Hurricane Florence Coverage

---

NEWS 3/5/25 2:33pm

Burlington Recreation & Parks sees delay in building of new pickleball courts

By Anjolina Fantaroni

A place where the community now plays tennis will soon be home to a new type of court — pickleball. Seventeen new courts are expected to open at Burlington City Park with six courts at Fairchild Park. However, five months have passed since the anticipated opening date in September 2024. The $4 million project set to open in the fall has been delayed for a variety of factors such as weather and timing and has no new announced opening date, said Davis Montgomery, capital projects manager for the city of Burlington.

---

NEWS 3/5/25 10:44am

Elon University to continue normal operations during possible severe weather

By Charlotte Pfabe

Elon University will continue all normal campus operations on March 5 despite the possibility of severe weather conditions according to an email from Vice President of Student Life, Jon Dooley. Three weather alerts were issued for the Elon-Burlington area Wednesday morning. The U.S. National Weather Service issued a tornado watch at 7:45 a.m. which will be in effect until 1 p.m, a severe thunderstorm warning from 9:35 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and a wind advisory from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m.

---

SPORTS 3/5/25 9:44am

Sombreros and Sluggers: Eastern Alamance soars to 17-1 victory with explosive offense

By Aidan Powley

Eastern Alamance Softball secured a 17-1 victory over Person High School on March 4, fueled by a strong offensive showing. After a slow start and not scoring the first inning, the Eagles broke through with a four-run second inning. After their scoreless first inning, the Eagles scored four runs in the second thanks to a two-run shot. A grand slam in the third put the game out of reach, and a dropped catch ended the game early after only three innings.

---

SPORTS 3/4/25 6:25pm

Chapel Hill shuts out Williams behind 17-strikeout performance

By Sydney Spencer

Williams High School batters stepped up to the plate on Monday night. Most, however, didn’t stay for long. Chapel Hill’s starting pitcher Channing Clark was unhittable in the team’s game against Williams. She retired 17 of 21 batters faced via the strikeout, leading her team to a 10-0 shutout victory over Williams. After surrendering a leadoff walk, Clark retired the next seven batters in a row, all by way of striking out. Williams will face off against Western Alamance at 5 p.m on March 4. 

---

NEWS 3/3/25 5:02pm

Elon nursing program receives accreditation

By Nia Bedard

Elon University’s nursing program received accreditation after four years of the program’s existence from the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation, after launching in fall 2021. The School of Health Sciences currently offers two programs for students majoring in nursing — a traditional four year program or an accelerated 16 month program for students who have already completed a bachelor’s degree in another discipline. 

---

NEWS 3/3/25 12:48pm

Elon University receives ‘A’ in ADL second campus report card

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Anti-Defamation League has released its second campus report card — this time, evaluating 135 institutions. Elon University received an ‘A’, along with Brandeis University, CUNY Queens College, CUNY Brooklyn College, Florida International University, University of Alabama, University of Miami, and Vanderbilt University. Last year, Elon and Brandeis University were the only two schools to receive the top grade. Out of the 135 surveyed institutions, 49 schools received a grade of “A” or “B,” and 41 schools received a “D” or “F.” 

---

SPORTS 3/2/25 7:31pm

Elon women’s basketball team stuns No. 1 seed NC A&T with late comeback on Senior Day

By Benjamin Berfield

Through the first 36 minutes of the game, not much was going right for the Elon University women’s basketball team. Despite multiple comeback attempts, North Carolina A&T always seemed to have an answer. Yet head coach Charlotte Smith refused to accept defeat. She kept telling her players to believe they would come back even during the fourth quarter where it seemed like A&T would notch its 18th win of the season. 

---

SPORTS 3/2/25 5:12pm

Elon Lacrosse falls short to Notre Dame 8-4

By Divesh Anchaliya

Elon Lacrosse faced a tough opponent in ranked Notre Dame, showcasing glimpses of tactical brilliance but ultimately fell short with a final score of 8-4 in favor of the Fighting Irish. The game was closely contested in the first half with Elon being down by a goal, but momentum shifted in the second half. 

---

NEWS 3/2/25 3:52pm

Elon University’s 11th annual Black Solidarity Conference spotlights legacy, impact

By Tariq L. Johnson

For the 11th year, the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education at Elon University hosted the Black Solidarity Conference on Feb. 28. An event welcome to all students, this year’s message focused on how the Black population creates a legacy and inspires a sense of community. The words “influence, innovation, and legacy” were draped across the front of McKinnon Hall which summarized the essence of the conference.  

---

NEWS 3/2/25 12:05pm

New Charlotte PA program set to open in 2027

By Avery Sloan

This week, the new program director and medical director will begin working to create Elon’s future physicians assistants program coming to Charlotte. The program has a tentative launch date of January 2027 and will be Elon’s second PA program — with its first program currently operating on Elon’s main campus. 

---

NEWS 3/1/25 6:17pm

CHEAT SHEET: Economic professor details how tariffs raise the price of foreign goods

By Trista Panagakos

Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign to take back the White House, President Donald Trump outlined how tariffs would be used in his economic goals as well as his political ones. While on the campaign trail, Trump promised to put 60% tariffs on goods being imported from China, and 10% tariffs on goods from all other foreign countries. Elon professor Brandon Sheridan has provided an insight on how tariffs affect consumers and the price of their goods, how tariffs have been used in the past and how retaliatory tariffs may affect consumers.

---

NEWS 3/1/25 5:25pm

Some Elon email accounts out amid Microsoft Outlook issues

By Elon News Network

Some of the Elon community are experiencing issues with their Microsoft Outlook due to a widespread outage, according to an Elon E-Alert sent at 7:29 p.m., the Microsoft outage has been resolved. In the Elon E-Alert sent at 5:01 p.m., Campus Information Technology is aware of the issue, however, Microsoft is working to resolve the widespread problem. According to the status checker sent in the technology update email, almost 38,000 users reported outages at 4:08 p.m. Elon IT is closed and did not respond to Elon News Network’s immediate request for comment.

---

LIFESTYLE 3/1/25 4:05pm

Elon Winterguard club fosters community, creative expression

By Kate Gray

A group of six students assembled at 7 p.m. Feb. 27 in Alumni Gym, chatting and catching up while pop music played on a portable speaker. Soon, among rows of empty chairs and tossed-aside backpacks, they were spinning flags and practicing choreography. This sport is winterguard, an indoor version of colorguard featuring dance and manipulation of flags, prop rifles and sabers. The winterguard club started at Elon in the 2023-24 school year but really took off this year, according to president and sophomore Leah Funchess.

---

NEWS 3/1/25 1:52pm

Elon Relay for Life raises over $50,000 for American Cancer Society

By Abigail Hines

After 12 hours of relays, activities, performances, and guest speakers, the executive board for Relay for Life at Elon revealed the final number of money raised for the American Cancer Society, totaling $54,155.76. Leading up to the grand reveal, more than 700 participants relayed around the Phoenix Activities and Recreation Center and listened to members of the community talk about their personal experiences with cancer. Some of those speakers were familiar faces for Elon students.

---

NEWS 2/28/25 5:50pm

Elon President Connie Book says Elon will not be affected by recent executive orders

By Ruby Burckle

Elon President Connie Book said Elon University will not be impacted by recent executive orders that propose cuts to funding for higher education and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Elon’s Student Government hosted a fireside chat event with Book and Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley to answer questions regarding recent executive orders and accessibility issues on campus.

---

LIFESTYLE 2/27/25 5:59pm

Q&A: Fashion designer discusses building his shoe empire

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Stuart Weitzman is a renowned footwear designer who has built a reputation for designing shoes that balance both comfort and elegance. His brand has been worn by celebrities such as Taylor Swift, Angelina Jolie, Tate McRae, Beyoncé and more. Weitzman visited Elon University on Feb. 26 to talk to students and share his passion for designing and navigating the changing fashion industry. "You can't do it alone. And whenever I found someone to help me do it, I always sought the absolute best, most experienced, most talented. I didn't care if it cost twice as much," Weitzman said.

---

NEWS 2/27/25 3:17pm

SGA Elections 2025: Executive changes, rising candidate interest

By Liya Rike

This year’s Student Government Association elections bring changes to the process, including the addition of an executive vice president role, expanding the executive positions to five. Forty total candidates are running — an increase from recent years. Historically, voter turnout has been low. To address this issue, the SGA has increased outreach efforts, using social media campaigns, campus-wide events and measures such as the Phoenix Five Weekly email to raise awareness. Vice President of Communications Ella Kucera said student awareness of elections varies, with some students informed and others possibly forgetting. 

---

SPORTS 2/27/25 10:56am

Former softball star returns to Elon in new role

By Miles Hayford

Carley Davis was getting ready for her final season of college softball last January, but bigger things were on her mind. She was thinking about life after her collegiate experience at Elon University. She was looking to become a graduate assistant coach and was exploring different opportunities at schools across North Carolina. She had been discussing her plans with Elon head coach Kathy Bocock throughout the entire process, and when the opportunity to stay at Elon after her final season presented itself, the choice was obvious.

---

LIFESTYLE 2/27/25 9:16am

Elon University Carnaval celebration features live music, dancing, cultural food

By Kate Gray

With live steel pan music, mask decorating and a buffet of Caribbean and Latin American food, the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education and El Centro kicked off Elon’s third annual Carnaval celebration on Feb. 26 in McKinnon Hall.  Elon’s Carnaval began with a Brazilian student who graduated last year, according to MJ Larrazabal, assistant director of the CREDE. As the event grows in popularity, it has expanded to include more Latin American countries and showcase African and Indigenous influences.

---

NEWS 2/26/25 9:44pm

Simply Oak to close after 8 years in Elon

By Nia Bedard

After eight years in business, Simply Oak, a boutique in downtown Elon announced through its Instagram on Feb. 25. Melissa Troutman ’13, who attended Elon University for both undergrad and graduate school, said Simply Oak started because of Elon. “This was a school project.” Troutman said. “Last semester of grad school, we had to write a business plan so I did it on a boutique, just because I always love the idea of owning a store and owning my own business.” Simply Oak will reside in its space at 108 W. Lebanon Ave. until March 31.

---