Lifestyle

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LIFESTYLE 6/3/25 3:42pm

Elon University graduated seniors move on after building connections through campus, local jobs

By Anjolina Fantaroni

As they prepared to walk the stage at commencement, several graduated seniors still logged hours on and off campus. From downtown Elon businesses to on-campus offices, many graduated seniors balanced academics with part-time employment in the final stretch of their college careers. Off campus, Elon’s downtown and its businesses rely heavily on student workers. For seniors, their final semester may have included academics, job applications, final projects and goodbyes — and for some seniors part-time employment. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/22/25 8:53pm

Legacy Reception celebrates seniors with alumni relatives

By Megan Walsh

Seniors and their families gathered in McKinnon Hall May 22 to take part in the Legacy Reception, a celebration for students who have had a relative attend Elon before them. The Legacy Reception is meant to honor students who have a family member of any generation who attended Elon before them. As part of the reception, each student received an alumni pin, which was pinned on by one of the student’s family members. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/22/25 7:47am

Elon seniors toast to graduation at annual Senior Celebration

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University seniors capped off the end of their final semester with a night of celebration, games, food and fireworks on May 21 at Rhodes Stadium during the annual Senior Celebration event. The festivities, which began at 6:30 p.m., featured free food, lawn games and the final gathering of seniors before Undergraduate Commencement on Friday, May 23. Senior Taylor Scott said the event made her feel like Elon is a family. “It’s something that I’m always going to remember,” Scott said.

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LIFESTYLE 5/15/25 3:31pm

Student Firefighters: The Blend of Education and Emergency Response

By Fiona McAllister

When emergencies strike in Elon, a unique team of heroes rushes to the scene— college students. The Town of Elon Fire Department consists of full and part-time employees and volunteers, covering two stations in Elon. For student firefighters responding to campus emergency calls is about more than fulfilling a duty. It’s an opportunity to connect with peers during moments of need, strengthening bonds and fostering a sense of community. From routine alarms to critical emergencies, these encounters help bridge the gap between professional responsibility and personal relationships on campus.

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LIFESTYLE 5/14/25 9:07am

Alamance Letter Writers Society keeps tradition alive through handwritten notes

By Abigail Hobbs

Denise Schweiss became interested in letter writing as a child, when her grandmother would send her letters at 3 years old. Schweiss has maintained this value throughout her life and continues to do so with the Alamance Letter Writers Society. The Alamance Letter Writers Society was founded in 2022 to share the love and tradition of letter writing. Once a month, the group meets and writes letters to military members serving overseas, retirement communities and friends and family. The Alamance Letter Writers Society meets at 6 p.m. every second Tuesday of the month at the Mebane Public Library. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/12/25 1:39pm

Elon University student writes, produces original play, ‘CelEXbration’

By Katrina Holtz

The Black Box Theatre was filled with laughter and music as students staged a reading of “CelEXbration,” a new play written, produced and directed by senior acting major Sarah Cadol. With shows on Saturday, May 10 at 2 p.m and 8 p.m, the production brought audiences into the world of Cierra, a queer teenager confronting her past relationships on her 18th birthday. The staged reading was a fully staged performance; however, actors were still reading from scripts. The production featured basic sound design, props and costumes, with minimal set and little lighting. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/10/25 11:08am

Elon University senior art thesis exhibition breaks norms, encourages critical thinking

By Karsyn Vann

Audiences will leave the Arts West Gallery 406 with a newfound sense of what is artistically possible in Elon University’s senior art thesis exhibition, entitled “Breaking the Frame.” The exhibition seeks to showcase the six senior artists pushing the boundaries of traditional art and how it is perceived by society, according to Elon professor of art Ryan Rasmussen. Rasmussen said the exhibition is the culmination of ART 4970 and ART 4971: Senior Seminar I and II, a two-part course spanning the whole year. The exhibition will be open until May 23.

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LIFESTYLE 5/6/25 9:21pm

Elon students produce original play centering female friendship

By Sarah T. Moore

With purple posters around campus promoting senior Laney Lynch’s original play “Sororophobia,” cast member and sophomore Josie Milner said she’s seen people assume the play’s title refers to a fear of sororities. While the “soror” root — meaning “sister” in latin — is the same in both words, “sororophobia” refers to the way women often seek out and recoil from relationships with other women.There were three performances of “Sororophobia” across May 2 and 3 in Elon University’s Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre.

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LIFESTYLE 5/6/25 8:29pm

Elon University’s Black Student Union hosts annual Coolin' on the Commons

By Alannah Klingsporn

On Saturday, May 3, Elon University’s Black Student Union Board hosted its annual Coolin on the Common in the Academic Village in partnership with Elon’s National Pan-Hellenic Council and Student Government Association. This year included a step show, food trucks and a bounce house. Eight out of the nine Black greek letter organizations that are a part of Elon NPHC competed in the step show, including Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and Zeta Phi Beta sorority. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/6/25 7:27pm

Student commencement speaker to share his Elon experience

By Megan Walsh

Craig Brandstetter, a member of the first official cohort of Elon University’s accelerated 3+1 business dual degree program, will share his perspective as undergraduate student commencement speaker for the 135th Commencement ceremonies on May 23. During his time at Elon, Brandstetter said he has been involved all over campus including being a member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, a tour guide for the Love School of Business, a team lead for the Center for Organizational Analytics and a member of club spikeball. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/5/25 9:52am

Togetherness in nature on display at Elon Strawberry Festival

By Katharyn MacDonald

Student-grown flowers, herbs and vegetables now occupy numerous dorm window sills and apartment living rooms after over 100 were adopted at the 16th Annual Strawberry Festival on May 2. The plants, which were grown by students through a hands-on, gardening-focused environmental studies course, have made a long journey since being first planted in January and February. For the first time, plants were able to be reserved online with a suggested donation amount. From atomic grape tomatoes to drama queen poppies, there were 63 plants to choose from, and many were sold out before the festival started.

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LIFESTYLE 5/4/25 4:13pm

‘Ryan’s Coffee’ builds career one cup at a time on TikTok

By Anjolina Fantaroni

A hazelnut iced latte with oat milk from The Oak House in downtown Elon has received a high rating from  TikTok coffee creator, Ryan Keane, known as “Ryan’s Coffee.” This coffee connoisseur is attempting to find the best coffee in North Carolina — and he’s made it pretty far. Keane, who lives in Charlotte, has traveled all over North Carolina and has reviewed over 50 coffee shops on his TikTok account, @ryaankeane. He said his idea began after filming himself trying a coffee shop he’d always wanted to visit. 

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LIFESTYLE 5/3/25 6:31pm

Burlington celebrates 34th annual Carousel Festival

By Nia Bedard

Burlington City Park opened its arms for its 34th annual Carousel Festival on May 3, featuring rides, local businesses, food trucks and musical performances. The Dentzel Carousel was built between 1906 and 1910 at the Dentzel Carousel Company and purchased by the city of Burlington in 1948. In 2019, the carousel was refinished and was returned to City Park in 2022. Festivities will continue from noon to 5 p.m. May 4. The carousel and other attractions including the miniature train, planes, cars and boats are currently open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

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LIFESTYLE 5/2/25 4:47pm

Western vibes and queer pride fill Young Commons at Elon University

By Alice Morrissey

Senior Ana Sofia Rodriguez has worked with the Gender and LGBTQIA Center for four years as an event manager. This spring, she was given the opportunity to plan Spring Pride. She said she wanted to add her spin to the event, making it western-themed, sprinkling cowboy hats, boots and other western decor throughout Young Commons with games, food, and booths with student vendors and resources for students. The GLC hosts a Pride event each semester — one in October to celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month and another in the spring to keep the community engaged.

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LIFESTYLE 5/2/25 3:32pm

Music at the Plaza kicks off 2025 season

By Abigail Hines

Music at the Plaza returns to the downtown Elon plaza for its 2025 season at 6 p.m. on May 2. The bimonthly event brings live music and a lively crowd to the plaza every first and third Friday of the month. The event runs throughout May and June and then returns from August to October. GreenHawk Corporation is a sponsor of the event, and downtown development director Jill Weston said the partnership provides them a larger budget. The first event of the series will feature The Fandinos, a pop-rock band based in North Carolina. 

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LIFESTYLE 4/30/25 11:56am

Elon University’s Gender and LGBTQIA Center to hold Spring Pride

By Trista Panagakos

Elon University’s Gender and LGBTQIA Center is holding its Spring Pride event from 5 to 7 p.m. May 1 in Young Commons. The event will feature tabling from other organizations and on-campus services such as the Center for Race, Ethnicity, and Diversity Education, Disability Services, and Counseling Services. This year Spring Pride will be Western themed which is  different from previous years, when the theme would center around spring or flower power. Part of the GLC’s plans for Spring Pride is to ensure students are aware of the community building efforts of the organization. 

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LIFESTYLE 4/29/25 7:28pm

‘Theater in its rawest form’: Elon students create, produce original play

By Sarah T. Moore

The term sororophobia refers to a woman’s simultaneous desire for and recoil from identification with other women. It encompasses the nuances of women who seek community with one another while comparing themselves to each other. It’s also the name of senior Laney Lynch’s second full-length play. Lynch, a B.F.A. acting student, began writing the play in fall 2023. It started as an idea and writing scenes of dialogue every now and then. But with encouragement from her friends, Lynch decided to write “Sororophobia,” a full-length, supernatural play about a group of middle school girls who summon a wish-granting demon.

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LIFESTYLE 4/29/25 8:49am

Elon University greek councils celebrate diversity, unity of greek life

By Rachel Holley

Elon University’s greek life organizations came together on April 28 on Young Commons for “Greek Fest.” The carnival-themed event was hosted by the four governing bodies of Elon University greek life: Panhellenic Association, Interfraternity Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council and the recently established Multicultural Greek Council. The event had free carnival themed food such as corn dogs, popcorn, cheeseburgers, churros and funnel cake fries. Along with the food, the event also had live music from student bands, games, crafts and an inflatable bounce house. 

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LIFESTYLE 4/28/25 8:45pm

Elon Truitt Center celebrates Holi indoors at Elon University

By Rachel Holley

Holi, the Hindu festival of color, was celebrated a little differently this year due to weather. At Elon University Holi is typically celebrated by throwing colored powder. However, due to the chance of rain, the colored powder outside wasn’t an option this year. Inside the sacred space at Numen Lumen, participants threw flower petals in place of colored powder. Each color of the flower petals symbolizes different aspects of life. A few examples being that red symbolizes love, yellow represents happiness, and green signifies new beginnings. 

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LIFESTYLE 4/28/25 10:12am

Elon Music Theatre production tells a story from end to beginning

By Karsyn Vann and Megan Walsh

Audiences will know the ending of the show when the curtain rises in Elon University’s upcoming production of “Merrily We Roll Along,” which will be the final production of the 2024-25 season. The show chronicles the lives of three struggling artists backwards in time from their late 40s to early 20s during the years of 1976 to 1957. “Merrily We Roll Along” will run in Roberts Studio Theatre in Scott Studios with evening shows at 7:30 p.m. May 2 and 3, as well as matinee shows at 2 p.m. May 3 and 4. 

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