Stories this week at WFU
ALITO CONFIRMATION PARALLELS ROBERTS HEARINGS — The hearing process for confirming Samuel Alito’s nomination to the Supreme Court has generally followed the same track as Chief Justice John Roberts’ confirmation process, according to John Dinan, Zachary T. Smith Associate Professor of Political Science at Wake Forest University, in that “nearly all 55 Republican Senators appear to be strong supporters, Democratic Senators in ‘blue’ states are strongly opposed, and Democratic Senators in swing states face strong cross-pressures about whether to support or oppose the nomination.” The main difference is that Alito has a longer record of service on the federal bench, Dinan said, and this permits a more extensive scrutiny of his judicial opinions. Partly as a result of this longer paper trail, Alito will likely generate more opposition in the Senate than Roberts, who was approved 78-22, but unless Democrats employ the extraordinary tactic of a filibuster, Senate approval is widely expected later this month. Dinan, author of “Keeping the People’s Liberties: Legislators, Citizens, and Judges as Guardians of Rights,” is available for comment on Alito’s confirmation hearings.
Contact: Jake McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
‘A DAY AND A NIGHT AT THE SOUTH POLE’ — D. J. Williams, a Wake Forest graduate and first-year student in the Wake Forest School of Medicine, will discuss the environment and community at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, Antarctica, during a talk at 4 p.m. Jan. 12. Williams spent a year doing research at the station. The event, which is sponsored by Wake Forest’s physics department, will be held in Olin Physical Laboratory, Room 101. It is free and open to the public.
Contact: Jake McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
STEPPIN’ OUT — Step teams from nine historically black fraternities and sororities will present “Nine STEPS Closer to the Dream” at 8 p.m. Jan. 13 in Brendle Recital Hall. Teams from four North Carolina universities will compete in the show as part of the university’s MLK celebration. Tickets are $7 in advance; $10 at the door.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
UNIQUE CONCERT COMBINES JAZZ, OPERA, ELECTRONICS — The Wake Forest University Theatre Department will present “notes on desire,” a performance art concert written by Lynn Book, at 7:30 p.m. Jan. 13-14 in the Ring Theatre of Scales Fine Arts Center. The concert is a unique hybrid composition for voice, text and electronics featuring both jazz and operatic singing. It will feature violin, electronics and accordion. A question-and-answer session will follow the Jan. 13 performance. Admission is free.
Contact: Pam Barrett, barretpm@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
WAKE FOREST HOSTS 8TH ANNUAL MLK BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT — The 8th Annual MLK Invitational Basketball Tournament will be held Jan. 14 in Reynolds Gymnasium on the Wake Forest campus. Intramural teams from Wake Forest, North Carolina A&T University, Winston-Salem State University, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro have been invited to participate in the tournament. Registration begins at 11:30 a.m. for team play. Games begin at 1 p.m. Admission is free.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
GOSPEL FEST TO FEATURE KIM BURRELL — Nationally known gospel recording artist Kim Burrell will perform at 4 p.m. Jan. 15 in Brendle Recital Hall. The Wake Forest Gospel Choir and Winston-Salem State’s Inspirational Voices gospel group will perform. The concert is part of a series of university-sponsored events honoring the legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Admission is $3; free to students with an I.D.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
WFU FOOTBALL PLAYER TO RECITE ‘I HAVE A DREAM’ SPEECH — Wake Forest football player and theater major Micah Andrews will read the late Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 16 in the atrium of the Z. Smith Reynolds Library.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
WAKE FOREST CELEBRATES KING’S LEGACY — Martin Luther King Jr. spoke in Wake Forest’s Wait Chapel in 1962. On Jan. 16, his youngest daughter, Bernice King, will speak as part of a week-long celebration of the civil rights leader’s legacy sponsored by Wake Forest and Winston-Salem State University. This is the fifth year Wake Forest has collaborated with Winston-Salem State to present a series of events surrounding Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The two schools have a joint planning committee and the schools alternate hosting the shared celebration. King will present the keynote address “On Common Ground” at 7 p.m. in Wait Chapel on the Wake Forest campus. The event is free and open to the public. “Both of our campuses are truly invested in ensuring that King’s dream is alive at Winston-Salem State and Wake Forest as well as in the surrounding Winston-Salem community, and this partnership provides a wonderful avenue for us to achieve this goal,” said Kendra Stewart, assistant director of Multicultural Affairs at Wake Forest and an organizer of the week’s events. She will sign books at a reception following the speech. MLK events run from Jan. 12 to Jan. 19.
Contact: Cheryl Walker, walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.
Categories: Arts & Culture, Campus Life, Happening at Wake
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