Who Writes for Old Gold & Black and How Is It Connected to Wake Forest University?

Updated

Old Gold & Black is Wake Forest University's campus publication, written and edited primarily by students. Its staff includes contributing writers, staff writers and section editors who report on campus events, student life, arts and culture, sports, and the surrounding Winston-Salem community. The tagline "Covers the campus like the magnolias" signals its scope: Wake Forest and the community around it.

Who produces the content

The bylines visible on the site show a student newsroom organized by role and section:

  • Contributing Writers — often newer or occasional writers, such as Ruby Stoops (Opinion) and Max Kahn (Opinion).
  • Staff Writers — regular reporters, such as Jasmine Standez (Environment) and Jordan Harris (campus news).
  • Section Editors — editors who also write, such as Lydia Derris (Arts & Culture), Eve Darke (City & State), and Rishi Vanka (Features).
  • Deputy Editor — a senior editorial role, as seen with Miriam Fabrycky (Arts & Culture).
  • Contributing Photographers — visual coverage, such as Catherine Faircloth's field hockey photo gallery.

This structure — writers, editors, photographers — is typical of a student-run college publication, where students fill both reporting and editorial roles.

What the connection to Wake Forest looks like

The publication's coverage is built around Wake Forest campus life and its immediate surroundings:

Area Example coverage
Campus events and traditions Project Pumpkin, the 38th annual event welcoming local children to campus
Student life and opinion Work-life balance at Wake Forest; a "new way to beat the crowds"
Sports No. 10 Field Hockey's 4-0 win over James Madison; Women's Basketball exhibition vs. UNCG
Arts & Culture Reynolda House's "Flash Point" exhibition; student music events in Winston-Salem
City & State Family Weekend business impact on Winston-Salem; mail-in voting doubts on campus
Features Interviews with alumni, such as graphic novelist Steve Nedvidek

The mix shows the publication treats Wake Forest as its home base but extends coverage to Winston-Salem businesses, local exhibitions and state-level issues that affect students.

How to tell who wrote a story

Each article carries a byline with the writer's name and role, plus a date. For example, "Ruby Stoops, Contributing Writer • October 22, 2026" tells you both the author and their position at the time of publication. Section landing pages group stories by topic — Opinion, Environment, Arts & Culture, Sports, City & State, Features — so you can see which editors oversee which areas.

If you want to understand the publication's perspective, checking the byline role is useful: a contributing writer's piece may be more personal or opinion-driven, while staff writer and editor pieces tend to be reported news.