Brutally Cold Tuesday
In this Issue:
- Reminder about emergency alerts
- Reminders about illness
- Young Gifted and Black exhibition
- Reflecting on Dr. King’s Legacy: a message from President Wente
We are back following the MLK holiday and as predicted, it has been a brutally cold few days. Today’s high is predicted to get to 27, tomorrow’s high will be a balmy 29, and the lows for both days are in the teens. Students need to be dressing warmly if they are venturing out, particularly at night: while our high temp should go above freezing by Thursday, the lows won’t stay above freezing for more than a day until the middle of next week.
Reminder about emergency alerts
Early in the morning of January 19th, we had a handful of Wake Alert messages about a dangerous suspect; read the full series of Wake Alert messages.
Police were following up on a report of a man who entered a residence at 1456 Brookwood Drive through an unlocked door. After being confronted by the residents, the man ran toward the University Parkway entrance. There is no evidence that the suspect was armed, and no injuries or damage were reported. The suspect is not believed to have entered campus.
There are a few things we want to stress to parents and families:
- Please urge their students to keep their doors locked, whether that is to their residence or their car.
- If you did not receive these alerts, ensure that you have followed the full process to download the WakeSafe app and that you enabled notifications:
- In your Settings, go to WakeSafe and ensure that you have selected Allow Notifications (we encourage you to select Immediate notifications and to allow both Sounds and Badges).
Wake Forest sends campus security alerts to families via the WakeSafe app, but you must allow notifications, and it is helpful to enable sounds and badges.
Reminders about illness
In last Thursday’s WFU Should Know student e-newsletter, there was an item about illness:
“As we return to campus, we are seeing the usual uptick in respiratory illnesses. To help minimize the spread of illness within our community, it’s important to stay vigilant. Please continue to take precautions, including avoiding contact with those who are ill, washing your hands thoroughly, and using hand sanitizer when needed. For additional guidance on managing respiratory illnesses, please refer to the resources available on the DeaconHealth website.”
As a reminder, an on-call nurse is available 24/7 to assist students with current healthcare concerns during non-clinic hours. Students should call 336.758.5218 and follow the prompts. There is also a list of off campus urgent care providers.
Young Gifted and Black exhibition
My friends in Wake the Arts let me know of an exhibition opening later this week:
“Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art opens on January 23 and will highlight artists of African descent whose work explores identity, politics and art history. Join us on Wednesday, February 5 for a lecture by Clifford Owens followed by an opening reception!
The exhibition gathers and elevates an emerging generation of contemporary artists who are engaging with the work of their predecessors while finding different ways to address the history and meaning of Blackness in their work. The group includes well-known artists David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas, Henry Taylor and Kara Walker, as well as a younger generation gaining wider recognition, including Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sadie Barnette, Cy Gavin, Arcmanoro Niles, Jennifer Packer and others.”
Your students (or you!) can learn more at the exhibition website.
Reflecting on Dr. King’s Legacy: a message from President Wente
Yesterday, Dr. Wente sent a message to the campus community about the legacy of Dr. King. Here is an excerpt:
“In Where Do We Go From Here, King encouraged us to respond to injustice by becoming ‘those creative dissenters who will call our beloved nation to a higher destiny, to a new plateau of compassion, to a more noble expression of humanness.’
In this call, I hear so clearly two core Wake Forest commitments: to our beloved motto and to our academic mission. I believe it is our responsibility, as teachers, scholars, staff, or students, to deploy our creative and intellectual gifts in guiding each other toward a fuller embodiment of our shared commitment to Pro Humanitate.”