Bell Tower Tours for Seniors

by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. ('92, MA '94)

In this Issue:

  • Bell Tower Tours for Seniors
  • Ramadan Fast-a-Thon

Happy Wednesday, Deac families! Finally we have a warm day after a couple of very chilly ones. Today it is sunny and should hit 70 degrees, which makes everyone happy. I was walking on campus earlier and it is just tulips everywhere, which is my favorite of our many flowerbed looks.

Tulip beds in front of Davis Hall on the Quad near the Arch 3/19/24 Tulip bed outside of Reynolda Hall 3 19 24

We are still getting used to having our new puppy (he’s gorgeous, and also a handful, as expected) so I just have two items for you today.

Bell Tower Tours for Seniors

For our P’24s, I wanted you to get a heads up on a message that will go out to seniors who have made a gift to the 1834 Student Campaign: students who make their gift by March 24th will be given the first opportunity to register for April tours of the bell tower in Wait Chapel. This is always such a super fun event – students get to write their name in the tower and be part of the long legacy of Wake Foresters who have left their mark. You can see some pics below.

Also wanted to share a little inside baseball on these tours, which I believe will take place on Monday, April 15th, Tuesday, April 16th, Tuesday, April 23rd, and Wednesday, April 24th (tours will run between noon-3:45 p.m.). Two things:

1) While we always have a lot of slots (over 600), there are students who wait to make their gift and find the tours are full. So if this important to your student, they should make their gift by March 24th and keep their eye on their WFU email the week of March 25th for the tour sign up.

2) Encourage your students to sign up for the first day of tours, on April 15th. For the past several years, day 1 of the tours has run low, and there are always students later who wish they could have gone. So encourage them to grab those early slots if their schedule allows.

An aerial view of Hearn Plaza from the bell tower of Wait Chapel, on the campus of Wake Forest University, Tuesday, April 24, 2018. Wake Forest seniors tour the bell tower of Wait Chapel and sign their names on the walls, on Monday, April 15, 2019. Wake Forest University seniors tour the bell tower of Wait Chapel and tunnels underneath and sign their names on Monday, April 17, 2023. Wake Forest University seniors tour the bell tower of Wait Chapel and tunnels underneath and sign their names on Monday, April 17, 2023. Wake Forest University seniors tour the bell tower of Wait Chapel and tunnels underneath and sign their names on Monday, April 17, 2023. Members of the Wake Forest Class of 2020 tour the bell tower of Wait Chapel as part of their Commencement Weekend activities, delayed 16 months due to the pandemic, on Friday, September 17, 2021. Sal Respivo (’20) signs his name. Wake Forest seniors tour the bell tower of Wait Chapel and sign their names on Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Peter French (’22) takes photos from the window.

Ramadan Fast-a-Thon

I got an email today about the upcoming Ramadan Fast-a-Thon; see info below. This is something I did last year and found it really interesting, informative, and frankly difficult.

“Muslim Student Association in collaboration with the Intercultural Center and the Women’s Center and support from the Student Activities Fee is hosting the annual Ramadan Fast-a-Thon on Tuesday 2nd April 2024 at 7:00pm on Manchester Plaza. 

The WFU Ramadan ‘Fast-a-Thon’ is an event in which non-Muslim students, faculty, and staff engage in fasting for that day alongside their Muslim peers and colleagues. Please register for the ‘Fast-a-Thon’ here. You will receive information about how to fast….

The end of the fast is marked by a communal breaking-of-the-fast meal, called Iftaar. At this meal a reflective discussion about the experience is shared to encourage folks to exercise empathy for Muslims that are fasting while attending class or working.”

In addition to feeling a lot of kinship with our campus community in experiencing this sort of fast, the post-fast meal was fantastic! Such good food, and many of the things I was not already familiar with, so it expanded my mind and palate. Also the day expanded my empathy – I remember seeing our Coach Muuss and the men’s soccer team here (because a few of our players were observing Ramadan) and I can’t even imagine having to be a D1 athlete and fast at the same time. It was hard enough for me to do for one day at a desk job!

Anyway, this is a great way for your students to support their community members, so I encourage them to sign up if they wish.

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