Stories this week at Wake Forest

DELL COMPUTER EXECUTIVE TO LECTURE

John Medica, vice president and general manager of Web products for Dell Computer Corp., will discuss “Managing Directly at Internet Speed” on Oct. 22. The free, public lecture will begin at 2 p.m. in the Worrell Professional Center, Room 1312. Medica, who joined Dell in 1993, is responsible for designing, developing and delivering new Web-based products for the company. Medica worked at Apple Computer for 10 years before joining Dell. Medica is speaking as part of the Babcock Leadership Series, a lecture series organized by students in the Babcock Graduate School of Management with support from the Broyhill Foundation.

TIBETAN BUDDHIST NUNS TO PERFORM ON CAMPUS

Tibetan Buddhist nuns will present “Women’s Freedom and Spiritual Liberation: An Evening of Sacred Performance” at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 in the Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium. In colorful robes and masks, the nuns will perform ritual dances and sing harmonic chants to the music of drums and traditional instruments made of bone. The nuns are touring the West for the first time to share with audiences the central role women have played in the spiritual life of Tibet.

PRIZE-WINNING SOCIAL, POLITICAL WRITER TO VISIT CAMPUS

Pulitzer-Prize winning writer Ron Suskind will present, “Seeking the Shared National Narrative: Stories that Unite Us,” at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26 in Benson University Center’s Pugh Auditorium. The lecture is free and open to the public. Suskind, the senior national affairs writer for the Wall Street Journal, won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing in 1995 for a series about inner-city honor students and their struggles. From that series, Suskind wrote, “A Hope in the Unseen, An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League,” which follows the three-year path of a top student from the ghetto to Brown University. Contact the News Service to arrange an interview.

WFU STUDENTS CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN WITH AREA CHILDREN

Goblins, ghouls and other Halloween creatures will roam University Plaza as part of Project Pumpkin on Oct. 28. Nearly 1,000 disadvantaged children, some clad in costume, will be on campus from 3 p.m.- 6 p.m. for the annual Halloween event sponsored by Wake Forest’s Volunteer Service Corps. The children will treat-or-trick and take part in other activities such as carnival games and face painting. More than 1,500 Wake Forest students, also dressed in Halloween costumes, help with the event, now in its 11th year. More than 35 social service agencies, such as the Salvation Army Boys and Girls Clubs and the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem, have participated in Project Pumpkin.

WFU POTENTIAL PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE SITE

Wake Forest is one of 12 sites being considered for a presidential debate in 2000. Wake Forest and the Winston-Salem Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) submitted a formal proposal to the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD) to host a debate in the university’s Wait Chapel, where George Bush and Michael Dukakis debated in 1988. Final site selections will be made in January. University president Thomas K. Hearn Jr. said in addition to experience, Wake Forest offers an extensively renovated Wait Chapel and a campus that is recognized nationally for its sophisticated computer facilities. “Having hosted one already, we understand the importance of a presidential debate to our political process and the preparation necessary to ensure its success,” he said. The city is also more prepared since the last debate with more hotel space and renovated and expanded meeting facilities, said Stephan Dragisic of the Winston-Salem CVB.

HAVE WE GOT NEWS FOR YOU

Check the Wake Forest University News Service Web site for up-to-date information and news stories. The site provides answers to frequently-asked questions about Wake Forest, links to archived news releases, photographs, and information on the latest breaking news story. A list of expert sources from the faculty are available in the online, searchable Source Guide. “The site is an important tool for journalists who quickly need to download a photograph, audio file or news release,” said Julie Leonard, a media relations officer and coordinator of the site. The site is updated daily and located at www.wfu.edu/wfunews.