Lifestyle

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LIFESTYLE 10/6/24 5:23pm

A cappella makes note-able mark on Elon culture

By Katharyn MacDonald

The sounds of singing and beatboxing echoed through Spence Pavilion. As students of different grade levels and majors filed into the room, they smiled and jumped right into the song that had begun. Rehearsal didn’t start for another 10 minutes, but everyone already wanted to start singing. At ROCKapella, a concert featuring all Elon a cappella groups over Family Weekend, the groups could be seen jumping and clapping for each other’s performances, their signature colors blending together into a crowd of musicians cheering on other musicians.

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LIFESTYLE 10/5/24 5:41pm

Graham Cinema to show Halloween classics throughout October

By Emma Citro

“The Shining” is one of five Halloween classics Graham Cinemas will show throughout October. About a 15-minute drive from campus, Graham Cinemas will be hosting a Halloween Classics lineup from Oct. 4 to Oct. 31. Tickets are $4 each and can be purchased upon arrival at the theater. Freshman and production major Ethan Brothers said “The Shining” is his favorite horror movie. The lineup of movies was carefully curated by manager Scott Matthews, who said the cinema has been hosting its Halloween Classics series every year since 2016.

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LIFESTYLE 10/1/24 5:18pm

Elon University to perform ‘Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead’

By Julia Donaghy

In preparation for the fall play, costume designer and junior Brooke Gustafson has been pulling pieces from Elon’s costume shop, Amazon and thrift stores. Elon’s performance of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead” draws inspiration from the play’s themes of absurdism by featuring costumes with both Elizabethan and contemporary styles. Showings will run from Oct. 4, 5, 7 and 8 at 7:30 p.m., as well as two matinees on Oct. 5 and 6 at 2 p.m. in Scott Studios. Tickets are available for $15 or free with an Elon ID.

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LIFESTYLE 9/29/24 5:59pm

Elon University challenges students’ perspectives with unconventional map

By Ruby Burckle

The world map in Lindner 106 within Elon University’s Academic Village depicts the world with accurate land proportions using the Galls-Peters projection. The Mercator projection is the most commonly used world map; however, it distorts the size of land masses farther away from the Equator, making them disproportionately large. For example, Greenland appears to be larger than Australia. In reality, Australia is over three times larger than Greenland. Also unlike traditional world maps, the one in Lindner is south side up, oriented with Antarctica reaching the ceiling and the Arctic Circle pointed toward the floor.

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LIFESTYLE 9/28/24 12:40pm

Elon music theatre students perform annual “Collage” showcase

By Sarah T. Moore

With both performances sold out, Elon music theatre students performed “Collage” — an annual showcase hosted by the performing arts department. Yeager Recital Hall — with its 125 seats — was filled with students, faculty and staff, and families visiting for the weekend. The hour-long performance was directed, arranged, choreographed and music directed entirely by students, according to one of the event’s advisers and professor of performing arts Chris Rayis. Instant Laughter, a student improv group, will have performances at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 in Center for the Arts’ Yeager Recital Hall.

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LIFESTYLE 9/27/24 8:31am

The Main Line: where community meets artisan’s craft

By Lilly Molina

With the slam of her car door, Amy Wilkinson decided to go for a drive after quitting her job. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she drove aimlessly. She said to herself, ‘What did I do?’ She eventually found herself in Graham — North Main Street — to be exact. Amid her tears and blurry vision, she made out a sign that said “For Rent.” That beacon became The Main Line, an artisan good’s store that Wilkinson opened in 2014 on 134 N Main St. Now, every square inch of The Main Line is decked out in artisan goods.

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LIFESTYLE 9/23/24 3:22pm

Elon University ranks 9th in Playbill’s most represented universities on Broadway

By Katharyn MacDonald

Hannah Kevitt ’23 was wrapping up her senior year at Elon University when she found out where she would be going directly after graduation: to Broadway. After flying back and forth between North Carolina and New York City for auditions and callbacks since August of the previous year, Kevitt had booked an ensemble role in “Back to the Future.” Kevitt is one of 24 alumni who performed in Broadway shows from April 28, 2023 to April 25, 2024, leading Elon University to be named one of Playbill’s Big 10 Most Represented Colleges on Broadway.

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LIFESTYLE 9/22/24 10:04pm

Fourth annual Esperanza, Hispanic Heritage Month festival celebrates cultural heritage

By Audrey Geib

Latin music, laughter and local community members filled the streets of downtown Graham on Sept. 22 during Esperanza, the fourth annual Hispanic Heritage Month festival. The Esperanza festival included live music, cultural performances and vendors — including food, crafts, local businesses and community resources. At the end of the rows of vendors and tables was a stage, where a DJ played Latin music, and chairs for event goers to watch the various cultural performances and dance routines. To the right of the stage, a man painted a vibrant photo of two flamenco dancers on a canvas.

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LIFESTYLE 9/22/24 5:37pm

Shirley Tempos take center stage for first ‘Tiny Shelf Concert’

By Gaby Maldonado

Elon University’s Belk Library became a small concert venue Sept. 20 as it hosted its first-ever “Tiny Shelf Concert,” inspired by NPR’s famous Tiny Desk Concert series. The event featured a performance by the Shirley Tempos, an all-female a cappella group, who performed among the library's shelves — making it a unique place for live music. Shirley Tempos is set to perform again at Rockapella on Sept. 28 during Elon’s Family Weekend and at Acapocalypse, a benefit concert in Whitley Auditorium on Oct. 5 with proceeds going to Elon Academy.

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LIFESTYLE 9/22/24 2:38pm

Argentine tango in Durham welcomes all dancers

By Madison Powers

Aidan Huene and John Singletary, two Argentine tango dancers from the Research Triangle, dance with Tango Utopia, a social group based in Durham. The duo performed at El Centro’s Hispanic Heritage Month Festival on Sept. 13 and Huene said the milonga — a tango hall where people would go to dance — fostered a sense of community in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Montevideo, Uruguay, where tango originated. Argentine tango is characterized by a close hold between partners and a contra body movement with an emphasis on rhythm and improvisation

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LIFESTYLE 9/20/24 3:13pm

Elon professor’s debut novel explores agency, identity

By Sarah T. Moore

A love triangle, a coma, suddenly-revealed family secrets — all are common elements in telenovellas. They are also all elements in English professor Tita Ramirez’s debut novel, “Tell It to Me Singing.” The novel centers around themes of agency, identity and power — especially as Latina women. For the past two months, Ramirez has been on sabbatical as she travels to book signings throughout North Carolina and Florida, where the book is set. On Sept. 10, Ramirez hosted a signing at Elon University. Several of her past students and colleagues attended the event.

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LIFESTYLE 9/18/24 11:15pm

Ay! Jarabe Mexicano celebrates border life at Elon University

By Lilly Molina

“Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!” Maracas shake and the guitarrón strums a tune. This might have been Jarabe Mexicano’s first time in North Carolina, but it got the crowd dancing Sept. 18 in McCrary Theatre. “Ay!” is a grito — or “rallying cry” — that originated in Mexican culture. It is often an interjection singers will say while singing and could be heard Wednesday night at Jarabe Mexicano’s performance. Jeff Clark, executive director of Cultural and Special Programs, was in charge of bringing the band to campus and said he was looking for more than just a mariachi band. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/14/24 11:35am

Hillsborough tattoo shop celebrates Friday the 13th with discounts

By Abigail Hobbs

With 56 people coming to get tattooed on Friday, Sept. 13, shop owner and tattoo artist Lillian — aka “Honeybadger” — said Friday the 13th specials started as a way to lean into the negative stereotypes that come with tattoos. Inkognito Tattoo Studio — a minority and woman-owned studio — offered $31 tattoos with $13 tips from a set of designs called flash. Elon juniors and roommates Ash Crouse and Brooke Boozer got their first tattoos at the event due to the discount. Inkognito will be hosting another Friday the 13th discount event Dec. 13.

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LIFESTYLE 9/12/24 3:28pm

Buddhist monk creates annual sand mandala at Elon University

By Sarah T. Moore

For Hillary Zaken, Elon’s sand mandala tradition is an important piece of starting the fall semester. The Green Tara sand mandala is created by Geshe Palden Sangpo, a Tibetan Buddhist monk of the Kadampa Center in Raleigh. Sangpo began working on the design Sept. 11 and will finish — and destroy — the mandala at 3 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Numen Lumen Pavilion. Zaken is the interim assistant dean of multifaith engagement at Elon and said beyond bringing greater multifaith understanding to campus, the sand mandala shows students that nothing is permanent.

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LIFESTYLE 9/11/24 1:37pm

Elon University’s bingo tradition brings students together

By Sarah T. Moore

When Bunny Ingram first became an Elon student, they knew they were going to play bingo. They had initially heard about the monthly games from their older sister, who had also attended Elon. Since freshman orientation, the now-junior has only missed games for three reasons: attending a funeral, having COVID-19 and studying abroad. On Sept. 5, Ingram was one of 333 players at the first bingo night of the 2024-25 academic year. Swarms of students filed into McKinnon Hall after swiping their Phoenix Cards to receive bingo boards.

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LIFESTYLE 9/9/24 8:47pm

Artist showcases consumption habits through art

By Abigail Hobbs and Megan Walsh

David Hamlow has been collecting his own trash for almost 40 years, taking up space in his attic, basement and storage locker. He uses the trash — typically clear plastics, paper cardboard and thicker cardboard — to create art installations. Hamlow said he considers these pieces self portraits because most of it is his personal trash. Hamlow created an art installation for Elon’s Arts West Gallery 406 and hosted an artist talk Sept. 9. The exhibit will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday until Sept. 27.

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LIFESTYLE 9/9/24 11:53am

Nonprofit hosts book sales to fund library programming in Alamance County

By Sarah T. Moore

After moving to Alamance county from Long Island 30 years ago, Debbie Gunyan was quick to notice the differences between the public libraries. Long Island has over 200 public libraries across the Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk county systems. Alamance County has four public libraries — one in Graham, one in Mebane and two in Burlington. Friends of the Libraries next book sale will run from Sept. 6 to 15 at the May Memorial Library in Burlington. Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries is a nonprofit that funds the library system’s programming.

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LIFESTYLE 9/9/24 10:17am

Squirrels to songbirds: Elon professor shares tips to observe wildlife

By Sarah T. Moore

While they are frequently seen across Elon, squirrels aren’t the only critters on campus. For those interested in learning more about local wildlife, biology professor Dave Gammon said getting familiar with songs and calls is a good way to identify the animals on campus, especially the birds. American robins, eastern bluebirds, cardinals, northern mockingbirds, Canada geese, mallard ducks, tufted titmice and crows are some of the birds Gammon said he commonly spots. Beyond bird calls, Gammon said once people know the sounds and stop to listen, they’ll often hear cicadas and “Katydids galore.”

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LIFESTYLE 9/3/24 4:12pm

Sophomore brings Music For Dementia to Elon

By Abigail Hobbs

Her hands were the only thing in frame, dancing across the keys as she played a complex, classical piece on the piano. She hadn’t played in 20 years, and though there was no songbook on the music stand, she remembered the piece clearly. Sophomore Aidan Fishkind received a video of their 90-year-old aunt with dementia playing the piano from her live-in caretaker. Fishkind, who was involved in Music For Dementia in their high school, brought the organization to Elon — officially creating its first out-of-state chapter in spring 2024.

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LIFESTYLE 8/31/24 1:36pm

Elon’s GLC fosters community through new student welcome

By Sarah T. Moore

Freshman Alexandria Bell is one of over 140 members of the class of 2028 who is part of the LGBTQ+ community. Bell said while looking at colleges and universities, it was important to her to attend a school that was welcoming to LGBTQ+ students. On Aug. 30, Bell attended the Gender and LGBTQIA+ Center’s new student welcome event in McKinnon Hall. GLC Director Luis Garay said the annual New Student Welcome event allows the center to connect with students and share how the GLC is able to support them through different resources and programming.

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