Lifestyle

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LIFESTYLE 11/4/23 11:57am

Elon University art festival showcases local art

By Lilly Molina

The Alamance Artisans Guild hosted its annual Art Extravaganza at the Inn at Elon University. The free art show gave 21 local Alamance County artists the opportunity to display their artwork to the community. The festival took place Oct. 28 and 29 and was Elon’s first time hosting the event. Cindy Biles, an artisan who founded her sculptures and hypoallergenic jewelry business called Out of Fire, said her artistry journey started at Elon when she signed up for a pottery and ceramics class. She said that she has been a part of the Art Extravaganza since the beginning.

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LIFESTYLE 11/3/23 8:25pm

‘Spring Awakening’ brings 19th century cautionary tale to Elon University

By Sarah T. Moore

When performing arts professor Kim Shively was approached about directing Elon University’s fall main stage musical, “Spring Awakening,” she said she thought about how the musical's message applies to the world today. “Spring Awakening” is a rock musical set in 19th century Germany that follows young teenagers navigating their society and sexuality. Elon’s closing performance is at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 4 and tickets are available through the university’s ticketing website for $15 or free with an Elon ID. Shively said beneath the layers of teen angst, the musical serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when people don’t cultivate curiosity, conversation and understanding. 

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LIFESTYLE 11/3/23 10:32am

Elon University showcases art exhibition connecting humanity, consumerism

By Abigail Hobbs

Every time Elon exhibiting artist Joshua Newth went for a walk around his Missouri neighborhood in 2019, he would pick up a piece of trash. Bridging his degree in biology and interest in painting, Newth created “Confessions of the Consumer,” a collection of paintings and sculptures that reuse litter to get his audience to think about the connections between nature and humanity. The collections will be on display in Arts West until Dec. 1. In his works, Newth, an art professor at Southeast Missouri State University, said he uses the human form “accessorized” with litter to explore humanity’s relationship with consumerism in a non-confrontational way.

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LIFESTYLE 11/2/23 8:10pm

Elon University Percussion Ensemble celebrates shared spaces

By Nia Bedard

Music instructor Isaac Pyatt directed his percussion ensemble students and other instructors in a fall concert at the Yeager Recital Hall on Nov. 1. In his first semester at Elon University, Pyatt taught the ensemble of five students who enrolled in the Percussion Ensemble class this fall, all of varying ages and majors. In addition to the five students, professor Mariana Poole,  drumline instructor for Elon’s marching band — the Fire of the Carolinas — Alex Richard and Pyatt also participated in the concert.

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LIFESTYLE 11/2/23 8:10pm

Elon University Percussion Ensemble celebrates shared spaces

By Nia Bedard

Music instructor Isaac Pyatt directed his percussion ensemble students and other instructors in a fall concert at the Yeager Recital Hall on Nov. 1. In his first semester at Elon University, Pyatt taught the ensemble of five students who enrolled in the Percussion Ensemble class this fall, all of varying ages and majors. In addition to the five students, professor Mariana Poole,  drumline instructor for Elon’s marching band — the Fire of the Carolinas — Alex Richard and Pyatt also participated in the concert.

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LIFESTYLE 11/2/23 7:21pm

Student-written, produced play debuts at Elon University

By Sarah T. Moore

Elon University’s club for student playwrights, NewWorks, is producing “Cardboard Boxes,” written by junior Laney Lynch. Lynch wrote the play throughout her sophomore year and now, “Cardboard Boxes” will have its opening night at 5 p.m. on Nov. 3 — with additional performances at noon on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5 and a 5 p.m. performance on Nov. 4 — in the Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre. The play follows a group of college students in a film club learning who they are and how to be true to themselves.

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LIFESTYLE 10/31/23 11:59am

Elon Community gathers for pumpkin festival

By Michael Leung

Elon University’s garden studio class hosted its annual Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 27. Visitors gathered around the community garden entrance as they participated in a variety of activities and explored what the Elon Community Garden had to offer. The event started slowly, with more visitors arriving at the garden as the minutes went by. Within the first 30 minutes, the garden was filled with dozens of visitors, both from the Elon Community and outside of Elon. Pumpkin carving in particular was one of the more popular activities.

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LIFESTYLE 10/29/23 10:41am

Elon University junior advocates for suicide prevention, awareness through dance

By Sarah T. Moore

“Semicolon,” a student-run dance production three years in the making, involved more than 40 students and community members collaborating to tell the stories of those impacted by suicide ideation, convey a message of hope and create a safe space for community members to share their stories. With three performances across Oct. 20 and 21, Director and choreographer junior Pheriby Bryan’s research was presented to the public through four dance pieces. The production featured recordings of Burleson reading excerpts from his journals, and the live choir Bryan envisioned came in the form of the Elon Camerata.

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LIFESTYLE 10/28/23 12:18pm

Junior at Elon University advocates for mental illness by eating rotisserie chicken

By Madison Powers

Every day for 40 days, junior Jack Zapata is eating a whole rotisserie chicken to raise funds and awareness for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Zapata’s goal is to raise $100,000 for NAMI, $10,000 of which he has raised as of Oct. 20, when Zapata hosted a chicken eating contest with university President Connie Book and student government president senior Britt Mobley. At the event — his 28th day of chicken eating — Book won the contest by donating $100 to $200 for every piece of chicken eaten by an attendee, donating a total of $1,500.

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LIFESTYLE 10/27/23 11:01am

Elon University fall musical opens Oct. 27

By Sarah T. Moore

Elon University’s 2023 fall main stage musical will have its opening night performance at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in McCrary Theatre. The show, “Spring Awakening,” is an angsty, coming-of-age rock musical set in 19th century Germany. The show follows a group of young teenagers discovering their sexuality and will have showings at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 and 28, and Nov. 2 to Nov. 4. There will also be a matinee at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. Tickets are available on the Elon ticketing website for $15 or free with an Elon ID.

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LIFESTYLE 10/26/23 11:15am

Elon University alumna wins ‘Best Student Short Award’ at Grand Rapids Film Festival

By Maggie Braswell

Elon University alumna Emily Prins ’23 produced a film titled, “Not without a Trace” during this past summer. The 14-minute film premiered at the Grand Rapids film festival in Michigan and captured the audience, leading her to win “Best student short" award. Prins' movie is an authentic retelling of the 1981 incident when 14-year-old Deanie Peters went missing. More than four decades later, the suburban community near Grand Rapids remains haunted by the lingering impact of her disappearance.

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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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