Blue collared professor’s tribal teaching
Shawn Humphrey, associate professor of economics at the University of Maryland, is a man of hard work, mobilizing grassroots movements on a budget and “do-gooding” in business.
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Shawn Humphrey, associate professor of economics at the University of Maryland, is a man of hard work, mobilizing grassroots movements on a budget and “do-gooding” in business.
Missed the show? Catch-up with some participant reflections and recap footage, multimedia by Sophia Asmuth
Zipping down E. Haggard Avenue, a dark blue Toyota Sienna picks up a group of girls from Provence and drops them off at the Oaks Apartment complex. Minutes later, an app went off, signaling senior Noah Sakin to pick up a new group of students.
The once-froyo joint in downtown Elon has gotten a makeover, transforming into the new restaurant, Tangent Eat + Bar. The owners of campus favorite The Root Trackside have brought their earthy, trendy feel to a quick, customizable eat bar with an ever-changing menu of tacos, curry and corn on the cob.
For those living in Danieley Center or off-campus, getting to the hub of Elon University can be a struggle. Students can make a 20 to 30 minute trek, wait impatiently for the BioBus or ride their own bike, the more costly option.
What began as a BuzzFeed Community post has erupted around the web. Elon University a cappella group Twisted Measure’s cover of Sia’s “Chandelier” has been featured on websites like Teen Vogue, USA Today and TIME Magazine.
By the end of May, the 9,900 photovoltaic panels that now occupy 10 acres of Loy Farm will officially be generating power into a grid that connects to the railroad tracks by Williamson Avenue. The project, which broke ground in early March, is estimated to produce 4,500 megawatts of electricity annually–enough to power 415 homes–according to Robert Buchholz, Elon University’s associate vice president for facilities management and director of Physical Plant. “There’s two ways we look at it,” Buchholz said. “There is a percentage of what Elon uses for the whole year, and that’s 10 percent. During the day, that’s 40 percent of the energy that we use. Students use a lot.” Buchholz said the amount of energy produced depends on sun and clouds–power will be generated during the 12-hour window of sunlight. The panels cost about $3 million and will have about a 20-year payback. This compares to the $5 million Buchholz was told it would cost about seven years ago. The project was developed by Suntuity and funded by Loy Farm Solar LLC, who are leasing the property from the university for the next 20 years. As an incentive to pay for expensive projects like the solar panels, they are given 65 percent subsidies by the state and federal government. In other words, for every dollar paid, 65 cents are given in tax credits. Elon is not directly benefiting from electricity produced by the panels yet but receives money for renting out the farm and hopes to obtain the solar farm in the near future. “It takes about seven years to get the best benefits out of the project,” Buchholz said. “It means that the investors who put up the money would all have their tax benefits out of it and hopefully we can buy the farm.” Students will have the opportunity to study the equipment and economic model of the operation as well as the legal side. “I’ve been with this project from the very beginning,” Buchholz said. “The purpose was to be used in the academic side so questions and answers could be made from the business, law and environmental studies programs.” Students think the potential of the project will outweigh any drawbacks in time and costs. “Overall it will be good down the line,” said sophomore Samantha McCabe, an Eco-Rep. “But it’s still in an early stage and will take a few years before they power buildings and such.” Not all are convinced the panels will be as beneficial as they are made out to be. Professor of Health and Human Performance Michael Calhoun proposed the use of solar panels at a long range planning committee more than 20 years ago. But he doesn’t believe they are as cost-effective or environmentally friendly as he originally thought technology would be by now. “In order to construct a solar farm it is not cost effective unless you get subsides, in this case taxpayers dollars,” Calhoun said. “I personally don’t want to spend my tax dollars on something that’s not cost-effective.” In addition to being costly, Calhoun points out the energy and fossil fuels it took to make the steel structure, copper wiring and panels as well as the transportation and labor involved. Calhoun said it’s doubtful the photovoltaic panels will ever return to the grid what it took to make and pay for it. He does agree the panels fit with Elon’s mission to be a sustainable model. “It’s nice,” Calhoun said. “It makes a great statement. It looks very sustainable, but I’m resonable sure it won’t do what it’s intended to do.” Calhoun suggests for Elon to be green, cost effective and efficient, a graduate nuclear physicist program should be started and a nuclear energy producing, micro-reactor should be installed. Calhoun believes the university could sell the energy back to grid and pay for the costs of the reactor and program. He also said it’s impossible to make nuclear weapons from it and the university has room to hold it. “Let’s be the university that has the courage to be cutting edge,” Calhoun said. “We could be a model for the rest of the world.” Although it is not known how much energy and fossil fuels were used to produce the solar panels, Buchholz still believes Suntuity chose the most cost-effective panels. He also sees this as an opportunity for students to investigate the efficiency and costs of solar panels as their own research.
Far from the heart of Elon University lies Loy Farm, an environmental center and recently added solar farm. Its lush acres of food and farming systems are home to long-term ecological research, greenhouses and the Design Build Studio for Responsible Architecture, to name a few of its features. Senior Allison Hren spends almost 20 hours a week making sure everything goes smoothly. Michael Strickland, lecturer in English and environmental studies, teaches “Garden Studio” classes in which students will spend a few hours over the course of the semester pulling weeds, tending plants and learning about what goes into the food they eat. Hren works both as garden manager and a teaching assistant for the gardening classes. “It’s a hard job,” she said. “It is the real world. It’s demanding. But it’s very rewarding.” As garden manager, Hren serves as the liaison between students, Strickland and Lecturer in Environmental Studies Steve Moore to delegate tasks that need to be done at Loy Farm and the Community Garden, which is on E. College Avenue. She also coordinates what plants need to be bought, decides where they will be planted over the next year, orders and plants seeds and performs general maintenance and upkeep. Hren is in charge of Elon’s two major gardening events — the Pumpkin Festival in the fall and the Strawberry Festival in the spring. This year’s Strawberry Festival will be from 2:30-5:30 p.m. May 8 in the Community Garden and will feature free food, live music, face painting and a plant sale. Hren devotes her time and energy to all aspects of the farm. She works in the garden, runs errands and organizes schedules. In her role as a teaching assistant, she also helps teach gardening students about the garden and the farm. “I see the way that gardening connects people together and connects people with the earth,” Hren said. “Connecting students to food is very important. The average American does not see how much work goes into the meal you see on your plate.” Providing for the greater community The farm and garden are not certified organic because of the lengthy and expensive certification process, but they are run as though they were. Neither uses pesticides and everything is hand-weeded, so workers know exactly what goes into it. The food produced goes to Mill Point Catering, Elon Campus Kitchen and Allied Churches. Eventually, Loy Farm and Community Garden products will be distributed to more than 80 locations. “It’s nice to know where the food is going,” Hren said. “The goal every day is to do everything as efficiently as possible.” According to Hren, the end goal for the farm is to provide food to a majority of the dining halls — but is a long way away. The farm would have to expand to encompass at least five greenhouses and would require a full-time staff. Without this staff, Hren does a majority of the work at the garden and farm. This semester, to keep up with the responsibilities of garden manager while balancing a retail job, she is taking only one class. “You can’t just pick up and leave without someone to take care of it,” Hren said. “It could mean you could lose an entire crop. Farming is not super forgiving — timing is absolutely everything.” Working year-round Production at the farm doesn’t stop in the summer. The garden manager will stay at Elon to continue to tend the garden, either alone or with a Campus Kitchen intern. Though Moore stays near campus for the summer, he is often busy with his own lectures, research and family, so most of the responsibility falls on the garden manager. “Summers are the most productive time for the garden,” Hren said. “There’s tomatoes and squash and corn and sunflowers, and there’s such a large time period to harvest. Ironically, the school year is structured to have time off in the summer so that people could go home and harvest with their families.” During the summer, the garden manager will also work closely with students from Elon Academy, provide food for Campus Kitchen and hold workdays for Thrive, a sustainability-focused one-week experience for incoming freshmen. Despite the intense labor and time commitment, Hren believes the job is worth it. “I learn every day,” she said. “There’s never a day that goes by where I don’t learn something new. Like solving an insect problem or figuring out the percentage of phosphorous that needs to be in the soil. I never leave thinking, ‘That was a waste of my time.’ I’m not going to leave this year thinking, ‘That was a waste of time.’” Passing the torch There is no application process to become garden manager — it is a chosen position. Each year, by the middle of the spring semester, Moore, Strickland and the current manager select a student with enough passion to take on the demands of the job. Hren was a clear choice this time around. She has been involved in the garden and farm since her sophomore year. She has continued to take the gardening course as well as interning and working with friends who were previous garden managers. Starting this summer, the position will be passed down to junior Alyssa Adler, who has been involved with the garden since her sophomore year and has also interned for the garden. “I was awestruck by [Hren] and how knowledgeable she was and automatically knew that that was what I wanted to be someday,” Adler said. “Now that I’ve spent the past year working in the garden and putting in countless hours of hard work, I’m excited and ready to take my turn in making the garden and farm the best it can be.” So far, Adler has shadowed Hren and taken part in the planning processes and procedures. In the next few weeks, Hren will be working closely with Adler to give hands-on training on how to properly run the garden and farm. There is a manual that Adler can refer to, but Hren said a majority of the knowledge on how to run the garden and farm comes from experiences and challenges managers run into while on the job. “Allison and the previous garden managers have done such an amazing job over the years that I know with their guidance and wisdom, the garden and farm will continue to flourish in the oncoming years,” Adler said. Though there haven’t been any difficulties yet, Adler can already see how much time and energy the job requires and is preparing for the challenges ahead. She is confident she will receive the proper guidance and believes the rewards will outweigh the difficulties. “I think one of the most rewarding feelings is when you witness someone coming to the garden for the first time and being mesmerized by it,” Adler said. “There’s such a beauty to gardening, and I cherish and welcome any time I can help someone get to the point of satisfaction with their hard work.” Like Adler’s appreciation for the garden, Hren said both Moore and Strickland encourage all students to take advantage of the garden and farm, even if they are not enrolled in the course, as an opportunity to volunteer and get in touch with nature. Sometimes, Hren added, students will simply read or relax in the garden because of the peaceful atmosphere. “The garden is such a unique place,” Hren said. “It’s my favorite place. It connects people with each other and with nature like no other. There’s something special about working in the earth among each other.”
For six months, sophomore Chann Little made the almost two-hour drive from Elon University to his home in Charlotte every weekend. When he got there, instead of relaxing, eating home-cooked meals and otherwise enjoying the comforts of home, he entertained a camera crew. MTV’s “True Life: I Have a Pushy Parent” filmed Chann Little, a Pendulum public relations representative, as he attempted to tell his sometimes overbearing mother that he wanted enroll in the Elon in LA program this summer. In the episode, viewers watch Chann Little’s mother, Tonya Little, boss him around while they decorate their house for Halloween, run back-to-school errands and go shopping. By the end of the hour-long episode, Chann Little gains the confidence to share his plans with his mom, and she agrees to let him go. “I used the show as an opportunity to get some independence from my mom,” Chann Little said. “It really helped us out a lot. We’re so much closer because of the facilitation of the show.” Tonya Little considers being called “pushy” a positive thing, and Chann Little agrees. Chann Little believes his mother’s tough encouragement has gotten him where he is today. He has a full scholarship to attend Elon and is a Watson and Odyssey Scholar, a tour guide, an RA and a member of both Campus Outreach and Elon’s gospel choir. He is also trying to start his own business. “I’m just a little more pushy towards goals and achievement,” his mother said about him. “I push you to be the best you can possibly be in life.” Although the Littles hesitated before joining the show because of how Tonya Little would be portrayed, the two agreed their story was told accurately. Chann Little said his relationship with his mother and his life at home were reflected well in the show. He said participating allowed many people from Elon to see a different side of him and allowed him to share a meaningful story of finding a healthy relationship with a parent. “Whenever you do anything in the media or national television, it needs to have a message,” Tonya Little said. “The experience was really good, and they need to give me my own show, where I can push other people’s children.” The show’s producers and editors had to filter through hours of film for the episode, so not all aspects of Chann Little’s life were included. His mother was disappointed their faith was left out, but he still believes the episode showed enough to get their story across. “I really liked the angle,” Chann Little said. “Some of my friends were disappointed they weren’t shown, but they included everything they need to.” The lengthy filming period faced some obstacles when Chann Little began to change his image. “Something came over me to lose weight halfway through the filming,” Chann Little said. “I would do pick-up interviews and I had to [repeat] things. I had to look like I was the same person.” When the episode aired April 6, Chann Little’s friends from Charlotte hosted a viewing party in Chapel Hill. He said he was a bit distracted by all of his guests, but he critiqued the episode later when he was able to really watch it. He thought the episode was good, but felt uncomfortable watching himself on television and hearing himself talk. Some may consider Chann Little a celebrity, and he has been stopped on campus and in stores, but he doesn’t think the experience has increased his ego. “It’s still me,” Chann Little said. “It didn’t really affect the grand scope of my life. It was a way for me to share my story.” He has heard both positive and negative feedback from the episode, the latter of which he chooses not to take to heart. On the positive side, people are thanking him for sharing his story, which has helped their own relationships with their parents. “I definitely have more independence now,” Chann Little said. “I feel that I’m an adult now, and my mom has seen me mature throughout this process. She cares a lot about the decision that I made.” Chann Little plans to spend the summer in Los Angeles and is keeping in touch with the “True Life” producers on a weekly basis as he searches for an internship. “They’re like family now,” Chann Little said. “There’s a lot of fake reality out there, but ‘True Life’ does a good job portraying the real story.”
Correction: The original article referred to a student with the last name “Davis.” This was a pseudonym — no student with the name “Davis” was interviewed for this article. All references of the student have been changed to “the female student” or a variation thereof to prevent confusion. The Pendulum regrets the error.
Sophomore Danielle Dulchinos jogged down Truitt Drive, training for the half marathon she will run at the beginning of spring break. At mile four, her wrist began to buzz — she just reached her step goal.
Brooke Greenberg started to sing as soon as she could talk.
The Super Bowl’s major players weren’t new to the field — both the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots have made Super Bowl appearances before — but the halftime performer certainly made an explosive debut. On Sunday pop singer Katy Perry brought one of her trademark kooky performances to the stage, with mixed results. From the start, the show seemed “Hunger Games”-inspired. During the first song, “Roar,” Perry rode onto the field atop a robotic tiger while wearing a Katniss Everdeen-esque dress of faux flames. Perry even stole Lenny Kravitz, who plays Everdeen’s stylist and friend Cinna in the movies, for her third song, a fiery (literally) rendition of “I Kissed a Girl.” The second song, “Dark Horse,” was a drastic change from the upbeat “Roar.” Perry sauntered across the field-turned-chessboard, which flashed as the turf appeared to change shape and size. Perry’s dancers were dressed as futuristic chess pieces, which brought a surreal element to the performance. The intense mood lasted through “I Kissed a Girl” but ended quickly as the show turned into something meant for “Nick Jr.” As “Teenage Dream” blasted, Perry reappeared on stage dressed as a beach ball, accompanied by dancing sharks, palm trees, surfboards and more beach balls. This “Yo Gabba Gabba”-esque spectacle was swiftly replaced by a Beyonce-inspired hip-hop performance of “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” complete with oversized jackets and a guest rapper. Perry hyped up this number and its special guest in the weeks leading up to the show: Missy Elliot. “When you hear the first chord, I think jaws will drop and faces will melt,” Perry said in an interview before the show. Although Missy has not had a hit since 2008, she still killed the stage and managed to capture the large Super Bowl audience, bringing to light the once popular artist. After “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F),” Perry climbed onto a shooting star and rose above the stage. She sang “Firework” as she flew across the stage and obligatory fireworks exploded overhead. Even people who aren’t fans of Perry’s music can’t deny that the show was nothing less than different. This was the first, and possibly last, Super Bowl halftime show to have lions and sharks on stage, and Perry will be remembered for years to come for her bizarre blend of intensity and lightheartedness. Compared to past halftime performers, Perry was tolerable, though the songs were prerecorded to allow for her movement around the stadium. While it may have offended purists, this lip-synching made this year’s halftime show one of the few that are bearable, instead of being filled with off-key vocals. The show’s themes were all over the place, but they seamlessly flowed together and catered to every interest. Despite the range of moods, though, Perry never strayed from her childish, bubbly brand. She isn’t Beyonce, but Perry has made a name for herself, and she managed to put on a good halftime show.
Traveling around campus throughout the day, Elon University students can hear chimes from the Elon Community Church. What they may not know is that these sounds are not actually bells. Instead they come from a machine called a digital carillon that echoes through speakers. Funding for this machine came from the will of Kenneth Hughes, in which he donated $18,000 to the church. His daughter, Kay Elder, had executive decision of where the money would go with permission of the church, resulting in the installation of the carillon in 1990. The carillon was installed using only a tape deck, a machine used for playing and recording audio on compact cassettes. Instead of real bells, which cost more than $100,000, Elder settled on mimicked ones. Now, a black computer-like screen sits on the balcony of the sanctuary under lock and key to prevent anyone from meddling with it. The church uses a Verdin Sonata Digital Carillon, complete with a 7-inch color touch screen for quick and easy use. The carillon plays hundreds of hymns, seasonal and general music from an extensive library in traditional cast bronze bells, bells with harp accompaniment and American bells. Although her father was not necessarily interested in music, Elder said the carillon would be a great addition and something he would have liked to hear. “My sister had [a carillon] at her church,” Elder said. “That’s where we got the idea from. [After it was installed] my mother would always come to campus and listen from the street.” The Hughes family has been a part of the church for decades. Elder herself grew up attending the church, watched it expand on campus while she attended Elon and continues to volunteer her time there today. Her biggest contribution is the carillon. Every weekday at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m., the carillon chimes three different songs in approximately 10 minutes. The carillon is also played each Sunday for services. They are never played on Saturdays for fear of interrupting students or graduation ceremonies. These songs are pre-programmed each week with a different combination of song choices for each time slot. The church’s minister has executive decision on what songs are played but takes recommendations from church members. Elder assisted in choosing this music. Additionally, the minister has a wireless remote, allowing him easy access to the carillon during church services, funerals and weddings. When Elder moved back to Elon for the first time in 40 years she found that the carillon was broken and the bells were silenced. Elder knew she had a responsibility to repair them and put $4,000 of her own money to upgrade it to a digital system. She said the quality is much better, and it has not broken since. Although the upgrade was pricy, to hear the ring echo again was worth the cost to Elder. “They are important to me because they are in memory of my dad,” Elder said. “They remind me of him whenever I hear them. There is so much grief and loss, and this is one of the ways to connect to the past.” Now that the machine is up and running again, she can listen and remember through each song that rings throughout the day. Her favorites include “Amazing Grace” and “How Great Thou Art” as well as other popular hymns and the Christmas music that plays during the season. Elder has noticed that the carillon has benefitted not only the church but also the community. “People are always telling me how pretty they are,” Elder said. “I think people are appreciative that we have them. If the air is right, sometimes I can hear it from my house a few blocks away.” Elon students appreciate the sounds of the carillon, too. Sophomore Rachael Morton is brightened by the music she hears on her way to class everyday. “There is something about music that makes people happy and smile,” Morton said. “The bells are a form of that, adding a soundtrack to our day and lifting our spirits. I’m glad we have them.”
It’s 4:50 a.m. The sun isn’t even up yet, the birds aren’t chirping and Elon University sophomore Austin Hughes’ alarm begins to buzz. Rolling out of bed, he puts on his camouflage uniform and heads to North Carolina A&T State University in Greensboro for physical training at 5:50 a.m. Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday he participates in a variety of physical activities, from running four miles to pushups and burpees, switching up exercises to keep all parts of his body trained. Training ends at 7 a.m., and he returns to Elon’s campus, avoiding traffic if he’s lucky. Hughes is part of Elon’s Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) program, which trains future commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. After Elon, he will serve eight years as an officer in the U.S. Army. “Both my parents served [in the US Army], and both had great careers, so they encouraged it,” Hughes said. “Originally, I wanted to enlist right after high school, but they told me that if I wanted to serve I should be an officer.” Currently, Hughes is contracted with a four-year scholarship from the Army. To keep this scholarship, he needs to graduate on time, maintain a 3.0 GPA and sign with the Army for eight years. “I always knew I wanted to do it, but the scholarship made it the easiest decision ever,” Hughes said. Hughes is a triple-major in finance, accounting and management. In addition to taking four classes to fulfill these degree requirements, he is also required by his program to take a classroom session Tuesdays from 3:20 to 5:10 p.m., as well as a leadership lab Thursdays from 3 to 6 p.m. To attend these labs, he drives back out to Greensboro, where he will crawl on the ground, weapon in hand, walk through an ambush, or strategize how to cross a river with a one-rope bridge. Often times, he won’t return until 7 p.m., where he has more work to do. “We have physical training tests once a month,” Hughes said. “Instead of having homework for these classes, I need to go to the gym every day.” These additional classes can make scheduling difficult, especially because students in the ROTC program do not have priority scheduling. This semester, Hughes is taking all of his classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays to make this schedule work. Hughes said the hardest part of the program is balancing it with a college life, especially when his day starts much earlier than the average college student’s. “The college kids’ dream is to have all classes starting after 12,” Hughes said. “I can’t do that. On a Friday morning, I can be waking up when my roommates are going to sleep.” There is a clear distinction between the professional appearance he upholds with his ROTC instructors, using “sir” and “ma’am,” compared to goofing around with friends, but he has found a balance. Recently, Hughes pledged with the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity to add more fun to his life. Hughes said that although he needs to learn information about the fraternity like another class, the brothers are really understanding about his ROTC conflicts. “Having a group of people that understand what you are trying to do and support you is really nice,” Hughes said. “With ROTC, I can’t join a lot of clubs. It’s nice to go to a place for fun where I don’t have to call you ‘sir’ or ‘sergeant.’” Even though this balance can still be difficult, Hughes said the program’s benefits outweigh the challenges. “They teach you things you will not learn in the classroom,” Hughes said. “I have learned leadership skills, time management skills, communication skills and discipline that will carry over to any job you apply for.” Hughes’ suitemates have also learned from his ROTC lifestyle. “Living with an ROTC student, I have been given a first hand look at just how dedicated the students are and it truly inspires me to live up to that standard of excellence in all aspects of my life,” said sophomore Jared Melanson. Unlike most Elon students, Hughes needs to think about a twelve-year plan, rather than a four-year plan, considering the time he will spend in the army. Although he will not find out where he will be stationed and what branch he will be in until mid-November, he would ideally like to go into the infantry. Hughes would lead a platoon of about 40 men, carrying out the orders of a plan on the field. If he says go left, his squad will all go left, no questions asked. However, with a degree in finance and accounting, they might want him to have a desk job in a financial department of the army. Hughes may end up working in finance while in the army because of the amount of money and energy devoted to him through ROTC. “If they are investing $200,000 dollars on you, they don’t want you getting blown up,” Hughes said. No matter where he ends up, the ROTC program has given Hughes leadership skills he can apply to any situation. “You really develop your character,” Hughes said. “I now have self discipline. When your alarm goes off at 4:55 in the morning, you’re the only one who can get yourself up, and you do.”
Junior Chris Coble has reached new heights.
With shoulder-length brown hair and a big heart, sophomore Alli Lindenberg sees the beauty in other people, as well as herself. She sees what girls can accomplish when they come together and leave stereotypes at the door.
“You have got to be kidding me!” a student exclaims as a car speeds through the crosswalk that bridges McEwen to West Haggard without slowing or stopping, disregarding students eager for Acorn or heading to class. North Carolina law 20-175 states that the driver of a vehicle must stop to give the right-of-way to a pedestrian crossing at an intersection if a stop sign or stop light is not in place. The law is intended to prevent accidents and assure safety to these “crosswalkers.” But for Elon University students who often don’t stop or look to make sure a car will stop, reliance on the driver to follow NC 20-175 can be a potential danger. This, “no car is going to hit me” mentality stems from the fact that crosswalks are located on a relatively safe college campus. According to sophomore Maggie Hakas, this feeling of safety that causes students to worry less about cars. “[The crosswalks] go right through the center of campus,” Hakas said. “You assume you have the right of way over cars and that they are going to stop.” Hakas, a North Caroline resident, also said that “everyone in the South stops for pedestrians” as a part of Southern hospitality. Still, she waits at each crosswalk because she knows there are still rude drivers. Hakas, who has a car on campus, said she always stop for pedestrians, although she gets angry when they cross the streets without a crosswalk or when they take too long. These people who “walk like a turtle” are holding up cars that are waiting to get through, she said. “It’s one of those double standards,” said senior Yashvi Patel in regards to the frustrations of both drivers and pedestrians. “When you are a driver, you get mad at walkers for being slow, but when you’re a walker you get mad at cars for not stopping.” First-year Olivia Hobbs has already noticed this norm. Although she waits at crosswalks at her home in Florida because of the high volume of cars, she does not wait as much at Elon. “Most of the time I will just walk through them unless I see a car that won’t stop and hope that I wont get hit,” Hobbs said. “I feel that most people feel that [cars will stop], especially freshmen.” She also said she believes cars are more likely to stop at certain intersections, like the three crosswalks on Haggard. She finds that not all cars stop on the intersection of East Haggard and North O’Kelley Avenues, particularly when students are not walking in larger groups. Crossing leaves most students unscathed. Originally from traffic-heavy Atlanta, sophomore Caroline Patterson didn’t hesitate for fear of not being able to cross. Last May, she was biking from Moseley to Alamance, assuming the oncoming cars would stop for her. Instead, she was thrown off her bike, suffering a gash on her head and a mid-range concussion. Now recovered, Patterson is much more conscious of her surroundings each time she crosses the street. “Before the accident I crossed the streets without hesitation,” Patterson said. “Now, even my good friends have noticed that I am very hesitant when crossing the street. Until the driver has acknowledged that he’s seen me, I don’t cross. I still haven’t been able to ride my bike over the same crosswalk.” Patterson said that students cross without looking because they are in a hurry or they simply expect cars to be the aware ones and stop for them. She advised students to be more aware of their surroundings, especially when crossing alone because they are less noticeable. But she knows the security of being on a college campus causes students to be less aware. “The truth is that students on campus don’t expect cars to hit them, so they do feel safe,” Patterson said. “I’m not sure how that feeling of security is going to change unless something happens to them. Unless we get back into the mood of looking left and right like when we were kids, college students are just going to continue crossing the street as if they own it.”
It’s Wednesday morning, and Kyle Wills is enjoying breakfast at Skid’s Restaurant off West Haggard Avenue with his old college roommate, Mitch Rippy. The eggs are scrambled, the bacon is crispy and the coffee is hot — the way it has been every Wednesday for the past 20 years. “He comes in every week without fail,” said Skid’s owner George Katsoudas. Over the years, Skid’s has collected a number of regulars, each with their own stories and connections to the town and university. It is a place to catch up, meet before the big game and watch Elon change from the windows of a small-town restaurant. “We have so many [regulars],” said Katsoudas. “Ninety-five percent of the time they will order the same thing. The only way they change it is if I have a special running, or if they just want to come in for a cup of coffee.” This loyalty defines the restaurant and means the world to Katsoudas. The continuous pattern of returning customers has allowed him to maintain a place that provides classic Southern hospitality and allows for friendships and the community to grow. Wills is one of the regulars. “There are now 14 guys in this regular Wednesday group,” Katsoudas said. “It has grown slowly. You meet one person, and you meet another person. Ten years go by, and you are buddies now, just from coming here.” Wills has been at Elon longer than Skid’s, moving here when he was 12 years old in 1970 from Greenville, North Carolina when his father became the athletics director at Elon. He hasn’t left since. He grew up with the school, and eventually attended Elon, even though he said he thought the school might have been moving backwards. “As time went on, it was clear that we didn’t,” he said. Now, more than 30 years later, Wills drives five minutes to work and sits at his desk in the Alumni Field House as Elon’s senior athletic director of business and communications, bringing his colleagues with him to Skid’s every Wednesday. Since Skid’s opened in 2003 it has formed a close connection with Elon. “The university means a lot to me in terms of how I have grown,” Katsoudas said. “I have connected with the faculty, especially the athletic department. They have invited me to cater for them. To me [the university] is a part of the restaurant.” Wills has stayed in the same place without boredom, watching the school and town rapidly expand in the past few decades. The area is not slowing down as both the university and town have expansion projects popping up in every direction. “The nicest thing about Elon is that it is never stagnant,” Wills said. “The vision of the Board of Trustees is remarkable. Students leave for the summer and say ‘holy smokes’ when they come back to the changes. Imagine 20 years of that.” Wills can’t help but think of the changes from an athletics perspective. During his time here, there have been nine head football coaches, one retired golf coach and three presidents. “Sometimes in a place like this, you just hold on for the ride,” Wills said. “It keeps on moving, and I was fortunate enough to keep moving with it.” According to Katsoudas, any new growth is good for the town. Students leave during the summer, but he figures there will be more reason to stay with a better downtown area, proposed by the Town of Elon, adding attraction to his own restaurant. Skid’s has even made annual regulars with Family Weekend. Students will bring their parents for a nice breakfast with a side of Southern hospitality. Three years later, they will still be coming back. “I don’t mean to brag, but I’ve done good for the school and for the town,” Katsoudas said. “It’s not something I pushed, but something that has happened naturally. Customers enjoy what I have, and they keep coming back.”
It’s Sunday morning, the air is cool and the geese of Lake Mary Nell float lazily on the water. This peace doesn’t last long though. The black-beaked birds are about to be disrupted by a new occupant: Border Collies.