Stories this week at Wake Forest University

PROFESSOR’S BEES MAKE HONEY FROM CAMPUS FLOWERS— In the next few weeks some of Wake Forest Philosophy Professor Marcus Hester’s favorite pets will make a beeline to campus—literally. Hester is the keeper of two beehives at his home on the perimeter of campus that produced nearly 50 two-pound bottles of honey last year. Each spring the bees stream out of their hive, clear the trees surrounding Hester’s house and make a bee line for Wake Forest maple trees, poplar trees and flowers. “Bees know how to pick an area where this is no other competition,” says Hester, a certified beekeeper with the Forsyth Beekeepers, one of the most active beekeeping groups in North Carolina. “Because my bees have strong yellow and black stripes, I know they are mine when I see them on campus.” As a professor who often teaches about classical philosophers, Hester says his bees illustrate Aristotle’s thought that everything in nature happens for an end. To arrange an interview with Hester, contact Sarah Smith at manselss@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH STILL NECESSARY, BUT HAS DRAWBACKS— Women’s History Month provides both an opportunity and a hindrance to women, says Michele Gillespie, associate professor of history at Wake Forest. She often teaches courses in the university’s women’s studies program, and has studied women’s history since college. “Until women’s history is part of all history and social studies courses and until our modern world embraces women’s equality, Women’s History Month remains necessary,” says Gillespie. However, she points out that limiting women’s history to a single month suggests that its study is an addendum to the rest of history. “Women constitute barely one percent of the CEOs at Fortune 500 companies in 2002, no woman presidential candidate appears to be on the horizon, and women and children make up the vast majority of the nation’s poor,” Gillespie says. “Women still have a way to go to achieve equity in political and economic terms.” To arrange an interview with Gillespie, contact Sarah Smith at manselss@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

COACHES BEGIN ‘SECOND SEASON’ AT TOURNEY TIME— The idea that teams get a fresh start at tournament time is a perfect example of how language is used to generate hope, says John Llewellyn, associate professor of communication who has studied what coaches say after wins and losses. “Tournament time is a great chance for rededication and renewal even though teams have played 30 games by the time this ‘new season’ comes around,” says Llewellyn. He studied newspaper reports of post-game comments made by the winning and losing basketball coaches in 12 National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s national championship games every other year from 1976-2000 for “Coachtalk,” a chapter in the upcoming book “Case Studies in Sport Communication.” Llewellyn can comment on why coaches say certain things after a win or loss and analyze what some post-game comments may mean. To arrange an interview with Llewellyn, contact Sarah Smith at manselss@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

SPRING BREAK IS OPPORTUNITY FOR COMMUNITY SERVICE— While many college students spend Spring Break at the beach or at home enjoying Mom’s home cooking, some Wake Forest students will be helping with several community service projects across the country, including one in Charleston, S.C. and one in New Orleans. In Charleston, 12 students will run an after-school camp for 4th and 5th graders at an inner-city school. In New Orleans, nine students will work on a variety of service projects in cooperation with a group called Volunteers of America. Both groups will depart at 9:30 a.m. March 9, from the front of Benson University Center. Wake Forest students are on spring break March 9 – March 17. For more information on the trips, contact Cheryl Walker at walkercv@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

WAKE FOREST IRISH FESTIVAL TO CELEBRATE IRISH CULTURE— Irish poetry, music, dance and film will highlight Wake Forest’s Irish Festival March 16-21. The celebration begins on March 16 with the Irish Festival Community Day at Reynolda House, Museum of American Art (adjacent to the Wake Forest campus). The free community event will run from noon to 3:30 p.m. It will feature traditional Irish music and the Irish dance group, Rinse na h’Eireann. The outdoor event will also include storytelling, poetry and hands-on crafts for children. The festival is sponsored by the Wake Forest University Press, the premier publisher of Irish poetry in North America. For a complete calendar of the week’s events, visit the News Service Web site, www.wfu.edu/wfunews. (direct link to Irish fest story online)

Categories: Arts & Culture, Community, Events, Faculty, Speakers, University Announcement