"Covers the campus like the magnolias"

Old Gold & Black

'Covers the campus like the magnolias'
"Covers the campus like the magnolias"

Old Gold & Black

"Covers the campus like the magnolias"

Old Gold & Black

The lands of Lahaina are damaged as a result of wildfires (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons).

Maui wildfires shed light on environmental justice issues closer to home

Una Wilson, Environment Editor September 7, 2023

On Aug. 8th, 2023, the city of Lahaina on the island of Maui, Hawaii, erupted in flames. More than 2,500 acres were disintegrated in the blaze, including residential homes, temporary housing units, schools,...

In the birthplace of the environmental justice movement, protesters march against the proposal of a PCB landfill in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Warren County, N.C., in 1982.

Past and present: Moving toward environmental justice

Anna Beim, Staff Writer March 2, 2023

Day after day in America, pollutants are pumped into the atmosphere, toxic chemicals are poured into water sources and hazardous waste is buried within our soil. Many communities across the nation suffer...

A haze of smoke from the Weaver Fire covers the quad.

Looking back, moving forward: One year after the Weaver Fire

Addison Schmidt and Bella Ortley-Guthrie February 1, 2023

Just over a year ago, on the evening of Jan. 31, 2022, Wake Forest students on and around North Campus were met with the sight of a yellow-brown chemical haze. As the plume of smoke moved southward and...

A Native American Heritage Month flyer shows the Should We Go to Hawaii talk.

Tohi Talk asks: ‘Should we go to Hawaii?’

Addison Schmidt, Assistant Environment Editor November 21, 2022

When the average Wake Forest student is prompted to consider the Hawaiian islands, they likely imagine a stunning vacationland ripe with crystal clear waters, surfing and volcanoes. Our thoughts, however,...

The graduate cohort draws heavily on the book All We Can Save.

Graduate cohort focuses on eco-justice

Mia Springer, Contributing Writer October 31, 2022

Environmental justice is an issue that hits close to home for Wake Forest– so close that it affects the surrounding Winston-Salem community more than many students may know.  That’s why Wake Forest's...

Indigenous Peoples Day events at Wake Forest honor Indigenous teachings and sustainability practices.

Fostering connections on Indigenous Peoples Day

Breanna Laws, Staff Writer October 19, 2022

On Monday, Oct. 11, the Office of Sustainability partnered with the Intercultural Center to host a celebration for Indigenous Peoples Day. This event featured the planting of a new campus garden behind...

A photograph of the Amazon Rainforest in the midst of deforestation

A controlled crash: Saving the damaged Peruvian Amazon

Ben Lane, Contributing Writer August 24, 2022

After hours of hiking, 11 Wake Forest students broke through the dense vegetation onto a small cliff, exposing an endless expanse of rainforest stretched out beneath them. Clothes glued to their bodies...

The 2013 fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, resulted in the death of 15 people, an additional 150 people injured, and nearly 150 buildings being destroyed or damaged.

Examining EPA policies related to Weaver

Sean Jones, Staff Writer March 23, 2022

It has been six weeks since the Weaver Fertilizer Fire, and the residents of Winston-Salem are still reckoning with the after-effects of the catastrophe. The Weaver fire, however, was preceded by a nearly...

Despite government warnings about health, safety and environmental hazards,
the synthetic fertilizer ammonium nitrate is still widely used in the U.S.

Evaluating Wake Forest’s use of Weaver fertilizer

Una Wilson, Assistant Features Editor March 2, 2022

Ammonium nitrate, the synthetic fertilizer produced at the Weaver fertilizer plant, has been responsible for numerous devastating explosions, raising serious concerns about its production, storage and...

Winston-Salem residents voice their concerns at a City Hall meeting regarding health, financial, and environmental issues in the aftermath of the Weaver fire. According to the Winston-Salem Journal, 81%-85% of residents near the blaze were people of color.

Weaver fire reveals environmental racism

Una Wilson, Assistant Features Editor February 24, 2022

 The fire that erupted at the Weaver Fertilizer Plant came as a surprise to many, yet an investigation into the racial history of Winston-Salem reveals a pattern of environmental inequity that affects...

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