Short Week
- Stephen Colbert’s WFU graduation speech on navigating uncertainty is more relevant than ever
- Testing of emergency alert systems this week
- Traffic pattern changes near Johnson, Babcock, and Luter Halls
- Deacs on campus: volunteer at the Campus Garden
Happy Tuesday to you, and I hope you enjoyed the Memorial Day weekend. For the P’30s in the Daily Deacdom, there is no weekly message this week (as I suspect a lot of folks might have had vacation plans). We’ll resume our weekly messages for P’30s next Tuesday.
For now, I have a few stories to share today, particularly for those students who will be on campus for Summer Session (Summer I starts tomorrow). Read what serves you, scroll past anything that does not.
Stephen Colbert’s WFU graduation speech on navigating uncertainty is more relevant than ever
One of my colleagues shared this find with me: a story from Fast Company about how Stephen Colbert’s 2015 Wake Forest Commencement speech has a lot of relevance today. Here is a taste:
“‘It is my responsibility, as a commencement speaker, to prepare you for what awaits you in the future….Here it is. No one has any idea what’s going to happen—not even Elon Musk. That’s why he’s building those rockets. He wants a “Plan B” on another world.’
At the time, Colbert was just navigating his own version of that uncertainty. After years of playing a caricature on ‘The Colbert Report,’ he was about to reinvent himself in front of a national audience as the host of ‘The Late Show.’
‘I just spent many years learning to do one thing really well,’ Colbert said. ‘I got so comfortable with that place, that role, those responsibilities, that it came to define how I saw myself. But now that part of my life is over.
It’s time to say goodbye to the person we’ve become, we’ve worked so hard to perfect, and to make some crucial decisions […] For me, I’ll have to figure out how to do an hour-long show every night,’ Colbert said. ‘And you, at some point, will have to sleep.’”
It was a great speech overall, and was very well received at the time. Colbert managed to work in some very WF references in the speech; possibly the biggest laugh came when he ‘won back’ the audience with a dig on rival Duke. You can watch Stephen Colbert’s 2015 Commencement speech here (it starts at the 59:00 mark).
Testing of emergency alert systems this week
Campus received a message this morning about testing of our emergency alert systems:
“Wake Forest will test its indoor and outdoor emergency alert systems this week on May 27, 28 and 29 at various campus locations. The tests are required to ensure that the University’s emergency notifications are operating properly.”
Traffic pattern changes near Johnson, Babcock, and Luter Halls
For students who will be on campus this summer, they will see a variety of traffic changes. We mentioned McPherson Road along the Wellbeing Center last week, but there is also a lot of work taking place by Babcock and Luter:
“Starting today (Tuesday, May 26), a portion of Jasper Memory Lane along Johnson, Babcock and Luter Residence Halls will experience traffic pattern changes. Through June 26, construction fencing will be shifted into the traffic lane. Traffic passing through the area will cross over parallel parking spaces, which will be converted into a traffic lane for this period.” Read more.
Deacs on campus: volunteer at the Campus Garden
For any students who will be on campus for Summer Session – or Deacs staying in town this summer for internships or jobs – there is a great opportunity available to you: volunteer at the Campus Garden. Here’s the basics:
“Interested in taking a front row seat to our local food system? Want to start testing your green thumb? Come out to the Campus Garden (1141 Polo Road) this summer to volunteer and learn the basics of regenerative agriculture and its effect on our climate and campus.
Volunteer hours are open to all campus community members (staff, faculty, and students), and no prior experience is needed. Volunteers will learn how to prepare beds, transplant seedlings, weed, and harvest produce over the course of the summer.”
This is a really cool opportunity to – literally – touch grass, as the kids would say (I can already hear the groans of student readers).
Have a great night, Daily Deacdom!