Fall soon?
It’s overcast today, and cooler than it has been. Right now my Weather Channel app says it is about 75 degrees, which is surprisingly cool for this time of year. A look ahead shows that it is going to warm up back to the 90s, but if you peek out farther in the forecast, we see some lovely low 80s and even low 70s on the horizon. I am here for that change of scene.
In terms of the scene at Wake, I got a message from a P’23 today about their Deac’s experience on campus; this P’23 has given me permission to share the message here:
“I FaceTimed last night with my ’23 and she and her friend were just walking around campus: in masks, but happy. I could see it in their eyes.
She told me she is burning through her food dollars at the new coffee shop because the “iced latte is amazing.” She had recently connected with a person in class who seems really nice. They traded contact info and made plans to study together.
Kids are resilient. And they often find happiness quicker than grown ups. Thanks for giving them a place to be resilient and happy.”
That was really nice to read. May all our students continue to find their footing – safely, masked, distanced, of course – but in their own way. And if your Deacs have not discovered Camino Bakery, the new coffee shop in the ZSR, tell them to run (don’t walk). Camino is that good.
Was in a COVID health and safety meeting this morning and wanted to share something that I had learned: some of our students have been wondering about the closure hours in the ZSR library or academic buildings late at night. Those closures have to happen so that we have a chance to clean and disinfect those spaces so they are ready for the next day. Cleaning and disinfection are critical to our operating procedures, so we need to close late at night to make those processes happen as they need to. We appreciate students’ understanding.
Now that the semester is in full swing, it is a good time to remind that if your students have an issue with their living space (repair needed, something is broken, a bulb needs replacing, etc.), the student – not the parent/family member – needs to contact Facilities. They can look at our Who to Contact for… page for contact information. Want to stress how important it is that the student take care of these things. Your student needs to form working relationships with the offices on campus, and they should be the ones to describe their issue and provide details, as they would know better about the particulars than you or I would. Ultimately, your students are going to have to cold call plumbers or electricians or doctors or hair dressers, etc. – so it is good practice now to get in the habit of doing these things so by the time you graduate, you have those necessary skills.
For students looking for ways to engage, Campus Rec has created a number of opportunities for sports tournaments and challenges. Students need to register before Thursday to ensure their spot for:
Badminton League
Cornhole Tournament
Disc Golf Tournament
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare League (eSports)
FIFA20 League (eSports)
Fortnite League (eSports)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate League (eSports)
Log Rolling Flash Challenge
Running Challenge
Who would have ever thought there was a log rolling challenge in college?!?
Finally, want to put in a plug for students (even ’24s) to get involved with faculty members’ research. There is a new story out about how two faculty members in Politics and International Affairs and Psychology are doing research on how professional athletes’ political statements have the ability to impact people’s racial attitudes. A senior is assisting them with this research project. This is a timely topic, and it is also representative of the fact that Wake is a school where its size really benefits our students. Undergraduates have the ability to connect with professors to see if there are ways that they can get involved in research (something that would be much harder to accomplish at other research universities where it may only be Masters or PhD students who can do that). Students can check out the URECA (Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Center) website, or can simply talk to faculty members about whether they ever have projects in which students could get involved.