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JANUARY 24-30, 2024 VOLUME 20, NUMBER 4

10 5500 Adams Farm Lane Suite 204 Greensboro, NC 27407 Office 336-316-1231 Fax 336-316-1930 Publisher CHARLES A. WOMACK III publisher@yesweekly.com EDITORIAL Editor CHANEL DAVIS

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YES! Writers IAN MCDOWELL

#WheresMarissa?

MARK BURGER KATEI CRANFORD JIM LONGWORTH NAIMA SAID

The hashtag #wheresmarissa or #findmarissa has flooded social media since Marissa Kay Carmichael went missing on Sunday, January 14 following a night at One 17 Sofa Bar and Lounge, located at 117 N. Greene St. in Greensboro.

DALIA RAZO LYNN FELDER PRODUCTION Senior Designer ALEX FARMER designer@yesweekly.com Designer SHANE HART artdirector@yesweekly.com ADVERTISING Marketing ANGELA COX angela@yesweekly.com TRAVIS WAGEMAN travis@yesweekly.com

On January 10, community organizers Hashim and Alexandra Warren hosted a KICKOFF EVENT in the ArtWorks studio space of the GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art in the Greensboro Cultural Center at 200 West Davie Street. 5 Currently in theatrical release, CULT KILLER marks the latest collaboration

between director Jon Keeyes and producer Richard Clabaugh, who have worked together on several big-screen projects dating back to Fall Down Dead, which was filmed in Winston-Salem in 2006. 6 Arguably, the Ukrainians have already won their COUNTRY’S BATTLE with Putin’s Russia — if we don’t make them give up that victory. It is a complicated situation, of course. 7 Rife with dodgy CGI, producer/director

David Ayer’s THE BEEKEEPER is a typical shoot-‘em-up/blow-‘em-up melodrama that confirms the long-standing tradition that January is a dumping ground for new movies. 12 “Following more than a year of evaluation and collaboration in UNC Greensboro’s academic portfolio review,” wrote Gilliam, “the University deans have completed their recommendations for adjustments to our program offerings.” According to Gilliam, the recommendations were to DISCONTINUE THE FOLLOWING undergraduate programs... 13 BODY AND SOUL is coming to the Carolina Theatre as part of the “Silent Series” with a world premier score performed by renowned organist, Dr. Mark Andersen on January 30.

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DISTRIBUTION JANICE GANTT ANDREW WOMACK We at YES! Weekly realize that the interest of our readers goes well beyond the boundaries of the Piedmont Triad. Therefore we are dedicated to informing and entertaining with thought-provoking, debate-spurring, in-depth investigative news stories and features of local, national and international scope, and opinion grounded in reason, as well as providing the most comprehensive entertainment and arts coverage in the Triad. YES! Weekly welcomes submissions of all kinds. Efforts will be made to return those with a self-addressed stamped envelope; however YES! Weekly assumes no responsibility for unsolicited submissions. YES! Weekly is published every Wednesday by Womack Newspapers, Inc. No portion may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher. First copy is free, all additional copies are $1.00. Copyright 2024 Womack Newspapers, Inc.

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NCDOT TO HOLD PUBLIC MEETING REGARDING PROPOSED RAILROAD CROSSING GRADE SEPARATION OF THE NORTH CAROLINA RAILROAD IN GUILFORD COUNTY

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ICONIC BROADWAY SHOW “ROCK OF AGES” ROARS ONTO THE WINSTON-SALEM THEATRE ALLIANCE STAGE THIS WINTER PRESS RELEASE

STIP Project No. P-5713

PHOTO BY JENNY LAWRENCE OF DANCING LEMUR PHOTOGRAPHY

GREENSBORO - The public is invited to a meeting with the N.C. Department of Transportation to discuss proposed Hilltop Rd. railroad crossing grade separation in Greensboro. The project converts the at-grade crossing of the North Carolina Railroad (NCRR)/Norfolk Southern Railway (NS) at Hilltop Rd. in Greensboro to a grade separation. The meeting will be held Feb. 1 at Gate City Baptist Church, 5250 Hilltop Rd., Greensboro. The public is invited to attend at any time between 4-7 p.m.

Jake Messina in “Rock of Ages” “Rock of Ages,” one of Broadway’s longest running hit musicals, will explode onto the Triad theatre scene at the Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance from February 9-18, 2024. A gnarly concoction of power rock and hilarious comedy, this reimagined version of the iconic ‘80s-inspired production promises top tier talent and a night that won’t be forgotten. It’s the tail end of the big, bad 1980s in Hollywood, and the party has been raging hard. Aqua Net, Lycra, lace, and liquor flow freely at one of the Sunset Strips last legendary venues, a place where sex machine Stacee Jaxx takes the stage and scantily clad groupies line up to turn their fantasies into reality. Amidst the madness, aspiring rock star (and resident toilet cleaner) Drew longs to take the stage as the next big thing (and longs for small-town girl Sherri, fresh off the bus from Kansas with stars in her eyes). But the rock ‘n’ roll fairy tale is about to end when German developers sweep into town with plans to turn the fabled Strip into just another capitalist strip mall. Can Drew, Sherri and the gang save the strip — and themselves — before it’s too late? Only the music of hit bands Styx, Journey, Bon Jovi, Whitesnake and more hold the answer! This blast of power-guitar heaven will both warm your soul and rock your world! Will the young ambitious rocker get his girl? Can the country girl shake her demons and make it big? Is it possible that the completely arrogant rock star finally grows the eff up? Is it inevitable WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

that the gentle-spirited bar owner loses everything? And, most importantly, will the llama finally find peace? All said and done, so much power, drama, joy and much needed laughs. Intrigued? Well, then…you gotta see this f***ing thing! Performance Dates and Times: Friday, February 9th at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 10th at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 11th at 2 p.m. Friday, February 16th at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, February 17th at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, February 18th at 2 p.m. “Rock of Ages” Cast: Drew - Jake Messina Sherrie - Mykie Upchurch Lonny - Trey Cameron Dennis Dupree - Gray Smith Stacee Jaxx - Jeffery Maggs Regina - Leanna Daley Franz Klinemaan - John C. Wilson Hertz Klinemaan - Stephen Robinson Justice - Darell Curry Father/Sleezy Producer - Adam Rehm Mother /Destiny/Angel - Suzy Maggs Mayor/Ja’Keith - Derrick Harley Waitress #1/ Jewel - Amber Engel Joey Primo - Michael Doyle Constance / Sapphire - Haley Fredwall Pit Singer - Katy Carroll !

WANNA go? Tickets are $21 for adults and $19 for students and seniors. Online box office at www.theatrealliance. ws or call 336-723-7777.Rated R — adult language, sexual situations, exotic dancers, and big hair.

Project details, including maps can be found on the NCDOT project web page: https://publicinput.com/Hilltop-Road-Rail-Crossing The information will be presented at the meeting, allowing for one-onone discussions with engineers. There will not be a formal presentation. People may also submit comments by phone at 984-205-6615 (project code 4649), email at Hilltop-Road-Rail-Crossing@publicinput.com, or mail at the address shown below by Feb. 23. By Mail:

Greg Blakney NCDOT Rail Division Senior Rail Project Development Engineer 1 S. Wilmington St. Raleigh NC 27601

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled people who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Alecia Hardy, Environmental Analysis Unit, at 1598 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1598, 919-707-6072 or ext-arhardy@ncdot.gov as early as possible so arrangements can be made. Those who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Aquellas personas no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan llamando al 1-800-481-6494.

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Healing refugee trauma through art

Art has an incredible power to heal, empower, and bring people together across cultures,” said Alexandra Warren. “We hope this fundraiser provides Ian McDowell local refugees a creative outlet as they resettle in GreensContributor boro.” On January 10, community organizers Hashim and Alexandra Warren hosted a kickoff event in the ArtWorks studio space of the GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art in the Greensboro Cultural Center at 200 West Davie Street. The purpose of the event was to launch a buy-one, give-one fundraiser to benefit families in the city’s refugee communities. For every family who purchases a GreenHill annual membership between January 10th and January 31st, the Warrens’ church will donate a free one-year membership to a local refugee family. Hashim and Alexandra have themselves sponsored 20 family memberships to the GreenHill Center. These memberships provide free access to GreenHill’s studio space, as well as discounts on classes, camps, and workshops with professional artists. The Warrens aim to connect refugee families with North Carolina’s vibrant arts community. This is the second time the couple has organized this campaign with GreenHill and UNC-Greensboro’s Center for New North Carolinians (CNNC). In 2021, the Warrens’ first refugee outreach initiative with GreenHill and CNNC resulted in free memberships for dozens of newly arrived families. “We’ve seen firsthand how transformative these arts experiences can be for refugee youth and parents,” said Hashim. “As the son of an immigrant from Jamaica, I am passionate about helping my new neighbors feel welcome in our city. When Alexandra and I thought back to when we first moved to Greensboro, we realized that taking our children to GreenHill helped us connect with other families and make new friends. We hope to enable that same experience for refugee families.” Alexandra Joye Warren is Assistant Professor of Performing Arts at Elon Uni-

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Grecia Navarro and Hashim Warren “Especially for her little one, versity and Founding Artistic who is unable to fully commuDirector of JOYEMOVEMENT, a nicate verbally, but through contemporary dance company art can communicate her that has performed regionemotions and how she feels. ally and toured nationally at It’s a time when they’re able colleges, universities, festivals, to come together as a family and conferences since its and distract themselves from founding in 2014. Originally reality. Sometimes we think from the Maryland-DC area, of art as just a fun thing for Alexandra earned her MFA in children to do or to get them Dance Performance at UNCG. away from us when we need She then performed, choreofree time, but art is a creative graphed, and taught in New way for her children to learn York. and improve their cognitive A graduate of the Public and socialization skills.” Administration Program of When asked how many the City University of New Juliana Lopez and her daughters Aliah and Zoe times Lopez and her daughYork and a former Teen ters had come to the ArtWorks Ministry Mentor of the NYC space at GreenHill, she laughed and said in Greensboro by delivering long-term Church of Christ, Hashim worked as a “Demasiadas veces” (too many times). at-home services to at-risk families. The journalist and marketer before becoming “Sometimes she has to avoid driving CNNC accomplishes this goal by partnera web developer specializing in marketing past the Cultural Center because her ing with the parents to provide direct automation and e-commerce. daughters recognize that ArtQuest is over intervention, parenting education, group After he and Alexandra married, they here and they want her to pull over,” said meetings, case management, referrals, moved to Greensboro to raise their family. Navarro, translating Lopez’s Spanish. and care coordination through the child’s During the pandemic, they were inspired The GreenHill refugee fundraiser third year. by their daughter’s school project about will run until January 31st. For more In 2022, the program was a grant rehow to be better neighbors. With his information on this fundraiser, use the cipient from Ready for School, Ready for immigrant background and her UNCG contact form at www.greenhillnc.org or Life, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated connections, they saw the Center for New email hashimwarren@gmail.com. to ensuring that all Guilford County North Carolinians as what Hashim called Low-income Spanish-speaking imchildren aged 3 to 5 are prepared to enter a “natural and organic way” to continue migrant families with a child under 36 kindergarten on an equal basis. their involvement in the community. months old or a pregnant mother are Thriving at Three coordinator Navarro At last Friday’s kickoff, Hashim introeligible for Thriving at Three. Referral translated YES! Weekly’s questions for duced YES! Weekly to Grecia Navarro, forms and more information are available Juliana Lopez, a Mexican immigrant coordinator of Thriving at Three program, via cnnc.uncg.edu/thriving-at-three/. ! mother whose daughters Aliah and Zoe a CNNC program sponsored by the United were among the many children busy Way of Greater Greensboro, that serves painting and engaging in other artistic approximately 40 children and mothers IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published activities like sculpting. (overall, CNNC serves 172 refugee children novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a “Coming here is a way for her daughters through several programs). This initiawhole lot of nonfiction and journalism, some of which to express themselves,” said Navarro. tive helps Latino immigrant children he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.

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Knocking ‘em dead: Producer and director talk Cult Killer BY MARK BURGER Currently in theatrical release, Cult Killer marks the latest collaboration between director Jon Keeyes and producer Richard Clabaugh, who have worked together on several big-screen projects dating back to Fall Down Dead, which was filmed in Winston-Salem in 2006. The new film, shot in Ireland, stars Alice Eve as a detective on the trail of an elusive killer who murdered her mentor. Once she confronts the culprit, however, she is compelled to delve further into the case and uncovers an insidious sex-trafficking ring whose members are both well-heeled and well-connected, essentially putting them out of the reach of the law. Thus, she is forced to take the law into her own hands to destroy them — and perhaps find redemption as a result. Originally titled The Last Girl, Cult Killer also stars Shelley Hennig (Ouija, Unfriended), Olwen Fouéré (the 2020 Texas Chainsaw Massacre), Nick Dunning (The Iron Lady), and Academy Award nominee Antonio Banderas, with whom Keeyes and Clabaugh previously worked in the 2022 espionage thriller Code Name Banshee. Clabaugh, who taught at the UNCSA School of Filmmaking from 1999-2009, began his career as a cinematographer (The Prophecy, American Yakuza, Phantoms) before moving into producing and directing. He made his feature directorial debut with the Sci-Fi Channel perennial Python (2000), then helmed the North Carolina crime drama Little Chicago (2005) and the 2006 sci-fi rampage Eyeborgs, which he good-naturedly touts as “the best killerrobot movie ever shot in Winston-Salem.” That Cult Killer was shot overseas was new territory for producer Clabaugh. “This was shot in Ireland and there were a lot of differences that threw me,” he admitted. “The crews there were amazing and I hope to do more films there, but I had to get used to some differences. Also, we had a budget set in U.S. dollars, but the rate of exchange meant that on any given day we might have more or less actual money to spend than we did the day before, and that was new for me!” Nevertheless, he wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass. “Jon Keeyes had brought the film to Yale Productions, where I’d been mostly working as a post-production supervisor when it was called The Last Girl,” Clabaugh recalled. “Jon was attached to direct, and he and I go way back! He’s a long-time friend and collaborator and he really opened the door for me and gave me WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

a chance on this one. I was thrilled for the opportunity.” “We became fast friends (on Fall Down Dead) and have maintained that for more than 15 years,” Keeyes said. “We’ve done so many projects together, all in different capacities, but Cult Killer was the first in which Richard was the producer of the movie. I couldn’t have been more excited about having him by my side, covering things on the production side and being involved in the creative nature of the movie. I’m looking forward to us getting to do many more movies like this together.” “Jon Keeyes is one of the most amazing people I’ve had the pleasure to work with in the business,” Clabaugh said. “He understood filmmaking, knew how to work with his crew, and how to get great performances from his cast. He also knew how to make the hard choices you have to make on a lowbudget project. Anyone who has worked with Jon will tell you the same thing. Not only is he a great director who’s good on set, he’s a great guy who knows how to collaborate with you creatively to get the best from every person he works with.” Keeyes is no less complimentary. “Richard is a walking textbook of moviemaking experience and knowledge,” he said. “The sheer amount of knowledge he brings to the table always helps a production foresee challenges and come up with solutions. But on top of that, he’s a genuinely creative person whose input is always valuable and helps ‘up’ the game of the other filmmakers he’s working with. And he’s friendly and jovial, which is always the right kind of energy you want on set to inspire others around you. “Between ourselves, the Irish producers, and the Irish cast and crew, we had such an amazing team on this movie and the sheer talent of everyone involved really shows in the end result,” Keeyes said. “I’m ecstatic with how the movie turned out and I’ve been overjoyed in seeing and hearing all the positive reactions.” “I am extremely pleased with how this film turned out,” Clabaugh said. “All the elements just came together. I’ve had a long career making movies and I’ll be the first to admit most of them are not great, (but) I’m very proud to be associated with this movie.” The official Cult Killer website is https:// www.cultkillermovie.com/, and Richard Clabaugh’s official website is https://rclabaugh.com/wp/. ! See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2024, Mark Burger.

[ WEEKLY ARTS ROUNDUP]

WINSTON-SALEM THEATRE ALLIANCE PRESENTS “POTUS” BY HEATHER LEVINSON After a sold-out opening weekend filled with uproarious laughter, Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance is back with one more weekend of performances of “POTUS, Or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive.” This fierce, all-female farce by Selena Fillinger rocked Broadway just last season, winning praise from audiences and critics alike, and now makes its Triad premiere at Theatre Alliance’s Ihrie Theatre at 650 W. 6th Street. “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” is a bawdy and irreverent look at sex, politics and the women in charge of the man in charge of the free world. A derogatory comment, a summit gone awry, an anal abscess — it’s a bad day at the White House. When the president unwittingly spins a PR nightmare into a global crisis, it inevitably falls on the seven women he relies on most to clean up the mess. The cast of “POTUS” includes (in alphabetical order) Rebecca Askew (Dusty — his dalliance), Katy Carroll (Harriet — his chief of staff), Mare Hutchinson (Margaret — his wife, The First Lady), Heather Levinson (Jean — his press secretary), Jessie Stewart Lopez (Bernadette — his sister), Ashley Pearson (Stephanie — his secretary), and Brianna Witherspoon (Chris – a journalist). The creative team for “POTUS” includes Jamie Lawson (director), Suzanne Vaughan (lighting design), and Jeremy Engel (sound design). This production has been so well received that an additional performance has been added to accommodate demand for tickets. This weekend’s performances are at 7:30 p.m. on Friday the 26th and Saturday the 27th with additional matinee performances at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday the 28th. Ticket prices are $21 for adults and $19 for students/seniors. This production is rated R as it contains pervasive adult language and frank sexual discussions (This production is not for the easily-offended.) Local audiences are loving “PO-

PHOTO BY NEIL JESTER FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

TUS” at Theatre Alliance, and soon national audiences will get a look at this irreverent production as national theatre vlogger, Bekah Walsh, comes to Winston-Salem this weekend. As part of her mission to highlight the work of regional theatres around the U.S.A., Bekah will be interviewing cast and creative staff about their experiences working on this dynamic piece of uniquely American theatre as part of her POTUS Trail. Come see what Crocs, blue raspberry slushies, and notable suffragist Alice Paul have in common at “POTUS, Or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” playing for this weekend only at WinstonSalem Theatre Alliance in downtown Winston-Salem. Tickets available online at www.theatrealliance.ws or by phone at 336-723-7777. ! JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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rguably, the Ukrainians have already won their country’s battle with Putin’s Russia — if we don’t make them give up that victory. It is a complicated situation, of course. Russian troops are still holding on to Ukrainian territory in the eastern part of the country and are attempting to

conquer more. But they are paying a high price. According to Newsweek in a January 8 article by Ellie Cook, “Ukrainian forces have taken out more than nine battalions worth of Russian soldiers since the New Year, Kyiv said on Monday, in the latest indication of the human cost of the nearly two-year-old war.”

Cook continued, “Russia lost around 4,350 soldiers between January 1 and January 7, according to Ukraine’s Military Media Center, a platform run by the country’s Defense Ministry and military.” Both Ukraine and Russia limit disclosures of causalities, but some estimates conclude that Russian troop losses could approach a half million and, by the most conservative estimate 80,000 Russians have been killed. Thus, Russian losses in the last two years are already greater than the U.S. losses of 58,220 during the entire Vietnam War. In Afghanistan, both Russia (1979-1989) and the U.S. (2001-2021) learned or should have learned the difficulties involved in trying to defeat a highly motivated enemy on its home territory. It is a lesson Great Britain learned from George Washington in the American Revolution. The Americans in the late 1770s and 1780s needed outside help from France to complete their victory. Similarly, notwithstanding the advan-

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POTUS

RATED R Contains pervasive adult language, sexual discussions

JANUARY

19-20 & 26-27 at 7:30PM 28 at 2PM

OR, BEHIN D EVERY GREAT DUMB A** ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE

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Have the Ukrainians already won?

Volodymyr Zelenskyy tages Ukraine has in defending its home territory, it needs help confronting Putin’s Russia and preserving its success in holding the Russians back for two years. And the Ukrainians need help from the U.S. and European allies to stop the Russian invasion. Why should the U.S. continue to help? Writing in The New York Times in September, columnist Tom Friedman summed up an important reason. “What Putin is doing in Ukraine is not just reckless, not just a war of choice, not just an invasion in a class of its own for overreach, mendacity, immorality and incompetence, all wrapped in a farrago of lies. What he is doing is evil.” Friedman continued, “Ukraine is a game-changing country for the West, for better or for worse depending on the war’s outcome. Its integration into the European Union and NATO someday would constitute a power shift that could rival the fall

of the Berlin Wall and German unification. Ukraine is a country with impressive human capital, agricultural resources, and natural resources — ‘hands, brains and grains,’ as Western investors in Kyiv like to say. It’s full-fledged integration into Europe’s democratic security and economic architecture would be felt in Moscow and Beijing.” Nevertheless, some American politicians are asking hard questions about continuing American support for Ukraine in the form of military supplies and money. But it’s Putin, with all the losses of Russia’s young men on the battlefield, who has the greater challenge of explaining why he continues the war. Assuming the Ukraine leaders are willing to continue, what should we and they do now? Holding off the Russians for two years is a victory in itself, but Ukraine should expect and prepare for the war to continue. Do not expect a quick victory. Ukraine should prepare for a long war. It should make the Russians pay a high price for their efforts to capture more territory. With the help of the U.S. and European supporters, Ukraine must sustain and improve air defenses. It should attack the Russian air bases that launch the aircraft, drones, and missiles aimed at Ukrainian targets. To retaliate for the damage done to Ukrainian civilian buildings, it should make similar attacks on Russian civilian targets. To the Ukrainians: Hold on. You’ve already won. ! D.G. MARTIN, a retired lawyer, served as UNC-System’s vice president for public affairs and hosted PBS-NC’s North Carolina Bookwatch.

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The Beekeeper buzzes through basic B-movie territory

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ife with dodgy CGI, producer/ director David Ayer’s The Beekeeper is a typical shoot-‘emup/blow-‘em-up melodrama that Mark Burger confirms the longstanding tradition Contributor that January is a dumping ground for new movies. After last year’s double whammy of The Meg 2 and Expend4bles, this is hardly an auspicious start to 2024 for producer/star Jason Statham. He plays Adam Clay, a dutiful beekeeper who lives on the same property as kindly widow Eloise (Phylicia Rashad). One day, while Adam is tending the bees, Eloise is scammed by a high-tech computer firm that steals every cent she has. She promptly commits suicide and the storyline — such as it is — shifts into typical action mode. Clay isn’t just any old beekeeper; he’s a retired top-secret government agent known as … The Beekeeper (Uh-oh …!), and as soon as he gets a lead on the culprits, he gets a bead on them, too. With a stony stoicism that would make Steven Seagal blush, Clay embarks on a one-man, one-note crusade of vengeance. As the bodies pile up — which they do, in rapid succession — Clay bashes, smashes, and shoots his way through the “hive” so he can save its integrity. Or something like that. Cinematographer Gabriel Beristain favors golden hues, in keeping with the beekeeping motif, but there’s nothing much to The Beekeeper, which was written by producer Kurt Wimmer. Wimmer earlier scripted Expend4bles, so Statham might want to think long and hard about further collaborations. The wisecracks and quips in the film, most frequently exchanged between FBI agents Emmy Raver-Lampmann (who — surprise, surprise — happens to be Eloise’s daughter) and Bobby Naderi, are lame, but Wimmer’s conspiracy angle is faintly amusing. As for Ayer, were it not for the immensely profitable but artistically inept Suicide Squad (2016), this would rank at the bottom of his oeuvre. WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

Poor Minnie Driver, playing the current head of the CIA (?), is relegated to three quick scenes, each one on the phone, so it could legitimately be said she phones in a performance — but she hasn’t been given anything to do. Nothing is required of her. Rashad suffers as nobly as she did in the Creed films, but she’s onscreen about as long as it takes to write this sentence. Statham, who has undeniable charisma, can’t bring much novelty to the unflappable, indestructible Clay, who can decimate an entire S.W.A.T. team without breaking a sweat and breach the most stringent security in seconds. He’s been here before and so have we. He deserves better and so do we. There’s guilty fun in the villains, however: Josh Hutcherson as the snot-nosed rich kid who started the whole mess in the first place; Jemma Redgrave as his mother, whose identity (when revealed) isn’t much of a surprise; and particularly Jeremy Irons as the former head of the CIA, a filthy-rich tycoon whose repeated attempts to stop Clay inevitably result in failure. Adopting a very droll pseudo-American accent, Irons slithers through the proceedings with a haughty relish. It’s an easy paycheck and he makes it look easy. ! See MARK BURGER’s reviews of current movies. © 2024, Mark Burger.

Weekly Specials

MON: $2.50 Domestic Bottles & All Burgers $10.99 TUE: 1/2 Price Wine | WED: $4 Draft THU: $8 Bud Light Pitchers & $3 Fireball

Band Schedule JANUARY 25 The Beautiful People Club FEBRUARY 1 Bryce Hensley

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leisure [NEWS OF THE WEIRD] BY THE EDITORS AT ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION

THE PASSING PARADE

RICKY SKAGGS & KENTUCKY THUNDER

SATURDAY, FEB 3 | 7:30 PM REYNOLDS AUDITORIUM

Be in the room when bluegrass icon and 15-time GRAMMY winner Ricky Skaggs returns with his band Kentucky Thunder for a night of boot-stompin’ barn burners, glorious gospel, and tender ballads, backed by your Winston-Salem Symphony. Michelle Merrill conducts this explosive night of bluegrass favorites. Experience Music in a New Way.

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symp.ws/ricky (336) 464.0145

South Korean model Ain, also known as Angel Box Girl, is being prosecuted for obscene exposure following incidents from last fall, Oddity Central reported. In Seoul and Gangnam, Ain walked through the streets wearing a large cardboard box with holes for her arms and legs — plus two more, which she invited strangers to put their hands in to grope her breasts and other body parts. Naturally, she attracted large crowds that police were called to disperse. “It’s freedom of expression,” she said. “I just wanted to market myself. I actually saw many positive reactions, with people telling me they support me and applaud my courage.” If found guilty, Ain could face a $3,800 fine or up to a year in jail.

OHHHH-KKAAAAYYYY

Pet owners who are exceedingly attached to their furry friends sometimes go to the trouble of having them preserved through taxidermy after they die. After her Roborovski dwarf hamster, Hammy, passed away last year, Jess PorterLangson, 27, who lives in Brighton in the U.K., sought out Bea Ostrowska, a local taxidermist, hoping to immortalize her beloved pet as a pole-dancing stripper, Metro News reported. “This hamster was so iconic, and all my friends knew Hammy and wanted to see him,” Porter-Langson said. “He needed something special.” Ostrowska posed Hammy on a small platform with a pole and sewed a little thong for him to wear, which is stuffed with tiny dollar bills. “He’s got this creepy little smile going on,” Porter-Langson said. “I was blown away. What is more iconic than a hamster on a stripper pole hustling for money?” What, indeed.

FUNSUCKERS

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration, in an effort to suck any remaining fun from highway commutes, has laid down the law: By 2026, states must ban messages on electronic highway signs that include references to pop culture or evoke a laugh. Examples: “Visiting in-laws? Slow down, get there late” from Ohio; “Use Yah Blinkah” from Massachusetts; and “Hocus Pocus, Drive With Focus” from New Jersey. The Associated Press reported that the agency wants the signs to be “simple, direct, brief, legible and clear” because clever messages might distract or confuse drivers. One Arizona state representative, David Cook of Globe, was underwhelmed: “Prime example that the federal govern-

JANUARY 24-30, 2024

ment is not focusing on what they need to be.”

GOVERNMENT IN ACTION

— In Oklahoma, a proposed new bill, HB 3084, would prohibit students who “purport to be an imaginary animal or species” — i.e., furries — from participating in schools’ curriculum or other activities, KOKH-TV reported. Rep. Justin Humphrey of Lane, Oklahoma, filed the bill on Jan. 17; it would also require parents to pick up their furry offspring from school or risk them being turned over to animal control. Leave the cat ears at home, kids. — You’ll need your dictionary for this one. In York, England, signs have been popping up that appear to encourage citizens to “exercise obtundity,” the BBC reported on Jan. 17. Of course, no one knows what that word means: “Knowing the police, it could be anything,” said one resident. Social media has come alive with speculation about the signs, but it turns out that “Exercise Obtundity” is the name of a training program involving the York City Council, North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service and the Yorkshire Ambulance Service, and the signs are merely warnings of streets that might be closed during the activities. Stand down.

LEAST COMPETENT CRIMINAL

A man in Sulphur Springs, Texas, was arrested on Jan. 9 for stealing a Lamborghini in Houston, KLTV reported. Everett Van Jennings, 34, parked the sports car in his own garage, police reported — along with two other vehicles he had nicked. Police said together they were valued at $500,000. The Lamborghini’s owner tracked the car using a GPS device and set off the lights and alarms, but Jennings claimed to be out of town and unable to return home. Law enforcement got a search warrant and along with the cars found materials used in VIN swapping. Jennings was charged with at least two felonies.

POSITIVELY HITCHCOCKIAN

In southwest London, patrons outside a Greggs bakery are being warned of attacks by hungry, hungry crows, The Sun reported on Jan. 16. Paras Singh, 23, who works nearby, said, “It’s happening every day. They all swoop down in a frenzy.” Jay Baiz, 27, a barber, said, “On Thursday, a woman was eating a bacon sandwich. The crow tried to rip it out and nearly scratched her head.” Locals are hoping the city council will call in a falconer to scare the crows away. !

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[king crossword]

[weekly sudoku]

SILLY SAILING

ACROSS 1

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Grappler, backwoods-style Skylit courts Astronaut Wally “The Stranger Beside Me” true-crime writer Flowers in the iris family Some sweatshirts Swift warship for law enforcement? Finales Makes mother’s milk Comic Radner “How about that!” Lugosi of “The Raven” Hefty books Defectively built flat- bottomed boat? Pumpkin’s color Resident of Tehran Makes a choice Light, speedy boat transporting Oreos? Just barely Indian state known for silk United In a smoothly elegant way Neon, e.g. French mime master High-sterned ship orbiting Earth? “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star Andy Central Canadian tribe members Upscale hotel quarters Small combo Discovering a sharp- bowed rowboat? Safe, at sea

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DOWN 1 2 3 4 5

Jay-Z’s music Year, in Portugal NBC skit show, in brief Indian Ocean island nation — Brasi (role in “The Godfather”)

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One voted in Book page opposite a verso Severe Samples something Singer Diana With 13-Down, thick glacial mass along a polar shore BB shooter See 11-Down Magazine publisher Nast Wannabe surfer Exiled Amin Key into a cash register Acting king Good traits He-sheep “— may be so bold ...” — Raton Lovers’ deity Neighbor of Thailand Clayey fertilizer Herd of seals “— a break!” Gave a new interior design to Welsh canine Mom’s bro Ball supporter Org. for cavity fillers Doc’s warm treatment “For” votes Like thrift store goods — facto Sly deception Prices to play Variety of trapshooting Spot’s noise Etching liquid Husband of Eva Peron Actress Keanan Enthusiasm

63 64 66 70 71

Gold-fancying king Boxers’ event Waffle brand No, to Nikita Torres with 12 Olympic swimming medals 72 Antique item 73 “Hooray!” 76 “Guilty” or “not guilty” 79 Onetime TV host Philbin 81 Debut on Wall St. 82 Zippo 84 Woofing pet 85 Actor Vigoda 88 Olympic skier Mahre 91 Meeting building regulations 92 Tater 93 Head, in Metz 94 Mining strikes 95 Big inits. in SUVs 97 Certain deer leather 98 Hamlet’s duel opponent 99 Peace treaty 100 Shutter piece 101 Fidgetiness 102 Valuable rock 103 Long, loose outerwear 106 Nitpickers split them 107 Olympic skier Mahre 108 Sprayed, with “down” 110 Mining strikes 111 Downed 112 Electric car producer 116 Sicilian resort city 117 Investments for later yrs. 119 Home: Abbr. 121 Suffix with budget 122 — and yang 123 Doc for head colds 124 Blog feed format inits.

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January 24-30, 2024

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feature

#WheresMarissa?: Police continue to search for missing woman

Chanel Davis

Editor

(Editor’s Note: Specific names and people of interest have been changed to Person A, Person B, and Person C, as we await confirmation of identities for this particular incident from Greensboro Police Department.)

or the past week, dozens of organizations across the state and social media have banded together to assist Greensboro Police Department and Guilford County Crime Stoppers in finding a 25-year-old mother of five who went missing after a night in downtown Greensboro. The hashtag #wheresmarissa or #findmarissa has flooded social media since Marissa Kay Carmichael went missing on Sunday, January 14 following a night at One 17 Sofa Bar and Lounge, located at 117 N. Greene St. in Greensboro. For Sara Carmichael, Marissa’s mother, it’s been one of the longest weeks of her life. “Marissa is such a beautiful girl. She’s very sweet, caring, empathetic, and wanted to help everybody,” she said. “My house hasn’t been empty since she was 14 or 15 because she had friends that we opened up our home for. If she had her phone, she would have found a way home.” At this point, Sara, with the help of a few grassroots organizations and friends, has taken the investigation into her own hands. She’s been going door to door in neighborhoods where her daughter disappeared, plastering flyers at as many places as she can and retracing what she knows to be her daughter’s last steps. “They have the video of her being in the store. Her getting out of (Person B) car. Her getting into (Person C) car. They’ve got video of all of that. They [the store workers] didn’t want to help her because that guy (Person C) is a good customer at Exxon. They’ve even allowed him to come and take down posters that we’ve put up. So, we’ve put up more. They said well he’s getting mad and it’s bothering him, so we took them down. So, we put them back up on the pumps,” she said. According to the timeline that Sara has been able to build, Marissa was at an AirBnB at 444 Gorrell St. with several

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people on Saturday, January 13 early in the evening before heading to One 17 Sofa Bar and Lounge. “She had taken a nap. That’s when her friend (Person A) left her. When she woke up she went to the club and after the club, she went with (Person B) back to the AirBnB. Supposedly, they didn’t go inside, they just sat in his car. This guy (Person C) was also standing around outside at the AirBnB. There was some sort of altercation and (Person B) and Marissa ended up at that Exxon,” Sara said. “When she got out to go into the store, he threw her purse and stuff out but kept her phone. Sometime after that, she called 911.” A transcription of that 911 call YES! Weekly obtained from Guilford Metro 911 is below. An audio version of the 911 call has been added to this article on our website at www.yesweekly.com. 911 Operator: Guilford Metro 911. What’s the address of your emergency? Caller: Yes ma’am. I need the contact to the non-emergency number. 911 Operator: It comes into the same center. I can try to help you while I have you on the phone. Caller: OK, yes. I don’t know where I am in Greensboro. I just got all my stuff thrown out the car, he took off with my phone. I have no clue where I’m at. I have no numbers. 911 Operator: Are you at a business? Caller: I am at a store. Yes, I’m at a Synergy. 911 Operator: Are you at an Exxon? Caller: <Asking someone in the background> Is this an Exxon? 911 Operator: It looks like you’re at 801 E. Market? Caller: OK. It’s an Exxon. Yes. 911 Operator: What’s your name? Caller: redacted noise 911 Operator: Are you hurt and in need of an ambulance? Caller: No, I’m not but I mean like he told me to come into the store and grab some sh-t and like took off on me. And I don’t know where I’m at. I’m in the middle of Greensboro. He took my phone. I don’t have my phone. (<speaking to someone in the background> Yes. Back to my house.) 911 Operator: What are you wearing so officers can identify you when they get there? Caller: ( <Speaking to someone in the background> No. He took my sh-t.) You said what? 911 Operator: What are you wearing so officers can identify you when they get there?

Marissa Kay Carmichael Caller: I’m wearing some blue jeans and a white shirt with some yellow sneakers. That’s not going to help my problem though, ma’am. I’m stuck all the way in Greensboro and I don’t know where I’m at. 911 Operator: You just told me you were at an Exxon? Caller: Yes. But in order for me to get back home I don’t have any of my contacts. 911 Operator: OK, I’m going to send an officer out there to see if they can help you in any way. Caller: OK. 911 Operator: Alright. They’ll be there as soon as possible. Caller: OK. Thank you. Carmichael’s family has confirmed that it is her voice on the recording. According to GPD, “their investigation indicates that Ms. Carmichael was last seen at 3:46 a.m., January 14 at the Exxon.” The News and Record reports that “a police officer went to the store to check on Carmichael around 4:20 a.m.” and that an officer “spoke with a store clerk who said Carmichael had gotten a ride from another customer.” The department’s P2C system shows that an incident report for a missing person was also filed on Sunday, January 14 at 4 p.m. from One 17 Sofa Bar and Lounge. Sara said the last contact she had with Marissa would’ve been at 5:08 a.m. on Sunday morning if she was awake to answer the phone. She believed that Marissa was at work at the Waffle House on Westchester Drive in High Point. “I don’t know where she went. She called my phone from (Person C’s) number at

5:08 in the morning. I was asleep. I thought Marissa was at work. She called me twice and then she called her dad’s number,” she said. “He’s usually up early and he was awake. Marissa said to him ‘Hey Dad. Is (Person A) there? It’s an emergency. Put her on the phone.’ We didn’t know that she was here. He went upstairs and she was in Marissa’s bed asleep. He woke her up and said ‘Hey. Marissa needs to talk to you.’ It was a really quick call. (Person A) got off the phone and went back to sleep. She didn’t wake me up, did not tell her dad anything. She acted like it was nothing. And I asked her when she woke up ‘Where’s Marissa? Marissa didn’t work. What?’ and I kept getting different stories. (Person A) left that day and has not been back since. But from what she said Marissa said ‘I’m trying to get home. (Person B) got my phone. Can you get a hold of him and get my phone?’ (Person A) is saying I don’t know (Person B) and I’ve never met (Person B). Well why would Marissa ask you to get a hold of him and why would you roll over and go back to sleep knowing she’s out there in Greensboro trying to get home? None of that adds up. It all feels like some kind of setup.” According to Sara, Person A was a friend of Marissa’s who had been staying at their home and the same friend she initially went out with that night. She believes that friend knows more than she’s telling Marissa’s family and the police working the case. “We let (Person A) live here because she had nowhere to live. She interfered in her [Marissa] life more than I did, and I’m her mom. I think she knows more. She knows something,” Sara said. “She lived here and she’s not been here since that day Marissa did not come home. Why did you come back to Marissa’s house without Marissa? Sara said that she has not spoken with Person A but has received messages from her including one stating that she “did not fight Marissa.” “What she did say was that Marissa said ‘Oh, I’m cool. I know who I’m with. I’m OK. You can go ahead and do your own thing.” That’s what she said originally. But she told Marissa’s sister to leave her name out of it, she didn’t want to be in danger. So, in her case, something is weird. If she had anything to do with this, she’s just not human at all.” Sara also believes that Marissa is being held against her will at this point and has launched her own investigation, following up on leads and visiting local hotels to see if anyone has heard of or seen her missing daughter.

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“I think (Person C) and (Person B) are holding her and using her for sex trafficking. I believe that they are threatening her and keeping her drugged. It has to be something like that. Because if Marissa had free will for five minutes she would jump out of a window or would get somewhere. She would be calling my phone or calling her dad’s phone. I don’t know if she would be calling 911 because they have failed her already but they would know if she was in jail,” she said. “Marissa is not a compliant person. She’s a fighter. Marissa would put up a fight. She would spit, scratch, bite. She’s smart enough to take out one of her braids and throw it under the seat or an earring. Anything that would leave evidence that she was there.” Sara, along with grassroots search parties and local organizers, has begun canvassing hotels that have allegedly been used for sex trafficking. It is here, at the Studio 6 Motel, located at 2000 Veasley St., where her strength for her search was renewed when a handful of people confirmed seeing her missing daughter. “The clerk said that (Person C) gets rooms there and has several women there. Three different people, civilians and workers, said they had seen Marissa and (Person C). They said that Marissa was told that when she was walking into the motel to ‘keep your head down.’” Sara said that as of Monday someone had begun using Marissa’s social media accounts and sending messages. “I’ve been getting a lot of screenshots of someone using her name and picture. Sending messages saying she’s locked up and I definitely know it’s not Marissa,” she said. “I’ve even had people try to scam and say they would return her if I send them money. They are trying to scam me into thinking they have my child states away.” The stress for the mother and grandmother of five is almost too much to bear. She has breathing issues, is on an oxygen tank, has uterine cancer, and is a diabetic. As of Tuesday morning, she was hospitalized. Her daughter, Emma, makes sure she remembers to eat and take her insulin. Something she said, “Marissa would be on me about for sure.” To her, her health is a small price to pay to make sure her daughter is back home and taking care of her grandchildren. “I’ve made myself sick by being out in the cold but I’ve been busy investigating. Getting Marissa’s face out there and getting her story out there. I have my moments where I just shut down for a few hours and cry. Then I say I’ve gotta get it together. I’ve got to fight for Marissa. I’ve got to be her voice. I just wish I had been awake that morning. I wish I had answered my phone that morning. I’m exhausted but I’m in fight mode right now.” WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

While she shares information with detectives, it seems the more she digs, the more questions she comes up with that have yet to be answered by GPD. Mainly questions surrounding surveillance footage located at or around the Exxon, located at 801 E. Market St. and The Historic Magnolia House, located at 442 Gorrell St. “The camera at the Magnolia Hotel would show who was there, who went in and out. The camera from the Magnolia House points straight to the parking lot and the door of the Airbnb. We went out there and looked for cameras and it’s a great view to see who was there and when they were there. I can tell by the sound of her voice what kind of despair she’s in and how she’s feeling. I can tell by how she walks if she’s been drugged. I heard that she had been given a handful of Xanax. I can tell by her movements and mannerisms what kind of situation she’s in. To me that’s what matters,” Sara said. “There have been so many crazy things and tips that seem very plausible. I’ve sent tons of stuff, screenshots, ideas, and anything that I can get to the detective. I told him my daughter’s life is in your hands right now.” YES! Weekly also reached out to GPD and asked questions in regards to Marissa’s last reported whereabouts, the 911 call and the police response time, surveillance videos from the Magnolia House and Exxon, alleged sex work at local hotels, and whether residents should be worried when enjoying downtown nightlife. We received the following response: Detectives are continuing to actively pursue all leads in this case. This is an ongoing investigation and additional details are not being made public at this time. Anyone with information in this case is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 336-3731000. Ingram Bell, with Gate City Coalition, has been one of the handful of organizations working tirelessly to track down leads and bring Marissa home safely. She said that violence is never OK and she decided to help out. “We have a mom of five kids who hasn’t returned to her children and that didn’t sit right with me as a mother,” Bell explained. “But to see her mom not have her child, that alone makes your heartache.” Bell said they’ve received plenty of responses and tips from the community, ranging from the good and the bad. “We’ve had different responses. We’ve heard she’s been here or there. We’ve had someone tell us she could be deceased and disposed of. We’re just trying to decipher between those tips and make sure that we stay in contact with the family so that we are doing the best of our ability to get Marissa home. That’s everyone’s goal. To get Marissa home.”

As for Sara, she said she would continue to search for Marissa. “I don’t know if she’s cold, hungry, or scared. I’m scared that if they see we are getting close they are going to move her location. I can’t let my mind go to the worst-case scenario. So the best case scenario is that she’s being held captive, being trafficked, and being drugged. That is still insane,” she said. As the weather warms up this week, and the search parties hope to stay out longer, Sara is grateful for the people who have shown up to walk the neighborhoods and

woods, posted posters, flown drones, and knocked on doors in search of her missing daughter. “It is great knowing that there are people out there putting in the footwork, following leads, and asking questions in the cold. It didn’t take a village to raise Marissa but it’s definitely going to take more than a village to bring her home.” ! CHANEL DAVIS is the current editor of YES! Weekly and graduated from N.C. A&T S.U. in 2011 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications. She’s worked at daily and weekly newspapers in the Triad region.

NCDOT TO HOLD A PUBLIC MEETING REGARDING THE PROPOSAL TO IMPROVE I-85/I-485 INTERCHANGE WEST OF CHARLOTTE IN MECKLENBURG COUNTY STIP Project No. I-6016 CHARLOTTE - The N.C. Department of Transportation is hosting a public meeting to discuss the proposal to improve the interchange at I-85/I-485 west of Charlotte. The purpose of this project is congestion management and to improve safety. Project details and maps can be found on the NCDOT project web page: https://www.ncdot.gov/projects/i-85-i-485-improvements/Pages/ default.aspx. The information will be presented at the meeting allowing for one-on-one discussions with engineers, but there will be no formal presentation. The meeting will be held Feb. 8 at Mount Carmel Baptist, 7237 Tuckaseegee Road, Charlotte. The public is invited to attend at any time between 4 - 7 p.m. People may also submit comments by phone at 984-205-6615 project code 6824, email l85-l485-westcharlotte@publicinput.com, or mail at the address shown below by Feb. 27, 2024. By Mail:

Radha Attaluri NCDOT Project Management Unit – Project Manager 1582 Mail Service Center Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1582

NCDOT will provide auxiliary aids and services under the Americans with Disabilities Act for disabled people who wish to participate in this meeting. Anyone requiring special services should contact Tony Gallagher, Environmental Analysis Unit, at 1598 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1598, 919-707-6069 or magallagher@ncdot.gov as early as possible so arrangements can be made. Those who do not speak English, or have a limited ability to read, speak or understand English, may receive interpretive services upon request prior by calling 1-800-481-6494.

Aquellas personas no hablan inglés, o tienen limitaciones para leer, hablar o entender inglés, podrían recibir servicios de interpretación si los solicitan llamando al 1-800-4816494. JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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UNCG slashes programming “There is no University list of academic programs identified for modification nor discontinuation,” wrote University of North Carolina of Greensboro Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam Ian McDowell in an October 19 “Message to Students” posted on the Contributor university’s website. “Social media posts and other communications indicating such are false.” In his most recent “Message,” posted on January 16, Gilliam released the list that, three months earlier, he stated did not exist. “Following more than a year of evaluation and collaboration in UNC Greensboro’s academic portfolio review,” wrote Gilliam, “the University deans have completed their recommendations for adjustments to our program offerings.” According to Gilliam, the recommendations were to discontinue the following undergraduate programs: Anthropology; Secondary Education in Geography (with the notation that “the other undergraduate Geography Programs are not affected”); Religious Studies; Physics; and Physical Education & Health Teacher Education. This list of undergraduate programs being considered for elimination also included minors in Chinese, Russian, and all Korean language course offerings. Gilliam then listed the graduate programs considered for elimination: Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Nursing; Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Advanced Practice Foundations of Nursing; Master of Arts (MA) in Applied Geography; Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Drama with Concentration in Directing; MFA in Interior Architecture; MA in Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; MA in Mathematics; Master of Education (MEd) in Special Education; Dual Masters in Nursing Science and Business Administration; and PhD in Communication Sciences and Disorders. In total, five undergraduate majors, three undergraduate minors or certificates, and 11 graduate programs were listed, with Anthropology and Physics having the largest enrollments. Gilliam listed enrollment figures for all the programs, with 68 students currently majoring in Anthropology and 44 in Phys-

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ics. A NC Newsline article by Joe Killian reported that “Professors and department heads, already concerned about the accuracy of data used to evaluate their programs, came forward to show the university had publicly misreported the number of majors and minors in some of their programs.” In a public Facebook post, the UNCG Anthropology Department asked students, faculty, alumni, and community members to reach out to Gilliam at chancellor@ uncg.edu and provost Debbie Storrs at dastorrs@uncg.edu to request the department not be eliminated. Gilliam stressed the list is only a preliminary recommendation, with the actual decision about which programs will be discontinued to be announced by Storrs on February 1. The impending elimination of programs and courses has been a source of faculty criticism and student protest for months. After Gilliam’s announcement, some faculty members, who spoke after being guaranteed anonymity, expressed relief that the proposed cuts are not as bad as they feared. But one pointed out that this list is only what the deans have recommended. “There’s no guarantee administration won’t go beyond this, and target programs such as Women’s and Gender Studies, which we’ve long suspected they want to get rid of.” Of particular concern has been UNCG’s partnership with rpk GROUP, which the university’s website calls “a leading higher education consulting firm” hired to “support our efforts to respond to the impact of the new UNC System funding formula and declining enrollments.” The consulting firm’s website describes it as enabling universities to develop “business models that last” and emphasizes a corporate approach to higher education. “The Evisceration of a Public University,” an August 2023 article by The Nation’s Lisa M. Corrigan, reported that, due to the recommendations of rpk GROUP, “West Virginia University is being gutted, and it’s a preview of what’s in store for public education.” Some say the same thing is happening at UNCG. One is alumna Olivia Wood, who graduated with a BA in English and Anthropology in 2016, is a lecturer at the City College of New York, and a writer and editor for LeftVoice.org. On January 17, Wood posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “I got an email from @UNCG inviting me to a damagereduction PR event for alumni because they are strongly considering eliminating

one of the majors I graduated with.” When contacted by YES! Weekly, Wood gave a lengthy statement, some of which is excerpted below. I closely followed what happened when rpk GROUP eviscerated West Virginia University and I’m heartbroken to see it happening to my own alma mater. I’m particularly frustrated at the university’s claim that the multiyear phaseout timeline will give affected faculty and staff plenty of time to find new positions, when everyone in academia knows that tenure track positions are incredibly difficult to get now, as the result of decades of underfunding and universities increasingly choosing to hire legions of part-time faculty at cheap rates and semester-by-semester contracts. A tenure-track position is supposed to be the gold standard, with its primary advantage being job security, and now that’s being thrown to the wayside. Between my family and my partner’s family, we have eight UNCG degrees spanning ten areas of study across majors/ minors. It’s a key institution for educating the people of North Carolina, and to see the Chancellor’s office decimating the school like this is infuriating, especially given UNCG AAUP’s independent analysis of the budget. Wood was referring to the October analysis by Howard Bunsis, a consultant hired by the UNCG Chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), whose findings were reported in the October 18 YES! Weekly article “Cut UNCG administration and athletics, not faculty, says analyst.” UNCG graduate student Azariah Journey, a member of the UNCG Student Organization who has helped organize multiple protests over pending program cuts, high administration salaries, and

Chancellor Franklin D. Gilliam low graduate stipends, gave the following statement from that organization. As students, we do not condone or support the discontinuation of any program at UNCG. UNCG is a university that is meant to serve a diverse student population and, as such, should invest in all programs. Every program is a vital part of UNCG. We urge students and faculty to attend upcoming forums to have their voices heard. Associate head of the UNCG History Department Mark Elliott, who is vicepresident of UNCG’s AAUP chapter, also gave a statement: I would say there is a great deal of surprise and confusion at the list. The Deans do not seem to have followed the faculty recommendations, since many programs not discussed or evaluated by faculty committees somehow ended up on the list. Some programs ranked well on the APR rubrics and we were told they were safe. Three minors were cut even though no data was collected about minors and none were reviewed in the committees. Also, the enrollment numbers attached to the programs in the chancellor’s statement were inaccurate. This whole process has been a disaster, so maybe we should not have been surprised. ! IAN MCDOWELL is the author of two published novels, numerous anthologized short stories, and a whole lot of nonfiction and journalism, some of which he’s proud of and none of which he’s ashamed of.

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Body and Soul comes to the Carolina Theatre

ody and Soul is coming to the Carolina Theatre as part of the “Silent Series” with a world premier score performed by renowned organist, Dr. Mark Katei Cranford Andersen on January 30. The 1925 silent Contributor film is directed by the legendary Oscar Micheaux (widely considered the first Black major filmmaker), and offers a “direct critique of the power of the cloth after a corrupt small-town minister leads his congregation astray.” Featuring the film debut of renowned Harlem Renaissance actor, athlete, activist — and N.C. A&T Theatre namesake — Paul Robeson; who at age 27, starred in the dual role of both the Reverend Isaiah T. Jenkins and his brother, Sylvester. “Significantly, this was the only movie Robeson made working with a Black director,” noted Carolina’s Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Georgette Hamlett. “We’re very excited for its inclusion in our ‘Silent Series’ as this will actually be, to the best of our knowledge and records, the first time Body and Soul is being shown at the Carolina. So not only is this event a World Premiere performance, but also a first for the Carolina Theatre in its 96-year history!” “Body and Soul really has an important place in African American film history,” Hamlett continued. “Micheaux actually started his own production company in 1919 where he wrote, directed, and produced over 40 movies — both silent films and talkies — with Body and Soul being one of Micheaux’s three surviving silent films.” As part of the “Silent Series,” the film will be screened with live accompaniment on the Carolina’s Robert Morton Theatre Organ — the original that dates back to Carolina’s opening night in 1927, which is also the only remaining organ of its kind in the state. “We like to say it’s the only way you should watch a silent movie!” Hamlett said, turning to the series itself. “It’s always a fan-favorite because we give audiences the unique experience of seeing the movie as it was truly meant to WWW.YESWEEKLY.COM

be shown — on the big screen with live musical accompaniment. And of course, the Carolina opened during the silent era of film so you’re also getting to experience these movies in the place as it was originally intended.” Ushering that experience is Andersen, the Carolina’s current “house organist;” who’s been the organist for Boston Symphony and Boston Pops, the head staff music arranger for NBC, and an Artist in Residence at Hammond Castle in Massachusetts and Daniels Recital Hall in Seattle. He’s also released 35 recordings, won the International Composer’s Competition twice, and has been the featured artist at three American Theatre Organ Society Conventions. Accolades notwithstanding, the privilege of performing is all Andersen’s. “I’m honored to be the one here now so crowned in a long line of great musicians through almost 100 years,” he said. “Body and Soul is one of many premier scores that I have written for many silent movies still being shown today and we are most fortunate to have a performance balance such as the Carolina right here in our home state.” “The Carolina Theater is a beautiful and historic monument to an era bygone now and it remains a wonderful show palace in homage to a world that was the most important entertainment advancement in the early 1900s in America. We don’t have to travel to New York or California to experience the wonder and the majesty of an era of entertainment lost to many across our country except in the meccas.” Expressing gratitude for his own New York minutes, “My concert career is man-

aged by the International Artists Foundation in New York,” he continued, “and I’m thrilled to be able to present my work life in person at the Carolina.” As a composer with a publishing list featuring more than 300 works, Andersen recalls a quote from The New York Times review of his first Carnegie Hall performance: “Music is Mark’s life and Mark certainly brings life to music.” Drawing influence from the classics, Andersen considers the impact of works by Cole Porter and George Gershwin as crucial elements of his compositions. “I’d go so far as to say they were both among the most important musical composers for the stage of our lifetime,” he emphasized. “Gershwin’s ‘Porgy and Bess’ opera broke through barriers of prejudice at a time when that was simply not done by any other musician. That important work came from years of study of the Black lives in early America and remains a stellar work still being performed on opera stages across the world. Both men have been a solid influence on my composing for film and I attribute a lot of my success to the time I’ve put forth in my life studying their work.” Turning to Body and Soul, “this important film brought back to life now is a special earmark for our theater and our audience,” Andersen explained. “Being able to write the score for the first all-Black cast in a film is a monument to the times when this could not have been thought of. It was a brave and forward move in a time when being on stage was all but impossible for a Black person

Robert Morton playing the pipe organ from the Carolina Theatre. without being made fun of. It stars one of the most important Black stars of all time in Paul Robeson, who went on to become known worldwide for his magnificent voice in movies and the opera stage. This movie is his very first starring role and even though we don’t get to hear his great voice, we do get to know the man in the film as a precursor to all that he became later.” As for what comes later in the “Silent Series,” Andersen will return for the next installment featuring Charlie Chaplin’s 1928 rom-com The Circus, on April 30. The Carolina, meanwhile, will continue “Celebrating Black Cinema” with a series of modern “talkies” running through February: Brown Sugar kicks things off on February 14, followed by School Daze on February 15, Glory and The Learning Tree on February 20, Coming to America and Selma on February 21, and The Last Dragon and Do the Right Thing on February 27. The Carolina Theatre will screen Body and Soul, featuring the world premiere of Andersen’s accompaniment, performed live, as part of the “Silent Series,” January 30. ! KATEI CRANFORD is a Triad music nerd who enjoys spotlighting artists and events.

JANUARY 24-30, 2024

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last call [SALOME’S STARS]

[TRIVIA TEST] by Fifi Rodriguez

Week of January 29, 2024

time to prove to your detractors that you’re way ahead of them when it comes to getting things done. So, be sure to avoid surprise distractions and complete that project as soon as possible.

[GEMINI (May 21 to June 20) Be careful not to waste your precious energy on frivolous matters that don’t advance your goals. Stay focused. There’ll be enough time for fun and games after you reach your objective. [CANCER (June 21 to July 22) You’ve done well on your own, but now could be a good time to consider advice from confidantes, as long as you continue to let your own instincts be your primary guide. [LEO (July 23 to August 22) A belated New Year’s “gift” could create a problem if you feel unwilling or unable to adjust your plans and accommodate the new development. Check out all options before deciding. [VIRGO (August 23 to September 22) There’s a possibility that you could be goaded into making a statement you might regret. It’s important to stay cool no matter how heated the conversation gets. [LIBRA (September 23 to October

22) A recent sad experience can become a valuable lesson. Examine it well and take

[SCORPIO (October 23 to November 21) Lingering problems in a personal or professional partnership still need to be resolved so you can move on. Insist on more cooperation from everyone involved. [SAGITTARIUS (November 22 to

December 21) That recent problem that made you feel emotionally trapped and physically exhausted is gone. Don’t dwell on it. Instead, make new plans and set up other goals.

[CAPRICORN (December 22 to January 19) Your creative talents combine with a strong domestic aspect this week, which means you can start on those home-improvement projects that you’ve been planning for a long time. [AQUARIUS (January 20 to February 18) It’s a good time to anticipate an upcoming change in the near future. This could mean taking on a new career, going off to a new city or moving into a new home. [PISCES (February 19 to March 20) Soon, you should be learning more about the motives of those who continue to pressure you into making a decision that you’re still unsure about. Use this information wisely. [BORN THIS WEEK: The flow of your generosity seems to have no limit. However, you’re smart enough to know when it’s time to cap it. © 2024 by King Features Syndicate

answers [CROSSWORD] crossword on page 9

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[WEEKLY SUDOKU] sudoku on page 9

[1. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is the

[6. LITERATURE: In which children’s

[2. TELEVISION: In the sitcom The Of-

[7. MATH: In Roman numerals, what is

[3. GEOGRAPHY: In which country is The

[8. MEDICAL: What is a common name

[4. MUSIC: Which 1990s group was the

[9. CHEMISTRY: How many elements

[5. U.S. STATES: In which state is Monu-

[10. MOVIES: What is the year of the

last name of Ken, who was Barbie’s boyfriend?

fice, the company is in which U.S. city? Matterhorn located?

singer Beyoncé a part of? ment Valley located?

book do the characters Tweedledee and Tweedledum appear? XLVIII divided by XII? for polythelia?

are listed on the Periodic Table?

Olympics in the movie Chariots of Fire?

answer 6. “Through the Looking-Glass.” 7. IV (Four). 8. Having an extra nipple, which affects about 1%-5% of the population. 9. 118. 10. 1924.

[TAURUS (April 20 to May 20) It’s

what you’ve learned to help you make an important upcoming decision.

1. His full name is Kenneth Sean Carson. 2. Scranton, Pennsylvania. 3. Switzerland. 4. Destiny’s Child. 5. Arizona.

[ARIES (March 21 to April 19) Is that Arian self-esteem in need of shoring up? Best advice: Do something that will make someone feel good about themselves. It will make you feel proud that you did it.

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