2025 is coming to an end, and the hard-working staff members and writers at the Old Gold and Black are winding down with the end of the fall semester. This time of the semester is always chaotic, filled with last-minute studying, social plans with the friends you won’t see for a month and packing as many clothes as you can into one suitcase. This year has been one for the books for the Opinion section, which covered a wide variety of topics on and off campus, ranging from powerful political messages to thoughts on popular culture events.
Led by editor Mattie Stillerman, the 2025 spring semester produced some strong articles that covered topics pertinent to our rapidly changing social and political scenes. One article by Eva Kate Probus discussed President Donald Trump’s statement in March of 2025 about how seriously he was taking the idea of a third term as president. A deep dive into the history of presidential terms and the 22nd Amendment followed, showing how the idea behind Trump’s remarks was entirely unconstitutional. The piece ended with a strong statement that recognizes Trump’s disregard for democracy.
Another article by Aria Heyneman looked at the rising trend in college students prioritizing future career development rather than treating college as a place to develop one’s identity and passions. Aria argues that the competitive nature of college life now is isolating for students and creates an unhealthy culture where students disregard their interests for the sake of filling their calendars with extracurriculars picked out to look good on a resume.
A third article from this spring by writers Jacqueline Gorfin and Ahlanna Nikole Jackson looks at the lack of recognition the historically Black sororities and fraternities on Wake Forest’s campus receive from students and administration compared to Panhellenic sororities and Interfraternity Council fraternities. Gorfin and Jackson attribute this not to education deficits but instead to the unwillingness of the campus community to learn about the NPHC organizations. They also show how the smaller percentage of Black students enrolled at Wake Forest compared to white students adds to the lack of visibility of the NPHC.
The fall semester also included some heavy-hitting articles that covered campus-related topics as well as nationally relevant issues under the leadership of editors Towne Moores and Sara Catherine Bradshaw. Moores wrote an impactful piece regarding the closing of Wake Forest’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion following actions taken by President Donald Trump to target universities with practices in place to uphold ideas of diversity, equity and inclusion in education.
The article concluded with a powerful message for students, administrators and even those outside of the educational sphere to resist the fearmongering of Donald Trump and to stand against political leaders when they are threatening the rights of Americans.
An article by Features Editor Miriam Fabrycky examines the increased use of AI-generated images in University communications. Fabrycky calls for Marketing and Communications at Wake Forest to stop using these “cheesy” images in emails to the campus community, arguing that the widespread use of AI-generated graphics produces a bad image for Wake Forest itself. The article explains the ethical shortcomings of AI and insists that Marketing and Communications should instead utilize student talent for images to use in their official communications.
Chase Clark wrote a piece that served as a powerful message urging Black students on Wake Forest’s campus to find strength in community, especially when confronted with events or groups that promote harmful rhetoric against marginalized communities. Clark’s article reminds Black students not to be discouraged by such events or groups and instead, to further build a supportive community that encourages its members and pushes one another to succeed and thrive in college and beyond.
Our section aims to provide a space for students to express their opinions on anything from celebrity engagement to political events. We know how important it is to use one’s voice to initiate conversations and even spark change in university/national policy. That is the power of opinion pieces, and we look forward to giving these spaces to students next semester.
