Security update
This morning we sent a message out to all parents and families of undergraduate students about a shot fired at an off-campus house. Read the full message here.
The short version is that last night a bullet was fired into a university-owned house on Polo Road. No one was injured. The house’s occupants are all graduate students. All the information I have was included in the email to families.
A second email went out this afternoon detailing emails sent to faculty and staff:
On September 10 and 11, twelve University faculty and staff members received multiple variations of an email from an unknown source. The emails were intentionally inflammatory, using racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic and discriminatory language. The wording of the emails was intentionally intimidating and threatening, though no direct and specific threat was made. At this time, we have had no reports of any students receiving similar emails, and no further emails have been reported since the original twelve….University Police coordinated with Information Systems and local authorities. They also enlisted the help of state and federal agencies….
In response to faculty and staff concerns, Wake Forest has increased the police and security presence around the buildings housing impacted offices. After consulting with state and federal authorities, Wake Forest did not cancel classes or issue an alert to students requiring any change to daily activity.
Read the full message here. Per our Parent and Family Communications philosophy, this second security message did not rise to the level of being emailed to all families (since Wake Forest did not cancel classes or issue an alert to change students’ daily activity).
I know this kind of news is unsettling. The unfortunate reality is that no amount of preparation or planning can make our campus and the surrounding area immune to crime. However, we all share the same goal of our students’ safety. I worry about your kids like they were my own.
As long as we are talking about all the tough subjects at once, let me throw in illness for the trifecta. September is typically when seasons change and we start to see more illness (my own Class of ’27 is home with what he is sure is The Worst Sore Throat Ever). Having fielded a few questions about students wanting (but not finding) appointments at the Student Health Service, I asked my friend and colleague Joanne Clinch, clinical director of the Student Health Service (SHS), to give me the story:
Q: What if a student is sick and cannot find an appointment in the Student Health Service through the patient portal?
A: The Student Health Service (SHS) offers appointment scheduling through their online patient portal (shs.wfu.edu). It is important to know, however, that not all available appointments are visible through the portal. The SHS reserves some appointments each day to accommodate students with sudden and urgent medical needs.
If your student does not see an appointment on the portal, please have them call the SHS at (336) 758-5218 for assistance. Students with urgent care needs (such as fever, significant illness or injury) will be seen the same day. Students with mild symptoms or who request routine care may be offered an appointment the following day if determined to be medically safe to delay assessment and care.
So urge any sick Deacs to call, not just check the portal. PS – I know some of the doctors and staff at SHS well, and I would use them as my Primary Care Physician/Class of ’27s PCP tomorrow if they’d let me.
— by Betsy Chapman (’92, MA ’94)