Letters to the Editor

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OPINIONS 5/11/24 6:53pm

OPINION: Looking for God at Burlington's Biker Church

By Alex Nettles

After class, I found myself driving to a McDonalds on Interstate 87 to meet with Tony — a former member of an outlaw biker club. Tony said he met God when he was in a coma, and there was a point in the afterlife where he had to choose between heaven and hell. In his vision, God asked him, “Do you want heaven and me, or do you want hell?.” I first met Tony at Broken Chains Biker Church, a church devoted to worship that aims to save bikers from the sinful life.

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NEWS 5/11/24 2:54pm

Elon University’s GLC celebrates 12th Lavender Graduation

By Nia Bedard

Elon University celebrated its 12th annual Lavender Graduation, hosted by the Gender and LGBTQIA Center, on May 10 in Alumni Gym with 70 students participating in their ceremony. Lavender Graduation honors LGBTQIA undergraduates, graduates and professional students at Elon with a certificate, a graduation stole, a rainbow tassel and a lavender graduation cap that can be worn at Commencement. Vice President of Student Life Dooley said that the first Lavender Graduation in 2014 had 16 graduates and was held in the Oaks Commons Room.

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NEWS 5/9/24 10:16am

Guide to Elon University commencement, senior activities for class of 2024

By Elon News Network

A comprehensive and interactive calendar for Elon University's class of 2024 graduation and commencement events. The bulk of events occur from Tuesday, May 21 to Friday, May 24. All graduates confirmed to participate in the 134th Commencement on May 24 in Schar Center must reserve guest tickets to their diploma ceremony. With the anticipated number of graduates in each diploma ceremony, the maximum number of guest tickets is five. Parking lots will open at 7:15 a.m. for Commencement guest parking. Guests are asked to park at Schar Center only for the ceremony they are attending.

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NEWS 5/8/24 9:59pm

Students, friends, family mourn loss of Elon professor through gathering of community

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Over 100 members of the Elon community joined in tears, laughter and hugs at in Numen Lumen at 4:30 p.m. on May 8 to mourn the loss of Jennifer Fish, associate director of Elon’s Teaching Fellows Program. Fish died unexpectedly on the morning of May 7 due to illness. Fish was known to greet everyone with a smile and drop everything to see who stepped into her office. Junior teaching fellow Lindsey Hefty said the program won’t be the same without Fish’s presence. Hefty said she hopes to honor Fish’s memory by being like her: by having unconditional love for everyone — even strangers.

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NEWS 5/8/24 8:08pm

Elon aims to have 50% of its waste diverted by 2030

By Avery Sloan

Elon has plans to divert 75% of its waste by 2037. Currently, the university is diverting 25%. Kendra Harrison, waste reduction and recycling manager, said it will take a lot of work for Elon to reach 75%. Sustainability has been integrated into Residence Life’s training, according to Elon’s website on sustainability. Sustainability has spread to other areas of campus in other ways, outside of just the office of sustainability, senior Lauren Hill, volunteer coordinator for the Office of Sustainability, said. But, students are not always aware of the waste they are generating and other ways Elon maintains sustainability, according to Hill.

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NEWS 5/7/24 10:28pm

Sister of Hamas hostage speaks at Elon’s Chabad

By Fiona McAllister

Lucy Siegel’s younger brother Keith and his wife Aviva were captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 from the kibbutz where they lived in Israel. While Aviva was held hostage for 51 days and released on Nov. 26, 2023, Ketih is still currently being held hostage in Gaza. Lucy visited Elon’s Chabad house on May 7 to share her and her brother’s story with the Elon community. Rabbi Mendy Minkowitz introduced Lucy Siegel as she spoke about how the Israel-Hamas War continues to impact her personally.

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NEWS 5/7/24 1:17pm

Associate Director of Teaching Fellows Program dies unexpectedly due to illness

By Ryan Kupperman

Jennifer Fish, associate director of Elon University’s Teaching Fellows Program, died unexpectedly the morning of May 7 due to illness, according to an email sent to the university community by President Connie Book. A Gathering of Friends will be held at 4:30 p.m. on May 8 in the sacred space of Numen Lumen to honor her life. Book stated in the email that Fish recently celebrated 15 years of service to Elon and has taught the teaching fellows throughout that time. Expressions of condolence for Jennifer’s family can be brought to the Truitt Center main desk or sent through campus mail to Truitt Center, 2960 Campus Box.

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NEWS 5/7/24 10:16am

Students for Peace and Justice hosts pro-Palestinian walk across Elon University

By Sophie Rosenthal

The Students for Peace and Justice club held a peace walk in support of Palestinian people in Gaza at 9:45 a.m. on May 7. Palestinian student Naz Shokri will kick off the walk with a speech at Medallion Plaza, followed by a walk around Moseley Center and through Young Commons. Students for Peace and Justice hosted another walk earlier this semester in solidarity with victims of oppression, where some students held signs in support of Palestinians. Yet, "A Walk for Palestine" was the first group demonstration on Elon's campus since the war began that is specifically calling itself pro-Palestinian.

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LIFESTYLE 5/6/24 1:29pm

Research to rapid fire: Professor takes on Jeopardy

By Avery Sloan

Professor Marko Saric, an antsy person by nature, said when he was competing on the set of Jeopardy, he felt like he was back in his room watching the show. Saric was on Jeopardy April 18 and continued on April 19. For Saric, being a professor did not necessarily translate to skills helpful for the game show. He instead prepared by looking through the J! Archive, a website created by fans with every single answer that has been on Jeopardy. From there Saric would go to Wikipedia to read up on things he didn’t know, he said.

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NEWS 5/5/24 4:58pm

Elon University’s Clohan Dining Hall reopens after gas leak scare

By Erin Martin and Abby Gravely

Clohan Dining Hall was closed on Sunday, due to a potential gas leak, but has since re-opened. According to an Elon campus police officer on scene, there was no immediate danger. Multiple fire trucks and police cars were seen at Clohan on Sunday around 3:30 p.m., along with a maintenance worker from piedmont natural gas, who was equipped with a gas leak detector. Chief LeMire explained that the E-Alert was intended for all students, faculty and staff, but accidentally was only sent to members of the RAVE Guardian Safety App group, reaching about 1,800 people instead of the intended 8,900.

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NEWS 5/5/24 11:36am

National foreign language enrollment declines at collegiate level

By Cailey Cetani

Hallo! Bonjour! Hola! Ciao! According to the American Councils for International Education, 10.6 million students from grades K-12 are enrolled in a foreign language. A new study has shown that although many have learned languages in their early education, there is a decline in the pursuit of learning a language in college. According to the Modern Language Association 2023 Census, there was a 16.6% decrease in enrollment in foreign language classes by college students from 2016 to 2021. This is the largest decline since the association started its census in 1958 with language enrollment peaking in 2009.

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NEWS 5/4/24 12:30pm

Gathering of friends honors Elon junior as ‘selfless’, ‘life of the party’

By Ryan Kupperman

Approximately 70 members of the Elon community attended a gathering of friends in the pavilion behind the Sklut Hillel Center on May 3 to share their feelings of loss and reflect on fond memories they’ve shared with Malinsky. Malinsky, who died on April 29 of brain cancer, was a member of Elon’s class of 2025 and an active member of the Jewish community. Jewish Educator Boaz Avraham-Katz, who was one of Talia’s professors, spoke at the event along with University Chaplain Kirstin Boswell — who led the service in a prayer before allowing Talia’s friends to speak about their memories with her.

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NEWS 5/4/24 11:03am

Fulbright Fellowship sees Elon’s largest applicant pool

By Jordyn Forni

The Fulbright fellowship is a competitive opportunity for graduating college seniors and alumni. Fulbright partners with 140 countries to offer recipients postgraduate abroad opportunities to teach English, conduct research or pursue a graduate degree. With the Fulbright fellowship only having a 20% acceptance rate, the program is extremely competitive. Nicole Galante, assistant director of national and international fellowships, said she has seen an uptick in fellowship applications. This past year, the office had its highest applicant pool ever with 34 applicants from Elon.

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NEWS 5/3/24 8:29pm

Elon discontinues Cinema, Television Arts BFA program for incoming students

By Sophie Rosenthal

Starting with students who enter Elon University in Fall 2024, cinema and television arts majors will no longer be able to pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree. The decision to discontinue the program was not simple, professor Staci Saltz, chair of the CTA department, said. A BFA committee with faculty members and advisers discussed curriculum, the depth of the thesis project and the amount of resources available to the students in the program, such as money, equipment and rental spaces. In any given year, only between 15 and 20 seniors out of around 200 students pursue BFAs in the CTA department.

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LIFESTYLE 5/3/24 4:54pm

El Centro celebrates Elon University’s LatinX/Hispanic community with release of “Perspectivas”

By Nia Bedard

Elon University’s Latinx/Hispanic student center, El Centro, celebrated their value of “mi comunidad” with the release of its zine, “Perspectivas.” “Perspectivas,” is a zine published on a semesterly basis that gives a space for Latinx/Hispanic-identifying students the opportunity to publish their art. The first edition of the magazine was released last fall and was created and supervised by junior Leslie Aviles. This edition is centered around the value of “mi comunidad,” one of El Centro’s core values that can be found on their website.

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NEWS 5/3/24 10:46am

AEPhi visits Elon, hosts interest meeting

By Lilly Molina

AEPhi, a historically Jewish sorority, visited Elon’s campus on May 2 in order to gauge interest in bringing a chapter to Elon. They hosted an interesting meeting in upstairs Moseley with a little over 20 people in attendance. Junior Natalie Schuver said she has been thinking about bringing and joining a Jewish sorority to Elon since she contacted the student involvement office during her freshman year. Sharon Raphael, National President of AEPhi, also said that Elon has been on their radar for at least 20 years.

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NEWS 5/2/24 12:07pm

Elon University names first-ever nominated student commencement speaker

By Ellie Reasbeck

Grace Ackermann was driving to Boston for apartment hunting when she got the call from Elon University President Connie Book saying that she would be the student commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2024. In the past, the speaker has always been the student body president, but in February 2024, the Student Government Association changed the requirements. This new change allowed for all seniors to apply for the speaker position — granting the final decision to a special committee composed of SGA members and students. With graduation on May 24, Ackermann said she is excited for the opportunity to speak for the class of 2024.

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NEWS 5/1/24 2:11pm

Elon University hosts record-breaking SURF Day

By Miles Hayford

Elon University’s annual Spring Undergraduate Research Forum had record-breaking participation this year. There were a total of 322 presentations this year, a 19% jump from last year and the highest in the forum’s 31 year history. According to Jen Hamel, associate director of undergraduate research, this is the result of an upward trend she has noticed over the past several years. Hamel attributes this growth to increased participation in SURF from the School of Communications and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. The 322 presentations were divided into 168 poster presentations, 154 oral presentations and 35 creative performances.

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NEWS 5/1/24 1:43pm

Elon’s Speakers’ Corner finds another voice

By Fiona McAllister

Elon sophomore Noelle Vaught said she finds students at Elon University are “politically sleepwalking.” On April 25, Vaught stood at the Speakers’ Corner holding an upside down American flag with the words “there is no flag large enough to cover up the shame of killing innocent people” written on it. Vaught also said she feels Elon is very “cloistered,” or secluded from the rest of the world. Vaught said her second reason is that she is opposed to the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Hamas War.

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NEWS 5/1/24 9:23am

Elon junior dies of brain cancer

By Avery Sloan and Ryan Kupperman

Elon junior Talia Malinsky died around 5 p.m. on April 29 at the age of 21 surrounded by family. Her mother Irit Malinsky said she died from a recurrence of brain cancer. She has been on leave from Elon since last spring. The family is currently raising money to transport and bury Talia in Jerusalem. As of May 1, they were able to raise upward of $17,000 and will be leaving tonight for Israel. Talia, raised in an Israeli family, wanted to move to Israel after graduating from Elon, according to her dad Mark Malinsky.

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