that door there’s a girl that falls in love with him and he gets married and lives happily ever after. It’s a storybook ending. You can’t make this stuff up.” These were the words of coach Dave Clawson, talking about his quarterback, John Wolford, who threw for 400 yards and four touchdowns in his final game as a Demon Deacon, defeating Texas A&M 55-52 in dramatic fashion. In his fourth year as Wake Forest’s head coach, Clawson has rebuilt the Demon Deacon football program, taking his team to a second straight bowl game and winning eight games for the first time since 2008. Clawson credits his senior class for changing the culture of the football team and for raising the program’s stan-

dard, which he expects will continue to rise each year. A victory in the Belk Bowl was the cherry-on-top for Clawson, and would not have been possible if it were not for the brilliant play of his quarterback Wolford. “Two years ago there weren’t a lot of big John Wolford fans,” Clawson said. “For him to go out and ignore the critics and believe in himself is really a testament to his character and the type of person he is.” In four years, Wolford has improved as much as any player in college football, and his recognition as the game’s Most Valuable Player was an appropriate send off for one of the all-time bests to wear old gold and black. “[Wolford] deserves every single accolade and bit of success that he’s experienced,” Clawson said. In humble fashion, Wolford credited the play of his offensive line, running backs and receivers for the success he experienced in the Belk Bowl and all season long. “Across the board from Scotty [Washington], to Cam [Serigne], Tabari [Hines], [Alex] Bachman, Matt [Col-


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