Students concerned about increased police attention

Zach Almond, Staff Writer

Increased police presence and Campus Safety have students concerned at Wingate University. During the first few weeks of class, an increase in law enforcement on campus did not go unnoticed. On a recent weekend night, police were seen standing outside students’ apartments in the Watson Village and what students refer to as “Beam Quad” and throughout other areas of campus that students do not typically see them as prevalent.

“As our University continues to grow, so do the demands placed on Campus Safety. We have added additional campus safety officers to work during peak hours of our call volume.  We continue to work closely with the Office of Residence Life and the Wingate Police Department in an effort to better serve our campus community,” said Chief of Campus Safety, Michael Easley.

This year Wingate University admitted its largest freshman class ever, and heightened security through Campus Safety has not necessarily upset students, yet the presence of Wingate police officers has.

Austin Care, a senior criminal justice major, said, “I couldn’t help but notice the increase of police presence on campus coming into my last two semesters. While the university and local police department may have good intentions behind their heightened security levels, I can’t help but argue that this is a terrible idea”.

Care goes on to describe the rumors of a “drunk tank” that have been circulating around campus. In a past weekend, a line of more than 20 students was paraded across campus, something Easley disputes.

Care said, “Wingate PD is notorious on campus for imposing intimidation through threats of false charges, talking down to students and targeting certain individuals. This kind of behavior is completely unnecessary seeing as how a college campus is supposed to be a safe haven for the students attending that school,”

He said, “Underage drinking on campus isn’t something the police should be involved in; it should be the job of campus safety to handle that situation seeing as how the individuals are on campus rather than out in the community,” Care said.

In regards to the sightings of police leading 15 to 20 students onto campus safety buses, Care believes this is a way for the police to intimidate students in attempts to keep drinking and partying at a minimum during the coming semester.

Easley disputed the claims of the use of the van for detaining students by explaining that the use of the Campus Safety Van was due to mechanical problems with the usual Campus Safety vehicle.

In regards to parading students across campus, Easley said the purpose was to “assist students in transportation to and from the main campus to Campus Lake to attend the concert on Saturday.”

The reason for the increased presence of Campus Safety and law enforcement on campus was due to the concert on Saturday night as well as other events during welcome week. Chief of Wingate Police Donnie Gaye explained that things were “hectic” at the beginning of the year so Wingate University brought in extra enforcement to partner with Campus Safety.

Threats of false charges looming over students have been frequent on this campus for quite some time, Care said., He . said that encounters his friends had with Wingate PD during his junior year did nothing but “sour the relationship” between law enforcement and students. Care says that officers spoke to students in a condescending manner as well as used threats of false charges meant to intimidate.

Easley said he has a good working relationship where he meets weekly with the Wingate Police Chief in coordination with residence life as well. “Safety is our priority for all of our campus community,” said Easley. There is daily communication between Easley and Gaye; as well as a weekly meeting between Wingate Police Department, Campus Safety, and the Office of Residence Life discussing issues involving the safety of Wingate’s campus and community.

But Care says negative interactions will “create animosity between officers and students resulting in more problems for their department.” He suggests the transition to a dry campus as a solution if the University and Wingate PD view drinking on campus as a problem.

Both law enforcement officers interviewed for the story say they’re produc of the relationships that the university has with emergency services.  Gaye adds that he wants the Wingate Police Department to “be accessible on campus.”

Wingate University’s Campus Safety encourages and supports all members of the Wingate’s community to decrease the opportunities for crime and facilitate the maximum use of its resources, Easley said. .

Commuting Students Face Trials and Tribulations

Jonathan Jenkins, Staff Writer

College life has always been characterized by dorms, sleeping in late, parties, and meeting new people. For students living on campus, these events are a normal part of the college experience. However, for those students who commute, the college experience is a little different.

Commuting is not an easy choice for your college experience. While it is a cheaper option than staying on campus, it is often a lonely road to travel down. One of the hardest things for commuters is making friends on campus. With the limited time commuters spend on campus, it can be hard to build relationships with other students.

Commuters have the library and other areas to relax during their down time, but unless you know someone who lives on campus you do not have your own personal area.

For many commuters, the most frustrating part of commuting is the parking. With the amount of commuting students increasing each year, parking spaces have become limited. Arte Elliott, a Junior, commented on the parking situation stating that Wingate needs to have more parking.

Many commuters have complained about these frustrations, and these voices have not been ignored. Wingate has focused on improving the on-campus life and parking for commuting students.

Diana Coyle, a director in the Student Resources Office discussed Wingate’s plans for the future. This year, the SGA has introduced several new plans to help connect the commuters with the on-campus life. With approval by the Student Government Association (SGA), a commuter committee has been created.

Ana Acosta, a commuting student, has been assigned as the new Commuter Assistant. She helps all commuters, but specifically focuses on new and transfer students. This gives commuters someone to meet with and talk to for assistance.

Student Resources have even introduced a program called Commuter Connections, also known as Recharge. This program provides meals for commuters during both Welcome and Finals Week.

There have been adjustments made to the parking also. These changes have provided more parking spaces for commuters. Commuter representatives have also worked on a place for commuters to relax. That vision has turned into the newly renovated Ames Turnout. These improvements have shown a change in the attitude and focus towards commuters.

The commuter life has never been as easy as living on campus. The changes that Wingate continues to make are a promising future for all commuters. The number of commuters that will take advantage of these opportunities have yet to be seen, but the environment that has been created is encouraging to get more students involved.

Edited by Kyndra Sanden and Danny Stueber

First Year of Recruitment Begins for New Sorority

Hope Rogers, Staff Writer

One year ago, Alpha Omicron Pi, (also known as AOII), became the newest addition to the Wingate University Greek community. In a few short weeks, this newly-formed chapter will participate in their first year of recruitment.

Formal recruitment will, for the first time ever, consist of four sororities instead of three. Each organization plans months in advance in order for each round to go smoothly, mostly for the benefit of the newest members. For AOII, that category includes their entire chapter.

Soon enough, an estimated one-hundred potential new members will be walking through the doors into each round, unsure of what to expect. Rebecca Shaw, the president of AOII at Wingate, has some advice for the women going through recruitment, other than getting plenty of sleep, she said, “Keep an open mind. All the organizations have different things to offer. We all have philanthropy, we all have values, and we all have wonderful and amazing sisterhoods. These things are what make us unique and genuine.”

Ms. Shaw stresses the importance of knowing that each organization has passed down traditions, rituals, and values for over one-hundred years, and they all have something beautiful to offer. Diana Coyle, a sister of Chi Omega and the Associate Director of Student Involvement at Wingate, could not agree more, she said, “There are constant stereotypes that we battle as sorority women, but too often we do not hear about the impact of personal and professional growth that takes place or the lifetime support system that is built by membership.”

In the past year, the women of AOII have learned that the bonds they make are not just for four years; they are for life. Since there were no members on Wingate’s campus last year, AOII recruiters held a separate formal recruitment a few weeks after the other three sororities on campus had finished theirs.

Ms. Shaw went through both recruitments before finding her Greek home in AOII. She recalls that although the recruitments were separate, there were few, if any, differences between them. What made her experience a special one is the leadership opportunities she received that have prepared her to become a better woman and role model in her community.

In addition to becoming the president, her chapter had the honor of being initiated by AOII’s International President, Allison Allgier, which Ms. Shaw says was an experience she will never forget. What she looks forward to this year, is going through the other side of recruitment and watching each potential new member find her home within the Greek community. She said, “I have heard how incredibly rewarding it is to watch your fellow classmates run home to their organizations on bid day, and I look forward to seeing that joy for every single girl who goes through recruitment.”

Bid day, or the last day of recruitment, is a joyous event where all of the newest sorority members run across campus into the arms of their new sisters. There is a lot of tackling, crying, and picture taking, and this year, the women of AOII will experience it for themselves.

As Wingate and its Greek life continue to grow, many have wondered if they can expect another chapter any time soon. Ms. Coyle does not think so. She said, “I do not see any additional sororities coming into the community any time soon, but I would love to see growth within our Interfraternity Council and National Pan-Hellenic chapters. By growing both of these councils we will continue to provide increased membership opportunities for the entire campus.”

The deadline for sign-ups has past. The first round of recruitment, which is information session, will be take place tonight. For any additional questions or information, email Diana Coyle at d.coyle@wingate.edu.

###

Edited by Brea Childs

Danny Stueber reviews ‘Until Dawn’ (PS4)

Danny Stueber, Staff Writer

Until Dawn was originally announced back in 2012 as a motion based horror game for the PlayStation 3. Fast forward three years, remove the motion controls as the main way to play, and put it on the PS4 and you have what I consider to be one of the best horror games in a very long time. I would even go as far as to call it a game changer in the “choose your own adventure” type game play; companies like Telltale (the makers of the Walking Dead games and Currently Game of Thrones game) have been doing for years.

Presentation

The game has you playing as one of many teens that are going to party and spend time together one year after two of their friends went missing in the same location. The weekend is about to be filled with drinking, sex, and an overall good time with each other.

Weird things start happening however and before they know it a psychotic killer that has escaped his mental institution seems to be out to get them. Now, does this set up sound cheesy and over done to you? Does it sound like some old 80s movie that you have heard of? That is the entire point of Until Dawn.

It pays homage to slasher flicks from the 80’s and 90’s while also putting its own twist on it. At times it can be campy but that is what it is trying to do.

By the midway point of the game, however, it becomes its own entity and does a great job of that as well. I would normally go more into the story but since this entire game is based one event, all I will say is if you enjoy the movies from the past like Friday the 13th or Scream then this game is for you.

Playing the game late at night with headphones on and no lights gave me a few instances of checking behind me for something. The atmosphere and the tone the game really raise the tension as you play through it.

There were a few cheap jump scares but way more genuine times where I almost threw my controller. It remains scary all the way to the end of the 12-hour campaign and is a wild ride all the way.

Gameplay

Until Dawn is a very linear game; the goal really is to go from point A to point B while learning about the story and characters. The big thing about the game is that you make the choices.

If you heard a weird sound do you go check it out or do you stay with the group? If your girl friend is in trouble do you risk the short cut to get to her or stay on the safe path? Do you shoot at the shadow in the distance or not? This adds a lot of replay value so that once you finish the game you can go back and play through again to see how much the story changes.

Unlike other choice based games, this one has it that if you don’t choose correctly in the context or if you mess something up, even something from hours ago, it can come back to bite you later. This means all of the characters can die or all can live depending on how well you play.

It is possible to finish the game with no one surviving and that adds tension every time you play. One bummer I will say though is that I experimented and did an entire play through where I didn’t press any prompts. It would punish me every so often – one time a girl died – but otherwise nothing bad would happen and I would end up laughing at how my character would be falling all over the place. This can occur in other games like this but because of the big budget that went into this game I was hoping for this not to be the case.

Conclusion

It has a few rough spots and can be cheap near the end (a lot of precise things in the last hour that if you mess up, your teens die right away) but it does what it sets out to do very well. The tone and mood is perfect, the scares really get to you, the characters are all different and play their stereotype to the tee, etc.

If you are looking for a fun scary time where you will not have to spend hundreds of hours to have fun then this is for you. If you don’t like horror or old slasher type movies then it’s best to stay away. It has its faults but it is one of my favorite games of the year and a real reason to own a PS4.

Rating: 9/10 

StUeBs13 = Xbox Gamer tag

StUeBs_13 = PlayStation ID

Edited by Brea Childs and Jenna Turner

We are the world: Model UN comes to Wingate

Courtney Bailey, Staff Writer

On Thursday, Sep. 3, Wingate University’s Model United Nations Club held its second interest meeting since its formation as an official campus organization in 2014. With the club’s one-year anniversary approaching and its membership beginning to grow, WUMUN members felt the need to clearly inform Wingate students about what exactly Model United Nations is and why it is important to the university.

“I was always interested in Model UN and the areas it has influence in, including human rights and promoting democracy,” WUMUN founder and president, Leyli Garryyeva, explained as she spoke of her desire to bring Model UN to Wingate. “Wingate invests in W’International and other study abroad programs to expand students’ minds, and Model UN gives them an opportunity to do that without traveling outside of the country.”

As students snacked on pizza and Pepsi, Garryyeva and WUMUN faculty advisor, Dr. Jacob Wobig, presented the positive aspects of participating in Model UN, such as gaining valuable research skills, improving public speaking abilities, and becoming a better global citizen.

“I think that students that participate in Model UN will get a whole bunch of benefits,” Wobig said when discussing different reasons for students to join the club. “Model UN brings home the practical significance of things you might be studying in your classes. Moreover, it’s one of the best ways to learn about topics like global poverty, war, human rights, or environmental sustainability, because we’ll be researching and debating these topics regularly.”

To participate in Model United Nations organizations, students simulate the operations of the United Nations through researching current world issues, representing an assigned nation, and negotiating with several others students in the roles of ambassadors. Together, they attempt to put aside the differences of their countries and write resolutions to solve real world problems in as efficient a way as possible. By doing these things, students of all majors and backgrounds can become better prepared for changing the world through their different careers.

Kyle Bromir, WUMUN’s Undersecretary General of Travel Logistics, firmly believes that Model UN, “actually builds concrete skills that you can use toward future professions. My public speaking skills have improved.”

In addition to helping students improve their professional skills and global awareness, Model UN is actually very enjoyable and exciting.

“I’ve made friends from all over the country,” said Jordan Corl, WUMUN Treasurer and history major, “I have an International Studies minor, so this plays along with my love of traveling and languages.”

“It’s a lot of fun,” Dr. Wobig agreed. “Like any intense experience, the people that participate in Model UN often develop strong and lasting friendships, both with people from the home school and also with all the participants from all the other schools that go to Model UN conferences. When we go to New York this spring for the National Model UN conference, there will be about 5,000 students there from all over the world that our students will be working with closely over four days. That’s pretty cool.”

With its emphasis on global perspectives and international exposure, Wingate University is the perfect home for an organization like Model United Nations. Students will be able to practically apply what they learn from GPS classes and W’International trips, as well as make meaningful friendships and have fun while doing it. Above all else, Model UN will teach Wingate students how to apply “Faith, Knowledge, Service” to the world problems which face us all as a global community.

Edited by Meredith Lalor and Brooke Griffin

A new site for The Weekly Triangle

Welcome to the new blog site for The Weekly Triangle, the student-run newspaper at Wingate University since 1930.

Visit us often for news about our campus, including features, sports and opinion. We look forward to hearing from readers as well, Leave us a comment!

You can also find updates on the site through our Facebook page (The Weekly Triangle) and our Twitter feed (@wutriangle).

— Shea Murray, Editor-in-Chief