Memorial Day
We had an eventful middle of the night last night, with a tornado warning issued around 3:30 am, later downgraded to a watch. You can see the alerts on our Wake Alert site. Your Deacs would have received notice of this because the University alerts all enrolled students (even those who just graduated) out of an abundance of caution; there are students who stay in town for the summer (even if they aren’t in summer school), or they may be here visiting friends, and we need to be as comprehensive as possible with emergency alerts.
We also had some big news: the announcement of our new head coach for our women’s basketball team, Megan Gebbia. She was formally introduced at a press conference this morning at 10 am, and she has also written a message to the campus community. You can also read about her hiring on godeacs.com. We offer our warmest welcome to Coach Gebbia!
Whether you have a ’22 recent college graduate, or you have an incoming ’26 student just graduating from high school, this op-ed about graduation thank you notes is worth a read. Some people believe that letter writing and thank you note writing are lost arts. This column has some great suggestions on how to get started. We also have our own WFU expert on thank you notes, Jennifer Richwine ’93, Executive Director of the Wake Washington Center, who wrote a book about it.
As we wrap up the week, we wanted to alert that we will not have a Daily Deac on Monday, as it is the Memorial Day holiday, and University offices will be closed. 
Memorial Day is a time to reflect and honor the sacrifices of the men and women who have died in service to our country. If you did not already know the history of how Memorial Day began, the National Archives website says this:
“Memorial Day, initially referred to as Decoration Day, was observed by many communities after the Civil War, when the nation suffered more than 620,000 military deaths, roughly 2 percent of the total population at the time. John A. Logan, the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Army of Republic, chose May 30, 1868, as a day to decorate the graves of Union troops across the nation. From this beginning, Memorial Day is now designated as an annual day of remembrance to honor all those who have died in service to the United States during peace and war. Veterans Day, November 11, celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans.”
The National Archives website has some videos, blogs, and other resources about Memorial Day. Their Pieces of History blog is a lengthy examination of the history of Memorial Day, and it closes with this, which feels very poignant:
“As we recognize our freedom to attend our church of choice (or not to attend), to express our opinions or gather to discuss our beliefs and values, to be able to read the exchange of information openly in the press, to be able to defend ourselves and to understand that we have a system of justice, it is important to acknowledge that those freedoms are ours because of the many men, women, and families who stepped forward to defend them, and in that service, sacrificed their lives for us. Memorial Day is for them, all of them. It is our duty to remember the gift they have given us.”
May we all find time during this long weekend to remember the lives of all who have sacrificed for our country.
— by Betsy Chapman, Ph.D. (’92, MA ’94)