Stories this week at WFU

WFU STUDENT TO APPEAR AS CONTESTANT ON ‘MILLIONAIRE’ — Wake Forest University senior Aaron Mass will appear on the syndicated television game show “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire” at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22. The show will be broadcast on local affiliate WXLV. “I had a great time,” said Mass of his experience on the show. “They say everyone has 15 minutes of fame and I suppose this show is mine.” Mass, an economics major from Setauket, N.Y., was one of eight students from universities across the country selected for the show’s “College Week” edition. Other schools represented are Arizona State University, Duke University, Hofstra University, Purdue University, University of Colorado and University of Nevada at LasVegas. The syndicated version of “Who Wants To Be A Millionare” is hosted by Meredith Viera and is in its third season. To contact “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire,” call or e-mail the show’s publicist, Trisha Miller, at 917-848-5787 or tmillsnyc@yahoo.com.

Contact: Maggie Barrett, 336-758-5237 or barretmb@wfu.edu.

 

DIPLOMACY OFFERS BEST BET FOR PROGRESS IN N. KOREA — China, one of North Korea’s strongest allies and its main trading partner, will likely play a big role in efforts to bring North Korea back to a multilateral negotiation table, said Wei-chin Lee, professor of political science at Wake Forest University and an expert on politics in China and Taiwan. “These recent developments probably will not create too much impact on U.S. policy toward North Korea due to the United States’ extensive military involvement in Iraq and the Iranian nuclear issue,” Lee said. “It seems that China will play a significant role, assuming that China wants to use the North Korean issue to be a bargaining chip to influence U.S. policy toward Taiwan, and assuming that China does not want to see the rise of a stronger Japan in military capability in the region.” Lee said the United States should pursue a multilateral approach to the North Korean issue and should urge China to take a more active role to pressure North Korea to come back to the negotiation table.

Contact: Jacob McConnico, mcconnjn@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

 

WAKE FOREST STUDENT STARTS CAMPUS-WIDE PROM DRESS DRIVE — Wake Forest University junior Kelly Williamson knows that for many high school girls, the perfect prom dress is financially out of reach. That is why Williamson started the first campus-wide prom dress drive at Wake Forest. The drive is sponsored by Wake Forest’s Volunteer Service Corps, the Wake Forest chapter of Delta Sigma Theta sorority and The Salvation Army Thrift Store. Williamson, a member of Delta Sigma Theta, says she hopes Wake Forest’s other sororities will embrace the idea and donate dresses by the last day of the drive, Feb. 28. “There are so many formal parties on campus and usually a girl wears a particular dress once,” Williamson said. “It makes sense to make those little-worn dresses available to high school girls who might think they can’t go to the prom because they can’t afford a dress.” Dresses can be placed in a donation box in the Volunteer Service Corps Office in Benson University Center. Once the dresses are collected, they will be given to The Salvation Army Thrift Store at 4239 Patterson Avenue in Winston-Salem, where high school students can buy them for discount prices.

Contact: Maggie Barrett, 336-758-5237 or barretmb@wfu.edu.

 

FAMOUS THERAPIST WILLIAM GLASSER TO VISIT WAKE FOREST — William Glasser, an internationally known psychiatrist and author of the book “Reality Therapy,” will lead a workshop at Wake Forest Feb. 21. The workshop “Treating Mental Health as a Public Health Problem: A New Leadership Role for Counselors” will focus on content explored in his books, “Choice Therapy” and “Warning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health.” Glasser is best known for his book “Reality Therapy” published in 1965. He is also the author of several books focusing on schools, including “The Quality School: Managing Students without Coercion” and “Schools without Failure.” The workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Benson University Center, Room 401B and is sponsored by Wake Forest’s counseling department. Registration is $75; $40 for students and Wake Forest alumni. Media are invited to attend at no charge, but should call the News Service to make arrangements.

Contact: Cheryl Walker, 336-758-5237 or walkercv@wfu.edu.

 

BLOGS INCREASINGLY CHALLENGING, INFLUENCING THE MEDIA — First, it was Dan Rather. Now another elite figure in journalism, CNN’s recently resigned chief news executive Eason Jordan, surrenders to the powerful influence of blogs. Wake Forest University communication expert Ananda Mitra says this could be the beginning of a new era for the media. “Blogging offers voice to people who might never be heard,” Mitra says. “As a reliable source of information, blogs could call into question the advantages traditionally enjoyed by the powerful mainstream media, thus the media must respond to the blogging phenomenon in a careful way.”

Contact: Maggie Barrett, 336-758-5237 or barretmb@wfu.edu

 

WFU PROFESSOR, STUDENTS HELP LOCAL RESIDENTS FILE TAXES — The Earned Income Tax Credit can return thousands of dollars to many taxpayers, but many who would benefit from it are not aware of it, or don’t know how to claim it. Now, qualifying residents of Forsyth County have a place to turn for help. Yvonne Hinson, associate professor of accountancy in Wake Forest’s Calloway School of Business and Accountancy, and Wake Forest accounting students are offering free tax-filing assistance at the Goodwill Industries building at 2701 University Parkway. The Wake Forest site will operate Tuesdays in February and March from 4 – 6 p.m. The site operates as part of the Forsyth Working Families Partnership, a group of local non-profit organizations that helps low-income residents take advantage of tax credits by preparing their tax returns and showing them how to use the refunded money to build assets or buy a first home. Last year, the Wake Forest group assisted approximately 132 residents and returned between $40,000 and $50,000 in earned income tax credits and more than $110,000 in total refunds to local taxpayers. It is estimated that $12 million in unclaimed tax credits are available to Forsyth County residents.

Contact: Maggie Barrett, barretmb@wfu.edu or 336-758-5237.

Categories: Events, Student, University Announcement