Happy Halfway Day!
We made it! Today marks the halfway point in the on-campus portion of the fall semester!! This is an amazing accomplishment. While we never want to take COVID for granted (and it is important to remain prudent and vigilant), I feel a mood of cautious optimism that we can go the distance.
Virtue has its rewards – for their great work keeping campus safe, our Deacs can enjoy some special deals at local eateries. I can’t stress enough the bounty that is half-off chips and queso from The Porch (whose deliciousness has directly impacted the ‘quarantine 15’ around my waistline). Your Deacs can enjoy food to go, or eat outdoors, socially-distanced, to stay safe.
Several emails to make you aware of today. This morning an email went out to students who applied to study abroad in the spring, saying that after careful consideration of many health, safety, and logistical factors, we have made the difficult decision to cancel international study abroad programs for both Wake Forest-sponsored and Affiliate (non-WFU) study abroad programs. Note that this decision does not apply to the Wake Washington domestic program. While I know students will be disappointed, one upside to making this decision now is so students have sufficient time to plan for next semester in terms of academic advising, course registration, etc.
There were a few other emails: one was a reminder that tests of WFU emergency notification systems to be held Oct. 6 and 7 (read it here); one was about October being Cybersecurity Month and encouraging students to participate in Ready Player 1834 events; and one was an email to resident students about health and safety reminders.
The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life provided an update on the recruitment process; read it on their website. The bottom line is that recruitment activities for Panhellenic (i.e., sororities) will be virtual; the Intra-Fraternity Council will announce their recruitment format in January; the National Pan-Hellenic Council (i.e., historically African American Greek-lettered fraternities and sororities) is working on intake on a chapter-by-chapter basis.
Friday, October 9 is the last day to register to vote in North Carolina. The Office of Civic and Community Engagement has voter registration forms available outside Benson 506. Your Deac can fill one out, drop it in the lockbox, and the OCCE will take it to the Forsyth County Board of Elections. If your student misses the deadline to register to vote, there’s another option: students can register and vote during one-stop voting from October 15-31. We have an early voting site in Winston-Salem First Assembly (the large church opposite Deacon Place apartments), so it is just a short walk off campus. There are also some great events coming up this week with Deacs Decide.
As always on Mondays, we have a new Letters So Dear for your ’24 students, and this week’s Weekly Message for First-Year Families is about midterms.
It was a beautiful weekend – cool, lots of sun. The trees are showing more color now – red maples starting to pop – and the forecast looks great for the rest of the week. Enjoy the great outdoors and our beautiful campus, Deacs! Hope it is nice wherever you are too 🙂
