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"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 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...

Wait Chapel was blanketed by a smoky fog last week.

Environment appears to be safe after Weaver Fire

Connor McNeely, Editor-in-Chief February 7, 2022

As the investigation into the cause of the Weaver fertilizer fire begins, Wake Forest University is continuing to monitor both the quality of its air and water and has announced that classes will resume...

Smoke covers the Road Houses on Thursday afternoon as a rainstorm swept through the area.

Webinar addresses lingering fire concerns

Emily Toro, News Editor February 4, 2022

Wake Forest University President Susan R. Wente, Provost Rogan Kersh, Vice President for Campus Life Dr. Shea Kidd Brown hosted a webinar Friday which centered around the university’s response to the...

Smoke is visible on North Campus during the Weaver Fire.

Amidst backlash, university cancels classes for the remainder of the week

Christa Dutton, Emily Toro, Connor McNeely, and Aine Pierre February 2, 2022

Less than six hours after announcing that classes would be held in person on Thursday, Feb. 3, Wake Forest sent an update through Wake Alert that classes would be canceled for both Thursday, Feb. 3 and...

Smoke from the fire forms in a haze over Wait Chapel.

Editorial: University decision to hold in-person classes is irresponsible

Editorial Staff February 2, 2022

At 1:04 p.m. on Wednesday, minutes after Winston-Salem Fire Chief William "Trey" Mayo announced that residents within the one-mile radius of the Weaver Fertilizer Plant fire should not return to their...

Smoke covers the view of Wait Chapel from Polo Residence Hall in Feb. 2, 2022.

Explaining the Weaver Fire

On Monday night, shortly before 7 p.m., a fire started blazing on a loading dock at the Weaver Fertilizer Plant on North Cherry St., according to reporting from the Winston-Salem Journal. Winston-Salem...

From Polo Residence Hall, the smoke from the fire obscures Wait Chapel.

Wake Forest community reacts to Weaver Fertilizer fire

Aine Pierre, Christa Dutton, and Emily Toro February 1, 2022

The fire at Weaver Fertilizer Plant that began on the night of Monday, Jan. 31, continues to affect the Wake Forest and Winston-Salem community. About 1,000 Wake Forest undergraduate and graduate students...

Students in Deacon Place evacuate after a Wake Alert clarified that Deacon Place is in the evacuation area.

“Our house shook with the explosion:” Students evacuate in aftermath of local fire

Connor McNeely, Aine Pierre, and Cooper Sullivan February 1, 2022
Late Monday night, in the aftermath of a fertilizer plant explosion on the 4400 block of N. Cherry Street, the Winston-Salem Fire Department issued a request that those within a one-mile radius — an area which includes Wake Forest residences at Deacon Place — voluntarily evacuate the area. This request will last until 11 p.m. Wednesday night. At 10:14 p.m., amidst mounting rumors of a campus-wide evacuation, Wake Forest police informed the Old Gold & Black that no dorms on the Reynolda Campus were being evacuated. Eight minutes later, the university confirmed this fact in an email to the community, in addition to sharing an Apple Maps graphic of the evacuation zone which included Deacon Place.
Smoke is visible on North Campus during the Weaver Fire.

Classes are canceled for Tuesday, Feb. 1

Editorial Staff February 1, 2022

All classes on Reynolda Campus will be canceled on Tuesday, Feb. 1, according to a Wake Alert text Tuesday morning due to the Weaver Fertilizer fire. The Old Gold & Black will be publishing further...

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