Lifestyle


LIFESTYLE 4/10/26 9:32pm

Color, culture, community collide at Elon’s Holi festival

An annual Elon tradition mixed vibrant powder with the blooming flowers as the community celebrated Holi on April 10, the Hindu festival of colors. In Hindu tradition, the festival marks the arrival of spring, and at Elon, that celebration came alive as bursts of color, music, and kites filled the Phi Beta Kappa Commons throughout the afternoon.


LIFESTYLE 4/8/26 12:49pm

Janice Ratliff’s legacy lives on at Elon

For decades, Janice Ratliff touched the lives of students, faculty, and staff, creating a sense of belonging and support that many say transformed their time at Elon. She passed away recently at the age of 82, leaving behind a legacy of mentorship, compassion, and dedication to the campus community. 


LIFESTYLE 4/6/26 4:03pm

Elon Music Theatre professor helps produce new Broadway show

Assistant Professor of Music Theatre Jacob Brent is reconnecting with the musical that launched his Broadway career. Decades after his debut in “Cats,” he is returning to the whimsical world as a member of the producing team for its newest revival, “CATS: The Jellicle Ball,” opening on Broadway April 7.


LIFESTYLE 3/24/26 6:21pm

‘I feel like I had been pulled out of my life’: Elon University student returns to campus after battling sepsis

Elon University junior Jackson Weber was wrestling with a friend when he tore his ACL in Nov. 2023, an injury that completely changed what he thought his college career would be like. When Weber entered Elon University, students could find him on the football field and basketball courts stunting for the Elon cheerleading team. The first time he tore his ACL in his sophomore year, he had decided to just take Winter Term off. Going into Spring Term, he expected to make a full recovery.


LIFESTYLE 3/20/26 9:00am

Elon University staff member pursues chaplaincy through Duke Divinity School

Kenneth Brown Jr., assistant director of first-generation student support services at Elon University, is continuing his journey toward becoming a chaplain. Though Brown can’t pinpoint the specific moment he decided to become a chaplain, he said the discovery of this passion was more like pulling the strings from various areas of his life together as he explored what made him “come alive.”


LIFESTYLE 3/19/26 9:12am

Skateboarders work toward approval of skate park

For three hours, skateboarders took to the pavement of Beth Schmidt Park — setting up ramps and rails to get some tricks in on a rainy Sunday. But they are all waiting for one thing: a skate park.It has been years in the making, but chairman of the Elon Skate Coalition Scott Ingalls said they hope to break ground on the skatepark this year — either late summer or early fall. Ingalls said that donations help the skate committee and overall funding of the skatepark.


LIFESTYLE 3/17/26 1:15pm

Local youth program helps teens explore filmmaking, acting

Teen 2 Teen Video & Theatre, an Alamance County production group, is giving teenagers a chance to showcase their creativity, with help from a Queens University of Charlotte alum. Katie Farrell, who graduated from Queens in 2019, said she was searching for a job when she found an opening at Thataways Youth Center that closely matched her major, a Bachelor of Arts in multimedia storytelling. She first worked for Teen 2 Teen’s summer film lab. 


LIFESTYLE 3/10/26 9:36am

Dance scholar blends dance, activism in McCrary Theatre talk

The Elon community found rhythm in McCrary Theatre as they gathered to hear Brenda Dixon-Gottschild discuss and perform her research on the Africanist presence in American dance. The self-proclaimed “anti-racist” told the audience that while she was reading from her notes, the event would not be a traditional academic presentation. 


LIFESTYLE 3/9/26 9:25am

Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries host spring book sale

Readers across Alamance County are filling up the basement of May Memorial Library in Burlington as the Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries host their spring book sale. The sale began on March 6 and runs through March 15, selling books, DVDs, CDs and vinyl records. Volunteer Beth Cooley said the energy is different in the first few days of the sale. 


LIFESTYLE 3/6/26 5:30pm

Local quilt guild creates community through craft

Dressed in patchwork sweaters, carrying hand-stitched shoulder bags and wearing name tags made from scrap fabric, the Alamance Piecemakers Quilt Guild meets every month at the Burlington Elmira Community Center. The group, made up of about 50 women, shares their latest crafts, plans upcoming workshops and discusses new techniques they’ve learned. The guild, for many of these women, is about more than quilts; it’s about kinship and collaboration.


LIFESTYLE 4/4/26 12:13pm

‘Romeo and Juliet’ gets a 1970s revival in McCrary Theatre

Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” may be centuries old, but Elon University’s spring production brings it into a new era, 1970s Italy, complete with disco music, dance numbers and a cast that mirrors the age of its audience. The idea came in January of 2025, when Professor Julian Stetkevych, director of the spring play, was listening to disco music. 


LIFESTYLE 3/5/26 10:18am

Elon Wind Ensemble gives a preview of their Carnegie Hall performance

The Elon Wind Ensemble gave community members a preview of its upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall during a concert on campus March 4, offering audiences a first look at the music the group will perform in New York. The Wind Ensemble is a contemporary group focused on performing at the highest level possible. The concert consisted of 5 songs, just over 50 students and over 15 instruments. The show was about an hour long. 


LIFESTYLE 3/3/26 2:51pm

Author discusses father’s bookstore, identity in lecture

Laurence Roth, professor of English and director of Jewish studies at Susquehanna University, talked about his father’s experience owning a Jewish bookstore during his lecture March 2 at the McBride Gathering Space. Roth read several passages to the audience from his book “Unpacking my Father’s Bookstore”. The book follows Roth’s father’s journey moving from New York City to Los Angeles in the 1960s, opening the bookstore and becoming an important part of the local Jewish community.


LIFESTYLE 3/1/26 12:55pm

African Diaspora of Elon embraces culture with first-ever African Night

The African Diaspora of Elon closed the university’s celebration of Black History Month with the first-ever African Night on Feb. 28, with music, fashion, comedy and pageantry. Abdul-Malik Harrison, advisor to ADE and assistant director of the Center for Race, Ethnicity, & Diversity Education said though he has seen the campus put together amazing cookouts, parties and cultural events, African Night was unique and new. 


LIFESTYLE 2/28/26 6:57pm

Elonthon hosts pickleball tournament to support Duke Children’s Hospital

Elonthon hosted its semesterly pickleball tournament in Elon’s South Campus Gym on Feb. 28. The event was more than just a competition — it also supported a larger cause. Elonthon operates under the motto “Kids Can’t Wait.” The organization hosts events throughout the year to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network in partnership with Duke Children’s Hospital.


LIFESTYLE 2/28/26 3:12pm

GLC, CREDE host annual Kiki Ball

Late Night Elon collaborated with the Gender & LGBTQIA Center to host the annual Kiki Ball celebration. Inspired by LGBTQIA ballroom culture, the event is historically centered around queer and trans people of color and serves as a way to honor diversity in expression within LGBTQIA communities. The evening featured music, a stage, and a panel of judges, including an Elon alum, David Carter, who was excited to see the event come together.


LIFESTYLE 2/27/26 8:10pm

‘Being first’: Elon’s Black Solidarity Conference hosts first keynote panel

The Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education hosted the 12th annual Black Solidarity Day Conference where students, faculty and staff, and community members gathered together in McKinnon Hall to discuss topics on allyship, anti-racism, anti-black racism, wellness in Black communities, Blackness in a global context, intersectionality in Black communities and socio-political activism. 


LIFESTYLE 2/26/26 10:21am

Elon University students find community through faith

Through a variety of faith-based organizations, Elon University students are finding ways to remain connected to their beliefs while balancing coursework and extracurricular commitments. The Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life is used by students on campus to explore different religious worldviews and identities.



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