WFU in the news: June 26-July 2, 2023

FEATURED NEWS

U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling strikes down affirmative action in college admissions
By John Hinton | Winston-Salem Journal
The court’s landmark decision left colleges across the nation searching for new ways to promote student diversity. President Susan Wente of Wake Forest University said in a statement that her school “will not waiver in its commitment to creating and sustaining inclusive, diverse learning communities. We will continue to recruit and enroll academically qualified students of diverse backgrounds who seek an intellectual home at Wake Forest where they belong and thrive, and in compliance of the court’s ruling.” – 7/02/2023

NATIONAL & INTERNATIONAL

Is it legal to sell human remains?
By Tanya Marsh | Yahoo Life
Law professor Tanya Marsh writes: “As a scholar whose research is centered on the laws regarding the status, treatment and disposition of human remains, I am often asked about the legality and ethics of selling bodies, especially when stories like the Harvard morgue case or a TikTok user selling human bones begin to circulate. My answers often surprise people.” – 7/03/2023

Taking students to the range to learn about gun culture firsthand
By David Yamane | New Haven Register
Sociology professor David Yamane, an expert in American gun culture, answers questions about his “Sociology of Guns” class for The Conversation’s Uncommon Courses feature. “The course teaches students to approach this fraught topic in a more objective and nuanced manner encompassing both the everyday uses and abuses of firearms. This knowledge then helps students better understand their own personal beliefs about and relationship to guns,” he said. – 7/03/2023

What to know about the Supreme Court ruling on college admissions
By Nick Anderson, Susan Svrluga | The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
About 80 colleges and universities in 2021 admitted 25% or fewer of their undergraduate applicants, federal data show, a group that includes Amherst College, the University of Michigan and Wake Forest University. – 6/30/2023

Read the response from President Susan Wente and Provost Michele Gillespie to the Supreme Court’s affirmative action decision on the Office of the President’s website here.

North Carolina gardens offer beauty, scents and plants you won’t find in Western Pa.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Starting in north central North Carolina, Winston-Salem begins a fun-filled adventure for seeing inspired plantings and appreciating the history of the state. Adrienne and Jon Roethling are husband and wife botanical experts cultivating two cutting-edge gardens that were recently featured in The American Gardener, the American Horticulture Society’s publication. He is the creative force behind the Reynolda Gardens of Wake Forest University. – 6/30/2023

Does it make sense to get rid of the penny?
By Janet Nguyen | Marketplace
“We treat pennies as though we don’t respect them. We leave a penny there, and we don’t even bend over to pick it up. And it’s because there’s been a lot of inflation and economic growth and the value of our time has gone up and up and up,” said economics professor Robert Whaples. “The average earnings per hour in the United States is now a little bit over $30. And so that means the amount of time it takes to earn a penny is a second or two.” – 6/30/2023

Do we actually grow from adversity?
By Eranda Jayawickreme and Frank J. Infurna | Medium
“In our culture, there’s this idea that enduring a tragedy can be good for your personal growth. You’ll have a newfound appreciation for life. You’ll be grateful for your friends and family. You’ll learn from the experience. You’ll become more resilient,” write co-authors and psychology professors Eranda Jayawickreme and Arizona State University’s Frank J. Infurna. “This theme appears in media coverage, time and again, in the wake of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. But what does the science say?” – 7/02/2023

A Personal Anthology: Collaborative Summer Special 2023
By Jonathan Gibbs | A Personal Anthology
Tom McGohey, who taught composition and directed The Writing Center at Wake Forest University for 20 years, recommended “Korea” by John McGahern as a must-read for this list of best summer short stories. McGohey has published essays in Fourth Genre, Sport Literate, and Thread. Two of his essays have been cited as “Notable Essays” in Best American Essays. – 6/30/2023

Travels With Charley — and Hayek
By Robert M. Whaples | The American Spectator
Economics professor Robert Whaples, wrote this piece after a visit to the heart of “John Steinbeck country” in Monterey, California: “I guess I was expecting the Steinbeck of The Grapes of Wrath. Lots of anger at capitalism, a story where every businessman — unlike the ones I’ve met — is mean. Instead of a Steinbeck who channels Karl Marx, I found a Steinbeck who channels another influential economist, Friedrich Hayek.” Whaples is a senior fellow at the Independent Institute in Oakland, California and co-editor of the new book Is Social Justice Just? – 7/02/2023

REGIONAL & TRADE

Post Dobbs decision, abortion debates shift to the states
By David Ford | WFDD-FM (Winston-Salem, NC)
“If the legislature in a state might not be supportive of a given policy — abortion rights protections — in those states, the people can bypass their legislature and amend their state constitution to protect abortion rights,” said politics professor John Dinan. “North Carolina does not have that procedure. So, it would take the North Carolina legislature being interested in proposing an amendment to the state constitution to protect abortion rights. There’s not much sign of the North Carolina legislature currently doing that.” – 6/29/2023

Local expert weighs in on Moore v. Harper Supreme Court ruling and what it means for North Carolina
By David Ford | WFDD-FM (Winston-Salem, NC)
Politics professor John Dinan said the Supreme Court allowed for some judicial review but did not grant courts free rein. “It could have freed up state legislatures around the country to draw district maps in ways that could be unchallenged by their own state supreme court,” he said. “So, basically it’s a status quo decision that the U.S. Supreme Court handed down — status quo for North Carolina and status quo for the rest of the country.” – 6/27/2023

Senate Bill 171 carves out exemption for wood pellet industry, up for a vote today
By Lisa Sorg | NC Newsline
Justin Catanoso, a communication professor and journalist, interviewed a whistleblower from inside Enviva, who is quoted as saying: “The company says that we use mostly waste like branches, treetops and debris to make pellets,” the whistleblower told me. “What a joke. We use 100% whole trees in our pellets. We hardly use any waste. Pellet density is critical. You get that from whole trees, not junk.” – 7/03/2023

Tar Heels react to historic Supreme Court ruling in UNC Chapel Hill admissions case
By Liz Schlemmer | WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill, NC)
The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision released today in a case challenging UNC Chapel Hill’s consideration of a student’s race in admissions will have historic consequences for higher education nationwide. Because the opinion involves cases against both UNC Chapel Hill and Harvard College, it will apply to all public and private colleges and universities nationwide. In North Carolina, the decision will particularly affect selective universities like Davidson College, Duke University, UNC Chapel Hill and Wake Forest University. – 6/29/2023

LOCAL

Who was watching? State can’t say if Smith Reynolds tree clearing was monitored
By John Deem | Winston-Salem Journal
While pinpointing and quantifying the causes of erosion is complicated, the scope of the airport’s tree clearing is significant, noted engineering professor Courtney Di Vittorio, who specializes in water management. “When you add impervious surface, it adds to the amount of water running off,” Di Vittorio told the Journal last year. “And 250 acres is a big area.” – 7/01/2023

WAKE FOREST NEWS

Can bone-strengthening exercises and/or drugs reduce fracture risk when older adults lose weight?
By Alicia Roberts | Wake Forest News
A $7 million study beginning this summer at Wake Forest University and Wake Forest University School of Medicine will help determine whether a combination of resistance training plus bone-strengthening exercises and/or osteoporosis medication use can help older adults safely lose weight without sacrificing bone mass. That paradox – that shedding pounds can help stave off heart disease and diabetes while increasing bone loss and subsequent fracture risk – has been a focus of health and exercise science researcher Kristen Beavers for about a decade. – 6/30/2023

Flash drought: Researchers calculate global risk
By Cassie Freund and Cheryl Walker | Wake Forest News
A new study featuring engineering professor Lauren Lowman’s analytical contributions has calculated how the global risk of flash drought will change with climate warming. The study was published in Communications Earth and Environment in May. “Flash droughts are of concern because they happen with little forewarning for farmers and land managers to prepare,” she said. – 6/28/2023

Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decision
By Corey D. B. Walker | Wake Forest University School of Divinity
While the use of affirmative action is curtailed by the Court’s ruling, we stand steadfast in our theological commitment to being a community that embodies hospitality in cultivating “a community of learners that celebrates diverse religious, racial, ethnic, cultural, gender, and sexual identities and that fosters accessibility for all its members.” – 6/29/2023