WFU in the news: Feb. 21-27

FEATURED NEWS

In trans people, GOP candidates find latest ‘wedge issue’
Associated Press
The narrative of transgender people as a threat has strong parallels to bathroom-use and same-sex marriage bans and can be traced to Anita Bryant’s “Save Our Children” campaign in 1977, said Andrew Proctor, an associate professor of politics who studies and teaches LGBTQ politics. The political framing is often around protecting girls, which is probably designed to broaden its appeal, Proctor and others said. – 2/25/2022

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

How NBA meme culture foretells an increasingly problematic present and future
By Kahron Spearman | The Daily Dot
“If you’re just a journalist—you’re just covering the story, and you’re providing analysis on player movements or whatever the case may be—that’s one thing. But when you have to provide some hype or sensationalize to draw eyes, you have to say wild, inflammatory stuff to drive conversations, get clicks, and get visits to your site, it becomes different,” said media professor Phillip Lamarr Cunningham. – 2/25/2022

How to actually address plastic pollution with a global treaty
By Sarah J. Morath | Fast Company
Recycling and waste management aren’t enough to address our plastic pollution problem, writes Sarah Morath, associate professor of legal writing. “In my view, negotiations should consider the interests of those who experience the disproportionate impacts of plastic, as well as those who make a living off recycling waste as part of the informal economy. Finally, an international treaty should promote collaboration and sharing of data, resources and best practices.” – 2/26/2022

‘Nobody is happy’
MSN
Kami Chavis, law professor and director of the criminal justice program, lamented that reforms and crime prevention were often framed as opposing forces: “There is a real danger that the electorate is going to conflate progressive criminal justice policies with a rise in crime.”  – 2/26/2022

Trial in Breonna Taylor killing asks if officer acted with ‘extreme indifference’ to life
By Marisa Iati | The Washington Post
Prosecutors, for their part, will probably focus much of their questioning on whether Hankison deviated from his training, said law professor Kami Chavis. “This is not going to satiate the need for justice for [Taylor’s] death,” she said. “But I also don’t think that we should underestimate the impact of a criminal charge for the officer in this case — because those other people, they were harmed.” – 2/23/2022

The cost of speaking out for Palestinian rights
Al Jazeera
While high-profile figures like Emma Watson and Mark Ruffalo have faced intense backlash for speaking up for the rights of Palestinians, it is mainly academics and college students who face the most retaliation on campuses across the United States and Europe. “It forces students and professors to really self-censor in profound ways,” said Barry Trachtenberg, a historian and professor of Jewish history. – 2/25/2022

Windstream CEO helps launch Wake Forest University student ESG competition
Yahoo Finance
ESG@Wake is a student competition hosted by the Wake Forest School of Business. Students from across the university are invited to submit bold ideas to address environmental, social or governance-related challenges at Wake Forest from March 1-25. Finalists chosen across the three areas of focus will present their ideas during ESG Week, March 28-April 1, for a chance to receive a monetary award to implement their solutions. – 2/23/2022

China’s Horn of Africa envoy advances Beijing’s push for peace in strategic and complex region
Yahoo News
According to politics and international affairs professor Lina Benabdallah, a specialist in China-Africa relations, Beijing’s interests in the Horn are multiple. “The Horn is a region of growing and overlapping interest to China with a combination of security interests, access to the Indian Ocean, economic and political partnership, geostrategic calculations and so on,” Benabdallah said. – 2/24/2022

REGIONAL & TRADE

Truist Financial completes rebranding process in Charlotte
By Caroline Hudson | Charlotte Business Journal
All of Truist Financial Corp.’s local branches and offices have transitioned to the new branding. Marketing professor Roger Beahm comments on how a name is the most important way customers remember a business. – 2/23/2022

LOCAL

Unique partnership is providing thousands of local students with the skills needed to fight climate change
Yes! Weekly
The Energy Explorers Program is expanding in 2022 – PEA is meeting the growing demand for this program this year by recruiting and training students at Wake Forest University, Salem College, and Winston-Salem State University to present the curriculum to local schools.  – 2/24/2022

Forsyth COVID-19 case count rises slightly. Omicron subvariant surfacing in NC
By Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
Wake Forest University officials issued a statement that “a phased approach” would begin March 5 toward lifting the campus mask requirement. “Our decisions regarding campus COVID protocols are influenced by these local public health guidelines, as well as our own campus health data.” – 2/24/2022

Are masks required? See where each Piedmont Triad university stands
By Justyn Melrose | WGHP-TV (High Point, NC)
Wake Forest emphasized that anyone who wishes to wear a face mask is still welcome to do so, and faculty and staff can ask others to wear masks in their classrooms, meeting rooms and offices. – 2/24/2022

WAKE FOREST NEWS

WFU students, high schoolers win mini-grants for community service
By Laurie Willis | news.wfu.edu
Four Wake Forest students and two Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools students were awarded mini-grants of $500 or $1,000 from Youth Engagement Coalition, which aims to increase youth service engagement in Winston-Salem. Winners were notified last month, received their money this month and have until June 30 to complete their projects. – 2/27/2022