Monday news
So it was a drizzly day, and it wasn’t the ending we wanted for the Wake-Clemson game, but we still made it the best weekend we could. Hope you got a chance to watch College GameDay on Saturday. Class of ’27 and I drove by the stadium in the morning, but since the lottery to watch was for students, the closest we got was seeing the set for the show out on the field as we drove past. Here are a few shots of some of the festivities, including the fireworks from Friday night’s virtual pep rally. Students who won the drive-in lottery were asked to decorate their cars, and many of them had some fun signs. Special shout out to the guy who loves Maria Taylor. I am here to amplify you! 🙂 I also loved seeing all the DeacClones at the game.
US News rankings of colleges and universities came out today, and Wake Forest is tied for 28th. Go Deacs! You can read the full story here. In an ironic plot twist, Wake and our great rival, UNC, are tied at #28. This year, there is no 27th-ranked school, which is the space we have held on the national universities list for the past six years, because Carnegie Mellon and UVA were tied at #26.
Our COVID dashboard was updated today and you can see that our numbers have risen. Please continue to do all you can to stress to your students the importance of wearing masks and keeping social distance. For any whose students are in quarantine or isolation, both the Student Health Service and Residence Life and Housing have FAQs that might be helpful. You can also contact the Call Center (336.758.7500 M-F 10 am – 3 pm). We ask that you refrain from contacting the Student Health Service about testing policy or processes so that medical staff can be free to address students’ health issues.
Random testing continues this week. We have been getting questions in the Call Center about how those results come back to students. Here is what it says in the Random Testing FAQ: “You will be notified by email of your test results. Student Health Service will follow up with students who have a positive result. We anticipate the average should be 48-72 hours. Note that it could take longer depending on the demand across the country/availability of lab processing.” I would note parenthetically that your student should not panic if they don’t have their results back yet (but their friend who was tested the same day has already gotten results). The lab will send their results when they are ready.
We still have a small number of students with sizeable unpaid student account balances. They received their second (and final) notice before cancellation (subject line was “CRITICAL – message about your student account and potential cancellation for the fall”). Please ask your student to search for an email with that subject line and/or check in DEAC to be sure they do not have an unpaid balance. If they do, it must be taken care of as soon as possible.
We have a new entry in the Weekly Message for First Year Families today, about the Ups and Downs of staring school. There are a lot of ups and downs in non-pandemic years, so I want to reassure P’24s that the adjustment always takes time (though COVID certainly complicates it). Your ’24 students also got their Letters So Dear today.
Last week there was a story about Wake’s research contribution to a groundbreaking study on housing loss. The study was conducted by New America, an organization based in Washington, DC. The report looks at housing loss nationwide and spotlights Forsyth County (where Wake Forest is located) to determine who is most impacted and why. The Environmental Law and Policy Clinic at Wake Forest Law and the Department of Anthropology were key contributors to the project.