Stories this week at Wake Forest

Theorist Discusses Globalization and Democracy

Political theorist Benjamin Barber will present “Can Democracy Survive Globalization?” at 7 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 28, in Scales Fine Arts Center, Room 102. The discussion is free and open to the public. Barber is the Walt Whitman Chair of Political Science at Rutgers University and the director of the Walt Whitman Center for the Culture and Politics of Democracy at Rutgers. Barber, who has written numerous books on political topics, received acclaim for “Jihad Versus McWorld,” an Atlantic Monthly article about the negative effects of globalization on democracy. Barber’s lecture is part of a series of events during Wake Forest’s Year of Globalization and Diversity. For more information, visit the year’s web site.

Undercover Journalist Who Exposed Neo-Nazis to Speak

Yaron Svoray, journalist and author of “In Hitler’s Shadow,” will speak at Wake Forest on Thursday, Sept. 24, at 7:30 p.m. in Benson University Center, Room 401. The Israeli son of Holocaust survivors, Svoray risked his life to expose the growing threat of Germany’s neo-Nazi movement. Working with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, he went undercover as “Ron Furey,” a Nazi sympathizer and supporter. His book was made into the critically acclaimed HBO film, “The Infiltrator.” The free event, sponsored by the Student Union, is open to the public.

Wake Forest to Host Thornton Wilder Symposium

A. Tappan Wilder, nephew of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Thornton Wilder, will discuss his famous uncle at “Thornton Wilder’s Legacy,” a symposium hosted by Wake Forest Sept. 25-26. The symposium will begin with a lecture by A. Tappan Wilder at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25, followed by the opening performance of “The Matchmaker,” presented by the Wake Forest University Theater. The symposium will continue on Saturday with Winston-Salem biographer Penelope Niven, who is writing a new biography of Thornton Wilder. Symposium events will take place in Scales Fine Arts Center, Room 102. For a more detailed schedule, contact the News Service.

Promise Keepers/Promise Breakers

With the Clinton scandal dominating the headlines and focusing on broken promises, the Promise Keepers hold their next major gathering Oct. 1-2 in Columbia, S.C. Stephen Boyd, a Wake Forest religion professor and chair of the American Men’s Studies Association, said that the Columbia meeting comes at a crucial time. “The Promise Keepers’ concerns about men’s fidelity to our commitments, personal integrity and character could not be more timely,” said Boyd, who has attended a Promise Keepers rally. Boyd is an author and frequently interviewed expert on men and religion. Boyd can be reached at 758-5458 (office) or 924-2119 (home) or through the News Service.

Wake Forest ROTC Sponsors Relay Race, Memorial Run

The Wake Forest Army ROTC is sponsoring a Mystery Relay Race and a memorial run on Thursday, Oct. 1. Events begin at 3 p.m. with cadet classes competing in a one-mile relay race in Kentner Stadium. In the mystery run, cadets will have to run carrying or wearing various equipment, but the runners won’t know the items until the race begins. Both races are part of a series of events planned for the dedication of ROTC’s new facility. After the race will be a moment of silence and a memorial run in honor of cadets, Matthew Alexander and Alexander Gedicks. Alexander was aboard TWA Flight 800 when it crashed in 1996. Gedicks died in 1997 after a sudden illness. The memorial 1 ‡-mile run around campus is free and open to the community.

Categories: Arts & Culture, Events, Speakers