Happy Friday!
It’s the end of the week, and I suspect your Deacs are happy to have the weekend to look forward to. It’s always great to have some rest and fun after the week is done.
I wanted to draw attention to an event coming up at the start of November that may interest some of our families: Peggy Supplee Smith, Harold W. Tribble Professor Emerita, will speak about her new book, Great Houses and Their Stories: Winston-Salem’s Era of Success, 1912-1940 on Tuesday, November 1, 3 p.m. in the ZSR Library Auditorium (404) and also livestreamed for those who can’t attend in person). Dr. Smith is the inaugural presenter for the Special Collections & Archives/ZSR Library Sam Gladding Wake Author Series. Read more about her book here. A reception will follow Dr. Smith’s talk in the Ammons Gallery. We will also be livestreaming the event for those who cannot be physically present. Register here. If you have enjoyed driving around Winston-Salem and looking at some of our posh historic houses, this talk will be for you!
I was in a meeting yesterday with some colleagues from our Student Health Service, and they mentioned that we are beginning to see cases of the flu in our local community, and case counts are higher now than they were at this same time last year. While not required, they do strongly encourage our students to get a flu shot and a COVID booster. If your student wants to get a flu shot, they can make an appointment at Student Health to get one; they can call 336.758.5218 or email apptshs@wfu.edu. Interested students should consider getting their shot(s) by Halloween to mitigate the risk of illness impacting their Thanksgiving plans.
A couple of fun things are happening this coming Tuesday, October 25th. In the morning, students are invited to discuss the benefits of the LiveSafe App and enjoy a free Duck Donut (if you haven’t had one, these are delicious!). The Duck Truck will be located outside of Manchester Plaza on Tuesday, October 25 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. If your Deac already has the LiveSafe app, they can get a free donut – or if they download the app at our event, they can also have a free donut!
Project Pumpkin is happening Tuesday afternoon on the Quad (Hearn Plaza) from 3-6 p.m. Project Pumpkin is a Halloween-themed festival for local children including trick-or-treating, carnival games, entertainment, and educational activities. It is a major campus tradition since 1989, and is run by students. If your Deac is not already involved in Project Pumpkin as a volunteer, they will definitely want to come by the Quad on Oct. 25 from 3-6 p.m. to witness the joy of all the little kids in costumes and to soak up some Halloween fun.
This is going to show my age for sure, but this is my all time favorite student Project Pumpkin costume. A very intrepid student got dressed as “Facebook” back the website was just in its early days. Her costume invited folks to post on her ‘wall.’ So clever, our students. 
Yesterday it was announced that Briana Scurry will be the 2023 “Building the Dream” keynote speaker on the evening of Jan. 16, 2023. Scurry is an author, television broadcaster, mental health advocate and women’s soccer pioneer.
Finally, for those (like me!) who are news wonks, we have the most recent WFU in the News (Oct. 10-16) available for your reading pleasure. I was particularly struck by the article Asking One Simple Question Can Entirely Change How You Feel, which outlines some fascinating research done by Christian Waugh, professor of psychology.
Have a great weekend, Daily Deacdom!
— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)