Editorials

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NEWS 10/18/23 11:11am

Permanent plaza in downtown Elon expected by early December

By Miles Hayford

A permanent plaza has been under construction since Aug. 3 in downtown Elon, and will be complete by early December. The plaza, which will cost roughly $450,000, will be located on West College Avenue and North Williamson Avenue. According to town of Elon downtown development director Jill Weston, the purpose of the plaza is to create a gathering place for events such as a dining space, a place for live music and somewhere to hold holiday events.

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NEWS 10/17/23 7:57am

Community continues to mourn, honor loss of Elon University sophomore

By Ryan Kupperman

Jason Titunik, a 19-year-old rising Elon sophomore from Sarasota, Florida, was killed in a car crash July 6. A funeral service was held for Titunik in New Jersey over the summer, but the Elon community will be hosting a memorial at 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the grassy area just north of the Hook, Brannock and Barney residence halls — where Titunik lived his freshman year. According to an email sent by Vice President for student life Jon Dooley, the event will feature an opportunity for the community to share memories of Titunik, as well as plant a memorial tree in his remembrance.

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NEWS 10/16/23 9:50pm

Elon University Jewish fraternity hosts walk of solidarity for Israel

By Madison Powers

Alpha Epsilon Pi said prayers and hosted a walk of solidarity around Elon University’s campus for the state of Israel on Oct. 16. The fraternity, joined by university community members, prayed for peace and walked around campus to make a stand against terror and violence, according to sophomore and AEPi member Benji Stern. The walk comes a little over a week after Hamas, a militant group, attacked the Israeli southern border on the night of Oct. 7. As of Oct. 16, 2,670 Palestinians have died and over 1,400 Israelis have died, according to the Associated Press. 

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NEWS 10/16/23 2:32pm

All ABSS students discharged from hospital following bus crash

By Ryan Kupperman

Alamance-Burlington School System Public Information Officer Les Atkins announced Oct. 16 that the last of seven students were discharged from UNC Chapel Hill Hospital following a school bus crash. According to a report from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, 18 students were aboard the bus on the way to B. Everett Jordan Elementary School the morning of Oct. 12. State Highway Patrol responded to reports of a crash on Highway 87 near Judge Sharpe Road in Alamance County. According to the report, the bus driver was charged with failure to maintain lane control.

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LIFESTYLE 10/14/23 2:28pm

‘John Proctor is the Villain’ asks Elon University students, community to stand up for themselves

By Sarah T. Moore

Elon University’s 2023 fall play “John Proctor is the Villain” is a critique of pop culture, the patriarchy and “The Crucible.” With six shows Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, the cast and crew of Elon students worked together to tell the story of students in rural Georgia learning to stand up for themselves — and each other — as their community is impacted by the rise of the #MeToo movement. While there are no remaining showings of the fall play, the Elon performing arts’ fall musical will have six showings from Oct. 27 to Nov. 4 at McCrary Theatre.

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NEWS 10/13/23 1:26pm

‘Anti-Woke is Anti-Black’ : Elon University students, panelists explore state of Blackness

By Cece Ebora

Sandra Reid, a lecturer in human service studies at Elon University, said the fight for civil rights and racial equality will never end until actual reform is made. On Oct. 3, Elon University's African & African American Studies program hosted an educational discussion through a State of Blackness Panel. Reid said the main purpose of the panel discussion was to explore the importance of what it means to be Black today. Wendy Scott, the associate dean of special projects and professor of law at Elon, criticized this summer’s Supreme Court decision in which colleges and universities can no longer consider race in their admissions process.

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NEWS 10/12/23 2:22pm

Burnout trend poses challenges for Elon University’s school of education

By Alex Nettles

Following concerns about the Alamance-Burlington School System mold problems and high rates of teachers quitting their jobs, senior education major Ally Shibata said she has doubts about entering the field of teaching due to burnout. Shibata teaches part-time at Central Park School for Children in Durham. She said she often feels flustered as a student teacher, and balancing an education along with a college social life she feels is already difficult. K-12 workers showed the highest rates of burnout of all professions in the U.S., according to a 2022 Gallup Survey.

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NEWS 10/11/23 8:33am

NC Jelly Donuts temporarily closes because of malfunctioning equipment

By Michael Leung

According to the automatic voice messaging system of NC Jelly Donuts, the fryer at the 3260 S. Church St. Burlington location started to malfunction — causing the business to temporarily close. The new fryer will be arriving on Oct. 16 and the store is scheduled to reopen Oct. 17. Owen Crider, an Elon University sophomore, said he was more than disheartened when he heard NC Jelly Donuts is temporarily closed, which has been the case since Oct. 3.

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NEWS 10/10/23 10:45pm

Elon Town Council voices concerns over conditional rezoning on Manning Ave

By Lauren Winslow

The Elon Town Council heard a conditional rezoning petition for Manning Avenue, in which Anthony Hezar, the developer for the project, said he wants to build duplexes on two currently vacant parcels of land. Manning Avenue houses the Oaks apartment complex and leads away from Elon University’s campus and into residential neighborhoods. The proposal occurred during a council meeting Oct. 10. Due to the location of the parcels of land near a stream buffer, three waivers would need to be approved by the council in order for construction to start. 

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NEWS 10/10/23 10:22pm

Elon University Admissions impress visiting families

By Michael Leung

Elon has an undergraduate enrollment of around 6,000 students — a 13% increase from the 5200 undergraduate students it had roughly a decade ago in 2012. According to the Registrar's report, Elon sees an increase of roughly 100 students each year. Therefore, as Elon’s student body grows in size, new dorms such as the one being built in East neighborhood are being constructed in order to accommodate new incoming students. This growth can be accredited to how Elon is portrayed to potential students, according to Greg Zaiser, Vice President for Enrollment.

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NEWS 10/10/23 8:14am

Numen Lumen celebrates 10 years at Elon University

By Isabella DeJong

Numen Lumen Pavilion — a multifaith sacred space in the heart of Elon University — is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Numen Lumen was established in 2013 and houses the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society. The center fosters a space for discussion of religion, explores shared aspects of common humanity and promotes values of multifaith collaboration. Rev. Kirsten Boswell said she praises Elon’s Numen Lumen for the community it has built.

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NEWS 10/9/23 9:54pm

Elon University students, faculty gather to support Jewish community

By Abigail Hobbs

At the Israel Solidarity Gathering on Phi Beta Commons on Oct. 9, students and faculty came together to support those affected by the Israel-Hamas war. On Oct. 7, the Hamas militant group attacked the southern border of Israel — killing and abducting local residents. The Israeli government declared a war on Hamas on Oct. 8, which has led to bombings and mass casualties of nearly 1,600 as of 4 p.m. Oct. 9, according to the Associated Press. The gathering, hosted by Elon Hillel and Chabad, included praying, singing Oseh Shalom — a Jewish prayer for peace —, offering resources to students and providing options of where to donate.

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SPORTS 10/9/23 8:09pm

Elon University women’s soccer team ties 1-1 against Drexel on Senior Day

By Jack Prahinski

After the Elon University women’s soccer team scored early, their offense screeched to a grinding halt — which generated just one shot in the second half. The Phoenix also gave up a late goal to Drexel University, allowing the Dragons to tie the match. Despite several quality looks from Drexel, neither team could find the back of the net in the final minutes — ultimately forcing a 1-1 draw at Rudd Field Oct. 8.

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LIFESTYLE 10/9/23 8:27am

Autistic dancer at Elon University encourages accessibility in dance spaces

By Betsy Schlehuber

Freshman Maddie Milner grew up dancing, which served as an emotional outlet. But beneath the surface, it was also an autistic stim. Milner was diagnosed two years ago in May 2021. Now, she said she wants art spaces like dance studios to work on accommodating neurodivergent people. Milner said she was told as a child that she wasn’t autistic; she was just “quirky.” Yet, she was in therapy for all of elementary school to help her with social skills and texture sensitivities. Milner started dancing when she was three and stayed in the same dance studio until she graduated high school.

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SPORTS 10/8/23 1:52pm

Club Basketball resorts to tryouts as interest surges at Elon University

By Benjamin Berfield

Over the last three years, Elon University’s club basketball team has seen a massive change in popularity. The program went from struggling to gain interest after the pandemic to having almost 90 sign ups each year starting from 2021 according to Elon senior and club basketball co-president Max Casey. Casey said in his freshman year, the team struggled with the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Casey said the team did not hold tryouts that year, as talent was not a major factor when selecting the roster.

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LIFESTYLE 10/7/23 12:25pm

Burlington lemonade vendor shares tips for starting business with new book

By Abigail Hobbs

When doing research on how to open a successful lemonade business, Keith Slader saw an opportunity. Slader said most of the books he found about running a lemonade business were $30 to $40 and only 20 pages long. Slader owns Lisa’s Lemonade — a traveling lemonade booth — which started after Keith’s sister, Lisa Slader, died of kidney cancer in 2020. Wanting to create a family business with low startup costs, Keith said he remembered the popularity of a certain beverage at a past job.

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SPORTS 10/6/23 5:09pm

Elon University women’s soccer falls 1-0 to Delaware after go-ahead goal in opening minute

By Jack Prahinski

After a record-setting performance in their last outing, the Elon University women’s soccer team fell short to the University of Delaware at Rudd Field. Delaware’s goal in the opening minute combined with their impressive defense was enough to propel them to a 1-0 victory over the Phoenix Oct. 5. Elon head coach Neil Payne said the Blue Hens’ immediate goal was “something you don’t plan for.” He also said the way Elon started the game wasn’t up to their usual standard.

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NEWS 10/6/23 8:31am

Film community at Elon University examines WGA deal

By Alexa Citrin

The WGA reached a tentative agreement after months of negotiations with studio executives. The deal came on Sept. 24, over four months after the strike began May 2. This agreement comes after negotiations restarted, bringing an end to the strike that has paused production and project development. Kai Swanson, a cinema and television arts professor, said for many in the industry, the strike has halted any development and changed the way they feel about the future of their careers. 

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LIFESTYLE 10/5/23 11:17pm

Elon University’s 2023 fall play emphasizes power of speaking up

By Sarah T. Moore

Starting Oct. 6, Roberts Studio Theatre will transform into a high school English classroom — the setting of Elon University’s performing arts fall play, “John Proctor is the Villain.” Set in the peak of the #MeToo movement, “John Proctor is the Villain” follows a group of high school students in rural Georgia reading “The Crucible” in their literature class. “The Crucible” is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials. John Proctor — one of the play’s main characters — is often viewed as the story’s hero, but Kimberly Belflower challenges this narrative with a play of her own, “John Proctor is the Villain.”

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NEWS 10/5/23 9:45pm

Town of Elon mayor, town manager declare funding a pressing issue

By Abigail Hobbs

Town of Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe and Town Manager Rich Roedner sat down with students Oct. 5 in Moseley Center to answer questions about working at a local municipality. The town hall event included town, community and county issues. The event was part of the Active Citizen Series hosted by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Elon Votes, Elon Political Engagement Work Group and Council on Civic Engagement. Elon Votes coordinators sophomore Lindsay Bialecki and junior Bo Dalrymple moderated the discussion. 

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