National

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NEWS 3/29/25 12:36pm

Stein approval rating mostly positive after first few months in office

By Nia Bedard

Elon Poll published its first poll of 2025 that focused on issues within North Carolina, such as  Gov. Josh Stein’s approval rating, Hurricane Helene recovery efforts, the North Carolina Supreme Court election and concealed handgun permits. The poll found that most North Carolinians are happy with Stein’s performance as governor. With a sample of 800 North Carolina adults, the Elon Poll found that 44% of those polled approve of Stein’s performance as he approaches his first 100 days in office. Despite most North Carolinians polled approving of Stein, 39% are unsure about his performance and 17% disapprove.

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LIFESTYLE 3/29/25 12:19pm

Elon University’s Liberal Arts Forum hosts Maysoon Zayid

By Alannah Klingsporn

Students filled Whitley Auditorium on Thursday evening, March 27, as the Liberal Arts Forum hosted Maysoon Zayid as the second speaker of its 2025 spring Speaker Series.  Zayid, a comedian, actress and disability activist living with cerebral palsy spoke about a number of topics, ranging from her personal experiences to choosing her identity. Zayid also focused on the representation of disabilities in the media. Zayid is the founder and co-executive producer of the New York Eric Comedy Festival and the Muslim Funny Fest. She has also written for Glamour Magazine and appeared on 60 Minutes and ABC news. 

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SPORTS 3/29/25 10:50am

Southeast Alamance girls soccer avenges loss, defeats Northwood

By Evan Bennett

Southeast Alamance High School had one thing on its mind Thursday night: redemption. Following a tough 1-0 loss at Northwood High School two weeks ago, the Stallions approached the conference rematch with a determined mentality, emphasizing physicality and defense. The outcome? A gritty 3-2 win that not only avenged its previous loss but also demonstrated its growth and resiliency. With confidence soaring, the Stallions will aim to build on this momentum when they travel to North Moore for another pivotal conference showdown against the Mustangs on April 1.

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SPORTS 3/28/25 6:31pm

Southern Alamance dominates in run-rule win over Chatham Central

By Sydney Spencer

With runners at first and second and one out in the bottom of the fifth, senior shortstop Mark King delivered a win for the Southern Alamance High School baseball team in royal fashion. The Patriots entered the inning with an 8-0 lead over Chatham Central. Down 0-2 in the count, King smashed a double into left field, scoring both runners and securing the walk-off 10-0 run-rule win. Southern Alamance improved to a 10-2 record and will look to build upon the non-conference victory before its next conference match at home against Person High School at 7 p.m April 1.

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SPORTS 3/28/25 4:04pm

9 Elon University men’s basketball players enter transfer portal, only two scholarship players left on roster

By Miles Hayford

Despite coming off one of their best seasons in years, Elon’s men’s basketball team has seen a flurry of activity in the transfer portal with nine players entering the portal since it opened March 24, leaving only two scholarship players on the roster. Junior TK Simpkins, sophomore TJ Simpkins, graduate student Matthew Van Komen and sophomore Nick Dorn have officially entered the transfer portal. Redshirt sophomore Andrew King, junior Jameel Rideout, redshirt freshman Brayden Crump, junior Deandre Smart and sophomore Kendall Campbell announced on social media that they have all also entered the transfer portal.

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LIFESTYLE 3/28/25 9:47am

Elon hosts Datafest to advance data competency on campus

By Sarah T. Moore

From making curated recommendations on streaming platforms to targeted advertisements and weather forecasts, there is a growing demand for data competency. From April 10 to 14, Elon University’s Data Nexus will host its second Datafest. The four-day event will contain workshops, a “Hack-a-thon,” a creative artificial intelligence contest, a keynote speaker, networking opportunities and the American Statistical Association’s DataFest Data Challenge. Elon is one of over 100 colleges and universities across the world participating in ASA’s DataFest this year. Workshops, a hack-a-thon and other elements of this year’s Datafest are expansions from Elon’s inaugural event last year. 

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SPORTS 3/27/25 12:33pm

Graham girls soccer falls to Northwood 10-1

By Christian Holland

Graham High School’s girl's soccer team fell to Northwood, 10-1, in conference play on March 26 at Graham High School. While the score was lopsided, the determination and teamwork in communication has significantly improved for Graham as the team entered the game 1-4. The victory against Graham was a solid bounce back for the Chargers after falling to Seaforth in such a lopsided score. The win improves Northwood to 5-5 overall and 4-1 in conference. Meanwhile, Graham falls to 1-5 overall and 1-4 in conference. The Red Devils will reevaluate and take lessons learned into their next match. 

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NEWS 3/27/25 10:53am

University yet to make statement to student body on Trump immigration policy, ICE concerns

By Nia Bedard

With President Donald Trump back in office, one of his first of many executive orders was called “Protecting the American people against invasion, ” which is intended to limit the number of people entering the U.S. through the southern border. It grants the Department of Homeland Security new enforcement policies, including expedited removal and authorizing state and local law enforcement to detain and apprehend individuals in the country illegally. Despite this, Elon University, a private institution with less reliance on federal funding, does not plan to issue an official statement on ICE policies to the student body.

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NEWS 3/26/25 9:45pm

Elon University Student Government Association discusses mental health resources at town hall

By Rachel Holley

Elon University’s Student Government Association hosted its annual town hall in East Commons. The discussion focused on the mental health resources that Elon’s campus offers to students. SGA hosted a panel of students as well as Director of Counseling Services, Anita Hodnett. Hodnett spoke about the different services that Counseling Services offers such as individual and group counseling. Another on-campus mental health group on the panel was Peers Empathy, Assistance and Referral Support, also known as Peers EARS. This group allows for student to student conversations about mental health. 

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SPORTS 3/25/25 10:14pm

Elon University baseball falls to Wake Forest 10-0

By Benjamin Berfield

The Elon University baseball team was mercy ruled in its yearly home matchup against Wake Forest 10-0. The Demon Deacons, who are ranked 16th in the country, notched 13 hits, while preventing Elon’s starting lineup from gaining any momentum. Its win comes after two consecutive seasons in which Elon pulled off upset wins at Latham Park. The loss gives Elon a 9-15 record. It will open a three game series against Delaware at 6 p.m. March 28 at Latham Park.

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SPORTS 3/25/25 6:19pm

6 Elon University men’s basketball stars enter the transfer portal

By Miles Hayford

Elon men’s basketball’s star duo, junior TK Simpkins and sophomore TJ Simpkins, have officially entered the transfer portal, and sophomore Nick Dorn is reportedly entering the transfer portal, he told the recruiting database On3. Both redshirt sophomore Andrew King and junior Deandre Smart announced on social media on March 25 that they have also entered the transfer portal. Entering the portal does not guarantee that they will leave Elon, but it would grant a release so that other schools are allowed to contact them about playing for other teams next season. 

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NEWS 3/25/25 3:25pm

Elon Poll finds North Carolinians are opposed to major federal agency cuts

By Nia Bedard

With the establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency and cuts made to 14 federal agencies throughout President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office, most North Carolinians do not favor the cutbacks and elimination of federal agencies, according to a recent Elon Poll. This poll, released March 25, found that a plurality of North Carolinians said they favor minor reductions or no change to the 14 agencies experiencing cuts. Out of the 800 North Carolina adults polled, 33% believe there should be an increase in funding for the Department of Education. 

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NEWS 3/25/25 11:08am

Alamance-Burlington School System Board of Education passes 2025-26 budget

By Avery Sloan

After nine community members spoke during the budget hearing meeting, the Alamance-Burlington School System Board of Education unanimously passed the 2025-26 budget asking for a $5.7 million expansion from this year’s budget — totaling to $59,047,151. The budget will now have to pass through the Alamance County Commissioners. Before the budget hearing began close to 15 community members, mainly a part of the Alamance-Burlington Association of Educators, gathered in the parking lot sharing their own experiences of what brought them to speak out at the meeting.

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NEWS 3/25/25 10:16am

Elon University Student Government Association breaks down budget

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University’s Student Government Association receives an annual budget of $436,000 to fund the over 150 campus organizations eligible for funding, according to Elon senior and Vice President of Finance Clare Ruldolph. The budget for SGA is part of Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley’s budget, made up from student activity fees — which are $292 per person per year. But the $436,000 does not include the additional budget SGA receives that is used up to its discretion. For the over 150 approved campus organizations available to request funding, the 2022-23 academic year had only 557 budget requests approved.

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NEWS 3/24/25 10:32pm

Elon Town Council approves conditional rezoning request for new development

By Ruby Burckle

The Elon Town Council held a meeting March 24 to decide whether to approve or deny a conditional rezoning request presented during a previous meeting, hear public complaints about excessive speeding, and discuss borrowing scenarios for recreational projects. During its meeting on March 11, the council discussed a proposal for a new mixed-use development called “Parc Village” located behind the Schar Center with plans to make a decision on the topic at this meeting. Before making a decision about the development, the council discussed concerns over changing the lengths of driveways to be 18 feet instead of 19 feet.

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NEWS 3/24/25 3:08pm

Search for new Elon Dean of Students made confidential

By Charlotte Pfabe

As the search ramps up to fill Elon University’s new dean of students position, the search team moved to make the process a more private matter, requiring faculty, staff and students who attend the presentations for finalists to agree to confidentiality. In an email sent to faculty and staff the morning of March 20, members of the Elon community were invited to attend the presentations of finalists for the new position, but are prohibited from sharing candidate information, including names, information and any other materials “outside of Elon’s community,” according to the survey form.

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LIFESTYLE 3/24/25 8:41am

3 Burlingtons compete in ‘Battle of the Burlingtons’

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Burlington, North Carolina; Burlington, Massachusetts; and Burlington, Wisconsin; are facing off in an epic battle — of reading. With 27 Burlingtons across the United States, these three are logging readers’ minutes to claim the title of the most book-loving Burlington in the country. Participants from each town are tracking their reading and submitting their minutes, contributing to their hometown’s total. There are over 57,000 library card holders in Alamance County, and as of Thursday, March 20, Burlington, North Carolina, has the most logged reading minutes with 147,314 minutes but is ranked third overall. 

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SPORTS 3/23/25 3:46pm

Mitrovich’s mindset, execution and excellence

By Lilly Molina

When junior Justin Mitrovich stands firm on the mound one word is going through his head: execution. He scans the field and remembers his set plan for every single person on his opponents team. Mitrovich researched and studied the team a few days before and now watches as the team’s next hitter took their place at the home base. All he can do now is hope he can execute and perform his job as the Friday night starting pitcher for Elon’s baseball team.

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SPORTS 3/23/25 9:42am

Women’s tennis senior embraces journey as a social media influencer

By Benjamin Berfield

Senior Miray Konar can be seen doing two of her favorite interests on the tennis court since coming from Izmir, Turkey. During games, she is contributing to the Elon University women’s tennis team’s 8-3 record. When the tennis team isn’t playing, she is attracting a huge following online as a social media influencer. Konar regularly posts content of her daily life on her Instagram and TikTok accounts which have generated over 320,000 combined followers. Her reels on Instagram regularly get hundreds of thousands of views, sometimes millions.

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SPORTS 3/22/25 11:05am

Icelandic golfer tees off final season

By Monika Jurevicius

Elon women’s golfer senior Andrea Asmundsdottir is one of six international students on her team, but the only one who has played Iceland’s midnight golf. From the hometown of the “world’s most northerly 18- hole golf course,” the Icelander has teed off her final collegiate season. Golfing didn’t start as a personal interest for Asmundsdottir. Her grandfather started playing golf and brought her grandmother onto the range as his team member for partner golf. At the age of 6, Asmundsdottir began playing with her family, transitioning to competitive tournaments at 12 years old.

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