Columns


NEWS 5/9/23 6:00pm

Southern Alamance Middle School teacher terminated, faces additional indecent liberties charges

The Alamance Burlington Board of Education voted to terminate the employment of Ivan Danilo Ardila-Perez, a Southern Middle School teacher, during its work session Tuesday. Perez, 37, had been a Spanish teacher and soccer coach. According to a press release, detectives with the Special Victims Unit served Perez four additional warrants on Monday. He is being charged on each warrant with one count of indecent liberties with a student and one count of felony indecent liberties with a child. 


LIFESTYLE 5/8/23 11:49pm

Burlington community celebrates return of Carousel Festival

The Burlington community celebrates  32nd annual event and return of Carousel Festival held May 6 to 7 at City Park. The 100-year-old landmark site sits inside a newly built carousel house. The last time the festival occurred was in 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and construction and renovations. The carousel is now open for the spring and summer on Friday, Saturday and Sundays and costs $1.50 a ride.


NEWS 5/8/23 10:50pm

Friends, teammates honor Elon University junior with tattoos

Some of Elon University junior Jackson Yelle’s friends honor him through getting tattoos. Yelle died after what is being investigated as a hit-and-run in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on April 30. Yelle's club baseball teammate, Elon junior Garrett Fitschen, got the words "This is the Life" tattooed on the back of his shoulder, as it was something Yelle said while at the beach. Fitschen said the tattoo commemorates Yelle's "no regret" attitude toward living life.


SPORTS 5/8/23 4:36pm

Elon University senior continues dancing dreams at professional level

Elon University senior Lindsey Rothenstein continues her dancing dreams at the professional level as an NFL dancer for the Washington Commanders. Nicknamed the Command Force, Rothenstein auditioned for the team in April and underwent a four-day tryout process. The team will practice all summer to prepare for the NFL season, which takes place from May to January, with two to three practices a week in addition to game days and community appearances.


NEWS 5/8/23 10:30am

Elon University Trustee Emeritus Jack Lindley dies at 88

Elon University Trustee Emeritus Jack Lindley died May 5 at the age of 88. Lindley served 17 years as a trustee and five as trustee emeritus. He was a member of Elon’s Order of the Oak, Elon’s giving society. He and his wife, Dorothy, created the Jack R. and Dorothy C. Lindley Scholarship to support Alamance County students attending Elon.  


LIFESTYLE 5/7/23 1:56pm

Elon Community Garden hosts 14th Strawberry Festival

Elon University's Community Garden held its annual Strawberry Festival on Friday. The festival, which is now in its 14th year, celebrates the spring season and the fruit that comes with it. The festival took place in the Community Garden, located on East College Avenue, between Hillel and the Powell House. The garden is a student-run project that promotes sustainable agriculture and provides fresh produce to the local community.


NEWS 5/6/23 10:18pm

Elon University celebrates class of 2023 Odyssey scholars

Elon University celebrates the accomplishments of 35 graduating Odyssey scholars for the class of 2023. Kellcee Batchelor ’18 gave the ceremony’s keynote address an Odyssey alum and asked students to always prioritize their values, impact and purpose — what he referred to as the VIP framework. University President Connie Book started the celebration acknowledging the newest cohort of Odyssey scholars, class of 2027, as the largest cohort yet with 57 participants. 


NEWS 5/6/23 11:30am

Elon University’s 11th Lavender Graduation celebrates LGBTQIA graduates

Elon University’s Gender and LGBTQIA Center celebrated its largest student participation in the Lavender Graduation ceremony’s 11-year history with 81 participants on May 5. Each participant at Lavender Graduation — which celebrates graduating seniors who identify within the LGBTQIA communities — received a rainbow stole, lavender graduation cap, rainbow tassel and certificate. According to the GLC’s website, the ceremony is held at over 100 campuses across the country and is funded fully by donations to the GLC. 


NEWS 5/5/23 1:08pm

Elon University Native American Student Association calls for awareness for injustice towards missing and murdered indigenous women

Elon University sophomore Aubee Billie is a member of the Seminole Tribe in Florida. She said crimes toward Indigenous women are often overlooked, and this issue affects how they can live their lives. Billie doesn’t wear her traditional clothes in fear that someone may harm her in some way, shape or form. This, however, is a norm for many native women, Billie said.


NEWS 5/5/23 11:15am

Fire department to receive upgrade on ladder truck

When the town of Elon Fire Department receives an emergency call, the first vehicle sent to the scene is always its almost 18-year-old ladder truck. But the ladder truck, which has a life cycle of 20 years, is quickly approaching its expiration date, and Assistant Fire Chief Charles Walker said it's time for an upgrade.


NEWS 5/4/23 1:09pm

Elon University Native American Student Association hosts missing and murdered Indigenous women event

Elon University will host a fundraising event to spread awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women at 5:30 p.m. May 4 in Medallion Plaza. The Native American Student Association, the Gender & LGBTQIA Center, the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education and the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life have all collaborated to organize the event.


NEWS 5/4/23 11:43am

Elon University to offer FinTech major fall 2023

Elon University will offer a new FinTech major this fall in the Love School of Business for students wanting to pursue data analysis and programming within the field of finance. FinTech, a combination of finance and technology, merges the theory of finance with the more technical side of payment processes and automation. The new major will offer electives in trading and markets, blockchain and other technologies like artificial intelligence. 


NEWS 5/3/23 9:26pm

Elon University celebrates 15 years of “It Takes A Village” Project

The “It Takes a Village” Project partnership between Alamance-Burlington School System and Elon University celebrated 15 years of tutoring elementary school students across the county. Through the project — known simply as the Village Project — Elon students and other volunteers have tutored ABSS students in 12 Title I elementary schools across Alamance county. The program started in 2008 as a semester project in former Elon professor Jean Rattigan-Rohr's literature class to improve the reading skills of struggling ABSS students.


SPORTS 5/3/23 12:12pm

Two Elon University Phoenix showcase skills at NFL level

Before day three of the 2023 NFL draft began, former defensive back Cole Coleman and kicker Skyler Davis — who graduated from Elon in December 2022 — knew that if their names weren't called by the last pick, it wouldn’t have been the end of the line for their football careers. When the draft ended without an Elon player called, they were both still able to secure an opportunity to try out for an NFL team. 



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