Stories ideas this week at WFU
CHESS AND ART TOGETHER IN THE PARK — A sculptural chess table, designed and built by Wake Forest University art professor David Finn and two Wake Forest students in cooperation with the Winston-Salem Scholastic Chess Association, will be presented to the city at “Rock the Block” festivities Oct. 15. The chess table, called “Lateral Thinking,” is located on the sidewalk adjacent to Winston Square Park on North Marshall St. Chess matches and entertainment will follow the 5:45 p.m. ceremony. Jim Toole, a board member of the Winston-Salem Scholastic Chess Association, came up with the idea of creating a local outdoor chess venue and received a grant from the Winston-Salem Foundation to fund a competition to design the table.
Contact: Cheryl Walker at walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
VICE CHAIR OF 9/11 COMMISSION TO SPEAK AT CONVOCATION — Lee Hamilton, vice chair of the Sept. 11 commission, will deliver Wake Forest’s Fall Convocation address at 11 a.m. on Oct. 28 in the university’s Wait Chapel. The event is free and open to the public. The title of Hamilton’s address is “Foreign Policy and the 2004 Presidential Campaign.” Formerly a congressman from Indiana, Hamilton is director of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C., and is on the advisory council to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Contact: Maggie Barrett, barretmb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
A PERSONAL LOOK INTO THE PLIGHT OF A MAYAN WOMAN — La FOMMA, a Mayan women’s theater cooperative of former child servants and oppressed women from the Mexican state of Chiapas, will perform “Solidad e Esperanza” (Solitude and Hope) at Wake Forest University at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 18 in Pugh Auditorium. The play explores the hopes and sorrows around one Mayan woman’s journey. Heralded as Mexico’s first Indian women playwrights and pioneers in theater and social justice in Mexico, the la FOMMA troupe has defied their traditional boundaries, endured scorn from their community, yet continue to receive rave reviews from the international theater world. The performance will be made in Spanish with translation summaries provided.
Contact: Pam Barrett at barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
DRUMMING IS FOR EVERYONE: WFU STUDENTS TO EXPERIENCE “HARAMBE” — Wake Forest students will “harambe” or “work together in unity” through African drumming with master drummer Bill Scheidt and his group “Living Rhythms” Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. on University Plaza (Quad). Scheidt, a Wake Forest graduate, believes that drumming is for everyone and is a wholesome activity for bringing communities together. He says drumming builds bridges of understanding and cultural harmony and is a way to celebrate being alive. The event will include a dance performance with African dance lessons for the audience as well as a drumming performance and hands-on drumming program.
Contact: Pam Barrett at barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
HEALTH LATE IN LIFE — Eleanor Stoller, a sociologist at Case Western Reserve University, will present a talk, “Living with Disease and Disability Late in Life,” at 11 a.m. Oct. 19 in Carswell Hall, Room 208. Stoller will discuss health issues late in life. The lecture is sponsored by the sociology department.
Contact: Pam Barrett at barretpb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
RELIGIOUS LIBERTY CHALLENGED DURING 2004 ELECTION — James Dunn says that in light of the revelation that the Bush-Cheney campaign solicited church directories from supporters, religious liberty and the separation of church and state have become increasingly important topics during this year’s presidential contest. “A recent poll indicates that over 80 percent of Americans value religious freedom, recognize it as essential to the American way, but have no idea of its source or that its essential corollary is the separation of church and state,” said Dunn, adjunct professor of Christianity and public policy in the Wake Forest Divinity School. A former executive director of the Baptist Joint Committee on Public Affairs in Washington, D.C., he is available to comment on issues of religious liberty and separation of church and state. He has appeared on news programs of all the major television networks and has been a frequent guest on television documentaries.
Contact: Jacob McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
YOUTH HOLD VOTING POWER — “Given that less than half of young people between the ages of 18 and 25 were registered to vote for the 2000 election, and just how close that election was, it’s not surprising that campaigns see potential in this group,” says Katy Harriger, professor of political science at Wake Forest. She is entering the last year of a four-year research project looking at ways of reintroducing college students into public life. Harriger also helped organize a program at Wake Forest this year that got freshmen talking about the election. The incoming students were asked to pay attention to the issues surrounding the presidential race during the summer and be ready to talk about the election at a panel discussion during their fourth day on campus. Harriger said the real challenge is not in getting college-aged people registered to vote but in getting them to the polls. “There are a number of significant efforts by both of the parties and by a number of non-partisan groups to get this age group registered,” Harriger says. “Once registered, the challenge will be to get them out to vote. For college students, that often means getting an absentee ballot and getting it back in time. The success of these efforts could make a difference in a close election.”
Contact: Cheryl Walker at walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Happening at Wake
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