Lifestyle

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LIFESTYLE 4/24/25 10:47pm

Earth Fest, Party for the Planet aim to blend education, entertainment

By Virginia Vance

At their peak, two adjacent Elon University sustainability events saw a line stretching from the edge of Medallion Plaza to the Center for the Arts parking lot. Earth Fest featured the addition of several temporary compost bins to the path from Medallion Plaza along Lake Mary Nell. This year’s Earth Fest once again featured cows from Ran-Lew Dairy Farm — a popular attraction in recent years. Last year’s Earth Fest drew concern from students because the cows were positioned across from a hamburger standm but no beef was served at this year's event.

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LIFESTYLE 4/24/25 9:35am

Elon Community Church to host Denim Day fashion show fundraiser to support survivors of sexual violence

By Liya Rike

CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response and Resource Center is partnering with Elon Community Church to host the nonprofit’s first-ever Denim Day Dinner and Fashion Show — a new fundraising event that combines fashion, food and advocacy to raise awareness about sexual violence and victim blaming. Set to take place April 30 in the church’s Community Life Center, the event will honor Denim Day — a global observance rooted in protest against a 1998 Italian court ruling that overturned a rape conviction because the survivor had been wearing tight jeans.

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LIFESTYLE 4/23/25 11:14pm

Environmentalist, author urges climate action, encourages teamwork at Elon University

By Matthew Vaughn

The cost of solar and wind energy decreased by 90% over the last decade, so price is no longer a factor when it comes to renewable energy in today’s world, according to environmentalist Bill McKibben. McKibben, an author of 18 books on climate change, gave Elon University’s Earth Week keynote address April 23.  A couple hundred attendees filled Alumni Gym. McKibben said that since June 2023, every month has been the hottest of its kind. Last year, 14 months in a row saw record high temperatures according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.  

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LIFESTYLE 4/23/25 4:12pm

Truitt Center prepares to celebrate festival of color

By Megan Walsh

Preparations are well underway to celebrate Holi, the festival of color, for Elon’s Truitt Center — even though it’s almost a month past the actual Hindu holiday. The Truitt Center will host a Holi Celebration on April 25, after rescheduling from an original date of April 11, with color throwing, food, kite flying and a chance to learn something new about Hindu culture. Holi, pronounced ho-lee, is a Hindu celebration meant to mark the end of winter and arrival of spring with a festival full of color.

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LIFESTYLE 4/23/25 1:14pm

Maker Hub prepares to take over Moseley Center with over 40 student projects

By Virginia Vance

The staff of Elon University’s Maker Hub are preparing to make creativity come to life at the upcoming Maker Takeover. Maker Takeover has occurred for the past six years and centers around displays of projects made at the Maker Hub throughout the year. The Maker Hub has tools such as 3D printers, sewing machines, laser engraving and tools for creating electronic projects; the Maker Takeover features projects in any of these categories. This year’s takeover takes place April 30 and advertises over 40 student projects, as well as an escape room, stations for crafts and a presentation about chainmail.

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LIFESTYLE 4/22/25 8:50pm

Elon community gathers to grieve the death of Pope Francis

By Fiona McAllister

Silence held a loud volume in the Numen Lumen Sacred Space as Elon community members gathered to honor Pope Francis’ life through a memorial mass. After Francis died on Monday April 21, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley sent out a message alerting students and faculty about a memorial mass being offered by the Catholic Life team. Father Peter Tremblay led this mass and highlighted Francis’ life and achievements. During his time as the pope, Francis focused on topics like immigration and internally wanted to promote women within the Catholic Church.

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LIFESTYLE 4/20/25 7:18pm

Elon University students create ‘brain rot’ social media account, ‘Reel Talk’

By Anjolina Fantaroni

It all started at Elon club volleyball, where Elon seniors Christian Van Voorhees and Mason Kaiser and Elon junior Carter Puckett first met.  Now, the trio of Elon students are behind “Reel Talk,” a fast-growing social media account where “brain rot” culture meets commentary. Brain rot is commonly known as the consumption of meaningless, mind-numbing and low-quality online content. Beginning on March 7 and releasing their first reel on March 10, “Reel Talk’s” Instagram following has grown to over 14,700 followers, or what they like to call “reel ones.”

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LIFESTYLE 4/20/25 4:27pm

Elon University set to celebrate Earth Week

By Erin Martin

Elon University is gearing up for a full slate of sustainability-focused programming, including bird walks, pop-up thrift shops and the debut of Elon’s 2025 Sustainability Master Plan. The weeklong celebration, beginning Monday, aims to highlight both the challenges and possibilities of sustainability, while giving students, faculty and staff new ways to engage with the environment and each other. One of the week’s biggest milestones is the release of Elon’s 2025 Sustainability Master Plan. Unveiled on Earth Day — Tuesday, April 22 — the plan is the product of a two-year process involving input from more than 300 people on campus.

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LIFESTYLE 4/19/25 7:10pm

Elon student theater organization performs ‘The Drowsy Chaperone’

By Virginia Vance

A narrator boxed in by two fourth walls and his own struggles escapes to the nostalgia and indulgence of the 1920s in the student-run production of “The Drowsy Chaperone.” Drowsy, first produced in 1998, features a musical-loving narrator explaining his favorite 1920s record to the audience while it’s performed behind him by the rest of the cast. The narrator and main character, otherwise known as Man in the Chair, got particular attention from Renegade Productions, Elon University’s student-run theater group.

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LIFESTYLE 4/17/25 1:41pm

Elon University’s lack of religious exemption for Easter Monday sparks concern among students

By Rachel Holley

Some students expressed disappointment that Easter Monday is not a religiously exempt holiday. Last year, the last day of Spring Break was on Easter, but for at least the past five years before that, Elon University had Easter Monday off. Easter Sunday, also known as resurrection Sunday, is a Christian Holiday that celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. More than 40% of students at Elon identify with Christian denominations that celebrate Easter, according to Elon’s spring 2025 Registrar’s Report. Because Elon University is holding classes on Easter Monday, some students said they can't spend the holiday with her families.

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LIFESTYLE 4/15/25 5:35pm

Student-run theater organization presents original play

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon University’s student-run theater company NewWorks debuted "Captain’s Log" on April 12, a student-written play by senior Graham Cole exploring the challenges of college life through the lens of two freshmen with social anxiety. Inspired by Cole’s own college experience, the play challenges the idealized view of college as “the best years of your life.” Directed by senior Grace Minton and featuring Elon junior Maggie Blakeney as Adrianna, "Captain’s Log" emphasizes inner monologues and emotional honesty, aiming to foster empathy and remind students they’re not alone in their struggles.

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LIFESTYLE 4/15/25 3:48pm

Special Olympics packs Elon University’s Schar Center for annual spring games

By Abigail Hines

Hundreds of athletes and volunteers filled Schar Center on April 10 for the 2025 Special Olympics Alamance County Spring Games. The athletes competed in a variety of events including softball throw, long jump and relay racing. Throughout the day, students and adults rotated through each event, and volunteers and guests cheered from the stands as they competed. At the end of each event, athletes were awarded a medal for their participation. Special Olympics Alamance County hosts weekly events for its athletes. Students interested in volunteering can visit the Kernodle Center or the Special Olympics Alamance County website. 

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LIFESTYLE 4/13/25 10:50pm

Elon Club Esports hosts Super Smash Bros. tournament

By Alice Morrissey

Teams from the University of North Carolina, Charlotte, the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and Elon University gathered in Global Commons to compete in a bracket-style tournament on Saturday, April 5. ​​The room was filled with the sounds of buzzers and the rapid clacking of controllers. The Elon esports team has previously traveled to other schools for similar competitions, but this Super Smash Bros. tournament was held at the clubs home base in Global Commons.

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LIFESTYLE 4/10/25 9:34pm

'I'm not hiding out': Transitioning late in life

By Avery Sloan

Crystal Burroughs knew she was meant to be a girl by the time she was 4 years old, before she knew what the word transgender meant. But even though she was sure of her identity from a young age, growing up in the 1960s and 70s without transgender representation and living through decades of normalized transphobia — she never planned to actually come out as a transgender woman. In March 2023, when Burroughs was 60 years old, she came out as transgender, first just to her wife. Now, she is fully out as as transgender to her job and larger community.

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LIFESTYLE 4/7/25 3:35pm

Downtown Gibsonville hosts 4th annual Gibsonville Girls Night

By Lilly Molina

A line of pink could be seen down West Main Street as local women gathered for Gibsonville Girls Night on April 4. With shops open until 8 p.m., attendees dress in pink and go shopping. Chelsea Dickey, a contracted economic development director for the small town; Wanda Small, owner of Just be You; and Maghon Taylor, owner of All She Wrote Notes; noticed that there were many female-owned small businesses in downtown Gibsonville. “We were looking to come together and do something fun as girls,” Dickey said. “But also do something fun for the girls of Gibsonville.”

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LIFESTYLE 4/6/25 6:24pm

Elon University prepares for its most colorful event: Holi

By Rachel Holley

A Hindu tradition dating back to the fourth century, Holi, also known as the “festival of color,” is about to be celebrated at Elon. While the actual date of Holi was celebrated on March 14th, Elon decided to celebrate the holiday during Elon’s Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. The national API month is in May, but because students aren’t on campus for the entire month of May, API month is celebrated in April on Elon’s campus.

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LIFESTYLE 4/6/25 9:37am

Elon town farmers market brings community, university together

By Virginia Vance

An 18-year tradition returned to Elon on April 3: the Elon farmers market. Students, such as Elon senior Lauren Dathe, have been anticipating its return. “I’ve been counting down the days,” Dathe said. Elon senior Sam Hinton proudly displayed a sticker purchased at the market. “It’s great to see people from the community come out,” Hinton said, “especially because I think Elon can be so separate from the rest of Burlington and Alamance, so it’s really sweet to see more intermingling.”

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LIFESTYLE 4/5/25 5:14pm

Elon University celebrates Asian Pacific Island Heritage Month with annual kickoff

By Lilly Molina

On April 3, students celebrated Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month at the third annual kickoff event. API Heritage Month is usually celebrated in May, but the Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education plans events for April due to the semester ending in the next month. The event featured various Asian cuisines, Asian owned businesses and dance performances. This year's theme is “Building Bouquets: Coming Together,” where the CREDE hopes to bring people together within the community to celebrate Asian and Pacific Islander culture and heritage.

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LIFESTYLE 4/4/25 7:49pm

Elon University lecture celebrates impactful professor, encourages expression in challenging times

By Abby Gravely

Frederick Lawrence believes that telling someone they can’t speak is equivalent to cutting off their oxygen. Lawrence, the secretary and CEO of Phi Beta Kappa honor society and First Amendment scholar, spoke to the Elon community Thursday evening in Whitley Auditorium. The James P. Elder Lecture marked the final event of the 2024-25 speaker series, and this year's installment of the endowed James P. Elder lecture series at Elon. Lawrence knows that it can be hard to determine the line between free speech and hate speech. And with recent debates involving this line on college campuses, it feels more relevant than ever.

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LIFESTYLE 4/4/25 10:53am

HealthEU center construction brings excitement, concerns

By Kate Gray and Ruby Burckle

Construction on the new HealthEU center began unexpectedly for some students. Construction began in January, raising both excitement and concerns among Elon students. The project was announced in the spring of 2024, with the goal of being completed by summer 2026. However, the building will now be completed that fall instead, according to David Haught, senior director of planning, design and construction management. According to Haught, construction is currently in phase one, which involves tree removal, utility work and reshaping land to prepare the site.

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