Friday thoughts
As we close out the week, a few announcements to note:
My tribe at the ZSR is doing something cool, and they could use your help. The library is asking WFU faculty, staff, students, alumni, parents, and families, etc. to share words of encouragement for our students during finals week. These statements will be included in ZSR’s exam week survival kits that we they will be distributing on LDOC (last day of class), which is Friday, 12/6. Words of encouragement can be submitted through the form on the library’s blog post “Finals are coming. Share your words of encouragement!” Please, please send some of your mom/dad/grandma/grandpa/aunt/uncle good wishes to our students. While there is no way to match up *your* message to *your* student being in ZSR on LDOC, you will be sending some TLC to our students. They love getting love from parents and families!
The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life will host webinars about the recruitment process for both men and women. The Panhellenic (women’s) recruitment webinars will be December 11th and 18th and the Interfraternity Council (men’s) recruitment process will be January 8th. Registration information for all sessions will be available on the Fraternity/Sorority Life Parent Information webpage.
You may be aware that students have academic privacy rights through a federal law called FERPA that requires that college administrators keep students’ academic and other info private unless they give us consent to share with specific people via a process called Proxy Access. The Registrar’s Office has asked me to share a new feature we have through the Proxy System. This new feature is called a “passphrase.” The passphrase is a word created by the student that they will need to share with you (for example, a student might choose “hurricane” as their passphrase). The passphrase will be required for any verbal communication between you and any university member – so you would need to give the passphrase of “hurricane” to administrators if you wanted to talk to them about your student. The Registrar’s office has emailed students who have granted Proxy Access to inform them of the new passphrase requirement.
There has been another surge in car break-ins; read details here. It appears all of the cars were unlocked and that locked cars parked nearby were not bothered. Whether your student lives on campus or you have a senior in a nearby neighborhood, please urge them to lock their cars at all times.
P’20s – is your graduating senior wondering what’s next? They should consider the Liberal Arts Studies MA. This degree can be completed in one calendar year; you can see more info in this letter to wake forest seniors and their parents or sponsors. I did a different MA at Wake, but I can attest to the fact that graduate education really can make a big difference in your intellectual and personal growth, in your ability to work with cohorts, and to shape your strengths. One of the benefits of the Liberal Studies MA is it can help hone the human skills that employers are seeking.
Also for senior families, kickoff for tomorrow’s final home football game is 7:30 pm, and this is the game where some students will attempt Senior Fifth. Please give your students a loving reminder that this is not a good idea.
Is your Thanksgiving menu planned? If you have time/capacity, make some of your Deac’s favorite goodies to bring back with them after the break!