Hurricane Florence Coverage

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NEWS 12/13/24 11:21am

Elon names next dean of Martha and Spencer Love School of Business

By Nia Bedard

Love School of Business Associate Dean and professor of management information systems Haya Ajjan will take over as dean of the Love School of Business starting June 1, 2025. During her time at Elon, Ajjan contributed to the development of the Master of Science in Business Analytics graduate program, the establishment of the business analytics and financial technology majors and development of the cybersecurity minor. Ajjan will be taking over for outgoing dean Raghu Tadepalli who will be retiring at the end of the 2024-25 academic year. 

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NEWS 12/11/24 5:36pm

Student Perceptions of Teaching survey results sent early to professors in error

By Avery Sloan

Elon’s Student Perceptions of Teaching, a survey sent to students to provide feedback on each course and professor, provides data that is made available to faculty members for all semesters the survey is completed. This data, while names have been removed, has previously been released to faculty after the deadline for submitting grades has passed, to avoid any grading bias. This semester, data was sent to faculty members this week, while finals are being administered and grades are not finalized. 

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NEWS 12/10/24 9:35pm

Town council reviews financial audit from 2023-24 fiscal year

By Nia Bedard

The town of Elon held a town council meeting Dec. 10 to discuss an audit of the town’s finances, a budget amendment for the town of Elon fire department and the approval of a downtown facilities policy. The audit showcased that the town’s net worth has increased 30.9% from the last fiscal year due to grants, taxes receivables, land and construction.The audit also concluded that there were no issues found regarding the town’s internal processes recording its finances and that the town remained compliant throughout the auditing process.

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NEWS 12/9/24 11:50pm

Culver’s expands to Burlington

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Culver’s, a Midwest fast-food chain, has made its way to Burlington. The blue-and-white-themed restaurant is one of 17 locations in North Carolina but the only one in Alamance County, which opened Dec. 9 at 1430 University Dr. The Burlington Planning and Zoning Commission voted to approve the building site in August 2023. The restaurant, filled with workers and locals, offers a wide variety of food — from its famous “ButterBurger” and fries to a fresh frozen custard selection, which customers can buy by the pint. 

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SPORTS 12/7/24 10:40pm

Elon University men’s basketball dominates Wofford with strong shooting

By Miles Hayford

The Elon University men’s basketball team put on an offensive clinic, beating Wofford College 79-56 on Dec. 7 at Schar Center. It was another key win for an Elon squad that is on a hot streak as of late. Elon has won three straight, which is tied for the longest win streak under head coach Billy Taylor. Elon was recently ranked No. 82 in the NCAA NET rankings on Dec. 2, which is a program record. The Phoenix play next against Virginia University of Lynchburg at 7 p.m. Dec. 14 at Schar Center. 

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LIFESTYLE 12/7/24 1:43pm

Elon Electric Ensemble showcases songwriting talent in Fall Songwriter Showcase

By Evan Cooper

Music production students performed original songs in McCrary Theatre on Dec. 6 as a part of the Fall Songwriter Showcase, a yearly concert held by Elon’s Music Production and Recording Arts program. Members of the Elon Electric Ensemble had the chance to debut songs they worked on throughout the semester, and the crowd had the chance to see the talent present at Elon. Ten songs were performed, with nine written by sophomore Maya Spencer, junior Shreyas Kumar, sophomore Keller Knight and sophomore Maya Cohen.

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LIFESTYLE 12/7/24 9:26am

Memory of loved ones pave Mountains-to-Sea Trail

By Monika Jurevicius

Donna and Haley Burch are natives of North Carolina and volunteered together at the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, a wilderness path that spans the width of the state from Clingmans Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains to Jockey’s Ridge State Park on the Outer Banks. Volunteers, also known as Friends of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail, work field days throughout the year to maintain the trails. After dying in 2021, Haley left a legacy through his leadership, his experience in carpentry and the energy he brought to the group.

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LIFESTYLE 12/4/24 10:34am

Elon Watches: ‘Arcane’ season 2

By Lucy Samuels

*This review contains spoilers for “Arcane” season 1 and season 2. The first time someone told me to watch Netflix’s Emmy winning “Arcane,” I brushed it off since I wasn’t familiar with Riot Games’ “League of Legends” — the show’s source material. But now, I could not be more absorbed by a piece of media. Animated by French animation studio Fortiche, “Arcane” is truly a powerhouse of story and animation, fueled by passionate artists and equally passionate fans.

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NEWS 12/3/24 9:07am

School of business dean prepares for departure from Elon after 13 years

By Lilly Molina

Despite his departure as dean of the Love School of Business, Raghu Tadepalli won’t be gone for long. He will return after a yearlong sabbatical in 2026 and work remotely as dean emeritus and special assistant to Elon University President Connie Book. According to the American Conference of Academic Deans, the average time spent as a dean at a university is 5 years or less, which makes Tadepalli a clear outlier after 13 years. Because of this, he said he hopes whoever fills his shoes knows the importance of growth.

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LIFESTYLE 12/2/24 9:51am

TikToker, Elon student known as judyhoppsl0vr69 releases debut single

By Sarah T. Moore

With over 2.1 million followers on TikTok, Elon University senior Nik Salah — also known as judyhoppsl0vr69 — expanded his digital presence by releasing original music. Salah’s TikTok page primarily features satirical comedy videos, often centered around the Zootopia character Judy Hopps. However, Salah began posting snippets of his songwriting over the summer. He released his debut single, “Midwest’s Best,” on Nov. 1, and it garnered over 165,000 streams in its first four days on Spotify. As of Nov. 29, the song has 366,290 streams and has been added to over 33,000 playlists on Spotify.

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NEWS 12/1/24 4:00pm

Elon’s Lights and Luminaries to focus on community, student traditions

By Neil Parmar

Ahead of the Festival of Lights and Luminaries, the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life is working with multiple groups on campus to ensure those on campus can see a reflection of who they are amongst the lights of the night. Hosted by Elon’s Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, the Festival of Lights and Luminaries is set to take place Dec. 3. This event has been an Elon tradition for longer, but this will be its fourth year called Lights and Luminaries.

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SPORTS 11/30/24 12:55pm

New Eastern Alamance athletic director hopes to keep community connected

By Kathan Gandhi

Brad Costa, a former three-sport athlete from a small town near Buffalo, New York, always knew he wanted to pursue a career in sports. At first, he thought having a career in sports would be playing professional football. But after an underwhelming stint as his high school’s quarterback, he realized professional sports may not be feasible. Still, he wanted to keep the competition.  Eastern’s 15-year athletic director, John Kirby, decided to retire this spring. Costa was given the chance to fill his shoes.

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SPORTS 11/29/24 11:39am

Southeast Alamance High School athletic program continues to evolve in second year

By Benjamin Berfield

When Southeast Alamance High School opened in 2023, BJ Condron had been considering joining the athletic administration. He had coached women's basketball at Orange High School for 10 years, but started to have interest in the athletic department. Condron said he wanted to establish multiple principles after being named the athletic director. He listed one of his goals as forming a beneficial experience for all students playing sports. In doing so, Condron said it’s necessary to prioritize setting a culture around the sports program.

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SPORTS 11/28/24 1:51pm

Elon University punter has historic year amid return to Phoenix

By Miles Hayford

Many football teams look to their quarterback, running back, wide receiver or maybe a player on defense to be their star. Redshirt junior punter Jeff Yurk has been a bright spot for Elon in a position that often goes unnoticed and underappreciated. Yurk has had a great year so far with 20, 50+ yard punts, including a season-long of 72 yards. As of November, Yurk led the FCS in yards per punt with 48.9, which is on pace to break the FCS single-season average record. Yurk’s career average is also in the top 20 in FCS history.

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NEWS 11/27/24 3:25pm

Alamance County Behavioral Health center open for five months, plans for 24/7 expansion

By Madison Powers

The Alamance County Behavioral Health Center served 723 individuals last month, Donald Reuss, vice president of behavioral health and intellectual/developmental disability network operations at Vaya Health, said at a Nov. 18 Alamance County Board of Commissioners meeting. The center officially opened June 19 after a two-year-long collaboration between Vaya Health, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, RHA Health Services and other community partners, according to Reuss. He said conversations revealed a need to support the crisis system in Alamance County to divert people with mental health and substance abuse issues from jail.

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LIFESTYLE 11/27/24 11:38am

Man with a silver thumb: 91-year-old Elon alum crafts silverware creations

By Lilly Molina

With shaky hands, Bob Rice '61 opened one of the various tall, plastic storage cabinets in his garage. Some are labeled vintage spoons, forks and coins, but that’s not what he is looking for. He eventually finds a box labeled knives, which are perfect for making rings. Instead of relaxing in his retirement, Rice sells hand-made jewelry at The Main Line, an artisan goods shop located in downtown Graham. Over the past five years, Rice estimates that he’s made around $50,000 in profit from this side hustle.

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NEWS 11/26/24 3:44pm

Elon uses peer institution as a benchmark, has one mutual peer

By Avery Sloan

Elon has 15 peer institutions and 47 colleges and universities chose Elon as one of its peers, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. Yet, none of Elon’s peers deemed Elon as one its peers, as of data from IPEDS for 2022-23. Many colleges and universities have not updated their peer institutions since then, with the exception of Furman University, where Elon is now one of its peers, according to its website. Elon selected its peers in 2022, Jason Husser, chair of Elon’s Long Range Planning Committee, said.

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SPORTS 11/26/24 11:48am

Elon University men’s basketball coach returns to alma mater, captures historic victory

By Miles Hayford

When Elon University men’s basketball head coach Billy Taylor arrived at Purcell Pavilion for the team’s Nov. 22 matchup against Notre Dame, he led the team through the back garage door — walking through the tunnel like all visiting teams do when they come to play the Fighting Irish. But as Taylor walked through the tunnel, he noticed his old locker room on his right — the locker room that had held his jersey, shoes and all the gear he needed for the four years he spent playing for the Irish in the 1990s.

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NEWS 11/25/24 4:41pm

North Carolina Student Legislature empowers students to shape state politics

By Gaby Maldonado

The North Carolina Student Legislature is a nonprofit organization that gives students firsthand experience of the legislative process at Elon University. Through debates, students enhance their public speaking skills and work on real-world policy ideas. Junior Eva Farmer, who serves as the vice president of Elon’s NCSL, explained that members bring resolutions to meetings — written proposals for new laws or changes to existing ones — sparking debates among the group.  Every Monday, NCSL holds meetings where members propose resolutions on various topics, ranging from education to abortion and other pressing issues. 

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SPORTS 11/24/24 7:17pm

Women’s basketball player looks to build off successful freshman campaign

By John Houlahan

Within team environments, there has to be a leader to step up to the task. Sophomore Maraja Pass said she hopes to step up to the role this season. Pass, coming off of an extremely strong freshman season, found herself on the Coastal Athletic Association All-Rookie team. She also earned three CAA Rookie of the Week honors. The 5-foot-4 guard averaged 8.6 points per game, along with 4.2 rebounds and 3.6 assists across 30 games played. She led all CAA freshmen in assists. She found her career high in points in a game against Marshall last December where she notched 21 points for the Phoenix.

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