Features

---

SPORTS 4/17/24 3:16am

Elon HealthEU programming supports student-athletes’ mental health

By Benjamin Berfield

Redshirt freshman Lawson Wheeler is one of two players representing Elon University’s baseball team on the Student Athletic Advisory Committee.The advisory committee meets with HealthEU once a month to go over topics such as wellbeing events, Wheeler said. “I think with what they’ve done so far, it’s pretty cool to see how they’re kind of promoting wellbeing for everyone on campus, and for our group,” Wheeler said.

---

LIFESTYLE 4/16/24 7:54pm

Under the stars: Elon University’s Black Student Union hosts first annual met gala

By Erin Martin

Themed “A night under the stars,” the first annual Black Student Union met gala event was held April 13 and brought together students from diverse backgrounds across corners of campus to revel in a night of celebration and camaraderie.

---

NEWS 4/15/24 8:21pm

Elon Town Council discusses 2025 budget

By Miles Hayford

The Elon Town Council met on April 15 in a special work session to discuss Town Manager Rich Roedner’s proposed $10.9 million 2025 fiscal year budget. The council began the session by discussing the proposed fees for the 2025 budget. As a result of Burlington planning to raise their water fees by 4%, the council plans to match that raise. However, taxes would not be increased to cover these heightened fees.

---

LIFESTYLE 4/15/24 10:21am

Limelight Records twin duo release their self-titled debut album

By Charlotte Pfabe

Whether they're blending their voices to create heavenly harmonies or playing dazzling melodies on piano and guitar, Ali and Andi Dalton find comfort in performing together. As identical twins, Ali and Andi have been writing music together for a few years and recently released their debut album, titled “Ali and Andi,” on March 31. Ali and Andi’s music falls into the singer-songwriter, folk genre, with plucky guitar lines and breathy vocals layered on top of one another to create a chorus of harmonies. Andi and Ali returned to their hometown on April 5 to celebrate the release of their album with a release party and performance.

---

LIFESTYLE 4/13/24 9:46pm

Elon Motorsports hosts community car show

By Monika Jurevicius

Cars of all generations gathered in the back of Schar Center for the Elon Motorsports car show. 60 participants from the Elon community came together to sponsor or enjoy the event. Elon Motorsports club hosted the car show for an end-of-year event on April 13 with partnerships from other North Carolina universities and the local community. Local car group Burlington Cruise In joined the group of students in the event. Vice President of Elon Motorsports Quintin Lasky said the event was to introduce new motorsport enthusiasts to the community, as well as bringing the experienced groups together.

---

LIFESTYLE 4/13/24 2:25pm

Photo Gallery: Elon University hosts annual spring pride event

By Rachel Holley

The Gender and LGBTQIA Center at Elon University hosted its annual spring pride event on April 12 at Young Commons. The event was open to the public in hopes of educating the community on LGBTQ+ identities, with the theme “Flower Power.” 

---

NEWS 4/12/24 2:48pm

Elon University president issues statement following Palestinian speaker event on possible solutions to the Israel-Hamas War

By Cassie Weymouth

Elon University President Connie Book today acknowledged the controversy surrounding a speaker whose talk "Is Peace Possible in the Middle East?" earlier in the week left some audience members rattled. In an email to the university on April 12, Book said that Jonathan Kuttab's remarks "left the agreed-upon format on the anticipated topic of peace building, and he provided additional views and opinions on the conflict." "Several members of the community in attendance deeply disagreed with his divergent comments," Book wrote. "Not anticipating the changes to the speaker’s planned remarks, the event’s design did not include plans for opposing views to be offered at that moment, and limited time did not allow for all submitted questions to be heard.”

---

SPORTS 4/12/24 9:42am

City of Burlington serves up new Pickleball facilities

By Ellie Reasbeck

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports nationwide, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, and it's hitting Burlington.The Burlington City Council responded to trends with construction for a new 17-court complex at City Park with a shaded Championship court and ADA compliant courts, as well as six permanent pickleball courts at Fairchild Park. Pickleball has gained media attention nationwide and had a membership increase of 15% over 2023 with the target age range being between 18 and 34 years old. Elon itself formed a club team in fall 2023 that now has nearly 150 members.

---

LIFESTYLE 4/11/24 4:11pm

Elon Performing Arts presents Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” for spring play

By Nia Bedard

Elon University’s performing arts department presents William Shakespeare’s comedy, “As You Like It” for the main stage spring play from April 11 to 13. “As You Like It” will be performed in McCrary Theater in the Center for the Arts on April 11 and April 12 at 7:30 p.m. and on April 13 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 or free with an Elon ID and can be purchased on Elon’s ticketing website. When deciding on productions for the 2023-24 season, director and Elon professor Kevin Ortos advocated the play to the season selection committee.

---

NEWS 4/11/24 1:38pm

Elon University receives “A” from ADL on protecting students against antisemitism

By Nia Bedard and Avery Sloan

Elon University was one of only two schools to receive an “A” from the Anti-Defamation League, based on policies protecting Jewish students from antisemitism on campus, Jewish student life and other factors. The report was released on April 11 and graded 85 universities and colleges in the United States. Thirteen schools received an “F,” including University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. The ADL focused on how Elon provided opportunities for students and faculty to learn about the Hamas’ attack following Oct. 7, 2023. As of the spring 2024 semester, 9.2% of Elon’s total student body population is Jewish.

---

LIFESTYLE 4/11/24 12:35pm

Elon University Percussion Ensemble examines music from international composers

By Ruth Cruz

The Percussion Ensemble Spring Concert explored a beautiful mix of sounds from around the world. Students performed a variety of music from international composers on April 10 in Yeager Recital Hall. The Percussion instruments included rattles, cymbals, gongs, hand drums, shakers, marimbas and more. Ensemble director and music instructor Isaac Pyatt focused on the complexities of sound from various instruments to create harmony. He said a talented musician can alter any object to create beautiful melodies. Pyatt said he hopes he can transform student experiences and enhance their musical journey through percussion instruments.

---

NEWS 4/11/24 12:03pm

Campus police responds to reports of suspicious person; declares no danger to Elon University community

By Ryan Kupperman

Elon University Campus Police responded to reports of a suspicious person on campus; the individual was a male, non-student who had tried to make contact with an Elon student he had met online, according to an E-Alert sent by Chief of Campus Safety and Police Joe LeMire around 11:30 a.m. on April 11. Elon Campus Police contacted the Elon student, who was reportedly concerned for their safety, and the individual was investigated by the police, instructed not to return to campus or contact the Elon student again and was issued a written, trespass warning.

---

NEWS 4/11/24 11:06am

Early Spring Break presents problem for Elon University Catholics

By Miles Hayford

This year April 1 was Easter Monday, a holiday that marks the second day of Easter celebrations for many Christians. Typically, this has been a day that Elon students have had off in the past because Spring Break was usually scheduled earlier in March. However, with Easter Monday taking place directly after Spring Break this year, it was not counted as a day off. Because of this many students had to travel back to campus on Easter. This affected the Catholic community at Elon, in particular members of CCM.

---

SPORTS 4/10/24 8:51pm

Elon University men’s basketball star transfers to University of Portland

By Miles Hayford

Elon University men’s basketball star player sophomore Max Mackinnon announced that he is transferring to the University of Portland in an Instagram post on April 9. After entering the transfer portal in March, Mackinnon found a new home in the Pilots’ basketball squad — who finished this season with a record of 12-21. Mackinnon will be leaving a Phoenix squad that finished the season with a slightly better record of 13-21. Elon will now look to the team’s leader in points per game last year, sophomore TK Simpkins, to spearhead the team’s efforts moving forward.

---

SPORTS 4/10/24 10:53am

Elon University Dance Team prepares for nationals

By Rachel Holley

The Elon University Dance Team is making its way to compete in Nationals at the National Dance Alliance in Daytona, Florida. The team won first place in 2022 in the Hip Hop division, yet in 2023 placed second. The team hopes to rank at the top for the Hip Hop and Pom Divisions this year. All teams will compete in preliminary rounds of performances and the top 60% will move on to finals. The team will compete this week April 11 to 13 in Daytona, Florida, and the performances will be live-streamed on the Varsity website.

---

NEWS 4/9/24 10:18pm

Elon Town Council permanently extends social district boundaries

By Aidan Powley

Elon’s Town Council hosted their first meeting of April, where they unanimously decided on the permanent extension of the social district boundaries. The decision added North Holt Avenue and West College Avenue to the footprint of the social district, allowing patrons to utilize the Holt Avenue green space as a location to enjoy alcoholic beverages. It also opens the sidewalks up as a means of travel from North Holt Avenue to West College Avenue. The town council will meet next on Monday, April 15 to debate the 2025 proposed budget.

---

NEWS 4/9/24 7:48pm

Elon Town Council to debate potential 7.4% increase for personnel on proposed 2025 budget

By Emilio Nunez

Rising personnel costs dominate Elon town manager’s proposed $10.9 million fiscal year 2025 budget, which the town council plans to debate during a work session April 15. Though the overall budget is up only 2% from last year, town manager Richard Roedner is proposing a 7.4% increase in personnel costs. Elon’s $2.4 million police personnel budget would stay flat under the proposal. The town’s total personnel budget would increase by $462,315 to $6.7 million. Mayor Emily Sharpe said one of the main topics for the council to discuss was opening new proposed positions for different departments.

---

LIFESTYLE 4/9/24 10:43am

Grand Night features student-produced music theater, emotional senior send-off

By Katharyn MacDonald

In four sold-out shows of song, dance and looking back on college journeys, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Theatre students performed together in Grand Night — a collage of performances that showcased the program’s talents — on April 5 and 6 in Elon University’s Roberts Studio Theatre. Students directed, music directed and choreographed 15 numbers across many genres. Caroline Borio, assistant student director and senior performer, said everyone always looks forward to doing their senior class number. Assistant Professor of Music Theatre Courtney Liu, who managed Grand Night with Guest Instructor Jane Lanier, called it a “real tear-jerker.”

---

NEWS 4/8/24 9:24pm

Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean announces departure

By Lilly Molina

Martha and Spencer Love School of Business Dean Raghu Tadepalli has announced his departure from deanship after 12 years in the role. His deanship will conclude after the 2024-25 academic year and the university will begin its search for a replacement in fall 2024. This is the sixth senior staff member to leave their position within the past two years. Despite his departure from this role, Tadepalli will be returning in the 2026-27 academic year after a yearlong sabbatical to serve as dean emeritus and special assistant to Elon University President Connie Book.

---

NEWS 4/8/24 7:50pm

Partial eclipse passes over Elon

By Joseph Navin

On the afternoon of April 8, a rare total solar eclipse – referred to by some as the “Great North American Eclipse” — traveled over parts of Mexico, the United States and Canada – blanketing parts of North America located in the “path of totality” in a brief period of darkness. While Elon and central North Carolina were not situated in the area for the total eclipse, the region did experience a partial eclipse. The Elon University Physics Department held an eclipse watching event at the Innovation Quad between 2 and 4 p.m., where roughly 500 people showed up at the moment of partial totality.

---