Sunny Monday
In this Issue:
- Sleepin’ Deacon registration opens today
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority formal rush event
- 23-24 Housing Selection: First Round of Deadlines today (for off-campus lottery, senior intent, and Residential Engagement Communities)
- February 10: Deadline for disability-related accommodation requests and supporting documentation
- Notice: test of emergency alert systems Feb. 14 & 16
- Clarification re: link for Africa summer study abroad scholarships
It is a sunny and beautiful Monday, Deac families!! It feels like spring – today it is supposed to get up to 61 degrees, up to 67 by Wednesday, and sunny through Wednesday (though it looks like some rain Thursday and Friday).
I was walking around campus early this morning and between the sun and the warm weather, our students seemed pretty chipper. It’s amazing the impact that some good weather can have on one’s mood, especially given all the rain of last week.
I have a few news and programmatic items to share with you today. Here goes:
Sleepin’ Deacon registration opens today
Registration for the 2023 Sleepin’ Deacon Challenge opens today, February 6th! This wellbeing challenge is for faculty, staff and students. If you haven’t heard of this before, the Sleepin’ Deacon Challenge is an annual event to help our students focus on sleep health. Many (most?) college students do not get enough sleep, either in terms of quantity or quality, so the SDC is a way for students to purposefully and intentionally focus on small changes they can make to their nightly routine to encourage better sleep. In addition, they can win some cool swag (I LOVE my Sleepin’ Deacon joggers). This is one of those programs where you don’t have to output a ton of time, but you can reap a ton of benefits. Encourage your Deacs to sign up! 
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority formal rush event
In other event news, I was asked to share this from our Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life about an upcoming event: “The Pi Beta chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated will host a formal rush event February 16,2023 at 5:08 PM. The event will take place at The Ivy Arms Clubhouse 1115 E 2nd St, Winston- Salem 27101 – February 16, 2023 @ 5:08 pm **Business Attire** All materials must be submitted electronically by: February 13, 2023 @ 7:00 pm to pibetagradadvisor23@gmail.com. Please see this flyer for details.”
23-24 Housing Selection: First Round of Deadlines today (for off-campus lottery, senior intent, and Residential Engagement Communities)
The Office of Residence Life and Housing sent this message to resident students reminding of deadlines with housing selection that are due today (February 6).
These dates will be very important for any families who have students who want to enter the off-campus lottery to be released before the six semester residency requirement, for P’24s with rising seniors who need to register their intent to live on or off campus next year, or for families with students anticipating wanting to live in an REC (Residential Engagement Community) next year.
One key phrase that stood out to me in the message was this “For the 2023-2024 Academic Year, we will be operating our communities at full capacity. As such, we will likely be releasing very few students. Students should NOT sign off-campus leases or make other commitments until released in writing by the Office of Residence Life and Housing.” Please keep this in mind if your Deac wants to enter the off-campus lottery.
February 10: Deadline for disability-related accommodation requests and supporting documentation
In this same message to resident students from the Office of Residence Life and Housing, they outline that February 10th is the deadline for disability-related accommodation requests and all supporting documentation. Please read the message carefully for all details if this applies to your Deac.
Notice: test of emergency alert systems Feb. 14 & 16
We regularly test our emergency alert systems and always want to notify the campus community so they know what to expect. As such, I got an email today indicating ath tests of Wake Forest emergency alert systems will be conducted Feb. 14 and 16. System tests will occur on both days between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. The tests are being conducted to ensure that the University’s emergency notification systems are operating properly. Read more.
Clarification re: link for Africa summer study abroad scholarships
We’ll close today with a clarification from an item I ran last week. Some of you wrote in last week saying that the link for the summer study in Africa article did not work for you. The link that I was provided is here. I believe what is happening is that you need to be logged in to Google with a wfu.edu email address to access that form, which might be why I can open it but families cannot. Ask your Deac to try it while they are logged in at WFU and see if they can get it. Students can also contact Global Programs and Studies (GPS) if they have questions or want to discuss the program