Author Archives: Layla Ghiai
Registration? More like Frustration!
Wake Forest University Registrar’s Office in Reynolda Hall. Photo by Connor Kaniewski.
By Tut Gregory and Layla Ghiai
As temperatures drop and stress rises, students find frustration lying where they believe it shouldn’t: the registration process.
For as long as anyone can remember, the course registration period at Wake Forest has proved a rough patch in students’ busy semesters.
Class Registration is an issue that plagues not just freshman but also upperclassmen in competitive majors, though the process gets more convenient once a major is declared.
“I remember I rarely got the classes I wanted,” said senior Matt Sherrick, “it was really frustrating.”
Now, Sherrick, a mathematical statistics major and psychology minor, finds the process to be a bit more convenient, but understands student frustrations.
“Maybe if the freshmen could declare their majors and minors earlier,” said Sherrick, “then they could also have access to the preregistration process.”
For the younger students on campus, Sherrick’s past frustrations still loom large on their horizons.
A pre-registration slip for the Economics Department. Photo by Connor Kaniewski.
“If there is an alternative,” said sophomore J.T. Owens, “or if departments were more responsive by creating new course sections for busy classes, I think the process would be much more simple.”
Sophomore J.T. Owens talks about potential alternatives to registration. Photo by Connor Kaniewski.
Other students recall registration horror stories, causing them to be even more weary of the already tumultuous process.
“One of my best friends always gets the worst registration times,” said sophomore Emily Tiensch, “he never gets the courses he wants.”
Video- Tiensch’s Comments. Video by Maggie Burns.
The second round of registration will reach its conclusion at the end of this coming week, but the struggles will continue far beyond for many unsatisfied students.
Associate University Registrar at UNC Chapel Hill suggests that students do active preparation before registration times to ensure they get into the classes that they want. This includes reaching out to professors and advisors proactively to ensure graduation requirements are fulfilled.
Video- Registering for a Class on WIN. Video by Maggie Burns.
“I’m honestly not sure what the registrar does,” said Tiensch, “but I think they could definitely do better.”
Ghiai Story 3 Idea
I plan on writing about how Wake Forest’s various transportation alternatives affect the number of students who bring a car to campus. These alternatives include BikeShare, ZipCar, and the shuttle. Transportation plays a large role, 14% to be exact, in the greenhouse gas effect. I noticed Wake Forest has a relatively large portion of students who have their own cars on campus (me being one of those individuals) and I want to research how much that affects sustainability on campus. I’m hoping to find some statistics regarding the drop in students with cars after the shuttle, Zipcar, and Bikeshare systems were put in place.
I’m hoping to reach out to Jason Campbell of the Transportation and Parking services office to gain a better understanding of the effects of these transportation alternatives. I also plan on interviewing students, both people with cars and people without cars on campus.
Ghiai Story Idea 2
I would like to write a localization story about how the recent shootings at El Paso, Dayton, and now Kansas City affect the student population. Additionally, I would like the input of the Wake Forest campus on gun laws and whether they believe it’s time for a change or if the current laws are suitable. Recently, I have felt the student body has been on edge due to these recent shootings and administration have taken a lot of precautions at big events to prevent another mass shooting from happening. This localization is timely because of the recent rise in mass shootings in addition to the Barn incident that occurred on Wake’s campus. The threatening e-mails are also raising tension in the student body regarding the issue.
I’m planning on interviewing undergraduate students, faculty members, and members of administration (university police if possible) in order to receive several different perspectives on the issue.
Ghiai News Story Idea
I hope to write about a library speaker named Kenneth Price coming to the ZSR on September 24th. Price is the co-editor of The Walt Whitman Archive, a comprehensive source that archives Walt Whitman’s work and life history. The reason I find this speaker newsworthy is because of the number of English majors, grad students, and faculty interested in Walt Whitman’s work. I’m currently in a literature class where we just read his work Leaves of Grass. I feel like this news story will appeal to a large group of Wake Forest students in addition to those who read for entertainment.
Event Page- https://zsr.wfu.edu/2019/kenneth-price-university-of-nebraska-lincoln-co-editor-of-the-walt-whitman-archive/
The Walt Whitman Archive- https://whitmanarchive.org/
Ghiai NYT Reporter: Christine Hauser
Layla Ghiai
NYT Reporter to Follow: Christine Hauser
https://www.nytimes.com/by/christine-hauser
Why I chose her:
- She’s an experienced journalist who has worked with the NYT since 2003.
- She covers both national and world news especially pertaining to relations with the Middle East.
- Although most of her news stories involve basic news leads, she recently posted an article with a scene-setter lead and has experience with feature leads.
Two Article Examples:
Jet Crash-
Saving 2,000 Pristine Acres-