News

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NEWS 9/24/25 9:22pm

Elon University publishes annual security, fire safety report

By Fiona McAllister and Nia Bedard

Elon University released its annual security and fire safety report on Sept. 24 in compliance with the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990. This act requires that any institutions that participate in any student financial aid programs within Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 must disclose campus crime statistics and security information. The report includes crime that occurred on campus and within buildings owned by Elon, and includes data from 2022 to 2024. The report showed a 93.3% decrease in cases of rape and a 64.4% decrease in drug violations.

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NEWS 9/24/25 6:22pm

Elon Q&A surpasses 1-year goals

By Evan Cooper

Over a year after Elon University launched the artificial intelligence platform “Elon Q&A,” the service is still connecting Elon students and faculty to Elon alumni, fostering connections and allowing alumni to give back to their alma mater. Kendra Haskins, senior director of Alumni Engagement, said the platform is kept simplistic to allow for easy access. “We went specifically looking for something that didn’t require anything,” Haskins said. “You don’t need to download anything, you don’t need to log in. You just go to the platform and ask your question, and the AI will find the alumni with the expertise to respond.”

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NEWS 9/24/25 6:21pm

Elon Q&A supera las metas de un año

By Evan Cooper

Más de un año después de que la Universidad de Elon lanzara la plataforma de inteligencia artificial “Elon Q&A”, el servicio sigue conectando a estudiantes y profesores de Elon con exalumnos de la universidad, fomentando vínculos y permitiendo que los exalumnos retribuyan a su alma máter. Kendra Haskins, directora sénior de Vinculación con Exalumnos, dijo que la plataforma se mantiene sencilla para facilitar el acceso. “Buscamos específicamente algo que no requiera nada”, dijo Haskins. “No necesitas descargar nada, no necesitas iniciar sesión. Solo entras a la plataforma y haces tu pregunta, y la IA encontrará al exalumno con la experiencia para responder”. 

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NEWS 9/24/25 8:02am

Elon University’s performing arts community expresses anticipation for family weekend

By Annablake Shotwell and Sophie Kewak

Students at Elon University involved in the department of performing arts, music department, a cappella groups, and Instant Laughter will exhibit their accomplishments and welcome families to experience their community within Elon during Family Weekend, Sept. 26 through Sept. 28. Friday, Sept. 26, features performances including Dancing in the Landscape and the Music Department Faculty Concert. Saturday, Sept. 27, includes a second Dancing in the Landscape performance as well as two performances of the ROCKapella Show and two Instant Laughter Improv Comedy Shows.

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NEWS 9/23/25 6:05pm

Elon University sees growth in graduate, engineering programs, decline in communications students

By Olivia Berger and Nolan Williams

Elon University’s fall 2025 registrar’s report shows shifting enrollment trends across academic programs, with graduate studies and engineering on the rise and communications seeing a decline. The shifting trends in enrollment come as enrollment for the class of 2029 has decreased by 11.6%. Graduate enrollment increased from 787 students in fall 2024 to 879 in 2025, marking a growth of almost 100 students. Elon’s engineering programs also expanded, growing from 156 students last year to 189 this year. Nursing followed a similar trend, climbing from 222 students in 2024 to 262 in 2025.

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NEWS 9/23/25 3:18pm

Queens, Elon merger aims to expand graduate pathways for students in Charlotte

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University announced Sept. 16 during College Coffee in McKinnon Hall that they plan to merge with Queens University of Charlotte. If the universities’ boards of trustees approve a merger, Elon would take over operations at Queens. Queens senior Emily Wouterse said that it was a surprise to most, but she’s looking on the bright side. “They position it as a way of Queens becoming stronger,” Wouterse said. “That's how I want to look at it. I feel like change is something you don't have to resist. Accept, go with the flow.”

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NEWS 9/23/25 7:11am

2025 Family Weekend Events Calendar

By Lily Mosbacher

Elon University is hosting its annual family weekend from Sept. 26-28. Parents, grandparents, and siblings will gather on campus for a weekend filled with events that everyone can enjoy. For freshmen the weekend represents an important chance to reconnect with family while showing off the place they now call home, including for freshman Maddie Levis. “I’m really excited for them to see the campus more in depth,” Levis said. “And for them to meet all my friends and just show them around.”

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NEWS 9/22/25 10:25am

Alamance-Burlington schools labeled low performing for first time since 2014

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Alamance-Burlington School System has been designated as “low performing.” This is the first time ABSS has received this designation since the Department of Public Instruction began using its A-F grading system in 2014. The grade identifies ABSS as low performing out of North Carolina’s 115 public school districts for the 2024-2025 academic year. With more than half of its schools receiving a failing grade, ABSS is the largest district in the state to carry that title. The DPI grades schools on a number of factors including enrollment, attendance, performance and test scores. 

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NEWS 9/20/25 6:24pm

Elon University hosts town hall for staff, faculty about proposed merger with Queens University of Charlotte

By Kate Gray

Elon University President Connie Book and members of the team involved with the potential merger with Queens University of Charlotte hosted a town hall for faculty and staff. Book shared that the decision to pursue a merger came from ensuring Elon remains successful through enrollment decreases, mainly caused by the impending demographic cliff, and national discussions around return on investment for college. Elon is also looking to expand its graduate programs while allowing the main campus to focus on undergraduate education. Queens and Elon will also merge their endowments, which are $170 million and $420 respectively, according to Book.

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NEWS 9/19/25 11:31pm

Elon Police investigate claims of handgun in car traveling through Elon

By Nia Bedard

Elon Police are investigating a post made to Snapchat and Fizz where a driver appears to have a hand gun on the dash board of a car traveling through South O’Kelly Avenue, according to an e alert sent at 11:04 p.m. on Sept. 19. According to the alert there is no credible information of any danger at this time. According to another e alert sent at 3:07 a.m. on Sept. 20, it has been determined that the person was not on Elon's campus.

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NEWS 9/19/25 3:44pm

Elon University common reading author shares her experiences as a first-generation Latina with community

By Megan Walsh

Author of Elon University’s 2025 common reading, “First Gen,” Alejandra Campoverdi visited campus and spoke Sept. 18 as part of this year’s Speaker Series. “My biggest hope for ‘First Gen’ when I was writing it was that it would be something that could be used as a resource, and something that would make people feel less alone and more seen,” Campoverdi said in an interview with Elon News Network. “To know that it will reach, and has reached now, such a wide variety of young people of different experiences is everything I would have hoped for.”

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NEWS 9/17/25 4:58pm

‘What does it mean to be human?’: Elon University, RTI International host conference on AI, humanity

By Nia Bedard

Since 2021, the number of large-scale artificial intelligence systems has increased in the United States by 3,775%. With AI becoming more prevalent, Elon University’s Imagining the Digital Future Center and RTI International, a research institute based in the Research Triangle, hosted a conference Sept. 17 reflecting on what it means to be human in the age of AI. “All institutions must seriously address the coevolution of humans and digital systems and work to reimagine the animating human spirit of organizations, workflows, communication, teaching, learning and research activities,” Elon University President Connie Book said. 

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NEWS 9/17/25 8:02am

Siembra NC strives to protect immigrants in the workplace, build community support

By Kate Gray

Siembra NC was founded in 2017 in response to growing fears about deportation and a gap in support and resources for Latine communities. Maria Mejia, a philosophy professor at Elon University, first became involved with Siembra NC when she attended a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement verification training at a local church. She worked with organizers to plan a similar community preparedness session at Elon University in May 2025. “I knew that students at Elon wanted to do something, and they were upset about the fact that there weren’t a lot of spaces where this was being talked about," Meija said. 

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NEWS 9/17/25 8:02am

Siembra NC se esfuerza por proteger a los inmigrantes en el lugar de trabajo, fortalecer el apoyo comunitario

By Kate Gray

María Mejía, profesora asistente de filosofía en la Universidad Elon, se involucró por primera vez con Siembra NC cuando asistió a un entrenamiento de verificación de Inmigración y Control de Aduanas de los Estados Unidos. en una iglesia local. Trabajó con los organizadores para planificar una sesión similar de preparación comunitaria en la Universidad Elon en mayo de 2025. “Yo estaba conectando con estudiantes que estaban realmente preocupados por esta retórica anti-inmigrante, y no solo retórica, sino las redadas que estaban ocurriendo”, dijo Mejía. “Sabía que los estudiantes en Elon querían hacer algo, y estaban molestos por el hecho de que no había muchos espacios donde se hablaba de esto”.

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NEWS 9/16/25 10:31am

Elon University announces merger with Queens University of Charlotte

By Nia Bedard and Monika Jurevicius

During College Coffee on Sept. 16 Elon President Connie Book announced that Elon University would be merging with Queens University of Charlotte.Book, who is currently in Charlotte, said to College Coffee attendees in a prerecorded video that Elon will assume operational oversight of Queens and the university will become a new home for Elon graduate students. Elon University currently has multiple programs based in Charlotte including a flexible law school program, a sport management program and a physician’s assistant program set to open in 2027. 

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NEWS 9/15/25 6:53am

Elon community comes together with Walk for Hope

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon University students gathered Sept. 12 on Medallion Plaza to close out Suicide Prevention and Life Awareness Week with the Walk for Hope around Lake Mary Nell. Participants held signs with phrases such as “You matter” and “The world is better with you in it,” written on them. Sophomore and Vice President for Active Minds Phoebe Struminger said she came to the event to spread awareness. “There's never enough information out there,” Struminger said. “It's become a super big stigma, which definitely needs to be broken as many people struggle with it.”

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NEWS 9/12/25 9:35am

Avid readers flock to Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries’ fall book sale

By Miles Hayford

The crowded basement of May Memorial Library in downtown Burlington has been crawling with avid readers, resellers and Burlington residents on a mission to take full advantage of the Friends of the Alamance County Public Libraries' fall book sale. Christine Fisher, a Wilmington resident, has been coming to the book sale since 2016 and said she enjoys looking for authors she likes. "This thing is like a hunt," Fisher said. "It's like, 'Oh my gosh, what am I going to find this time?'

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NEWS 9/10/25 8:41pm

Carolina Cowboys ride into Greensboro for professional bull riding

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Carolina Cowboys are set to take over First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro this weekend as Professional Bull Riders Cowboy Days bucks into town. Jerome Davis, head coach of the Carolina Cowboys, said he’s excited for the Greensboro games, where the team has won its last two games at the Coliseum. “We've had some tough, tough runs at it, but our guys are starting to get back together and getting healthy, and it looks like we're gonna have a good year finishing it out,” Davis said. The Carolina Cowboys will be at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro from Sept. 12-14.

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NEWS 9/10/25 3:56pm

Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk dead after shooting at Utah Valley University

By Nia Bedard and Miles Hayford

Conservative political activist Charlie Kirk has died after being shot in the neck at an event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, according to a statement from Turning Point USA. According to a spokesperson from UVU, there is currently no suspect in custody. “The Great, and even Legendary, Charlie Kirk, is dead,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.  Kirk spoke alongside Vivek Ramaswamy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill while on the “You’re Being Brainwashed” Tour on Oct. 21, 2024. He also visited East Carolina University on Nov. 3, 2024. 

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NEWS 9/9/25 7:44pm

Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation unveils historical stone at Elon University

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University unveiled a stone honoring the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation and the Native American land the university is built on in a ceremony on Sept. 9. Vickie Jeffries, or Mihe Heyananhes Yattse, is a beader, basket weaver and Indigenous herbalist. She was born in Alamance County and is an enrolled citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. “You wouldn't think that it would actually happen, but it did, and all things are possible,” Jeffries said. “To know that people will finally see this stone, they can read it and read about the evolution.”

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