News

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NEWS 3/8/24 3:43pm

Former NC Supreme Court chief justice earns first Justice Sandra Day O’Connor professorship at Elon Law

By Aidan Powley

The Hon. Cheri Beasley has joined the Elon University School of Law faculty as the university’s first recipient of the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor endowed professorship. Beasley, who in 2019 became the first African-American woman to serve as chief justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, will teach courses on appellate practice at Elon Law for one year beginning in fall 2024. The Justice Sandra Day O’Connor professorship was established to bring distinguished legal figures to Elon University, whose contributions to society reflect the values of the first woman who served on the Supreme Court of the United States. 

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NEWS 3/8/24 11:39am

Rocket Phoenix provides rocketry education for students

By Ruth Cruz

When Freshman Murilo Ferreira Lopes founded Rocket Phoenix in February, his goal was to educate students about rocket building. Lopes said rocketry has always been one of his interests at Elon. He sought a place to explore his fascination with rockets. Lopes is the president of Rocket Phoenix — an organization that allows students to build, design and launch rockets. He said that he collaborated with his physics professor to jumpstart the program. The organization plans to launch its rockets March 21. To contact members of Rocket Phoenix, visit their page on PhoenixConnect.

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NEWS 3/8/24 9:54am

Elon becomes largest university contributor to Daffodil Project in US

By Lilly Molina

The Daffodil project is an initiative from Am Yisrael Chai, a nonprofit Holocaust and genocide education and awareness organization. With over 900,000 planted, its mission is to plant 1.5 million daffodils across the globe to honor the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust, according to the founder of the Daffodil Project Andrea Videlefsy. The project began in 2010, but the conception of the idea formed in 2008. Elon joined the project as a partner in 2013 and as of 2024 has planted approximately 30,000 bulbs across campus, making Elon its biggest contributor compared to any other university in the country.

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NEWS 3/7/24 11:09am

First-generation LLC hopes to give sense of belonging to Elon University students

By Lilly Molina

Sophomore Carlos Gomez Lopez could have decided to live off campus next year as many upperclassmen chose to do, but instead, he wanted to live in the First Generation Living Learning Community. Lopez moved into Colonnades his freshman year and noticed his peers knew a bit more of what college would be like because their parents had already been in their shoes. Lopez said he felt like he was going in blind because he couldn’t go to his parents for advice. Paula DiBiasio, professor of physical therapy education, will be one of the advisers for the LLC and said she had been working on this idea since 2022.

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NEWS 3/6/24 10:47am

Elon University sees record numbers for Scholarship weekend

By Mason Willett

Elon University hosted scholarship weekend, its largest admitted students event, March 2 and 3. Over 2,300 people total registered to attend the event, including more than 900 prospective students, according to Vice President for Enrollment Greg Zaiser. During the event, finalists for the eight fellows programs — honors, business, communications, Elon College, engineering, leadership, nursing and teaching — and for the honors and accelerated programs visited campus to interview with faculty and current students. Tours, open houses, information sessions and more were also held throughout Friday and Saturday.

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NEWS 3/4/24 1:08pm

Alamance-Burlington School System superintendent resigns

By Sophie Rosenthal

Alamance-Burlington School System Superintendent Dain Butler resigned March 4 — the latest in a string of senior officials who have left the district in the past month. Butler submitted his resignation to the school board, which accepted the resignation Monday morning. Chief Student Services Officer Kristy Davis will serve as interim superintendent. Butler was superintendent for just under two years. He was elected by the school board and began his position on July 1, 2022. At the time, he signed a four-year contract.

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NEWS 3/2/24 3:37pm

Mediterranean Deli reopens following eight-month delay

By Michael Leung

Mediterranean Deli opened its doors at 11 a.m. on March 2 to their new location at 116 N. Williamson Ave. Jamil Kadoura, owner of Mediterranean Deli, was told by Elon to expect an influx of customers – community members and students alike – who eagerly awaited Mediterranean Deli’s reopening. The establishment had been located at 202 W. Haggard Ave. and closed on Aug 18, 2022, much to the disappointment of the Elon Community. Originally set to open in summer 2023, Kadoura was forced to push back the reopening of Med Deli by six months after the Mediterranean Deli location in Chapel Hill caught fire. 

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NEWS 3/2/24 3:24pm

International protest for Israel-Hamas War calls for immediate ceasefire

By Monika Jurevicius

Millions gathered around the world in solidarity for protesting the Israel-Hamas War as action toward International Day of Action on March 2. The day marks one week before Israel's threatened attacks on Gaza’s city of Rafah, where many displaced citizens have gathered. Socialist Revolution member Harper Houston said that the U.S. is "a little too late" at providing aid to Palestine. She stands with the Palestinian people to have their land after the attacks that have displaced citizens. The Asheville protest takes place at 2 p.m., while Charlotte and Raleigh start at 3 p.m. 

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NEWS 2/29/24 10:55am

Elon School of Education introduces Teach for Alamance graduate program

By Nia Bedard

The Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education introduced the Teach for Alamance program, a new graduate program for the School of Education. Matthew Trez ’23 did his student teaching in Alamance County and fell in love with it. Now, he is still giving back to his community and plans to stay here. The program also gives fellows job opportunities even after they are done with the graduate program. The Teach for Alamance program offers a full scholarship to Elon’s Masters of Education in Innovation program in exchange for a two-year commitment to teach in Alamance County Public Schools.

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NEWS 2/28/24 12:47pm

Elon University welcomes Holocaust survivor to share her story

By Leela Cherukuri

Holocaust survivor and 98-year-old Margot Lobree visited Elon to share her story as a child on the Kindertransports in England. The Kindertransport was a British initiative to rescue approximately 10,000 jewish children who were located in Nazi occupied territories. Lobree began her journey on Nov. 9, 1938 in Frankfurt, Germany where she was told by her mother that she would have to leave her hometown due to her Jewish identity. At 13 years old when she moved, Lobree said her story was a little different from most Holocaust survivors.

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NEWS 2/28/24 11:11am

10th annual Black Solidarity Conference inspires resilience, empowerment at Elon University

By Liya Rike

At the Black Solidarity conference, freshman Adrianna Stapleton attended the session on "Science Fiction/Social Reality: An Islamic View of Race," led by Shane Atkinson, the associate chaplain for Muslim life. Stapleton reflected on her experience at the session noting her newfound knowledge about the Islamic faith and the significant presence of Black Muslims in America. In a testament to resilience and solidarity, the 10th Annual Black Solidarity Conference set grace to the halls of Elon University on Feb. 23. Since its inception at Elon University in 2014, many believe the conference has served as a unifying factor for Black students.

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NEWS 2/27/24 12:44am

Community voices support for Alamance Virtual School during ABSS meeting

By Joseph Navin

For numerous faculty members and roughly 236 students in Alamance County, the Alamance Virtual School is an integral part of their daily lives. When Superintendent Dain Butler proposed cutting the school amid a budget shortfall of $3.2 million for the Alamance-Burlington School System; it left many community members concerned. The Alamance Virtual School is an online alternative for ABSS students and is designated as its own school in the school district. After a tense public comment period during the board meeting on Feb. 26, numerous members of the Board of Education voiced their support for keeping the virtual school.

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NEWS 2/27/24 12:31am

‘We Are Charleston’ authors speak on gun reform

By Monika Jurevicius

Herb Frazier recounted the times in his life when he lived near Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church before the shooting that killed nine bible study members in 2015. The shooting was later determined to be a racially-motivated crime committed by then 21-year-old Dylann Roof. Frazier is one of the authors of “We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel.” Along with co-authors Bernard Powers and Marjory Wentworth, Frazier spoke to the Elon community on Feb. 26 about gun reform as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address.

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NEWS 2/26/24 8:19am

AI and Elon University: grappling with generative AI in, out of classroom

By Tucker Price and Katharyn MacDonald

The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction released guidelines on generative AI use on Jan. 16. According to the NCDPI, implementing these guidelines and familiarizing students with AI is essential to preparing them to enter the workforce. But as a private institution, Elon University is not obligated to follow these guidelines. The university instead created a set of its own principles as a framework for AI literacy at the UN's Internet Governance Forum this past October. Elon put forward six principles, spearheaded by university President Connie Book and Pew Research Scholar Dr. Lee Rainie, a scholar-in-residence at Elon.

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NEWS 2/25/24 11:08pm

Candlelight vigil commemorates Wyatt Outlaw, held behind Graham courthouse

By Avery Sloan and Joseph Navin

Wade Harrison, member of the Alamance County Community Remembrance Coalition, said the lessons of Wyatt Outlaw are as relevant today as they were 154 years ago when he was lynched on Feb. 26, 1870 in Graham. Close to 70 people gathered at sunset on Feb. 25 on the eve of the anniversary of his murder. In 1869, the White Brotherhood, the white supremacist group that lynched Outlaw, made a show of force in Graham which demonstrated their power and disdain for law enforcement. Outlaw interfered with the event by firing shots into the air. One year later, he was lynched by the same group.

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NEWS 2/25/24 2:08pm

Mebane City Council approves construction plans for North Carolina’s first Buc-ee’s

By Audrey Geib

Mebane City Council unanimously voted to approve the rezoning and special use permit of North Carolina’s first Buc-ee’s. Currently, the closest Buc-ee’s to Alamance County is over two hours away in Florence, South Carolina; however, the new building site for this Buc-ee’s is half an hour from campus. Mebane local and Elon sophomore Leann Beckham said that the new Buc-ee’s has been a topic of conversation in the community since June 2023 when it was proposed to zoning officials. The Mebane City Planning Council voted 6-3 to reject the permits; however, the permits were ultimately approved by City Council on Jan. 8.

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NEWS 2/25/24 9:42am

Elon Wheels rolls into new era, helps design skatepark

By Miles Hayford

Two years ago, then freshman Kai Whiteside was the only student skateboarding through Medallion Plaza. Now, after the creation of Elon Wheels, Whiteside is at the forefront of a growing skateboarding community that is working to create Alamance County’s first public skate park. Elon Wheels as an organization has undergone a transformation over the last three years. Building a skate park has always been a goal of the town, according to Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe. The town will begin working on this goal now that this year’s fiscal budget has $250,000 to be spent on building a skate park for the community.

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NEWS 2/24/24 7:32am

Elon University adopts new global strategic plan

By Aidan Powley

Elon University has adopted a new global strategic plan aimed to maintain and expand its national reputation as a leader in global education, which includes its 18-year recognition as #1 in study abroad by the Institute of International Education. In 2011, Elon introduced a draft of a plan to improve global education. Until now, the university did not have any global strategic plan in place. The 2011 drafted plan laid out the groundwork for what is seen at Elon today, according to Dean of Global Education Nick Gozik.

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NEWS 2/22/24 8:16am

Elon University changes selection process for 2024 student commencement speaker

By Reagan Sizemore

Elon’s Student Government Association is making a change to the student commencement speaker qualifications. In previous years, the student speaker has always been the senior class president; however, SGA announced that all seniors will have the chance to apply to speak at the 2024 graduation ceremony if they meet the following requirements: Applicant must be a graduating, full-time student who has been at Elon for at least five semesters; have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher; must be in good standing with the university and may not be “a present or former SGA executive or senior class officer.”

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NEWS 2/21/24 9:35am

“Klan Whisperer” encourages respect, understanding to resolve conflict

By Nia Bedard

Elon University's Liberal Arts Forum invited musician Daryl Davis who famously befriends members of the Ku Klux Klan in order to change their beliefs to speak on campus as a part of the forum's speaker series. The Liberal Arts Forum is a student organization that brings academic speakers to Elon to discuss interests that are prevalent on campus. The Liberal Arts Forum's next event will host Greek-American filmmaker and Olympian runner, Alexi Pappas at 7:30 p.m. on March 11 in Whitley auditorium.

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