Sunny Monday

In this Issue:

• Vote with Dr. Shea on Weds!
• Absentee ballot voters: return your ballot!!
• Spring Housing Requests messages – especially important if you have a student abroad/away
• Weekly Message for P’28s; Letters So Dear and Life in The Forest for ’28s

I spent the weekend in Washington, DC with my dear friend and colleague Jennifer Richwine, who is the Executive Director of the Wake Washington Office (and was able to visit with a former advisee and Wake Washington alumna as well).

We talked a lot about the Wake Washington program and the incredible opportunities that our students have: an internship (that gives them a ‘practice run’ at the world of work before they have a post-graduation job), access to Wake Foresters with high-level jobs and remarkable expertise to share (in a way students could likely not get on their own), mentors (who are Wake Forest alumni and/or parents/family members), academic courses (to move them toward their degrees), and the ability to live in our nation’s capital (which was astonishingly beautiful this weekend; see below).

It was a whirlwind weekend; I walked A LOT and got home late yesterday so this is not the day for me to sing the full praises of Wake Washington, but will do so in the coming weeks, as the program is starting to enroll for fall 2025 and I want to be sure families know what the program entails.

That said, today I have just a few brief items for you.

Vote with Dr. Shea on Weds!

If your Deac is voting in NC and hasn’t made their voting plan yet, encourage them to vote with Dr. Shea:

“Join Dr. Shea Kidd-Brown on Wednesday, October 30, at 3 p.m. as she heads to Polo Park Community Center to cast her 2024 ballot! Meet us at Shelter A of the Transportation Hub at 2:45-3 p.m. to catch the shuttle, departing at 3:05 p.m.

The first 25 students to register will receive a free t-shirt.

Remember, during Early Voting in NC, you can register and vote simultaneously. Bring your Proof of Residency for registration and your DeaconOne card to cast your ballot.”

This would be great fun – so encourage your NC-voting Deacs to go if they have not already cast their ballots.

Absentee ballot voters: return your ballot!!

I saw this reminder in the Office of Civic and Community Engagement (OCCE) newsletter and wanted to amplify it. We want to make sure that all our students voting absentee actually get their ballots in the mail (mine missed the deadline one year so their vote didn’t count).

“Are you voting absentee? Don’t wait to return your ballot—do it now!

Need postage or a copy of your ID? We’ve got you covered! Stop by the OCCE in Benson 506 from 9 AM to 5 PM, and we’ll provide the necessary postage and a complimentary copy of your ID (if needed) for returning your ballot. If you’re looking to get a copy after hours, stop by the Benson Copy Center to get a free copy of your ID!

If you need a notary or witness to sign your absentee ballot, please contact the Office of Civic & Community Engagement so we can connect you with resources on campus.

Reminder: Every state has different requirements for absentee ballots, so please check with your local board of elections to ensure you meet all the necessary criteria. You can also visit TurboVote for information on Voting by Mail in NC or your home state.”

Spring Housing Requests messages – especially important if you have a student abroad/away

The Office of Residence Life and Housing sent out two messages today regarding spring semester housing: one went to students currently abroad/away from campus, and the other went to students currently living on campus.

Particularly if you have a student abroad/away, you will want to make sure they are taking note of the important information contained in their version of the message. I am pulling out a few key points here:

“The majority of students returning from abroad will need to plan on going through the selection process outlined below.

• Students will select their room and meal plan for the spring semester on December 11 via the Housing Portal.
• All selection times will be between 10:00am-4:00pm Eastern time, so please plan accordingly.
• Selection times will be available on December 4th in your Housing Portal.
• The Availability list, which will indicate all open housing spaces for selection, will be live on December 6th in the Housing Portal. This list is dynamic and updates about every 15 minutes throughout the selection process as spaces are chosen.
• Please note that options will be limited; you are not guaranteed the option to select a roommate group or roommate of choice. It is possible that you will need to fill an empty bed in a double room with an existing roommate.

If you entered the Off-Campus Lottery, status notifications will be emailed to you by November 22nd. Students are encouraged to wait and sign any off campus leases until they are notified by our office as submitting your entry into the lottery is not a guaranteed release. In the event you are not released from the residency requirement, you will be required to live on campus.”

Also note that if your student is hoping to be pulled in to a spring vacancy (e.g., they have a friend whose roommate will be abroad in the spring), the deadline for the pull-in request is Sunday, Nov. 3; see more info here.

Weekly Message for P’28s; Letters So Dear and Life in The Forest for ’28s

Every Monday during the fall semester, we run a new Weekly Message for First-Year Families. Today’s message is thoughts on upcoming course registration. I hope you will find it helpful. In addition, your ’28s received their weekly copy of Letters So Dear from the Office of Orientation, New Student, and Transition Programs and Life in The Forest from the Office of Residence Life and Housing.