Day Two

In this Issue:

• Student insurance requirement (for all students, not just new students)
• Where can students see what is happening on campus?
• What is College For? The Program for Leadership and Character Discussion Group
• Reminder about contacting Wake staff after business hours/on the weekend

I was walking around campus this morning and even as early as 10 a.m., it felt very steamy. You are out of luck if you are a lover of Fall and have been hoping for pumpkin spice lattes. Right now you still need ice in your coffee!

There are always a lot of announcements and “can you please share this” requests during the first week of class, so today I am bringing you some items requested by my campus partners.

Student insurance requirement (for all students, not just new students)

First things first today, I am sharing some important information that applies to ALL students, not just new first-year students: all students are required to be covered with health insurance.

Here is what my colleagues in the Student Insurance office want you to know:

“In order to promote a healthy campus we want to make sure that all of our students are covered by health insurance. 

EVERY year (not just when your student first starts at Wake), you must either enroll in our Student Health Insurance program, or waive coverage. 

Students may request to waive coverage if they carry comparable personal health insurance meeting the criteria set by WFU. The Student Insurance charge has been applied to your student’s account, if you enroll the charge will remain and payment will be due. If you waive coverage, please allow 3 business days for the charge to be removed from your student’s account. 

The deadline is fast approaching, you must waive or enroll by September 15th. 

Again, this is not just a process for incoming P’28 families. This is something EVERY family must do, EVERY year their Deac is enrolled. Additional information can be found on our Student Health Insurance website.” 

Families, if you don’t enroll or waive by the deadline, you will find our student insurance charge on your student’s bill and will have to pay it. So please be sure you have enrolled or waived by the deadline!

Where can students see what is happening on campus?

I got a great question from a P’28 family: where can students see all the things that are going on on campus? There are a few answers:

• The Link is our platform for student organizations, and it has an Events page that students can bookmark and browse as needed.
• Every Friday afternoon, we send students a Next Week at Wake: Student Edition email that is a digest of all scheduled activities between Friday afternoon and the following Thursday. (They should check their spam/junk/quarantine folder in case it lands there by mistake)
• Students can (and should!) follow student organizations of interest on TikTok or Instagram or other social media as applicable.
• Students can get on the distro lists for organizations of interest at the Fall Involvement Fair on Sept. 3. They will then get emails when those organizations are having events or activities.

What is College For? The Program for Leadership and Character Discussion Group

This morning I got a message from my friends at The Program for Leadership and Character. They wanted me to share information about an upcoming discussion group for the first half of the semester that will have students do some personal reflection on issues of leadership, character, and the good life:

“We’re leading a discussion group called “What is College For?” In it, we’ll think about the nature of the good life and how we can live such lives in college and beyond. All are welcome as we consider topics such as friendship, failure, and gratitude. 

Discussion groups will start on Monday, September 9 and will meet four times over the following weeks, once per week for one hour each time. Prior to each meeting, group leaders will send out short pieces to frame the discussion. Those readings will come from a range of perspectives and genres and should take no more than 15–30 minutes to complete.”

Undergraduate students can sign up by filling out this form. The deadline to sign up for a group is Wednesday, September 4.

I can’t say enough about these discussion groups, particularly if you have a first-year student who is looking to find connection and meaningful engagement with other students.

Reminder about contacting Wake staff after business hours/on the weekend

Periodically we like to remind families that if something urgent comes up after normal business hours or on the weekends, please refer to our After Hours Help page. There is info on that page for how to report immediate life/safety emergencies where you would call 911; our 336-758-CARE (2273) 24/7 line that is available for student mental health concerns; the after-hours nurse line for medical concerns when Deacon Health is closed, etc.

So please use that After Hours Help resource for timely assistance, as those will be the quickest ways to get answers and support, as our staff may not see your email until the next business day, depending on what is happening in their lives.