News

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NEWS 2/26/25 9:44pm

Simply Oak to close after 8 years in Elon

By Nia Bedard

After eight years in business, Simply Oak, a boutique in downtown Elon announced through its Instagram on Feb. 25. Melissa Troutman ’13, who attended Elon University for both undergrad and graduate school, said Simply Oak started because of Elon. “This was a school project.” Troutman said. “Last semester of grad school, we had to write a business plan so I did it on a boutique, just because I always love the idea of owning a store and owning my own business.” Simply Oak will reside in its space at 108 W. Lebanon Ave. until March 31.

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NEWS 2/26/25 5:53pm

Elon University's Student Government Association cuts down travel funding

By Fiona McAllister

In the previous Student Government Association financial bylaws, travel for conferences and other off-campus events covered the cost of hotels, meals and mileage for personal vehicles. However, those expenses are no longer covered by SGA. SGA will still cover the cost of registration fees, flights and mileage for university vehicles. As for covering those non-included fees, such as hotels, Cote said SGA is looking to help organizations raise their own funding According to SGA’s Finances website the first funding requests for quarter one, June 1 to Oct. 31, will be due April 11.

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NEWS 2/26/25 9:55am

New Alamance County library label brings LGBTQ+ controversy

By Avery Sloan and Abigail Hobbs

Books containing violence, underage drinking and drugs or sexually explicit content at the Alamance County libraries will be labeled with a parental guidance suggested sticker, if the Alamance County Commissioners vote to approve the label. The Alamance County Library Committee voted at its Feb. 11 meeting to bring the issue to the commissioners. The label brought controversy after the committee considered labeling LGBTQ+ content in books, according to the minutes from the Nov. 12 meeting.  The American Library Association recommends against labeling books with LGBTQ+ themes as it can draw negative attention. 

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NEWS 2/25/25 2:45pm

Elon Poll finds continued division across party lines

By Avery Sloan

New Elon Poll shows partisan division on public opinion regarding immigration enforcement and consequences of tariffs. Respondents were split on approving or disapproving the job President Donald Trump is doing, with 45% approving and 41% disapproving. However, when split up by party, 88% of Republicans said they approved of his job and 75% of Democrats said they disapproved. Survey respondents were also split on their opinions of the consequences of tariffs on the price of goods and impacts on businesses. 

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NEWS 2/25/25 11:04am

Alamance-Burlington School System board member Chuck Marsh announces retirement, residents speak out for classified employee raises

By Avery Sloan

Chuck Marsh, Alamance-Burlington School System board member, announced his resignation at the Feb. 24 Board of Education meeting in a letter read by Sandy Ellington-Graves, ABSS Board of Education board chair. Marsh has previously had health issues, causing him to miss meetings, and he is planning to spend more of his focus on the four businesses he runs, he said in his resignation letter.

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NEWS 2/24/25 4:37pm

Annual vigil commemorates the 155th anniversary of Wyatt Outlaw’s lynching

By Lilly Molina

Feb. 26th marks the 155th anniversary of Wyatt Outlaw’s lynching that happened right in the middle of Graham. The Alamance County Community Remembrance Coalition hosted its 6th annual vigil outside Graham’s courthouse to commemorate Outlaw’s life and legacy, along with two other lynching victims, William Puryear and John Jeffress. At these events, attendees have the opportunity to place the soil where each lynching took place into a jar and the coalition then keep it in the African-American Cultural Art and History Center in remembrance of these tragedies.

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NEWS 2/21/25 10:30pm

Elon University sees disabled campus account access

By Elon News Network

All Elon University campus account access is disabled following an outage Feb. 21. Due to the disabled account access students cannot access their Ontrack, Moodle, email and other services that require them to log in with their Elon account. According to an E-Alert sent out at 10:07 p.m., Elon University Information Technology Services is aware of and working to resolve campus account access issues. Elon IT is closed and did not respond to Elon News Network’s immediate request for comment. 

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NEWS 2/21/25 4:42pm

Elon prepares for federal DEI changes amid UNC repealing requirements

By Abigail Hobbs

A memo was sent out to all University of North Carolina system chancellors announcing that all course requirements related to diversity, equity and inclusion taught at UNC System schools are suspended on Feb. 5. President Donald Trump signed an executive order Jan. 21 titled “Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity,” or Executive Order 14173, which requires removing all diversity, equity and inclusion programs and requirements from federally funded organizations. This includes all universities, public and private, that accept federal aid, which includes Elon University. 

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NEWS 2/21/25 3:37pm

Fellows programs double in applications; Scholarship Weekend is now 2 separate dates

By Fiona McAllister

As Scholarship Weekend, also known as Fellows Weekend, approaches Elon University has scheduled two separate weekends for potential fellows to come. The first Fellows Weekend will be Feb. 21 to 22 and the following is March 7 to 8. The changes made to the process resulted in having a separate application available in the Acorn Account after a student applied, making it available in the freshman application. New this year, the Fellows applications were embedded in the Common Application where students submit their general college applications.

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NEWS 2/21/25 1:37pm

Bird flu raises concerns for poultry industry, public health

By Charlotte Pfabe

Cases of bird flu around the nation are on the rise, hitting 28 states and Puerto Rico over the past 30 days. In just the first five days of February, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported over 20 outbreaks. In January, the CDC reported three outbreaks of bird flu in North Carolina. The outbreaks were reported in Hyde County and Sampson County. There have been no reported cases of bird flu in Alamance County. As of Feb. 20, over 162.7 million poultry birds have been impacted by the virus according to the CDC.

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NEWS 2/20/25 6:14pm

Elon to resume normal class schedule, campus operations after winter storm

By Charlotte Pfabe

Elon University will resume normal campus operations and class schedules on Friday, Feb. 21 according to an email from Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley. This latest update comes after disruptions to Elon’s campus operations due to a winter storm that initially hit campus on Wednesday, Feb. 19. In the email, Dooley said Elon Facilities Management will continue to address any on-campus impact from the storm, and advised students, faculty and staff to exercise caution while driving or walking across campus. Dooley wrote that Elon expects this most recent update to be the last for this storm.

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NEWS 2/20/25 4:15pm

Burlington resident dead after fatal 53 vehicle collision, adds to snow-related wrecks

By Fiona McAllister

Blankets of snow have piled up all over Alamance County, flown in by a winter storm on Wednesday. This weather has caused a string of vehicle collisions near the I-40 and I-85 split. Approximately 50 vehicles were reported piled up at this interstate split, leaving one person dead and multiple others with non-life threatening injuries. North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the deadly crash was caused by a tractor-trailer colliding with another vehicle from behind.

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NEWS 2/20/25 4:12pm

Elon hit with partial power, Wi-Fi outage

By Charlotte Pfabe

Elon University is experiencing a partial campus-wide power and Wi-Fi outage affecting the east side of campus including buildings near Danieley and East neighborhoods, as well as Crest. According to Duke Energy, the outage was first reported at 3:15 p.m. Feb. 20, and power is expected to be restored by 10:30 p.m. The outage has impacted traffic lights at Oak Avenue and Haggard Avenue to stop working, according to an E-Alert. This area should be treated as a three way stop for all traffic, according to an Elon University E-alert. 

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NEWS 2/20/25 10:41am

Elon University cancels classes on Thursday due to snow, ice

By Charlotte Pfabe

After delaying classes until noon on Thursday, Elon University has cancelled classes for the day due to snow and ice. In an email sent out to students Thursday morning, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley wrote Elon University classes are cancelled for Elon, Greensboro and Charlotte campus locations on Thursday, Feb. 20. Students should check with individual professors for additional class updates. Dooley wrote Facilities Management will continue to clear and maintain sidewalks, parking lots, and roadways around campus. 

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NEWS 2/19/25 10:38pm

Elon University delays opening on Thursday to noon

By Charlotte Pfabe

In an email sent out to students Wednesday evening, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley wrote Elon University’s opening was delayed to noon for Elon and Greensboro campus locations tomorrow, Thursday, Feb. 20. Dooley wrote Facilities Management will continue to clear and maintain sidewalks, parking lots and roadways around campus, however with temperatures dropping overnight, roads and sidewalks could still be icy and slippery. Dooley shared a delayed start schedule in the email which shows adjusted class times. According to the revised schedule, students with back-to-back classes have five minutes in between class periods. 

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NEWS 2/19/25 9:41pm

Photo gallery: Winter storm hits Elon's campus

By Elon News Network

After cancelling classes scheduled past noon and closing many university offices in preparation for an anticipated winter storm, Elon University's campus was dusted with snow on Wednesday, Feb. 19. A winter weather advisory was issued by the United States National Weather Service starting Wednesday morning and staying in effect until 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 20. According to AccuWeather, Thursday will bring winds and a high of 36 degrees Fahrenheit with clouds breaking in the morning. However, roads may still be icy and slick on Thursday as the temperatures drop into the low 20s Wednesday evening and into the morning. 

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NEWS 2/19/25 2:41pm

Snow blankets Elon’s campus as winter storm passes over

By Charlotte Pfabe

A white blanket of snow is covering Elon University’s campus as an anticipated winter storm reached North Carolina on Wednesday afternoon, Feb. 19. The snow is expected to continue through the afternoon and into the evening around 11 p.m. according to AccuWeather. Elon is predicted to receive around one to three inches of snow during the day with one to two inches this evening. Alamance County is under a winter weather advisory issued Feb. 19 at 10:35 a.m. Areas of central North Carolina are expected to get hit hardest by the storm, with three to four inches of snow anticipated.

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NEWS 2/18/25 4:50pm

Elon University to close at noon, ABSS to close all day Wednesday due to incoming weather

By Nia Bedard

An email sent out to all undergraduate and graduate students by Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley stated all classes scheduled to start after noon Feb. 19 will not meet in-person due to potential incoming weather. For classes scheduled after noon, Dooley suggests that students check with their instructors for information on alternative class plans. Despite the closure of classes and university offices after noon, morning classes will still be meeting in person. Dooley also stated that another update will be sent out to students by 6 p.m. Feb. 19.

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NEWS 2/13/25 1:07pm

Q&A: Search committee for new dean of students plans to interview candidates in March or April

By Nia Bedard

Jana Lynn Patterson arrived at Elon University in 1986, originally as an assistant professor and the assistant dean of student affairs. Patterson has taken on many roles throughout her career including assistant vice president for Student Life, associate dean of students and dean of student health and wellness. Patterson has worked at Elon University for 39 years and serves as associate vice president for Student Life and dean of students. She announced she will be leaving the role as dean of students at the end of the year and retiring in September 2026, but will oversee the development of HealthEU.

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NEWS 2/12/25 9:40pm

Elon University sees 20 fewer international students, slight change in first-year enrollment

By Charlotte Pfabe

The Office of the Registrar released its spring 2025 report Feb. 12, which showed the enrollment of international students decreased by 20 students compared to last year. In the spring of 2024, there were 162 international students with 142 international students this year, around a 12% decrease. The report also showed a slight drop in total freshmen enrollment between spring 2024 and 2025. Last spring, 1,345 students made up the class of 2027. Both total undergraduate enrollment and total enrollment, including graduate students, increased according to the spring 2025 report. 

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