Lifestyle

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LIFESTYLE 10/20/23 2:53pm

Student-run dance production ‘Semicolon’ offers hopeful narrative to Elon University community

By Sarah T. Moore

“Semicolon,” a student-run dance production three years in the making, will make its debut Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in Roberts Studio Theatre with two additional shows Oct. 21 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Directed and choreographed by junior Pheriby Bryan, the free, 40-minute show explores different, intertwining narratives of those impacted by suicidal ideation. Junior Meredith Peck said she remembers the moment in their freshman year when Bryan walked into her room to tell her the idea for the project. 

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LIFESTYLE 10/14/23 2:28pm

‘John Proctor is the Villain’ asks Elon University students, community to stand up for themselves

By Sarah T. Moore

Elon University’s 2023 fall play “John Proctor is the Villain” is a critique of pop culture, the patriarchy and “The Crucible.” With six shows Oct. 6 to Oct. 10, the cast and crew of Elon students worked together to tell the story of students in rural Georgia learning to stand up for themselves — and each other — as their community is impacted by the rise of the #MeToo movement. While there are no remaining showings of the fall play, the Elon performing arts’ fall musical will have six showings from Oct. 27 to Nov. 4 at McCrary Theatre.

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LIFESTYLE 10/9/23 8:27am

Autistic dancer at Elon University encourages accessibility in dance spaces

By Betsy Schlehuber

Freshman Maddie Milner grew up dancing, which served as an emotional outlet. But beneath the surface, it was also an autistic stim. Milner was diagnosed two years ago in May 2021. Now, she said she wants art spaces like dance studios to work on accommodating neurodivergent people. Milner said she was told as a child that she wasn’t autistic; she was just “quirky.” Yet, she was in therapy for all of elementary school to help her with social skills and texture sensitivities. Milner started dancing when she was three and stayed in the same dance studio until she graduated high school.

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LIFESTYLE 10/7/23 12:25pm

Burlington lemonade vendor shares tips for starting business with new book

By Abigail Hobbs

When doing research on how to open a successful lemonade business, Keith Slader saw an opportunity. Slader said most of the books he found about running a lemonade business were $30 to $40 and only 20 pages long. Slader owns Lisa’s Lemonade — a traveling lemonade booth — which started after Keith’s sister, Lisa Slader, died of kidney cancer in 2020. Wanting to create a family business with low startup costs, Keith said he remembered the popularity of a certain beverage at a past job.

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LIFESTYLE 10/5/23 11:17pm

Elon University’s 2023 fall play emphasizes power of speaking up

By Sarah T. Moore

Starting Oct. 6, Roberts Studio Theatre will transform into a high school English classroom — the setting of Elon University’s performing arts fall play, “John Proctor is the Villain.” Set in the peak of the #MeToo movement, “John Proctor is the Villain” follows a group of high school students in rural Georgia reading “The Crucible” in their literature class. “The Crucible” is a 1953 play by Arthur Miller about the Salem witch trials. John Proctor — one of the play’s main characters — is often viewed as the story’s hero, but Kimberly Belflower challenges this narrative with a play of her own, “John Proctor is the Villain.”

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LIFESTYLE 10/5/23 1:47pm

Gibsonville Garden Railroad delights community almost 28 years later

By Tucker Price

On a small patch of land near downtown Gibsonville sits a miniature version of almost every important North Carolinian monument. Kitty Hawk, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, Beech Mountain, Grandfather Mountain – even Elon College is laid out along miniature train tracks. G-Scale model trains whiz past them every which way. Some of them are scale recreations, such as the model of a Santa Fe diesel engine. Others are just for fun, including Thomas the Tank Engine from Thomas and Friends and a steam locomotive pushing Doc Brown’s Delorean from the “Back to the Future” series. 

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LIFESTYLE 10/1/23 11:46am

Elon University students, professors use hobbies to support mental health

By Lilly Molina

While facing anxiety and her first year of college, freshman Kaelise Lane said her hobbies help keep her mental health in check. “I was diagnosed with anxiety a couple of years ago, so mental health has definitely been a big part of my experience, but I definitely think prioritizing hobbies that you enjoy is my outlet," Lane said. A 2010 study published by the National Library of Medicine found that the more people did enjoyable leisure activities, the lower their stress, blood pressure and total cortisol.   

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LIFESTYLE 10/1/23 11:27am

One-man show brings African American stories to Elon University

By Erin Hroncich

Mike Wiley has dedicated his career to sharing stories of Black Americans in the form of educational theater. He found that there were limited roles for African American men and took matters into his own hands by creating his own performances and production company. Wiley’s unique approach to theater demonstrates an immersion of education and performance. One-man shows leave the bulk of the pressure on the shoulders of the main performer. Wiley performed in McCrary Theatre on Sept. 18 and said he alleviates this by involving the audience. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/28/23 12:55pm

Elon University ensemble performs contemporary classical music

By Emilio Nunez

Elon University’s Contemporary Chamber Ensemble performed this Sunday at the Center for the Arts Black Box. The band played four songs that fell under the “contemporary music” style. The ensemble was created by director Jonathan Poquette as a way for contemporary music to be a part of Elon’s musical culture. The group consists of a cello player, a violinist, a flute player and a percussion player. The ensemble included four performers outside of the Elon faculty and also featured students in the Elon Wind Ensemble for the final piece.

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LIFESTYLE 9/28/23 9:24am

Southern Maryland-based musician drops single for debut EP at Elon University

By Betsy Schlehuber

Elon junior Tabby Spell released the second single for her upcoming debut EP Sept. 21. The song is called “Fallin’” and Spell said it tells the story of a boy she fell for in her freshman year at Elon, even though people around her were telling her it was a terrible idea. Spell describes the track as “poppier” and “peppier” than the rest of the EP, titled “Young.” Spell said while there is not an exact release date for the project, she is aiming for the end of this year.

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LIFESTYLE 9/24/23 10:47am

Multimedia artist highlights work through exhibit, presentation at Elon University

By Rachel Levine

Raleigh-based multimedia artist Todd Jones inspired students, faculty and young creators through his talk Sept. 11 in Arts West. About 25 audience members listened intently as Jones took them on a journey through “The Forgotten.” Jones zeroed in on this collection, which is on exhibit in Arts West until Oct. 19. Jones’ exhibit tells a captivating story of consumerist culture and his artistic career. Attendees were able to view pieces of “The Forgotten” as Jones explained the stories and process behind his work. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/23/23 7:31pm

International Tango Obsession explores the world of Spanish culture at Elon University

By Ruth Cruz

The Camarada Tango Quartet explored a world of passion, mystery, and beauty in McCrary Theatre on Sept. 14. A powerful and smooth melody entranced the audience as the quartet dove into Latino Culture from Buenos Aires, Argentina and brought it to Elon University. The passionate tango dance was a mysterious obsession with intricate movements. The group drew attention with a jarring mix of seductive and smooth notes. The Camarada Tango Quartet was founded in 2020 to expand the complex dynamic of the Spanish tango.

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LIFESTYLE 9/23/23 6:09pm

Carolina Cowboys make homestead debut in Greensboro

By Sarah T. Moore

The Carolina Cowboys, North Carolina’s professional bull riding team, made its homestead debut at the Greensboro Coliseum Sept. 22 — the first night of a three day team series tournament called the PBR Cowboy Days. The Carolina Cowboys is now ranked fourth in the league, moving up one spot after winning against the Arizona Ridge Riders with a 4.5 point lead Sept. 22. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/23/23 10:33am

Elon University junior uses comedy to bring positivity to campus

By Lilly Molina

Junior Jesse Riback said he is no stranger to making people laugh on Elon University’s campus. Head writer of Elon Tonight and founder of JRibs Entertainment, Riback said he enjoys making comedy content, whether it is through music or videos. His TikTok, @jribscomedy, consists of videos of him walking around campus, interacting with Elon students and promoting his songs. Riback said he wants his music and his content overall to exhibit a positive message through the lens of comedy. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/22/23 8:12pm

Elon University ensemble to perform this weekend

By Emilio Nunez

Elon University’s Contemporary Chamber Ensemble will be performing at 2 p.m. Sept. 24 in the CFA Black Box. The performance will have a focus of music under the category of “contemporary music”. The ensemble was created in 2021 by director Jonathan Poquette, who said he was inspired by artistic advisor for the ensemble, Andy Hudson, and the restrictions they both felt when it came to performing contemporary music. “Contemporary music isn’t really championed or put forth in this part of the region,” Poquette said. “How can we make it more of a culture here on campus, in Elon?”

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LIFESTYLE 9/22/23 2:06pm

El Centro kicks-off Hispanic Heritage Month at Elon University in celebration

By Alex Nettles

El Centro welcomed the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month at a kick-off event in Medallion Plaza. The student-planned surge of culture marks the beginning of the celebration Hispanic Heritage Month on Elon’s Campus. Hispanic Heritage Month is a national celebration of Latinx and Hispanic culture that includes the independence days of many Hispanic countries, running from Sep. 15 to Nov. 15. The event’s planning was spearheaded by a group of passionate student coordinators, including sophomore Cristina Mariné. Mariné said she started volunteering with El Centro because it gave her a reinforced sense of identity. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/21/23 1:16pm

Hillel, Chabad celebrate Rosh Hashanah, bring Elon University community together

By Nia Bedard

Elon University Jewish student organizations Chabad and Hillel gathered from Sept. 15 to 17 to celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah — which means “head of the year” — consists of many different practices throughout the weekend, including community dinners, services and holiday’s traditions. The blowing of the shofar — a ram’s horn — as well as dipping bread and apples into honey to signify the desire for a sweet new year are just two of the many traditions for the holiday.

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LIFESTYLE 9/17/23 4:46pm

Elon University a cappella group, Sweet Signatures, releases album “Bitter Sweet”

By Rachel Holley

Two years in the making, Elon University’s all-female a cappella group Sweet Signatures released their fifth studio album, Bitter Sweet. Sweet Signatures was first established in 2001 by 15 women ready to entertain, compete and further develop their love of singing. It has since grown into the reputation as Elon’s premiere all-female a cappella group. The new album released Aug. 31 and is composed of 12 songs — four of which are live. It can be found on Apple Music and Spotify.

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LIFESTYLE 9/15/23 9:41am

History of El Centro, Elon University's Latinx, Hispanic center

By Lilly Molina

Located on the first floor of Carlton, El Centro is an immersion space on campus for Latinx and Hispanic students to feel supported, according to Center of Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education Director Sylvia Muñoz. Muñoz came to Alamance county from Costa Rica in 1995 and, in her free time, taught Spanish to the Board of Trustees. Muñoz said she later shared the idea to create an Hispanic immersion space at Elon University, which soon became El Centro de Español. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/13/23 2:24pm

Huepa! celebrates cultural expression through traditional Colombian dance

By Madison Powers

Yholima Vargas, born in Bógota, Colombia, has danced since she was young and found safety and self-expression through traditional Colombian dance while living in Montreal, Durham and Burlington. She said as she dances, she yells the Colombian expression “Huepa!” — a declaration of exhilaration. When Vargas moved to North Carolina in 2015, she founded Huepa! Culture and Arts Institute, a dance academy that promotes Colombian performing arts and cultural identity through the CityGate Dream Center in Burlington.

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