1/25 Edition

News: 2018 Winston-Salem Women’s March sets new tone Page 5

Opinion: Reflecting on two Sports: Demon Deacons fall to Duke in campus tragedies Men’s Basketball Page 10 Page 11

Life: How to celebrate the Super Bowl on campus Page 16

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. 2

T H U R S D AY, J A N U A R Y 2 5 , 2 0 1 8 “Covers the campus like the magnolias”

Campus responds to verbal racism Girl who admitted to being drunk and using a racial slur in reference to her RA no longer enrolled

BY LILLIAN JOHNSON News Editor johnlg16@wfu.edu Julia Haines, Heather Hartel, Daniel Pachino and Amanda Wilcox contributed to the reporting of this article.

“I’m hammered again tonight. It’s two o’clock. I just called my black RA a f--ing n-----.”

This is what former freshman Kara Nelson said in a video that she posted to her private Instagram account on the night of Thursday, Jan. 18.

The next evening, at 11:13 p.m., a recording of Nelson’s video was posted to Twitter by another Wake Forest student, freshman Logan Bolton. In her tweet, Bolton, a black student, added the comment, “The trend of saying the n-word on finstas is so strong at PWI’s [primarily white institutions]. But racism is dead?” She also tagged the official Wake Forest Twitter account.

According to Bolton, she saw the original post by happenstance. She had heard that Nelson called her black resident adviser a racial slur and went to confront her. When she arrived at Nelson’s room, Bolton said, she was informed by Nelson’s friends that Nelson was at a fraternity party. Bolton then asked the others about the incident, who showed Bolton the Instagram video.

“I was really outraged by it. Let alone the situation, but the fact that she posted it herself — like I know she was drunk and might have been not in her right mind — [but] she knew what she was getting into, in some sort of way,” Bolton said.

That’s when Bolton decided to take a record of the original video and post it to Twitter.

“Just reporting it wouldn’t do enough,” she said. “I feel like sometimes when you don’t let the public see it, it’ll get overshadowed or it’ll never come back out.”

Bolton’s tweet quickly gained attention and circulated around the Wake Forest community. As of 12:20 a.m. on Jan. 25, the original tweet had 310 retweets and 301 likes, and the video had 33,000 views. Many people re-

sponded to the tweet, calling it unacceptable and tagging the official Wake Forest Twitter in a call for action.

Bolton is thankful that her tweet got the attention it did because it brought awareness to the situation.

“I had no intention of making the school look bad; it was more for awareness, be-

cause I know social media is a really big activist nowadays,” Bolton said. “If it was gonna go viral and get retweets, that’s the best way for Wake Forest to see they need to do something about it besides just give her a slap on the wrist.”

See Racism, Page 6

wfuogb.com

Suspects identified in investigation of on-campus shooting TheWinston-Salem Police Department has identified suspects in an ongoing investigation

BY DANIEL PACHINO News Editor pachdb15@wfu.edu

Heather Hartel, Julia Haines and Lillian Johnson contributed to the reporting of this article.

Already this year, 11 school shootings have occurred, meaning nearly one every other day. Among those 11 shootings was the one that occurred on Wake Forest’s campus in the early morning hours of Saturday, Jan. 20.

Around 1 a.m. on Jan. 20, Najee Ali Baker, a 21-year-old Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) student, was shot outside The Barn, a space on campus used to host events, following an altercation. Baker, a Brooklyn, NY native, was transported to the hospital, where he tragically died of his injuries.

Baker, a walk-on defensive lineman for the football team who redshirted last season, had transferred to WSSU in early 2017 after previously attended Dean College in Franklin, MA. The sorority Delta Sigma Theta hosted an event at The Barn on Friday night, which was open to both Wake Forest and WSSU students. After a fight broke out and was moved outside, investigators reported, a gunshot was fired.

In a message to Wake Forest students on Saturday morning, President Nathan Hatch said he was “deeply saddened” to report on the events that took place and that the WinstonSalem Police Department (WSPD) is leading the investigation of the campus murder with help from the Wake Forest Police.

In a message to the WSSU community regarding Baker’s murder, Chancellor Elwood L. Robinson said, “It is times like these that remind us of the fragility of life and the importance of cherishing one another. We must support one another, uplift one another and care for one another through the coming days.”

On Tuesday, Jan. 23, President Hatch sent another message addressing a number of concerns that arose as a result of circumstances surrounding the shooting.

See Shooting, Page 4

OGB

“ Gun violence in the U.S. needs to be addressed This column represents the views of the Old Gold & Black Editorial Board.

Last Friday, Jan. 19, Wake Forest experienced something that is not all that uncommon in the U.S. — a school shooting.

Najee Ali Baker, a student from Winston Salem State University (WSSU), was shot on Wake Forest's campus and passed away soon after.

This tragedy is something that has been normalized in recent years, and in 2018 alone (as of Jan. 24), there have been 11 school shootings, one shooting every other day. Even more alarming is that the shooting at a Kentucky school on Tuesday, Jan. 23 was the 50th of the academic year.

What happened on our campus may seem like a rarity to us, but the reality is that this happens all of the time.

Now that our community has be-

At the end of the day if we're not talking about gun violence and what is happening across the country, no solution will be found." come part of the discussion surrounding this grave issue of gun violence, it has become, even more so than before, our responsibility to question the problem, and to further question why it seems to be growing.

A recent New York Times article reported that since 2013, there has been approximately one school shooting every week. This fact should be as startling as it is heartbreaking.

The editorial board of the Old Gold & Black believes that gun violence needs to be stopped, and that the best

Old Gold&Black THE STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WAKE FOREST UNIVERSIT Y SINCE 1916 JULIA HAINES

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF hainjm15@wfu.edu

BECKY SWIG PRINT MANAGING EDITOR swigrr15@wfu.edu

>> NEWS Lillian Johnson, johnlg16@wfu.edu Daniel Pachino, pachdb15@wfu.edu Asisstant Editor: Nicole Loffredo loffn16@wfu.edu

>> SPORTS Lizzie Snyder, snydem15@wfu.edu Ren Schmitt, schmwm16@wfu.edu

>> OPINION Ethan Bahar, bahaea15@wfu.edu Kyle Ferrer, ferrka16@wfu.edu

>> LIFE Olivia Field, fielor17@wfu.edu Emily Beauchamp, beauea17@wfu.edu Asisstant Editor: Sarah Boyce, boycse15@wfu.edu

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way for us to contribute to stopping it is to pay attention and talk about it. What happened here, in Kentucky, in Seattle, in New Orleans, in Iowa, in California and in Texas needs to be addressed.

The U.S. is often referred to as an innovator, as a leader, but when it comes to gun control, the U.S. has not earned those titles. In the U.S., Americans are killed by Americans with guns more often than in any other country — gun violence is significantly worse here.

In the U.K., 50 to 60 people are killed yearly by guns, but in 2011, 11,000 Americans were killed, not including those by suicide, according to the New York Times.

The important takeaway here is to

keep discussing it. It may be hard or uncomfortable, but at the end of the day if we're not talking about gun violence and what is happening across the country, no solution will be found.

We don't know what the best solution to gun violence is, but something close to it is out there. If we don't address the issues and all come together, conservatives and liberals alike, our country will continue to face tragedy, loss of life and loss of liberty.

Gun control shouldn't be a partisan issue; the safety of our nation should not be partisan. We should all work together to find the best way to ensure that every person is safe.

Students should not have to fear going to school, and Americans should never fear leaving their homes.

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>> POLICIES

The Old Gold & Black is published Thursdays during the school year, except during examinations, summer and holiday periods, by Triangle Printing of Durham. © 2014 WFU Media Board. All rights reserved. The views expressed in all editorials and advertisements contained within this publication do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the OGB. As part of our commitment to reporting news fairly and accurately, we will not remove any previously published content. If an error in either our online or print content is brought to our attention, we will revise the originally published article with an appended correction. In order to facilitate thoughtful and appropriate debate, profane, vulgar, or inflammatory comments on our website are not allowed and will be deleted. For more information on our commenting policy, please see our website. We reserve the right to reject advertisements deemed inappropriate. Our full policy, and how to advertise with the OGB, can be found on our website.

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News | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, January 25, 2018 | Page 3

Deacon Profile: Xiaoying Yu

We had six performances last semester and we have around 12 people interested in performing this semester. The ideal number would be around 15 because that number would best present our dances on stage.

BY LILLIAN JOHNSON News Editor johnlg16@wfu.edu

Junior Xiaoying Yu is an international student from China who sought to improve the representation of Chinese culture on campus by starting a performance group devoted to Chinese dance called Traveler.

As the leader of Traveler, she has been responsible for everything from choreographing dances to ordering costumes internationally.

Who choreographs your performances? Do your dancers work collaboratively to give feedback?

My friend Xilin and I choreograph the performances.

The dancers do work collaboratively, especially those that have more than 10 years of experience.

How long have you been a dancer?

What first got you interested in dance?

[I started dancing when I was] five years old, but I stopped dancing when I went to high school. So I actually danced for nine years. Some other more experienced members in our group have danced for more than 12 years.

I think it was the friendship and opportunities to perform that made me interested in dance.

How does Traveler choose which songs to perform to? Are there genres or artists that the group will gravitate towards?

What made you want to start a new dance group on campus?

There are many Chinese students on campus, but there is no Chinese dance group. There is Korean dance (which was actually founded by Chinese students), Indian dance, American dance … I felt like we are not represented, and I wanted the community to know more about Chinese culture.

The Chinese musical ensemble had their first performance a year ago. So, I thought that if traditional Chinese musicians can do it, why can’t we dancers do it?

How does Traveler differ from other dance groups?

Most of the dance groups perform modern dances, but we perform traditional dances. Also, most of the dance groups have consistent dancing styles, but we try to represent multiple dancing styles due to the fact that there are 56 ethnic groups in China and each ethnic group has their unique dances.

Our first two performances were collaborated with the Chinese musical ensemble, which means that our background music was live. And if you see our dances, you can immediately tell the difference.

We have colorful costumes, relatively slower moves and distinctive music.

With a new Asian dance group, what do you hope to bring to the Wake Forest community?

Photo courtesy of Xiaoying Yu

[We hope to bring the community] a new understanding of dance, a new understanding of the richness of Asian culture and a new understanding of the Asian students. We are active on campus and we want to bring something beautiful to campus life.

We bring these things not only to the Wake Forest community, but also to outside campus. We were just invited by the Mount Airy High School to perform in February.

How did you start the group, such as gauging interest, getting members and planning performances? What was the most difficult part of the process?

Nothing is easy in starting a group. Being the initiator and president means that I am also the treasurer, the coordinator and the secretary.

It is very time consuming, and because the members lack experience planning events, I have to do almost everything and teach them how to plan events at the same time.

But I enjoy this process of helping my friends. Because in return, I see their support, their accomplishments and their enthusiasm, and I know that they will keep the dance group running in the future.

As for getting members, at the end of

last year, I asked a lot of my friends and friends of friends, and around nine of them said they were interested in joining the group. However, two thirds of them quit at the beginning of the last semester, so recruiting new people is definitely the most difficult part now. Most of the those who were interested chose not to join because they think they are not coordinated. We actually have a member who had no dance experience at all, and after half a semester of practice, she performed with us and she did a good job.

There’s a Chinese saying that goes, “three minutes of glory on stage, ten years of hard work off stage.” This is so true. We need to purchase costumes internationally and we choreographed our own dances.

We talked to so many people for help and so many said no.

What was the process of being chartered by the university like?

This part was relatively easy. We wrote a constitution and bylaws, found an advisor from the Intercultural Center and prepared a nice presentation. I like to deliver presentations, so that process was pretty enjoyable.

How many people do you currently have in the group? What would your ideal number be and why?

Last semester the music was chosen by the instructor of the Chinese Ensemble class. She invited us to collaborate with her and her students. The song was “The Fernleaf Hedge Bamboo in the Moonlight” by Guangnan Shi. This semester we chose "Liang Liang"

by Xuan Tan. Describe a typical practice —what are they like? How often do you practice?

We practice every Saturday afternoon.

We choreographers meet before practice to decide the new parts members are going to learn each session.

And then we practice for an hour and half every week.

What do you have planned for this semester?

We have confirmed three performances this semester. There may be more opportunities.

What are your goals — both longterm and short-term — for Traveler?

My short-term goals are to finish choreography for the next two pieces and recruit more members at the Student Involvement Fair.

My long-term goals are to be consistent and keep Traveler actively running.

I also would like to help the Wake Forest community learn more about Chinese culture, such as costumes, songs and dances.

WAKE IN A WEEK Provide & Thrive: Healthy Consumption Time: Jan. 29 from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Location: Benson 401 Come learn how to make inexpensive healthy snacks right in your residence hall room or apartment, sponsored by Deacon Dining and the Intercultural Center.

Women's Center Birthday Bash Time: Jan. 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Location: TBD The Wake Forest Women's Center will celebrate its fifth year advocating for diversity and gender equality. More details to come.

Safe Zone Lunch and Learn Time: Jan. 31 from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.

Location: LGBTQ Center Conference Room Join the LGBTQ Center for our Safe Zone Lunch and Learn Series — you bring your lunch and we will provide dessert and dialogue.

2018: A Collision of Politics, Sports, and Journalism Time: Jan. 30 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Location: Annenberg Auditorium, Carswell Robert Lipsyte, an award-winning sports journalist and columnist for The New York Times and former ESPN Ombudsman, will speak at Wake Forest.

From Rocks: Works from Intermediate and Advanced Drawing Time: Jan. 24 - Feb. 16 Location: START Gallery From Rocks is an exhibition created by students in Leigh Ann Hallberg’s Intermediate and Advanced Drawing courses.

Men's Basketball vs. Florida State Time: Jan. 31 at 8 p.m.

Location: LJVM Coliseum Come be part of Wake Forest's exciting men's basketball season and cheer on the Demon Deacons as they take on Florida State.

Page 4 |Thursday, January 25, 2018

Old Gold & Black | News

Shooting: Vigil held for campus shooting victim Continued from Page 1

He first discussed the unease regarding the long delay between the event, which occurred around 1:00 a.m., and the initial alert from the Office of Communications and External Relations, which the Wake Forest community did not receive until 2:03 a.m, unless students had opted for alert texts, which went out at 1:57 a.m.

“The time that elapsed between the shooting and the initial notification to the campus community was too long,” Hatch stated. He also said that the university is conducting an investigation into what contributed to the delay.

In his message, Hatch debunked rumors that there was a lack of security at the event, stating “we can confirm that there was security at the event in accordance with our standard practices for late-night parties at the Barn.”

According to Junior Marian Isdahl, a member of the Event Resource Manager (ERM) staff, “Security at the event was the same as any other Barn party — ERM, one University Police officer and hired security staff called Rhino security.”

In the moment, Isdahl’s intial reactions were to “keep everyone safe and try to diffuse and maintain control of the situation.”

After the altercation was moved outside, Isdahl was unsure of what was hap-

pening with regard to the response to the situation by authorities, because she had been inside The Barn on lockdown, trying to keep people safe.

As of Wednesday, Jan. 24, the suspect has yet to be located by WSPD but they appear to be narrowing down the investigation, according to a statement released by the Office of Communications and External Relations. They had previously released photos of three men as suspects in the investigation, and on Wednesday announced that two of the three men have been located and interviewed.

The first suspect, sixteen-year-old Malik Patience Smith, has been arrested and is being held with no bond allowed.

Smith “has been charged with Possession of a Handgun by a Minor, Assault

by Pointing a Gun, and Possession of a Firearm on Educational Property,” according to WSPD. The second man located and interviewed has not been identified by authorities “because no evidence currently exists to implicate him in the crime under investigation. This subject is considered to be a witness in this matter.”

The third man has yet to be located, however, but has been identified by WSPD as Jakier Shanique Austin, who is not affiliated with Wake Forest. There is a warrant out for his arrest charging Austin with “Murder and Possession of a Firearm on Educational Property.”

Despite the apparent progress in the investigation, many people are still dealing with the loss of Baker to a senseless act.

On the evening of Wednesday, Jan. 24, a vigil was held in Baker’s honor at the clock tower on the WSSU campus.

His parents, fellow students, football teammates, administration and community members all joined to support each other and remember Baker’s life.

The first administrator to speak was Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Dr. Trae Cotton.

“I’m hurting. We lost another student, another member of our family, another brother to senseless gun violence,” Cotton said. “And I’m tired. Tired of us being on this side of the violent crime statistic, rather than a graduation statistic.

I’m exhausted.”

Just as Hatch has called for community members to support each other, Cotton continued to explain that the best way to mourn Baker is to be vulnerable in mourning together. By joining in community, those who knew him, and those who did not can all build each other up in remembrance.

“Our football team is hurting, the folks that were there at the event are hurting, his family is hurting. Let’s grieve together, support each other, hug each other; let’s be the Ram family I know we can be,” Cotton closed.

WSSU Student Body President Javonty Hunter also presented at the vig-

il, continuing the message of unity in this time of distress. Instead of turning away from each other, he encouraged, the community must grieve with each other.

“Let us unite as we mourn, let us be people who practice abundant patience and kindness,” Hunter said. “Let us use the life, and death, of Najee Baker to become better people, better institutions and a better community.”

At the close of the ceremony, all visitors released red and white balloons into the sky, as a way to commemorate the life of Baker and to symbolize the strength of the WSSU Ram community.

This shooting represents a very troubling moment for the collective Wake Forest and WSSU communities and has certainly made Wake Forest students consider and question safety on the Wake Forest campus and on college campuses in general.

Katie Neal, the executive director of News and Communications for Wake Forest, lamented that Wake Forest is now a part of the many school shootings that take place.

“Every loss of life is tragic and it’s unfortunate that we are now part of a heartbreaking narrative,” Neal said.

The Winston-Salem Police Department is still investigating the event and asks anybody with information about the shooting to contact WSPD at 336773-7700 or Crime Stoppers at 336727-2800.

First day of classes cancelled for snow day Extreme weather in Winston-Salem leds Wake Forest to cancel its first day of classes of the new semester

BY ELIZABETH MALINE Staff Writer malied17@wfu.edu Having a full day of classes get cancelled is a rarity in college.

Due to a winter storm on Jan. 17, the first day of the new semester was a snow day for Wake Forest students. Early morning classes were cancelled for the rest of the week.

Kevin Cox, the Director of Crisis Communications and Community Relations in the Office of Communications and External Relations, said that decisions about closings and delays are carefully considered by a number of people well-experienced with addressing bad weather and the complications it can bring to the university community.

“Concern for the safety of our campus community is always at top of mind for those making decisions,” Cox said.

“Before a decision is made, there is a close look at the weather forecast for the short-term and the long-term. Present and future travel conditions are considered, as well as conditions of campus roads, sidewalks and parking lots.”

He added that when staff members make closing decisions, they gather, consider and evaluate a great amount of information and then make recommendations for consideration by the university’s senior leaders.

“Once leadership makes the decision on a closing or delay, Communications and External Relations staff work as fast as possible to share the decision with students, faculty, staff and others,” Cox said.

While students may have been happy with putting off classes for a bit, many professors were concerned about the cancellations of the first scheduled classes. Cox said that the academic schedule is considered as well as any events that may be or are to be held.

Many professors felt that in order to keep their classes onschedule, they needed to assign homework remotely.

While many students enjoyed time outdoors during the snowstorm, others had trouble returning to a normal schedule and balancing a buildup of assignments.

“It was really fun to spend time with friends after having not seen them for about a month,” said freshman Caitlyn Margol. “It was also nice to have a few days to relax before classes really picked up. However, I was still assigned homework in my classes that didn’t meet, which put a damper on the snow day.”

Similarly, freshman Emma Ecklin said, “[I] was thrilled class was canceled in the beginning, but it kept me on vacation mode, so I’ve been struggling being productive and getting back into a routine.”

While students enjoyed the snow day and subsequent elays, they continued to push back classes, making it increasingly difficult to return to academic schedule.

Some professors assigned homework and technically started class before a single meeting, while other professors cancelled class even when they were permitted to take place. Communications professor Rowena Kirby-Straker said that she cancelled class “because although campus [was] open at 10 a.m. when our class should start, there [was] a travel advisory out for my area due to hazardous road conditions.”

When the university is tasked with making closing decisions, staff members balance the academic schedule against safety concerns for students, faculty and staff.

© WFU/Mitchell Loll

Many students took advantage of the rare snow day by spending the day outside on the upper quad. However, some professors assigned work despite the cancellation.

News | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, January 25, 2018 |Page 5

Marchers rally for women at the ballot box One year after the inauguration of Donald Trump, activists congregate for Winston-Salem’s March to the Polls

BY HEATHER HARTEL Online Managing Editor harthf15@wfu.edu Teeming with familiar pink hats, posters demanding equality, waves of marchers, loud chants and prominent speakers, downtown Winston-Salem resembled dozens of other American cities as the 2018 Women’s March commenced on Jan. 20. A year after the historic women’s marches that followed the inauguration of Donald Trump, the March in WinstonSalem looked similar to other marches in the country, but had one specific difference. The difference lay in the name of this march in particular: The 2018 Triad Women’s March on the Polls.

“We need women and women-friendly candidates to run for and win elected positions on the local, state and national levels,” stated the March’s website. “Access to the polls is increasingly endangered — and because the courts repeatedly smacked down the North Carolina General Assembly’s wildly racial and partisan gerrymandered districts, legislators are returning to Raleigh this month to undermine the judicial system’s check on its power.”

This March in Winston-Salem had similar goals to others, but placed stronger emphasis on the need to both get individuals to the polls and to also ensure that every citizen can vote without restrictions.

Junior Mariam Syed attended this march as well as the New York City Women’s March last January.

Heather Hartel/Old Gold & Black

Downtown Winston-Salem was filled with protesters who were chanting and carrying signs.

“In New York, the protesters were fighting for numerous issues from LGBTQ rights to immigration reform,” Syed said. “However, nobody addressed how to actually make a change. At this March there were numerous volunteers signing people up to vote for midterm elections and educating the protesters that to promote change, they must vote in the upcoming elections.”

Heather Hartel/Old Gold & Black

Many critics claimed that the 2017 Women’s March lacked a discrete message, but the 2018 march in Winston-Salem specifically called for electoral justice and for women to run for office.

OUTSIDE THE BUBBLE

Organizers from the League of Women voters and Democracy North Carolina had booths set up to register voters in North Carolina and to ensure that previously-registered voters were still able to vote in upcoming elections. In addition, there were also candidates for Congress, campaign volunteers and local activists whose goals aligned with those of the Women’s March.

Among these community organizations was Wake Forest’s chapter of the Young Democratic Socialists of America. Sophomore Rance Orrell began the chapter at the beginning of the fall semester and decided to bring their chapter to this March to initiate conversations with other activists.

“We knew that the Women’s March was going to be a space for a lot of left-of-center groups and individuals to congregate and air their grievances about the current administration while voicing support for a variety of liberal and progressive causes,” Orrell said.

“We wanted to engage as many of those folks as possible and to offer them a truly intersectional alternative to the Democratic Party machine.”

While the League of Women Voters registered over 30 women to vote, and while the streets of downtown Winston-Salem were filled with hundreds of marchers, some attending the rally still found inherent issues with this movement.

“I was upset by the lack of diversity at the march,” Syed said. “There were only a handful of people of color which is not indicative of the Winston-Salem population.”

The issue of intersectionality was one that came up repeatedly throughout the day; this is the idea that feminism must include all women — not just white, straight, cisgender, wealthy ones. Many women of color shared their grievances with other Women’s Marches around the country for the same exact reasons.

“Although we’re obviously aligned in our opposition to Trump, our values and goals are really very different,” Orrell said. “The organizers of this March refused to include any transgender individuals on the speakers list and actively resisted the inclusion of other prominent issues such as Black Lives Matter and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA.) As Democratic Socialists, we believe that you can’t separate racism from sexism or sexism from classism.”

While these issues were apparent and shared by many attending the Women’s March on the Polls in Winston-Salem, the goal remained the same: to get women and all voters engaged in the political process by voting and running for office. Linda Sutton, an organizer for Democracy North Carolina and a speaker at the event repeated popular chant during her speech to the crowd.

“When our democracy is under attack, what do we do? We stand up and we fight back,” said Sutton. “But most importantly, we vote.”

Sen. Tammy Duckworth due to deliver second child this spring

Kentucky school shooting kills two and injures 17 more

Jeff Sessions questioned in Russia investigation

The office of Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) announced on Jan. 23 that she is expecting her second child. Duckworth will become the first sitting U.S. senator to give birth and only one of 10 women who have given birth while in Congress. Duckworth is a veteran who was a pilot in the Iraq War; she was the first female double amputee after her helicopter was shot down. She was elected to Congress in 2013.

A 15-year-old student opened fire at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky on Jan. 23, killing two students and injuring 17 others. The gunman, who was not immediately identified, was taken into custody and authorities have said he will be charged with two counts of murder and several counts of attempted murder. Of the 17 people injured, five remain in critical condition.

The Department of Justice confirmed that Attorney General Jeff Sessions was interviewed last week as part of an ongoing investigation into Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election. Sessions is the first member of President Donald Trump’s cabinet to be questioned. He had announced he would recuse himself from all matters relating to the Russia investigation in early March 2017.

Page 6 |Thursday, January 25, 2018

Old Gold & Black | News

Racism: Subject of video no longer enrolled

Continued from Page 1

Among college-age students, social media use is huge, especially on platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. In the 18 to 29 age range, 26 percent of all online adults use Twitter and 59 percent of all online adults use Instagram, according to the Pew Research Center.

What these users might encounter on social media is often race-related. According to the Pew Research Center, roughly four out of ten users say that “at least a few of the posts they share” are related to racial issues or tensions.

In addition to potentially-sensitive racial posts, social media has another effect: its endurance.

Nelson’s video had been posted to her fake Instagram account, more commonly known as a “finsta.” A fake Instagram account is a private account where one can post things that are not as serious as what one would post on their real Instagram account. Another main component of a “finsta” is that the person only allows a select group to follow them, such as their closest friends.

Even though the video was posted to a “finsta,” it did not stop it from circulating.

“I think that social media is the best consequence because it sticks with you forever,” Bolton said of her decision to post the video on Twitter.

Incidents like this one are not new to college campuses. A week prior, a female student at the University of Alabama was expelled for posting videos to social media in which she profusely used the n-word.

At Wake Forest, the majority of the population is white. According to 2016 fact-finding by the Office of Institutional Research, 71.5 percent of Wake Forest undergraduates were white, while only 6.7 percent were black or African American.

In her reasons for posting the video, Bolton cited this disparity and her desire for the consequences to be visible to other students.

“The majority of this school is caucasian, which is fine, but you can’t expect to be racist and it to go by. A lot of people might have the same views, but this school is not going to condone it, not going to accept it,” Bolton said. “That’s the Wake Forest I decided to come to.”

On Saturday morning, Penny Rue, the Vice President of Campus Life, sent out a campus-wide email addressing the video.

According to Rue, Campus Life staff were alerted of the video, which she called “deeply troubling,” through the university’s bias-reporting system. At that time, Rue stated that they were engaged in discussions with individuals in order to gather details on the incident.

Simultaneously, the official Wake Forest Twitter responded to individuals who had tagged them in tweets about the video by saying, “We are taking this matter seriously and conducting a thorough investigation.”

Bolton believes that had she not intervened, the incident may have never been brought to such attention.

“I don’t think [the RA] is a very problematic person, so I think she just wanted to drop it, but that’s not who I am,” she said. “I really just wanted to make it known that Wake Forest is a school that does not condone racism.”

Nelson, like many other female freshmen, had recently completed the formal recruitment process for sororities. She had received and accepted a bid from Delta Zeta. However, when the executive board of Delta Zeta, including president Kelly Andrew, were made aware of the

incident, they took immediate action.

Andrew described the values of Delta Zeta as greatly different from the values that Nelson presented in the video.

“We condemn the discriminatory and hateful languages used in a video posted by a former new member of Delta Zeta, as these actions are inconsistent with our founding values that we strive to uphold every day,” Andrew said. “We took immediate action upon learning of the situation and this individual is no longer a member of Delta Zeta because we do not tolerate any form of discrimination.”

By Sunday, Jan. 21, Nelson was not only no longer a member of a Greek organization, but also of the greater Wake Forest community, according to an email sent to students by President Nathan Hatch. After taking the opportunity to affirm Rue’s previous statement that “racist and discriminatory behaviors are not tolerated,” Hatch went on to say, “We are committed to building a welcoming community in which all members are supported, and in which dialogue and understanding prevail.”

Nelson and her former RA have both declined to comment on the incident.

Winston-Salem universities celebrate MLK Michael Eric Dyson spoke at annual collaborative event with WinstonSalem State

BY LUCAS WILLIAMS Contributing Writer willls15@wfu.edu Georgetown sociology professor and author Michael Eric Dyson’s voice reverberated through Wait Chapel on Jan. 22 during the 18th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration co-sponsored by Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU.) The event brought nearly 2,000 local faculty, students and families to hear keynote speaker Dyson discuss the powerful moments of Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy and the polarizing issues of race still embedded in America today.

President Hatch took the stage after WSSU student Taylor Walker and Wake Forest student Janeil Savage opened the event. Hatch and WSSU Chancellor Elwood Robinson lamented the recent death of Najee Ali Baker, a WSSU student who was shot and killed on the Wake Forest campus and advocated for a community that cherishes and comforts one another in a time of mourning.

“Do not be sidelined by apathy, but engage each other with open and honest conversation,” Hatch said during his welcome address.

Hatch captured the true reason why Wake Forest and WSSU keep the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration tradition alive: to foster and maintain our strong community and camaraderie and to preserve the American creed of equality.

Dyson has scrupulously followed the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., publishing two books on MLK and authoring many more on the enduring problems of humanity as well as race and the current presidency.

“Martin Luther King was deeply rooted in the doctrine that undergirded the American society,” Dyson said. “Reverend King understood that America had the potential to be great. But King understood that we haven’t gotten there yet.”

Lucas Williams/Old Gold & Black

Dyson delivered the keynote address, entitled “A Man Who Made America Great,” about Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy and what it means today.

Dyson celebrated the genius of King and his poignant words of influence which captivated the world but also touched on many profound points of his own.

“America is great because it has the opportunity to be great,” Dyson said. “It can be great if it stops confusing whiteness with Americanism.”

Dyson reflected on Americanism and the ideological construction of whiteness as a powerful and paralyzing misconception.

While Dyson refrained from mentioning Donald Trump, the audience responded well to his rhetoric aimed at the president.

Students were especially amused by Dyson’s jab at Trump’s early morning tweeting habits: “You can’t wake

up at 5:30 in the morning and excrete the feces of your depravity in the psychic commode that you have made your world into.”

The title of Dyson’s speech was “A Man Who Made America Great,” in reference to King, but also served as another jab at President Trump’s campaign slogan.

Kendal McBroom, a Duke alumnus who is currently a Divinity school student, spoke about the relevance of Dyson’s speech in a divisive time.

“It was unifying as a common collective and for a common humanity,” McBroom said. “Dyson puts the blame on those who pervert the true ideals of Americanism.”

Thursday, January 25, 2018 | Page 7

News | Old Gold & Black

Shutdown deal leaves DACA concerns unresolved Government reopens without a vote on the fate of young immigrants known as Dreamers

BY AMANDA WILCOX Digital Media Editor wilcaf16@wfu.edu Following three days of contentious negotiations, Congress voted to end the government shutdown on Jan. 22 by passing a stopgap short-term spending bill that funds government operations through Feb. 8. This was the fourth short-term spending bill that Congress has passed since the fiscal year began in October. President Donald Trump signed the bill later that evening, officially ending a relatively low-impact shutdown that left federal employees on furlough for just one work day.

Leading up to the shutdown, negotiations between Democrats and Republicans and coordination between the White House and Congress were complicated by the president’s shifting positions on immigration policy. Minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) met with Trump to discuss outstanding contentious issues before the shutdown vote on Jan. 19, during which Schumer placed funding of a border wall on the negotiating table in exchange for the

president agreeing to an immigration measure that would protect the young immigrants known as Dreamers.

However, according to Schumer, the President backed away several hours later from that tentative agreement. The president’s Chief of Staff John Kelly, a hard-liner on immigration, opposed any moderation of immigration policy by the White House and presented Schumer with a list of objections that unraveled the plan to keep the government open.

“I reluctantly put the border wall on the table for discussion — even that was not enough to entice the president to finish the deal,” Schumer said later on the Senate floor.

“What has transpired since that meeting in the Oval Office is indicative of the entire tumultuous and chaotic process Republicans have engaged in in the negotiations thus far.

Even though President Trump seemed to like an outline of a deal in the room, he did not press his party in Congress to accept it.”

Although the weekend involved partisan finger-pointing in which Democrats blamed the “Trump Shutdown” and Republicans blamed the “Schumer Shutdown,” the vote that reopened the government was the result of bipartisan work from a group that grew to include more than 25 senators to forge a compromise.

The resolution came when 33 Senate Democrats agreed to join all Republicans but two in voting yes in exchange

for McConnell’s promise that he would open the floor to debates and votes concerning the fate of Dreamers in the coming weeks.

Dreamers are beneficiaries of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which Trump rescinded in Sept. 2017. He set a March 5 deadline for Congress to act on DACA, which 80 percent of Americans broadly support.

However, Democrats have no mechanism to hold McConnell to his stated intention, nor can they count on the House of Representatives to take up legislation passed by the Senate. This reason, combined with the quickly approaching DACA deadline, meant that many activists were infuriated by what they interpreted as Democrats’ strategic retreat.

“The Democrats messed up tremendously,” said freshman Andrés Azuara, who is active in Wake Forest’s chapter of Young Democratic Socialists of America. “DACA was the perfect bargaining chip. It only took three days for them to cave in to the Republicans’ empty pressure, which is reflective of their moral standing. It’s unfortunate for the thousands of Dreamers that are now left not knowing what their future entails.”

There are a number of DACA students on Wake Forest’s campus. Along with allies in the Social Justice Incubator’s student group UndocuDeacs, they will be anxiously awaiting the outcome of McConnell’s pledge.

Wake Forest will turn 184 years old Campus Traditions committee of the Student Union hopes to make Birthday Bash a new tradition

BY JULIA HAINES Editor-in-Chief hainjm15@wfu.edu Wake Forest University will be celebrating its 184th birthday next week, after it was founded in Wake Forest, NC on Feb. 3, 1834. This birthday also marks the milestone 180 years since Wake Forest College was renamed and 40 years since then-President Jimmy Carter made his National Security Address in Wait Chapel.

To celebrate, the Campus Traditions committee of Student Union is hosting a Birthday Bash celebration in Benson, and will be having Birthday Bash-themed trivia night at Shorty’s in partnership with the Traditions Council. This will be the second Annual Birthday Bash, after junior Allegra Brochin organized the first Birthday Bash event last February.

“I am so happy and proud of Allegra for starting what I am sure will be a tried-and-true Wake Tradition,” said sophomore Caleb Woody. “I am hopeful that students will continue to come out and support the event in the hopes of expanding its size, moving it to different venues around cam-

pus, and integrating other campus organizations and offices into its planning.”

Students involved in planning the event have voiced that the Birthday Bash’s newer status as a campus tradition makes it more difficult to plan, since it does not have the same precedents set as those events such as Shag on the Mag. “Since this is one of Wake’s newer events and we hope to establish it as a campus tradition, knowing how to slowly build up the event can be a difficult task,” said junior Rylie Frayman, a member of the Campus Traditions committee.

However, this has also given students more freedom to set their own precedents for future Birthday Bashes.

“This one has been particularly fun to plan because it is so new so we have a lot of creative liberty with how we choose to run the event,” said junior Tori Taylor, who sits on the committee with Frayman.

Students who attend will be able to compete in a cake decorating contest, participate in a scavenger hunt, and take photos in a photobooth. The committee has been aiming to make this year’s event more interactive than last year’s.

Even before the Birthday Bash idea was launched last year, however, the university usually acknowledged its Feb. 3 birthday in some capacity, most frequently through themed trivia by the Traditions Council and through serving a birthday cake in the Pit. This year’s trivia categories will include Traditions, Sports, People and Old Campus.

“As Wake Forest gets older (and better) every year, we seek to teach/remind students and alumni of the rich history and where we came from,” said senior Ben Weekley, who is a cochair on the Traditions Council.

“This is accomplished by talking about the founding of the Wake Forest Institute of Manual Labor on February 3rd, 1834, the school’s growth, its closing for four years during the Civil War, the beginning of sports on campus, the start of the Old Gold & Black, fraternity and sorority life beginning, women first being admitted and of course the big move. We also focus a bit on the history since we’ve been here. We hope all students will celebrate the founding of this amazing University and will grow to appreciate her history and uniqueness even more.

The Birthday Bash comes at a difficult time for the campus community, as many students and faculty are still reeling from the events that transpired last weekend.

“It is my hope that this event will be a part of the process of coming together after the recent events on campus and hopefully give everyone a change to enjoy a small part of their day while never losing sight of what changes/response should follow these events,” Taylor said.

“Due to the recent tensions on campus, it is our hope that this event can help lighten the mood and bring the community together to celebrate the University we all love so much,” Frayman said. “It is important to join together, and we hope to see many familiar faces stop by.”

POLICE BEAT Underage Consumption and Alcohol Abuse •Student consumed alcohol, fell out of bed and was transported to Student Health from Babcock. The report was filed on Jan. 17 at 4:46 a.m.

•Offenderconsumedalcohol andwastransportedtoWFUBMC from Poteat. The report was filed on Jan. 19 at 12:58 p.m.

•Student consumed alcohol, attended a KA party and was transported to Student Health from East Gate House.The report was filed on Jan. 19 at 10:59 p.m.

•A student consumed vodka in their room in Taylor and hit their head and was transported to WFUBMC. The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 12:02 p.m.

•Student consumed punch and was transported to Student Health from Johnson. The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 1:49 a.m.

•An intoxicated non-WFU student was released to his father.

The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 4:03 a.m. at Babcock.

•An intoxicated male was transported to Student Health from Magnolia. The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 4:12 a.m.

•A femaleWinston-Salem State University student was unresponsive in the restroom at the Barn after consuming alcohol.

The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 1:48 a.m.

•Intoxicated student had consumed alcohol at a Theta Chi party and was left in the care of a roommate. The report was filed on Jan. 21 at 1:45 p.m. from Polo.

•Intoxicated student had consumed alcohol at a Chi Psi date function and was transported to WFUBMC. The report was filed on Jan. 21 at 12:24 p.m.

WSPD Assist • Loud music was reported. WSPD responded and gave a resident a verbal warning. The report was filed on Jan. 15 at 10:06 p.m. from Howell St. • A victim was intoxicated and tried to get into an unknown car. The owner of the car punched the victim and WSPD intervened. The report was filed on Jan. 19 at 2:26 a.m. on University Pkwy.

Larceny • An unknown male took a camera from a backpack.The report was filed on Jan. 16 at 10:52 from Magnolia.

Assault/Miscellaneous

•A fire alarm was set off due to marijuana smoke in Poteat.

The report was filed on Jan. 19 at 1:58 a.m.

•A suspended student trespassed on campus pending a 50B hearing. The report was filed on Jan. 19 at 1:00 p.m. from the Safe Office.

•A male touched a female on her buttocks, breast and vagina while at an off-campus party. The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 2:52 a.m.

•A victim was assaulted by the offender. The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 6:04 p.m. in Johnson.

• Students caused elevator damage by “fooling around” in the elevator in Luter. WSPD responded. The report was filed on Jan. 20 at 7:15 p.m.

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“ timely lessons imparted in The Post There are valuable, Film & Journalism

The film highlights the necessity of unwavering journalistic courage Amanda Wilcox Staff Columnist wilcaf16@wfu.edu

Steven Spielberg’s drama The Post, which concerns the anxious days surrounding the publication of the Pentagon Papers nearly 50 years ago, is about as heart-thumpingly exhilarating as it gets for journalism nerds. But in addition to being an ode to the fourth estate, the film is hugely relevant today, as President Donald Trump’s antagonism towards the press strikingly resembles that of President Richard Nixon. At the time, the government was trying its mightiest to prevent the press from getting the news out, and that concept is just uncomfortably familiar enough to make The Post a thoroughly 2018-centric film.

The Pentagon Papers, which were authorized by Secretary of Defense Robert Mc-

President Donald Trump’s antagonism towards the press strikingly resembles that of President Richard Nixon.”

Namara, comprised a top-secret report that recounted the scope — vastly greater than was publicly known at the time — of U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War. It detailed how five presidents, from President Harry Truman to Nixon, knew they were fighting an unwinnable war yet continued to escalate the conflict.

The New York Times printed excerpts from the Pentagon Papers first but was accused of violating the Espionage Act and was stopped by a court injunction against further publication. Therefore, when The Washington Post acquired part of the Papers, its publisher and executive editor risked imprisonment for contempt of court — but they made the decision to publish them anyway.

Thanks to The Washington Post, democracy survived the darkness. Change — eventually the demise of the Nixon administration -- was coming, and it was the result of journalists’ hard work. But changing attitudes towards the press call into question whether a similar leak today would survive partisan

efforts to discredit the messenger. President Trump’s many chilling comments about the press validate discrediting unwelcome news as “fake,” so would similar breaking-news coverage today change the minds of anyone not predisposed to believe it? Ben Bradlee, who oversaw not only the publication of the Pentagon Papers but also journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s revelation of the Watergate scandal, was ardently committed to the role of the media as watchdog.

But that role is threatened when a significant percentage of the public distrusts the media.

President Trump has called the press “the enemy of the people” (a term straight out of Joseph Stalin’s playbook) and has commented that it is “frankly disgusting the way the press is able to write whatever they want to write” (not to mention his idiotic “Fake News Awards.”) Due to the continuing erosion of the press’ authority, if a revelation similar to the Pentagon Papers was published today, it’s likely that the problem at hand would be diminished by partisan hyper-skepticism about the credibility of the press. The Pentagon Papers marked an epic instance of the press speaking truth to power, and it’s troubling that a similar moment seems to be out of reach in the current climate.

Thus, the most important theme of The Post is the danger to the public if the White House

doesn’t respect the freedom of the press. Daniel Ellsberg, the military analyst who first got the Pentagon Papers into the hands of The New York Times, at one point suggested that making an equivalence between reporting information that’s damaging to a particular president and treason was “very close to saying, ‘I am the State,’” quoting King Louis XIV’s declaration of absolute power. The Supreme Court ruling retains powerful relevance in 2018: “In the First Amendment, the Founding Fathers gave the free press the protection it must have to fulfill its essential role in our democracy. The press was to serve the governed, not the governors.”

That being said, because The Post avoids unequivocally exalting journalists, it’s a good reminder that even journalists with the best of intentions are imperfect humans. Katharine Graham, the publisher of The Washington Post, was cozy with McNamara and President Lyndon B. Johnson, and Bradlee was buddies with President John F. Kennedy. Over the course of the film, they slowly realize that their judgment in the past had likely been affected by their relationships with those in power. “We don’t always get it right. We’re not always perfect,” Graham said to Bradlee at the end of the film. “But I think if we can just keep on it, you know? That’s the job, isn’t it?” Hopefully, 50 years later, journalists will follow suit.

responsibilities and obligations that come with being a global leader.

Since taking office, Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Agreement (an international effort to combat climate change) the Trans-Pacific Partnership (a strategic economic agreement intended to facilitate global trade) and has attempted to implement one of the most discriminatory immigration policies this country has seen in decades with his infamous travel ban.

As the journalist Evan Osnos concluded, few countries can remember a time when America was actively pursuing a smaller role in the world. Yet that is exactly what has happened in the first year of the Trump Administration.Trump has not only precipitated the departure of the U.S. from key international agreements, but he has also demonstrated a callous and cavalier disregard for anyone who lacks American citizenship.

Perhaps the best example of this abrupt and contemptible departure from presidential norms is Trump’s continued insistence that the border wall between the United States and Mexico will be built. During the campaign, some dismissed Trump’s rhetoric that an actual wall would be built and that “Mexico will pay for it” as mere folderol that was only intended to curry favor with undecided voters. But one year into his presidency, Trump still remains obstinately in favor of his original proposal to build a physical wall along the border despite criticism from both sides

of the aisle. The U.S. is a country that recognizes the inherent dignity of every person, including those from foreign countries. The Declaration of Independence was not a banal platitude. It was an affirmation that at the time was controversial but now is regarded as indisputable: all people are created equal, and all deserve to be treated with equal dignity and respect.

But it has become increasingly apparent that President Trump values opportunism and xenophobia far more than the principles of this country’s founding. While it is true that nothing genuinely catastrophic has occurred on the international stage since Trump’s election, America has nevertheless shirked its global leadership position in a way that could have implications long after Trump leaves office.

The U.S. has undoubtedly suffered significant damage to its global political reputation, but just as troubling to me is the ever more negative opinions that ordinary citizens of other countries hold with respect to the U.S. I can offer only anecdotal evidence, but in my time abroad last semester, I heard everyone from professors to pundits to my host family bemoan the decline of the U.S. since Trump assumed office. The worst part of all of this was that I could rarely rebuff their comments about President Trump even if I wanted to, as it was clear to me that most of the criticism leveled against him was entirely just.

“ The American Union is in a diminished state American Foreign Policy

Donald Trump’s rash, misguided foreign policy is harming our international reputation Drew Finley

Staff Columnist finlag15@wfu.edu Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the U.S. has played an essential role in international affairs. Teddy Roosevelt articulated this vision of diplomacy in a 1901 speech when he famously declared “speak softly, and carry a big stick.” The general idea behind this pithy adage was that the U.S., as an emerging global power, should do what it can to arrive at peaceful resolutions during the course of international negotiations, but at the same time should not be afraid to exercise military force if the situation calls for it.

Today, big stick diplomacy is as much associated with American imperialism as it is with American global leadership, but when Roosevelt delivered that speech, he ushered in a new era in which the U.S. would be the one of the world’s most important international players.

This role has of course fluctuated since

President Trump values opportunism and xenophobia far more than the principles of this country’s founding.” then, with different Presidents either emphasizing or downplaying the extent to which the U.S. should exert power over other countries. But ever since the Roosevelt presidency, few have ever seriously questioned the United States’ place in the world.

American presidents have endorsed different agendas, of course, but all of them recognized that the United States had an obligation to set the standard for the international community, and to promote global peace and cooperation.

But with the election of Donald Trump, that longstanding norm has suffered substantial damage. Indeed, it was only mere days ago that the Leader of the Free World brazenly declared that he wanted nothing to do with people who come from “shithole countries.” Crass and completely inappropriate though these comments may be, they are nonetheless true to Trump’s slogan, “America First.” After all, Trump reasons, he was elected to represent the citizens of “Pittsburgh, not Paris.” What does he care if people in some other part of the world (Nambia, perhaps he might say) are struggling?

Never in recent memory has an American president so blithely abdicated the

Opinion | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, January 25, 2018 | Page 9

“ policies need to be reassessed Campus safety Crisis Management

The safety policies of Wake Forest need to be examined in the wake of tragedy Becky Swig

Staff Columnist swigrr15@wfu.edu Last week, a student from WinstonSalem State University (WSSU) was shot and killed on campus at The Barn.

Wake Forest needs to see what the long term effects of these kinds of behaviors have on the human mind.”

Around 1 a.m., Jakier Austin allegedly shot Najee Ali Baker, and more than 45 minutes passed before students were notified that there was a shooter on campus. At this point, the shooter has not been found.

The events of last Friday are tragic; no person should ever have to fear the possibility of an armed person attending an event on a college campus. What happened to Baker never should have oc-

Elyssa Cherney/Chicago Tribune/TNS

curred, and a concerning question has come from this event.

The lack of communication between University Officials and students, faculty and staff on campus is alarming — the fact that students received a text stating “Wake Alert. Armed and dangerous person reported at The Barn. Police are responding. Updates to be on Wake Alert Website,” more than 45 minutes after the shooting is worrisome — students were roaming campus, including in the direction of The Barn, for a good amount of time before being notified of anything happening.

Additionally, students didn’t even know what the person was armed with — was it a gun, a knife or another type of weapon?

My question: why did it take so long?

Why were students able to walk around campus when a person had a gun and actively shot someone? Why were employees working on campus not notified of this, and had to be told by students to lockdown their buildings? Why was the University not proactive about communicating with faculty, staff and students?

Getting one text message 56 minutes after the incident and emails sporadically saying “no update” or to “seek shelter” or to “stay off campus” is not enough.

In an email sent out on Jan. 23 by President Hatch, he addressed the concerns. “The time that elapsed between the shooting and the initial notification to the campus community was too long.

We are undertaking a thorough review to determine what contributed to the delay.” I appreciate Hatch admitting there is an issue, but another question is: why was this happening in the first place?

Wake Forest needs to put better lockdown policies in place, whether they be alerting the community through the intercom system, sending more frequent and faster updates to the community or implementing an entirely new policy.

What happened this past week was a tragedy; all students should be safe on our campus, regardless of if they are a Wake Forest student or are from another institution. Many students after the incident were not sure if they were safe, especially due to the lack of communication and time lag between being notified and the shooting occuring. Wake Forest needs to examine the policies surrounding violence and safety issues on campus to better protect the Wake Forest community and to make everyone aware of what is happening.

“ type of soul-suspending happiness Music is a certain Philosophy

While much art incites feelings of joy, music has a unique ability to rouse our soul

Kyle Ferrer

Staff Columnist ferrka16@wfu.edu

When I first thought I wanted to write an editorial on why music is the linchpin of our happiness I was excited, precisely because I was thinking about that famous Kerouac quote about the mad ones, the ones that shoot across the sky like spiders and burn like a Roman candle. I constantly think how I can get to be “mad,” how my life can shed all the cultural nets (much the same nets Stephen Daedalus says he will fly by), and become some sort of void, orifice, gaping aperture, that exists not as perception but as being. It’s a sort of amnesia, the type that forgets the world’s weighty fog and demystifies existence. It’s moment living, one blink to the next.

Now when I think about this question of how to get to this place, my answer is usually “I can’t.” And when I think: what is the thing that can get me there, usually I find there is no such thing. But the closest thing I can find that does get me to such a place, is music.

I’m launched into a sphere, a sphere in a void of darkness, where surroundings pop out and the world is forgone.”

Formally, I know nothing about music. But having said that, I don’t think formal terms are necessary to describe the purity that music sometimes makes me feel, more so than almost any other art, be it literature, painting or burlesque. It’s rare that even music makes me mad.

This “no strings existence,” is sort of like a rhythm I rarely sink into, a note, notes that I hardly ever catch the tune to. But when I do I sink in, click in. The trajectory of my life isn’t firing along a line but bouncing along a staff of notes, undulating. It’s not a trajectory anymore, but a beautiful presentness that has something of a musical quality to it.

I’m launched into a sphere, a sphere in a void of darkness, where surroundings pop out and the world is forgone. It’s like the stages of a fired rocket slowly falling down to earth, leaving a denuded stripe of energy.

Of course, as soon as I am aware, as soon as our human self-consciousness intrudes what appears to be an almost superhuman experience, it stops as abruptly as it starts. Just like John Stuart Mill said, “Ask yourself whether you are happy… and you will cease to be so.”

Certain songs in certain moments give me certain happiness — a loose floating, a simple ecstasy reverberating with only vague pulses of feeling. Some would de-

scribe it as happiness, others as purity, and more still as both combined. Either way, music is able to conjure feelings, to organize life into a distilled breath.

This, though, is relatively random, and quite diffuse. If one were to try to disassemble and refute my argument, it would be quite easy, because the evidence is ephemeral. It does not exist as an object to be seen and touched, or even investigated. Sure, music can be dissected, but the aura of one’s existence cannot. There are few “evidentiary” reasons to side with me. But that’s the thing, evidence for musical explo-

sion is like trying to express empathetic grief. Such a thing does not exist. Vague circlings are the paltry compensation to a grieving friend, and that is all we are capable of.

Feelings are unique, abstract, and most of all random. But music is a marvel because it tries to revive our deepest feelings of purest ilk. It is great, in part, because it can do what no other media can. That is, music can play to us a soundtrack, make our moves a motionpicture. We no longer struggle with life, we dance with it.

Andy Jacobsohn/The Dallas Morning News/TNS

Page 10 | Thursday, January 25, 2018

Old Gold & Black | Opinion

“ issue should spark improvement The recent racial Campus Comment

The relevant racial language recently used provides an opportunity to become involved

Chris Pearcey

Contributing Writer pearcd14@wfu.edu

Last weekend was not a good one for Wake Forest. Most notably, an individual lost his life during an altercation on campus at the Barn. This tragic occurrence and the media coverage that followed (deservingly) overshadowed another unfortunate event — a racist post on Instagram. In the post, a Wake Forest student drunkenly admitted to calling her resident advisor the nword. The fallout from the posting included campus-wide emails from Vice President

Yes, her post was ignorant, racist, and not representative of the values ofWake Forest, but her life will be substantially harder due to an ill-advised post.” of Campus Life Penny Rue and President Hatch, as well as from the departure of the student in the video from the university.

Waking up on Saturday morning and seeing the post and the reactions to it, I wasn’t sure how to feel. As an African American and someone who values tolerance and inclusion, I feel there are societal pressures for you to be ‘outraged.’ Oddly, feelings of outrage never manifested. Even stranger, a sense of indifference was the first thing I felt; it was almost as if I was not surprised that this happened. Eventually, this ‘indifference’ turned into despondency and pity.

First, I feel sorry for the school. Wake Forest prides itself on being an inclusive environment, even dedicating an Office of Diversity and Inclusion to promote a “safe,

equitable, growth-minded and engaged campus community, wherein students, staff, and faculty — within and across multiple identities — can feel supported and valued in their personal and professional development.”

Weirdly, I feel sorry for the girl in the video. Yes, her post was ignorant, racist and not representative of the values of Wake Forest, but her life will be substantially harder due to an ill-advised post. She has embarrassed herself, her family and Wake Forest. She is no longer enrolled at a college ranked in the top-30 nationally. In the future, every time her name is googled, this incident will appear in the search results, making it considerably more difficult to find a good job and/or get into a graduate program.

Some will say that she deserves these consequences, and maybe she does, but while her actions are indefensible, that doesn’t necessarily mean her actions are unforgivable. In responding to the situation, we have to ask ourselves what the goal is. Is the goal purely to punish in order to claim the moral high

ground, or is the goal to address the root of the problem: racism. Is purely punishing the individual actively solving and preventing racist remarks on campus or is it serving as a deterrent and example of what happens when someone gets caught?

These are questions everybody needs to ask themselves when scrutinizing situations like this. Every situation has nuance, therefore, every reaction should be tailored to the specific instance. It is obvious that we are not living in a post-racial society — a notion that was briefly considered after electing a black man for president in 2008.

Our ability to improve as a community regarding racial matters starts with a frank dialogue that recognizes our transgressions and biases, striving to address them pragmatically. This is something simple in theory but uncomfortable to attempt.

Hopefully this recent instance on campus can serve as a catalyst for a real, transparent discussion and an opportunity for improvement.

plain in further detail to Ansari over text messages the next day.

Although Ansari confirmed her experiences, the article is a rushed, amateurish and flawed piece of journalism, and there has been significant backlash to the article’s composition, content and integrity. Certainly, this demonstrates the importance of care and precision when writing on challenging and sensitive subjects. The momentum and power of a complex movement like #MeToo, and the trust and support it has extended to victims, could be easily threatened by an article like the one from “Babe.”

However, as we acknowledge this, we must not fail to consider the issues Grace’s story reveal about the way rape culture influences the way individuals navigate sexual interactions, even though it’s uncomfortable.

“Babe” boldly holds a man accountable for being selfish and entitled and expecting a woman to put his sexual interests before her own. While the online article is full of

strange details and language that have led many to write it off, the piece shines an uncomfortable but important light on a greyer kind of sexual interaction that, for many women, may be all too familiar. The movement that has made it safer and more acceptable for many women to come forward about assault also has the power to change the culture of gender and power that enables those assaults and revolutionize sexual interactions.

New kinds of conversations are happening in public discourse and on social media as a result of #MeToo. If we accept the challenge, these may have the power to ultimately shift and improve our understanding of consensual sexual experiences as reciprocal, mutually desired and equally pleasurable. Sexuality should be freely and liberally explored, experienced and expressed by all who desire to do so, and that necessitates that the boundaries of every individual be respected and affirmed.

“ consent is a necessary part of #MeToo Challenging coercive #MeToo

Coercive consent is an important facet of the #MeToo conversation Natalie Wilson

Staff Writer wilsnh15@wfu.edu

The rapid growth of the #MeToo and Time’s Up movements against sexual harassment and assault was both a promising and stomach-churning end to 2017. Their success in creating a platform and means of justice for survivors is a promise to many women — especially those in the entertainment industry and other professional settings in the U.S. — that people care and

‘Babe’ boldly holds a man accountable for being selfish and entitled and expecting a woman to put his sexual interests before her own.” are listening, and that things can and will get better.

But they also made the threat of assault and violence and its ties with power and influence by men over women hypervisible, exposing a culture of dominance and entitlement.

Now, “Babe,” a new, Buzzfeed-esque media offshoot of “The Tab,” has attempted to create space within the movement for numerous other women by telling the story of “Grace,” a 23-year-old woman who says 34-year-old actor and comedian Aziz Ansari repeatedly pressured and coerced her into numerous activities, despite her expressed discomfort, which Grace attempted to ex-

Word on the Quad | Off-Campus Culture

What is the best movie you saw over break?

“La La Land” Ilse Schaeffner (‘18)

“American Made” Colman Feighan (‘21)

“The NiceGuys” Oliva Zibates (‘20)

“SuperBad ” Cole Gibson (‘21)

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Online at: www.wfuogb.com Twitter: @sports_ogb Editors: Ren Schmitt, schmwm16@wfu.edu; Lizzie Snyder, snydem15@wfu.edu

OLD GOLD & BLACK

Demon Deacons fall to 1-7 in ACC games A loss at home to the Duke Blue Devils extends Wake Forest's losing streak to six straight

BY KYLE TATICH Senior Writer tatika14@wfu.edu

Just 10 days separated the two meetings between Wake Forest and Duke this season, with the second coming in Winston-Salem on Tuesday night, in front of what was likely the largest crowd of the season.

Many aspects of the two games were similar: No. 4 Duke attempted a lot of free throws, many, many free throws. And the Deacs struggled to recover from late first-half runs from the Blue Devils.

Despite the 14-point loss, Wake Forest demonstrated some improvement, especially against the Duke frontcourt, which many consider to be the best in college basketball.

Junior Doral Moore had one of his best games as a Demon Deacon, scoring 18 points and grabbing 12 rebounds on a perfect 9-9 performance from the field.

Moore, who played limited minutes in the season’s first game against Duke, played 30 minutes on Tuesday evening, staying out of foul trouble early in the game.

For Wake Forest to be competitive against a frontcourt like Duke, Moore’s presence was imperative, a fact the junior was not shy to admit.

“I learned from last game,” Moore said.

“For us to have a chance to win, I have to be on the court; I can’t make stupid fouls.”

In a game where Wake Forest committed 15 first-half turnovers, six

Betsy Mann/Old Gold & Black

After a stellar 2016-17 season, Wake Forest lost several of its key players and have had trouble finding their stride during their 2017-18 campaign. Their ACC record of 1-7 is the second-to-worst in the conference. of which came from starting point John Collins, Moore’s former roomCollins, the 19th-overall pick in the guard Bryant Crawford, few positives mate, was in attendance on a night 2017 NBA player draft, was the first could be taken away from the offen- off from his day job with the Atlanta one who congratulated Moore when sive performance outside of Moore’s Hawks, sitting with Hawks owner he checked out for the final time. stellar night. and Wake Forest alumnus Mit Shah “He told me he’s proud of me,” Two individuals in particular were (’91) next to the Demon Deacon Moore said of his exchange with Colimpressed with the play of the 7-1 bench. lins at the end of the game. “It means center from Atlanta, GA, one of "Moore is getting better and bet- a lot to me.” whom was a Hall of Famer, the other, ter,” said Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski. his former roommate.

See Football, Page 14 “He had a sensational game."

Eagles and Patriots emerge as Super Bowl hopefuls The number one seeds from both conferences will play for the title on Feb. 4

BY DAN PACHINO News Editor pachdb15@wfu.edu There was no shortage of drama and big storylines heading into the NFL’s championship weekend. The four teams remaining were the New England Patriots and Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC and the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings in the NFC. Entering the AFC Championship in Foxboro, MA this Sunday, Jan. 21, there were two primary questions dominating

the headlines. The first was, "How would the young Jaguars fare against the experienced Patriots in Jacksonville’s first AFC Championship game since 1999?" The second was, "How would Tom Brady perform with an injured thumb on his throwing hand?"

Those were questions that could only be answered on the field Sunday afternoon in Foxboro. The game itself was quite an exciting one.

The first quarter of the game was rather uneventful, ending with the Patriots ahead of Jacksonville 3-0. The second quarter, however, was almost all Jacksonville.

Blake Bortles and company manufactured a drive that began at the end of the first quarter with a four-yard touchdown

pass to 12-year veteran TE Marcedes Lewis. Following a quick three-and-out

by New England, the Jaguars marched right back down the field yet again in a 10-play, 77-yard drive that was capped off by a short touchdown run from star rookie running back Leonard Fournette.

After exchanging a pair of punts, Tom Brady and the Patriots got the ball back trailing by 11 points with just over two minutes remaining in the first half.

In classic Brady fashion, the Patriots marched straight down the field, gaining 85 yards and scoring a touchdown in barely more than a minute to cut the Jacksonville lead to just four with 55 seconds left in the half.

See Football, Page 14

Yong Kim/Philadelphia Inquirer/TNS

Eagles receiver Alshon Jeffery catches a touchdown pass from Nick Foles.

Page 12 | Thursday, January 25, 2018

Old Gold & Black | Sports

Deacons play strong defense in loss to Virginia Wake Forest falls to No.1 in ACC standings and No. 2 team overall, Virginia last Sunday.

BY LIZZIE SNYDER Sports Editor snydem15@wfu.edu Before Sunday night’s game versus Virginia, Head Coach Danny Manning was recognized for the 50th anniversary of winning the 1988 Naismith College Player of the Year award for his impressive college career at the University of Kansas, taking the Jayhawks to the national championship during his senior season and earning the 1st overall pick in the NBA draft.

This ACC matchup was a huge test for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons, and despite coming up ten points short at home, the Deacs showed a promising mid-season performance both on offense and defense. With a low and fairly close score of 59-49 for this season, Wake Forest showed significant improvement from recent ACC matchups against Virginia Tech, Duke and NC State. Facing off against the No.1-ranked team in the ACC and No.2-ranked team overall made the 14th-ranked Demon Deacons the clear underdog however the Deacons showed true grit in this particularly low-scoring game and had one of the best defensive games of the season.

Although the Cavaliers tend to have a lower points -per-game statistic, 70, than their top-ranked competitors do, Wake Forest arguably looked the best they have all season and were able to drive that number down. At the beginning of the first half, it took a bit for Virginia top shooters Kyle Guy and Devon Hall to hit their stride as Wake Forest held on with a five-point deficit with nine minutes left to go in the first half. With 8:30 left on the clock, the Demon Deacons found a bit of a momentum starting with an exciting steal and dunk by junior Bryant Crawford, a great defensive rebound by junior Doral Moore and another three-point jumper by Crawford. Nearing the end of the first half, a dunk by true freshman Olivier Sarr gave the Demon Deacons the lead for the first time in the game, overtaking the Cavaliers 19-17.

Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Sports Communications

Forward Terrence Thompson and Center Doral Moore reach for a rebound from Virginia’s forward Isaiah Wilkins. The Demon Deacons showed strong defense this game forcing 12 turnovers. Moore led the team in rebounds with 13 total.

Crawford attributed the slow pace and low-scoring nature of the first half to “the style of the [Virginia] offense...they play until the shot clock goes down.”

Virginia’s unique ability to control the pace of the game and up the pressure on defense is why they have become such a threat this season.

With three minutes to go, both Crawford and senior Mitchell Wilbekin made three-point jumpers to keep pushing the Demon Deacons ahead to end the first half, but Wake Forest would not hold on for long. Even though this performance was a particularly strong one, Virginia’s impeccable defense would cause the Deacs to choke and give up the lead in the second half. Just as Virginia sophomore Kyle Guy

started to gain shooting momentum again with 15 minutes left in the second half, the Demon Deacons struggled to hit open jumpers, to make clean blocks and to continue the same level of effective defense shown in the first half.

At the end of the game, Moore remarked, “on the bright side, we did some good things against the number two team in the country.”

He also touched on the fact that facing off against “a top 25 team every single night” presents a tough challenge, but believes the Demon Deacons “are on a good pace and need to clean up some mistakes” in order to earn more victories.

Sports | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, January 25, 2018 | Page 13

Spotlight: Jeff Teague

BY KYLE TATICH Senior Writer tatika14@wfu.edu

When Wake Forest played at Boston College on Saturday, Jan. 6, the Old Gold & Black had the opportunity to catch up with former Demon Deacon and current point guard of the Minnesota Timberwolves, Jeff Teague. The former Wake Forest standout was in town, and he took on the Boston Celtics on Friday, Jan. 5.

As a freshman in 2007–08, Teague was second on the team in scoring, with 13.9 points per game, just behind fellow freshman and future NBA standout James Johnson’s 14.6.

As a sophomore in 2008–09, Teague became the first Wake Forest All-American since Chris Paul in 2004–05, and the 13th in school history. He was selected as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, the John Wooden Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

Teague led the Deacs to a ranking of No. 1 in the country during his sophomore season, which included wins over Duke and North Carolina. His 34 points against the Tar Heels is one of the best performances against a team coached by Roy Williams.

After the conclusion of his sophomore season, Teague declared for the NBA Draft and was selected 19th overall by the Atlanta Hawks. While in Atlanta, Teague led the Hawks and was an NBA All-Star selection in 2015, joining Chris Paul and Tim Duncan to give the Deacs a league-leading three selections in the same year.

Teague spent the 2016-17 sea-

son with the Indiana Pacers before signing a three-year contract with the Timberwolves before the 2017 season.

The Old Gold & Black thanks Teague for his time and hopes he will find his way back to Winston-Salem for the first time in what the guard says has been a long seven years.

KYLE TATICH: What stand out as some of your favorite memories at Wake Forest?

JEFF TEAGUE: Great school, but as far as basketball, what stands out was the chance to be the number one team in the country and beat [North] Carolina and Duke [in 2009].

KT: With 34 points in a win against North Carolina in 2009, was that your favorite game as a Demon Deacon?

JT: I actually think my favorite game was when we beat Duke my freshman

year because we were not expected to beat them.

KT: Being ranked number one in the country and having a few players join in you in pursuing successful NBA careers, what was it about the team’s chemistry in 2009 that made the group special?

JT: It was a lot of fun. We had a lot of talented players, and our coach (Dino Gaudio) was pretty cool.

Everything was going well, we just didn’t end things how we would like, but for the most part, I think we had a really great season, we all got along and still stay in touch.

KT: Off the court what comes to mind as some of your favorite memories?

JT: Just going to the Pit and hanging out with the football players at that time.

Aaron Curry was there and was a really funny guy. I used to get Chick-fil-a all the time too at Benson with the guys.

KT: I know there are a lot of different faces associated with the program now, but do you keep up with Wake Forest basketball program?

JT: It’s been a while but I try to keep up and watch them as much as I can. I know they are playing here in Boston tomorrow.

KT: You and John Collins have a couple things in common. You both left after your sophomore year and were selected 19th overall by the Atlanta Hawks. Have you watched him play much this year and what has impressed you about him?

JT: Yeah, I thought he was going to wear number zero — that would have been cool. I haven’t talked with him yet since we haven’t played them yet. He’s really good, plays hard, athletic. I was impressed with what he was able to do last year at Wake Forest.

KT: You’ve spent some time out this year due to injury, what is it like being on the bench during a game, especially in an environment like TD Garden during a close game?

JT: I have fun with it and try to talk trash with the other team. I try to get the guys going.

KT: What are your goals here in Minnesota both individually and for the team?

JT: I have put personal goals to the side — that was when I was younger. Now I just want to win and do something this franchise hasn’t done in a while — make it to the playoffs. That’s our goal and what we strive for everyday.

Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications

Deac Notes Wake Forest Hosts Men’s and Women’s Track and Field Invitational

Wake Forest Women’s Soccer Stars drafted by NWSL Teams

The Demon Deacons took home four event titles on Saturday, Jan. 20 at the Wake Forest Invitational.

Tesia Kempski won the women’s pole vault and set a personal record, and Max Adams took home first place in the men’s shot put. The teams will both travel to Clemson, S.C., for their next competition this weekend.

Ally Haran and Maddie Huster were drafted back-toback in the 2018 NWSL Draft on Thursday, Jan. 18.

Haran, a defender, was selected by Seattle Reign FC and Huster, a midfielder, was selected by the Washington Spirit. The pair of seniors helped lead Wake Forest to an impressive tournament run this season.

Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications

Photo courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications

Page 14 | Thursday, January 25, 2018

Old Gold & Black | Sports

Basketball: Deacons lose to Duke Tuesday Continued from Page 9

After falling behind by 20 early into the second half, Wake Forest managed to fight its way back into the game despite missing a chance to cut it to a seven-point deficit when Olivier Sarr’s dunk bounced off the back of the rim with 10:44 left to play.

When Moore was sent to the bench in the second half with foul trouble, sophomore Brandon Childress stepped up and led the Deacs with three secondhalf three-pointers. Childress, who played 35 minutes off the bench, reached a new career high in minutes played, and possessed a competitive edge that the Deacs desperately needed to prevent the game from getting out-of-hand.

Ultimately, it was the run Duke

made in the first half that prevailed them to victory, as it was too much for Wake Forest to overcome.

The Demon Deacons now drop to 8-12 (1-7) and will travel to Louisville on Saturday to face a Cardinals team that ranks second in the conference standings.

For the Deacs to pull off the road upset, they will need Crawford to play like the best version of himself, which has been missing for quite some time now.

Moore will need to continue to be mindful of his foul situation and Chidress will need to translate his second-half performance into a two-half affair at the KFC Yum! Center against Louisville.

The game will tip at 8 p.m.

© WFU/Mitchell Loll

Wake Forest players Terrence Thompson, Doral Moore, Mitchell Wilbekin, and Bryant Crawford discuss strategy during Tuesday night’s ACC matchup verses the Duke Blue Devils.

Super Bowl: 52nd annual game kicks off next Sunday Continued from Page 9

Jacksonville was able to move the ball well on their ensuing drive, but they had to score on this drive to have a chance to win. They got down into New England territory with two minutes remaining, but Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore made the play of his career and defended a Bortles pass on fourth down, which practically iced the win for the Patriots who are moving on to the Super Bowl.

The biggest questions entering the NFC Championship were about how backup quarterback Nick Foles would fare against the dominant Vikings defense and how would the Vikings play following their miracle victory against the Saints a week prior. The answer was that Nick Foles, who had been mediocre at best in his filling in for Carson Wentz, played like Hall of Famer, throwing for 352 yards and three touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Eagles made Case Keenum and the Vikings look more like the Browns than a team one game away from the Super Bowl.

The Viking scored a touchdown on their first drive to go up 7-0, but from that point forward it was all Eagles in front of their home crowd. By halftime it was 24-7 Eagles, with scores coming on a pick-six by Patrick Robinson, a strong run by LeGarrette Blount and amazing 53-yard touchdown pass by Foles to wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey.

After demoralizing Minnesota in the first half, the Eagles came out firing again to start the third quarter. Foles and the Eagles capped off an eight-play, 75-yard drive with a deep flea flicker pass to Torrey Smith to give the Eagles an insurmountable 31-7 lead.

Philadelphia went on to score another touchdown late in the game with another pass to Jeffrey, and the Eagles, who were home underdogs to Minnesota, came away with a statement 38-7 victory to move on to the Super Bowl.

This year’s Super Bowl should make for an exciting matchup between the two teams who appeared to be the league’s most dominant all season.

Over the past several years, it has almost become a given that Brady and the Patriots will reach the Super Bowl, but they will be facing a foe who has not been there since they lost to New England in 2004 when the Eagles’ stars were Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens.

Sam Riche/MCT

Coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have appeared in seven Super Bowls, won five and hope to win another this Sunday. The 52nd annual Super Bowl is set to start at 6:30 pm on Sunday.

Sports | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, January 25, 2018 | Page 15

Andruw Jones deserves more HOF consideration The statistically disastrous end of Jones’ career unfairly overshadows what he was able to accomplish in the MLB

BY REN SCHMITT Sports Editor schmwm16@wfu.edu

The 1996 World Series pitted the two most dominant teams of the 90’s — the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees — against one another. Each club featured its share of future Hall of Famers, but it was not Yankees legend Wade Boggs or Braves ace Greg Maddux who stole the spotlight in Game 1 at Yankee Stadium.

Instead, it was a 19-year-old rookie from the small Caribbean island of Curacao who hit two home runs in his first apperance on baseball’s biggest stage, leaving an indelible mark on the league. This hotshot Braves rookie was Andruw Jones.

This rookie’s escapades did not end on that October night, and he eventually built quite the memorable career for himself.

Jones’ career is best characterized by the moments like the night at Yankee Stadium that introduced him to the world — moments that made people stop and say, “Wow.” The MLB’s Hall of Fame voting comes to a close this week, and there will be numerous players who fall short of the necessary number of votes, but none of these snubs will be as egregious as the snub that could soon befall Andruw Jones.

Jones played 17 MLB seasons, primarily with the Atlanta Braves, and he amassed impressive numbers in several of the major statistical categories. Specifically, his home run total of 434 stands out.

Despite his accolades, Jones is in danger of receiving less than the necessary five percent of votes that candidates require to remain on the Hall of Fame ballot in future years.

There are several reasons for the BBWAA’s issue with Jones’ candidacy. Jones may have achieved remarkable success during the first decade of his career, but towards the end of his career, he performed terribly.

From 2007-12, Jones stumbled his way to a batting average of .214 and a mediocre OPS of .734. Compare these numbers to his 1996-2006 batting average of .267 and OPS of .850, and the shocking disparity between his early and later years comes into focus.

Though the slump at the plate that he suffered through at the end of his career may appear unforgiveable, Jones’ prowess at the plate was never what defined him as a player; it was the way he played center field that made him a once-in-a-generation player.

Jones, who won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1998-2007, might not have just been the best centerfielder of his era or the best defensive player in Braves history — he truly may have been the greatest defensive player in the history of the game.

Across his 17-year career, Jones accumulated 67.2 fWAR. His numbers at the plate were very good, but they fall short of explaining how he was worth such a high fWAR total. Larry Walker, who is also on this year’s ballot, accumulated 68.7 fWAR, a number similar to Jones’, but his career slash line of .313/.400/.565 dwarfs Jones’ line of .254/.337/.486. These numbers point to the fact that Andruw Jones’ prolific play in center field provided as much value to his team as an elite hitter would.

Jones was known for the freakishly good reads he made on fly balls, which allowed him to play a very shallow center field while rarely letting balls over his head.

Willie Mays, who is widely considered the best defensive center fielder of all time, finished his career with 176 Total Zone Runs — a statistic that measures how much more valuable a player was than the league average. Andruw Jones finished with 220 — more than any center fielder in history.

The twilight of Jones’ career seems to have left a bad taste in the mouths of baseball pundits, as they remem-

ber the slower, less physically imposing version of Andruw Jones more than they remember the athletic freak that he was in his earlier years.

Perhaps the BBWAA does not have the same appreciation for defense that many fans have, as the statistics measuring defense are newer and less reliable.

The numbers do not lie, however, and Andruw Jones may not be a Hall of Famer, but he played like one for a long time.

Pouya Dianat/Atlanta Journal-Constitution/MCT

Andruw Jones is one of just five center fielders in MLB history to record 400 putouts in a season at least six times.

Tennis teams dominate in spring openers The men’s and women’s teams are both off to hot starts after an impressive 2017 campaign

BY LIZZIE SNYDER Sports Editor snydem15@wfu.edu

In recent history, few athletic programs at Wake Forest have achieved as much success as the Men’s Tennis Team. This season, Wake Forest opened the 2018 spring season as the number-one ranked team in the nation, and they have done nothing but solidify their place at the top since play has begun. Players Petros Chrysochos and Skander Mansouri, each of whom made it to round 16 at the ITA All-American Championships in the fall, have helped pave the way for the team to continue its success in the new year.

Wake Forest took on Elon and Coastal Carolina on Tuesday, Jan. 23, and handily defeated each team. The Deacons went 6-1 against Coastal Carolina and were able to sweep Elon with little challenge.

Petros Chrysochos, who is ranked as the No. 4 player in the nation, is a junior from Cyprus.

Chrysochos has accumulated an impressive amount of hardware during his career at Wake Forest, including an ITA All-American Championship title in the 2016-17 season.

Although it is early in the season, Chrysochos and Bar Botzer both hold 4-0 records and hope to remain this strong as the season continues.

On Friday, the Demon Deacons take on the Old Dominion Monarchs, Vanderbilt Commodores and Portland Pilots at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex on Jan. 26-27. Old Dominion junior Aziz Kijametovic was just named Conference Tennis Athlete of the Week

by C-USA officials.

In his past match against No. 23 Columbia and Penn last week, Kijametovic went 4-0 against both teams. He and his doubles partner Francois Musitelli are now 3-0 for the season. Coming off extremely successful first matches, the Demon Deacons will face some serious competition in the coming weeks.

Not only do the Wake Forest Men’s Tennis team expect to achieve great success this season, but the Wake Forest Women’s Tennis team expects to make a great run this season, as well.

This past Saturday, the Demon Deacons had two 7-0 sweeps in their open-

ing double-header against two South Carolina teams, Furman and College of Charleston. Eliza Omirou and Anna Ulyashchenko, who are nationally ranked No. 42 in the NCAA will be a pair to watch this season.

In their match against the College of

Charleston Paladins, the pair won 6-3.

On the singles side, Eliza Omirou is currently ranked 70th nationally, closely followed by Emma Davis at No. 72.

Next Friday, the Deacons are playing in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbus, Ohio that will last until Jan. 29.

Photo Courtesy of Wake Forest Athletic Communications

Skander Mansouri, a junior from Tunisia, is the first player in the history of the Wake Forest men’s tennis program to be named an All-American four separate times.

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O n l i n e at : w w w. w f u o g b. co m e d i t o r s : Emily Beauchamp, beauea17@wfu.edu Olivia Field, fielor17@wfu.edu A S S I S TA N T E D I T O R : S a r a h B o y c e , b o y c s e 1 5 @ w f u . e d u

OLD GOLD & BLACK

HOW TO PLAN A SUPERBOWL PARTY Although it may seem difficult to truly celebrate this year’s game while living in a dorm, follow these easy tips to make the most of the Superbowl.

BY NICHOLAS DEMAYO Senior Writer demanj14@wfu.edu

With the teams set and the Super Bowl less than two weeks away, many around the country begin planning their watch parties for the big game. Although the Super Bowl carries the weight of being a pseudonational holiday in many parts of the country, the event is usually celebrated with less fanfare at Wake Forest. One reason may be that the game is always on a Sunday night, making it difficult for students to watch while catching up on homework for Monday and Tuesday classes. But just think, if your professors were watching the game, how much would they care if you skipped your readings for one day? I say that we should make Super Bowl watch parties a thing at Wake Forest. To that end, here is a short guide on where to go, how to watch and what to eat during the Super Bowl.

Courtesy of New

How to Watch I know that many people have televisions in their dorms and apartments; but if you do not, you can still watch the Super Bowl. This year’s game will air on NBC, a channel which all students have access to stream through the University’s Time Warner Cable Spectrum subscription.

To get streaming access to the NBC Sports website you need login credentials to Time Warner Cable Spectrum, which you can acquire by going to the cable provider’s website (https://myservices.timewarnercable. com/). But first, you need to make a request with Information Systems for a account number, a phone number

1 cup chunky blue cheese dressing or ranch dressing 3 tablespoons Frank’s™ RedHot™ Buffalo Wings Sauce 2 cans (10 oz each) chunk chicken, drained, chopped 2 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened 2 medium stalks celery, finely chopped (1 cup) 1 bag of tortilla chips In large microwavable bowl, mix dressing, sauce, chicken and cream cheese. Cover; microwave on High 2 to 3 minutes or until hot. Stir in celery.

Spoon dip into serving dish. Serve with chips.

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Where to Watch As far as locations for watching the game are concerned, there are three general choices: you can watch it in your dorm, in a common gathering area on campus or at a local bar or restaurant that has televisions. The last option is fun for getting together with a couple friends and also hanging around complete strangers for the game. But it does not make a Super Bowl watch party. Another option is to get together in a common area, such as hall lounge, to put the game on one of the flat-screen televisions. I like this option for the abundance of seating around the television and for its communal atmosphere. Some added responsibilities come with this option, however, which include staking out spots on the couches early and protecting your food from uninvited food vultures who stalk hall lounges for boxes of pizza left unattended. For me, I like to watch games in the comfort of my own suite, so I elect this option for your Super Bowl watch party. Some of the benefits are that you don’t have to leave your own bed and you can keep strangers from eating your food.

So, if you don’t mind cleaning up your place a little bit, consider having a Super Bowl watch party in your dorm, and always be mindful of your building’s quiet hours, etc. etc.

and a four-digit customer code needed for setup.

You will use this information to make your account with the cable provider. Then, just sign in to NBC Sports and you are all set to stream the Super Bowl from your device. If you would like to project the game for a watch party, you can reserve multimedia equipment from the library with one week notice given.

What to Eat In my opinion, the best part of gameday is the food. You could certainly elect the typical pizza delivery option and order one of the Super Bowl packages to feed a crowd. Papa John’s and Domino’s both offer delivery deals on game day consisting of specials on pizzas, sides and two-liter bottles of soda.

Check online before the game to see each chain’s specific offerings and consider ordering well ahead of time so that your order doesn’t get stuck in the long line of delivery orders that will be placed on gameday.

Alternatively, you could make some simple dips for your party with just your microwave or without any cooking at all. By purchasing a few bags of chips and some simple ingredients, going this route is easy. This recipe for buffalo chicken dip is sure to be a crowd favorite, with all of the flavor of the sports bar in a shareable bowl:

One other convenient gameday recipe is this simple setup for taco dip: 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened 1 (16 ounce) container nonfat sour cream 1(1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix 1/4 head iceberg lettuce - rinsed, dried and shredded 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 3 chopped tomatoes 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 (2.25 ounce) can black olives, drained In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sour cream and taco seasoning. Spread this mixture in a 9-inch (or a little larger) round serving dish. Top the mixture with lettuce, cheddar cheese, tomatoes, bell pepper and black olives.

(Courtesy of allrecipes.com) Although it may seem daunting to try and celebrate Superbowl Sunday like you would with your family, I hope that you will give entertaining a try. Now that you know what you will serve at your party, you can also use this quick guide to help plan the location and menu that will best suit your party. The only thing left to figure out is who to root for, Patriots or Eagles?

This year, I think I will root for the commercials.

Thursday, January 25, 2018 | Page 17

Life | Old Gold & Black

Food Column| Washington, D.C.

Food finds from Wake Washington Although not in a foreign country, the food culture in D.C. is a new experience

BY DAVID AJAMY Staff Writer ajamdg15@wfu.edu After my first week at Wake Washington, I have not only spent an absurd amount of money, but I have also had some wonderful food. And while D.C. has many amazing things to do both through the program and outside of it, the food has been the spotlight of my experience. I have had South African food, Korean food, Indian food, Caribbean food, American food, Columbian food and a lot of pizza.

As a vegetarian, I am usually worried to eat-out because I usually end up scouring the menu for options I can eat or just getting a bunch of sides. But in the past week, I haven’t had any problem finding delicious and filling vegetarian food. And as I have combed the menus, I have found foods and words that have been rabbit holes of information, on not just cuisine, but also culture.

As I have been eating out way too much, I have been thinking about what it means and what I am gaining from this experience of not just Washington but

David Ajamy/Old Gold and Black

A flatbread topped with arugula, mushrooms and sun dried tomatos. the food of Washington. While I am not abroad, I still have been able to explore snippets of culture from across the globe all while staying in the states.

Day after day, I looked through Yelp trying to see what new food I was go-

ing to try and I am always surprised by the new flavors and aromas that were to come. Post eating, I of course had to Yelp review the place and tell the world of the must-visit or no-go restaurant. Luckily, only two places have gotten less than three stars so far.

And while some places will be busts, the experience is worth it. Meeting new people, supporting local businesses and trying foods I never could have imagined trying all make the trip worthwhile.

Plus, living away from campus means no access to the best of cuisine including Moe’s Southwest Grill and the Pit so we either have to cook for ourselves or explore. And as much as my wallet hates it, I would rather go out to eat.

Beyond your program abroad, away or even in Winston-Salem (just anywhere) there is food out there to explore. Part of life is exploration, and food is an easy and delicious way to see the world beyond the homefront. But pay attention to budget always and scout out those five-star, one-dollar signs.

So, check out Yelp or check out local newspapers to find the best food places wherever you are. No matter what you are doing, be aware of what you are eating and what the food means. Think of it beyond just materials for energy as pieces of beauty that can bring joy or sadness, but nonetheless bring experience.

Humor Column | Cherie Berry

An ode to elevator queen Cherie Berry With a job that trumps all, Cherie Berry is the queen of North Carolina’s elevators

BY RAVEN MCCORKLE Staff Writer mccorc16@wfu.edu If you’ve been in any elevator in North Carolina, I’m sure you’ve seen the picture of the woman in the elevator. That woman is Cherie Berry, North Carolina’s beloved Elevator Queen.

Berry is North Carolina’s Commissioner of Labor — and she has been since 2001. She was the first female Commissioner of Labor in North Carolina, and I think I’ve found her key to success and re-election: elevator magic, baby. When you see Cherie Berry’s face in the elevator, and you think about how much you’d hate to take the stairs, of course, you start to feel indebted to her. I mean, the woman practically invented the elevator (well, not really, but she invented putting her picture in all of them, so that’s practically the same thing.) She made it law for every elevator to have a plaque and picture dedicated to her, and if that doesn’t scream “lady boss” to you, nothing else will. I mean, when will your icon EVER!?

Commissioner Berry has a cult following as well, and she is loved all across the grand ole state of North Carolina. There are songs about her, t-shirts and even a

look up the song “Cherie Berry” by Alternative Champs or “Cherry Berry [sic]” by Tha Commissioners. I promise, you’ll be singing the lyrics, “Cherieee, Cherie Berry picks me up and lifts my feet off the ground. Cherieee, Cherie Berry gets me high and never brings me back down, ” for days on end.

According to Alternative Champs, Berry’s job is “making sure that we can all get high.” In the elevator, of course.

The Elevator Queen has embraced her rightful title; in fact, this title and elevator magic is what has gotten her continuously re-elected and will probably continue to do so until she rides that elevator all the way up to heaven.

Led Zeppelin was wrong — there isn’t a Stairway to Heaven. There is an elevator, and Cherie Berry’s face is right on the wall.

Cherie Berry is an icon. Not only has she mastered free campaigning via North Carolina’s beloved elevators, but she also looks pretty fabulous in her photo. According to Alternative Champs, “her golden glasses and her magic smile” are Olivia Field/Old Gold & Black what make her such a beauty.

CherieBerryposesfortheCertificateofOperNext time you take an elevator, make ation in Angelou Residence Hall elevator. sure to bow down to the Elevator Queen.

Never forget, no matter how lonely spoof twitter account dedicated to her, and low you feel in life, Cherie Berry @ElevatorQueen. Phrases such as “She Lifts Me Up” and “Levels” are used to will always, without fail, be there to lift represent the iconic Commissioner Ber- you up when you’re down. That is, as ry. Seriously, if you ever need a laugh, long as there isn’t a fire or power outage.

THE HOT LIST As students return back from their fall semester abroad, these are the top ten study spots (in no particular order).

By Sarah Boyce & Kyle Ferrer

1.

Florence, Italy Copenhagen, Denmark

3. Barcelona, Spain i London, England

5. Vienna, Austria Hong Kong, China

7. Dijon, France Madrid, Spain

9. Prague, Czech Republic Santiago, Chile Mini

DRINK OF THE WEEK

• 2 cups almond milk • 1/2 dark chocolate • Optional add-ons: 5 drops peppermint extract, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and/or vegan whipped cream Heat the almond milk in a pot on the stove top. Finely chop the dark chocolate and drop it into the hot milk. Whisk vigorously until the chocolate is combined. At this point, add in the cinnamon or peppermint. Serve with whipped cream.

Adapted from of Laurie Caris Cooks

Page 18 | Thursday, January 25, 2018

Old Gold & Black | Life

Health Column | Body Positivity

Weight loss resolutions are not the answer Nine body-positive and anti-diet culture New Year’s resolutions to lead a healthier and happier lifestyle

BY MADISON ZEHMER Staff Writer zehmml16@wfu.edu

Weight loss resolutions are an inevitable part of the New Year. Although often well-meaning, these resolutions are usually unsuccessful, as 95 percent of diets ultimately fail.

In addition, weight loss methods can have dangerous consequences.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 35 percent of people who attempt a diet become pathological dieters, and 20-25 percent of pathological dieters develop an eating disorder. Eating disorders are the deadliest mental illnesses and can have profoundly devastating and even fatal effects on a person’s physical and mental wellbeing.

I know that I have fallen prey to the all-too-common message that weight loss must be obtained at any cost. For as long as I can remember, my New Year’s resolution has been to lose weight. This year, as I am trying to regain a healthy relationship with food and my body, I have resolved to engage in self-care measures that promote holistic wellbeing and self-compassion.

Here are some body-positive New Year’s resolutions that don’t have to do with weight loss. I encourage you to examine your own relationship with food and your body and to consider applying these measures to your life.

1. Weigh yourself less. If you can, stop weighing yourself

Olivia Field/Old Gold & Black

In the new year, aim to start practicing body positivity and creating other healthy habits. at all. If you’re not yet at the place where you can throw out your scale, consider the impact that weighing yourself has on your self-esteem and wellbeing, and try to reduce how often you check your weight.

2. Surround yourself with uplifting messages. Unfollow accounts that make you feel bad about yourself. Follow people who encourage body-positivity and body-acceptance and who challenge diet culture.

3. Going off of #2, educate yourself about how disordered messages about weight, food and health have infiltrated our culture. Challenge internalized fat-phobia and unrealistic beauty standards you may be struggling with.

4. Practice self-care measures. Set aside a time just for you every day. You don’t have to purchase bath bombs or practice yoga, though those are completely valid as well.

Just do something that allows you to regroup and recharge.

5. Ditch the calorie-counting and clean eating. First off, you have kidneys and a liver for a reason. You don’t need to do a detox. Secondly, these behaviors can quickly become obsessive and lead to disordered eating.

6. Practice mindful eating and/or intuitive eating techniques. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full, and eat what you crave in moderation. There are plenty of resources online to help you develop a healthier relationship with eating.

7. Be honest with yourself and others. Set boundaries. If you feel like you may need professional help to deal with any sort of situation you may be dealing with, know that it is ok to reach out for help.

8. Identify self-destructive behaviors and begin to challenge them. Figure out what leads up to the behavior and examine other possible ways to deal with challenging thoughts or emotions. What you’re thinking and feeling is valid, but you don’t have to take it out on yourself.

9. Pursue your passions. Put your energy into things that excite you and engage you.

These may sound like loftly goals; they definitely can’t be accomplished in a day. I’m still working through them and will likely be for months or years. You don’t have to be perfect. Just open yourself up to the possibility that you can move towards a life free of self-hatred, restriction and denial.

Book Review |Graphic Novel

Art Spiegelman expertly captures a Holocaust story Maus details the tragic story of a father’s holocaust experience, with a modern twist and recognizable themes

BY EMILY BEAUCHAMP Life Editor beauea17@wfu.edu

Art Spiegelman creates a contemporary and compelling take on the Nazi Germany in his graphic novel, Maus. Maus reveals the story of Spiegelman’s father, Vladek, and his time in Poland during the Holocaust.

The story begins in the present. Spiegelman is nagging his elderly father to tell him about his mother and his time at the notorious concentration camp, Auschwitz.

Vladek eventually gives in to Spiegelman’s request and begins telling Vladek the story of his life. He explains the way he met his wife, Ana, and slowly leads into his Holocaust experience.

Spiegelman tells his father’s story through a graphic novel. However, he creates an Animal Farm-esque setting because he chooses not to draw people in his comics. Instead, he assigns a specific animal for each race.

Those who are Jewish are mice, while Nazis are depicted as cats, the Polish are pigs and Americans are shown as dogs.

There has been debate on this choice throughout the years since Volume I was published in 1986 and was briefly addressed in Volume II, published in 1992. I believe this was a daring but wise choice. I feel as though he creates an atmosphere that directly depicts the dehumanization and isolation Jewish people felt at the time. I believe it also alludes to the groupthink that Nazis experienced during the war.

During the aftermath of WWII there were numerous

questions and studies that contributed to the under- reflects on the story of his parents and the tragedy of the standing of how Nazis could morally dehumanize and Holocaust. The author expertly draws his reader into his murder Jewish people. Many of the studies led to the father’s story by creating an ominous and sinister atmotheory of groupthink which is defined as the practice of sphere. making decisions as a group that discourages individual responsibility. I feel as though Spiegelman’s choice to group the different races into various animals was thought-provoking.

The way Spiegelman chooses the animals that portray his characters are reminiscent of standard propaganda used at the time of the war. One major example is the cat — and — mouse reference. It was common to see Jewish people depicted as rodents in the media, and their natural predator is cats.

Spiegelman chooses to tell this cat and mouse story through the eyes of his father. However, the story is told exactly like his father told him. In other words, there are constant interjections into the story that take place in the present. Spiegelman chooses this point of view to characterize his father; the way that Vladek is depicted in the present contrasts with the way he is shown in the past.

In the past, he appeared to be very put together, resourceful and loving. However, in the present, he is portrayed as obsessive, harsh and frugal. I believe his experience in the Holocaust has a direct correlation with his change in character. Throughout the novel, Vladek continuously has to ration and think of himself before he concerns himself with those around him. In contrast, present day Vladek obsessively counts his pills to make sure he is not missing any and refuses to waste or spend money to better his life. This is a direct result of Auschwitz.

Photo Courtesy of amazon.com I would recommend Maus to anyone who wants to Maus chronicles the experience of Spiegelman’s parread a present-day take on the Holocaust. Spiegelman ents during and after the tragic years of the Holocaust.

Life | Old Gold & Black

Thursday, January 25, 2018 | Page 19

Greta Gerwig breathes life into new film Lady Bird Lady Bird recreates the common coming-of-age tale of a high school senior with uncommon real-life feeling

BY KYLE FERRER Opinion Editor ferrka16@wfu.edu

When I left for college my mom cried and my dad tried not to. Emotion is part of exit; leaving rustles in the piles of emotions that lay dormant for most of our days.

College, almost more than any other event, mobilizes these watery armies. It’s not the end of the world, certainly, but the end of a world, and the events that make up one’s inevitably antsy senior year of high school carry a certain weight. Every circumstance is a “last”: the “last Thanksgiving,” the “last school dance” and so forth. Many parents devolve into a quivering mass at the thought of their child as an adultish being.

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

In Greta Gerwig’s new film Lady Bird, a film Gerwig wrote and directed but did not star in, this very sequence of collegiate upheaval is the dial around which everything spins. Although Gerwig herself does not play the bristling, relatable teen, Saoirse Ronan plays the part similarly to how I think Gerwig would have, and it has been documented that the role of Lady Bird was heavily collaborative. With her quirky articulations and endearing disposition, Gerwig always seems to be able to play the perfect humanist. She creates a sort of verbal and physical jazz, an unconscious, improvisational language that we all understand through our own awkwardness. In Lady Bird, Ronan picks up Gerwig’s attitudes. Through flushing the geyser of her consciousness, Ronan exudes a similar spirit.

The film centers around Ronan’s character, Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson, and stories her last year of high school in what appears to be a fairly typical bildungsroman. There is family strife, shown by the oft bitterness that courses through mother-daughter relationships, and there is the mild-mannered father who assuages his daughter’s windy emotions. Outside the family unit, though, Lady Bird constantly claims to others that she “lives on the wrong side of the tracks,” and the McGuffin of the film is the dichotomy between Lady Bird’s wish to leave Sacramento to go to college on the east coast, and her family’s inability to finance it, both emotionally and physically. Lady Bird wants to go to a school that looks and feels like Yale, but is probably not Yale, since her grades bar her from the Ivy League. Her college aspirations, though, are trammeled by her family’s financial standing. Her father has recently lost his job, and her mother, a nurse at a local hospital, pulls double shifts to make ends meet. Lady Bird is on a scholarship at a private Catholic school, and will need massive financial aid to attend college anywhere.

Her mother pushes for a state school, which she claims even then the family will barely be able to afford, and she discourages Lady Bird from applying anywhere else outside of California. There are trope-ish potholes: (verbal) fights, boys, friends, sex and everything else that is attendant to coming of age (although there are various deviations from fairytale norms, as Gerwig shows us).

But Gerwig’s new film is different from all others for a reason that may seem a bit esoteric: Gerwig, whether she knows it or not, is deeply Tolstoyan.

The Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy is known for a great many things, among them writing the cultural touchstone for non-reader’s quips: “Wow, what are you reading, War and Peace?” Any weighty tome assumes the girth and gravitas of Tolstoy’s longest novel. Tolstoy’s greatest talent, though, lies not in his ability to write at length, but in his acute observation of the human gesture. The exactitude with which he breathes sentences about human feeling makes him a master humanist. As Isaac Babel put it, “If the world could write by itself, it would write like Tolstoy.” It is not through retooled detail that Tolstoy pushes sentences. The small, sweet, but ultimately ornamental and eddied observations of the romantic intelligence do not dominate him. Instead, his prose enjoys a natural colloquium with life itself. It is precisely the opposite of a zero-sum gain; it is a symbiotic musical number with existence. Tolstoy’s writing and the world around it are one undulating thing, utterly real and banal and natural and true. Matthew Arnold warns of naïve, artistic attribution to Tolstoy. In James Wood’s review of War and Peace, Wood quotes Arnold: “Matthew Arnold’s admonition [is] that we should not take Anna Karenina as a work of art but as a ‘piece of life.’” This “piece of life” is exactly what Gerwig conjures in both her acting and in Lady Bird. Everything in the film is exactly mundane, loosely guided by natural law and shown to us as it is lived by the characters themselves.

There is no conscious preparation of the romantic, in the verbal or the physical. It is when Lady Bird has sex for the first time, when she confesses to her friend Jules that she actually prefers dry humping to the actual thing, that the viewer is struck not by the artistry of the mise en scène, but by the personal launched towards the

Photo courtesy of imdb.com

universal. A.N. Wilson asserts that Tolstoy’s War and Peace, “for seven-eighths of the time … does not feel as if it is being narrated at all.” Lady Bird feels much the same. It is as though we are rereading journal entries of our own, as though the degree of separation between art and audience is exactly none. A world has not been created by Gerwig and Ronan. They simply decided to look at ours.

Lady Bird is a film dominated by what seem to be tropes of the sub-genre: going to college, the unofficial prerequisites that come with leaving home and the pushpull chafe between the love and hate of a mother and daughter. But Gerwig injects, or rather simply plays back to us, the naturalness of such a moment. This is not, keep in mind, the fetishized “realism” of some films.

Lady Bird, as a work alive, is more urbane. The film is so touching because it is so organically conceived and written. It is through its negation of art that it becomes transcendent. James Wood tries to paraphrase this sort of sentiment, claiming that Tolstoy’s message to us, similar to Gerwig’s, is this: “ ‘I will gladly help you to read Natasha’s or Pierre’s or the little princess’s face, but really anyone could do it. You don’t really need me. And you don’t really need me because these are the largest, most universal, most natural emotions, not the precious little sweets of the stylist novelist.’”

Anyone can do it. Everyone has already done it. Lady Bird is just reminding us of what it was like.

We are just watching the world spin.”

Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times/TNS

Page 20 | Thursday, January 25, 2018

Old Gold & Black | Life

HOW TO : Survive the next snow day In order to ensure that you are ready for the next bought of winter weather, keep these steps in mind the next time you see snow in the forecast.

BY OLIVIA FIELD Life Editor fielor17@wfu.edu

For most students, finding the time to see your friends during the week can be hard. Depending on your schedule, you may only get to socialize on the weekend.

Snow days allow you to get together and watch a movie, play board games or just catch up together.

With only The Pit and Subway to work with on limited schedules, I found myself wanting a cozy meal with very little options. In anticipation of the next snow day, you should keep your freezer stocked with meals, as well as a wide array of snacks under your bed.

This will help you avoid an icy walk to find subpar food.

North Carolina’s winter is short and sweet, which means that the next snowfall may be the last. Make the most of the day by putting on your snow boots and spending some time outside. Whether that means a session of football, making a snow angel or meticulously building a snowman, soak up the rest of the winter before spring arrives.