News

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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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NEWS 3/19/25 3:53pm

Elon Poll finds North Carolinians will unite amid March Madness

By Nia Bedard

New Elon Poll finds that despite in-state rivalries in the Atlantic Coast Conference, North Carolinians will tend to be loyal to their home state regardless of the eliminations during the NCAA March Madness tournament. The poll was conducted March 3 to 11 and included a data set of 800 North Carolina adults. The poll found that when their favorite North Carolina team is eliminated, North Carolinians are 7 to 1 in cheering for in-state teams who are still in the tournament. In addition, 36% of North Carolinians will root for their in-state rival if their favorite team is eliminated. 

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NEWS 3/16/25 11:25am

Elon University faces tornado watch

By Nia Bedard

According to an E-Alert sent out at 9:58 a.m. the National Weather Service has extended a tornado watch to include Alamance County and Elon University. The watch is expected to last until 2 p.m. Another E-Alert was sent out at 7:52 p.m. stating that the tornado watch was extended to 1:00 a.m. The recent tornado watch includes 27 counties in North Carolina as of 7:39 p.m. according to the NWS. The counties under tornado watch include Alamance, Chatham and Durham counties. 

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NEWS 3/16/25 10:40am

Elon University announces 2025-26 speaker series

By Nia Bedard

Elon University announced its 2025-26 speaker series including Olympian Katie Ledecky, common reading author Alejandra Campoverdi, intelligence officer Ret. Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley, scholar Kwame Anthony Appiah, and New York Times columnists Zeynep Tufekci and Frank Bruni. Executive director of cultural and special programs, Jeff Clark, who spearheads the selection process for the annual speaker series, hopes the Elon and local communities can come together and take advantage of the speaker series. All of the speaker series events are free to Elon University students, faculty and staff with a Phoenix Card ID and tickets for the public are $15.

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NEWS 3/13/25 9:06am

Elon Nursing Program receives high marks from accreditation body for DEI efforts

By Charlotte Pfabe

Over the past two to three years, Elon’s nursing department has been preparing a self-study to send to the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation. After the program’s launch in fall 2021, Elon’s nursing program received accreditation from the NLN CNEA in February 2025. The accreditation body applauded the program for its Winter Term study abroad course which travels to Cuba and focuses on showing students the differences between healthcare in the U.S. and healthcare in Cuba but also the limitations of each country’s systems.

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NEWS 3/12/25 3:08pm

ABSS grapples with staff shortages, prioritizing budget

By Avery Sloan

The bus driver shortage in ABSS has grown since the COVID-19 pandemic, with more bus drivers choosing to retire. This can be a larger problem in some weeks for the county when multiple drivers call out sick. There are between 30 and 35 open positions for bus drivers in the county. But, this is not just a problem unique to Alamance County; school districts across the state and country are facing similar challenges. As of September 2024, there were 12.2% fewer school bus drivers on the road than September 2019, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.

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NEWS 3/12/25 1:27pm

Gerald Whittington awarded Elon Medallion, dedication of residence hall in his honor

By Abigail Hines

After receiving a call from Elon President Connie Book informing him the university would be dedicating a building in the Global Neighborhood to him, Senior Vice President Emeritus Gerald Whittington was at a loss for words. Whittington said he was further shocked to hear he would also receive the Elon Medallion, a testament to his dedication of advancing Elon as an institution throughout his 32-year career. The Elon Medallion is Elon’s highest award and is granted to faculty, staff, trustees or alums who have demonstrated meritorious service to the university.

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NEWS 3/12/25 11:27am

Southeastern Indigenous Coalition Environmental Conference gives space to share issues facing Native communities

By Abigail Hobbs

The Southeastern Indigenous Coalition Environmental Conference, held March 7 and 8, saw around 200 participants looking to learn about the environmental issues facing Native communities today. The conference was hosted by 7 Directions of Service, a nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for Native land and rights and headquartered in Mebane. The two-day event took place at Rockingham Community College in Wentworth and the Haw River State Park in Browns Summit — both in the land of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation, which covers a majority of Alamance and Orange counties, including the land that Elon University sits on.

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NEWS 3/12/25 8:57am

Elon Town Council discusses proposal for new mixed-use development

By Ruby Burckle

The Elon Town Council held a meeting March 11 to discuss plans to construct a new mixed-use development at the southwest intersection of University Drive and North Williamson Avenue. If the town council votes to approve the development, Parc Village will be located behind the Schar Center, in close proximity to Elon University property. Though the development is so close to campus, developers will not be able to build pedestrian access between the two sites unless the university agrees to the idea, according to Lori Oakley, town planning director.

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NEWS 3/11/25 9:32pm

SGA announces election results for the 2025-26 school year

By Trista Panagakos

Over 2,000 students voted in the SGA elections for the 2025-26 school year, only 28% of the student body. A higher turnout from last year's election which saw only 1,308 ballots cast. Anya Bratic was elected student body president with 1,382 votes. Sammy Azua was elected executive vice president with 1,082 votes compared to Morgan Minoff’s 838 votes. In the election, three semi-finalists were chosen for senior class commencement speaker: Craig Brandstetter, Drew Fetterolf and Marques Walker. The three semi-finalists will share their speeches with a selection committee who will make recommendations to Elon University President Connie Book.

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NEWS 3/7/25 4:10pm

Elon University raises over $3 million during 12th annual Elon Day

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University celebrated its 12th annual Elon Day on March 6, 2025, with a series of events and opportunities designed to engage the campus community and alumni worldwide. Highlights of the day included a special edition of the university's tradition, College Coffee, and a comedy performance by Joe Gatto. According to the Elon Day website, Elon raised the most money in Elon Day history, with over $3.1 million and a total of 6,385 gifts. Elon Day serves as a cornerstone for the university’s philanthropic efforts, encouraging donors to support areas of campus that resonate personally with them.

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NEWS 3/6/25 7:14pm

Elon Student Government candidates discuss leadership, student concerns, campus engagement at candidate forum

By Liya Rike

Candidates for Student Government Association gathered for a forum on March 5 to discuss issues facing students. The event featured candidates for executive president, Nic Fillippa and Anya Bratic, and executive vice president, Sammy Azuza and Morgan Minoff, each addressing topics including student engagement, and collaboration with university organizations. These are the two top roles in SGA and both positions receive a stipend of $8,000 for the term, according to Elon News Network coverage from 2022. The forum took place at Oak House, drawing an audience of approximately 20 people.

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NEWS 3/6/25 9:26am

40 candidates running in Elon’s Student Government Elections

By Avery Sloan

Elon’s Student Government Association election season is underway. Voting begins starting at 8 a.m. March 10 and ending 5 p.m. March 11. Students can place their votes on PhoenixConnect. There are a total of 40 students running across all positions, including two candidates for each elected executive position — executive president and executive vice president. Last year, no student initially applied for student body president. The election results will be announced at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11 at Medallion Plaza. 

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NEWS 3/5/25 2:33pm

Burlington Recreation & Parks sees delay in building of new pickleball courts

By Anjolina Fantaroni

A place where the community now plays tennis will soon be home to a new type of court — pickleball. Seventeen new courts are expected to open at Burlington City Park with six courts at Fairchild Park. However, five months have passed since the anticipated opening date in September 2024. The $4 million project set to open in the fall has been delayed for a variety of factors such as weather and timing and has no new announced opening date, said Davis Montgomery, capital projects manager for the city of Burlington.

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NEWS 3/5/25 10:44am

Elon University to continue normal operations during possible severe weather

By Charlotte Pfabe

Elon University will continue all normal campus operations on March 5 despite the possibility of severe weather conditions according to an email from Vice President of Student Life, Jon Dooley. Three weather alerts were issued for the Elon-Burlington area Wednesday morning. The U.S. National Weather Service issued a tornado watch at 7:45 a.m. which will be in effect until 1 p.m, a severe thunderstorm warning from 9:35 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and a wind advisory from 4 a.m. to 7 p.m.

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NEWS 3/3/25 5:02pm

Elon nursing program receives accreditation

By Nia Bedard

Elon University’s nursing program received accreditation after four years of the program’s existence from the National League for Nursing Commission for Nursing Education Accreditation, after launching in fall 2021. The School of Health Sciences currently offers two programs for students majoring in nursing — a traditional four year program or an accelerated 16 month program for students who have already completed a bachelor’s degree in another discipline. 

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NEWS 3/3/25 12:48pm

Elon University receives ‘A’ in ADL second campus report card

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Anti-Defamation League has released its second campus report card — this time, evaluating 135 institutions. Elon University received an ‘A’, along with Brandeis University, CUNY Queens College, CUNY Brooklyn College, Florida International University, University of Alabama, University of Miami, and Vanderbilt University. Last year, Elon and Brandeis University were the only two schools to receive the top grade. Out of the 135 surveyed institutions, 49 schools received a grade of “A” or “B,” and 41 schools received a “D” or “F.” 

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