News

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NEWS 11/14/23 11:04am

Fire engulfs abandoned mill in Graham as nearby homes evacuated

By Jenna Manderioli and Joseph Navin

Fire crews from across central North Carolina, including Alamance, Guilford and Orange Counties responded to afire at 300 E. Parker St. in Graham. This marked the second major fire at the complex in roughly a year after an October 2022 fire. According to Graham Fire Chief Tommy Cole, the fire began the night of Nov. 12 and continued into the morning on Nov. 13. Fire crews are continuing to work to put out remaining hot-spots around the facility. The source of the fire has not been identified, according to Beau Russell at the Graham Fire Department.

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NEWS 11/14/23 7:58am

Elon University students welcome Wawa expansion into North Carolina

By Lilly Molina

For Emma Puleo, an Elon senior from Maryland, Wawa was her life. Wawa is a major gas station chain that sells food and beverages such as hoagies, club sandwiches, milkshakes and smoothies.The company originated in Pennsylvania and has since expanded all over the East Coast but has bypassed North Carolina, until now. Wawa announced its expansion into North Carolina on Oct. 25 at the Greenville Convention Center and Casita Brewing Company in Wilson. In a statement, Wawa said they plan to open 15 more stores in North Carolina by 2025 and are investing $7 million for each store.  

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NEWS 11/13/23 11:24am

Elon University biology major fights to keep senior year alive

By Mason Willett

Senior Mandi Lichtenstein started to feel symptoms during the first week of school. As symptoms got worse Lichtenstein knew something was wrong so she decided to drive herself to the hospital on Aug. 29. After sitting in the emergency room waiting area for six hours, Lichtenstein was finally able to get the exams she needed. “They gave me a CT scan of my kidney and bladder and they found a shadow on the bladder scan, which could have been anything," Lichtenstein said. "But the doctor who came in was like, ‘No, you probably have cancer.’”

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NEWS 11/11/23 11:47am

Elon residential students can now access Max with university accounts

By Nia Bedard

Elon Residence Life announced that the streaming platform Max is now accessible to residential students through their Elon University accounts. Assistant Dean of Campus Life and Director of Residence Life Kristen Carrier announced the update in an email that was sent out to students living on-campus on Nov. 8. In February 2023, Elon students lost the ability to use Max — formerly HBO Max — with their university logins, following a change in cable providers from Philo to Streeme. After nine months without the streaming service, Max is now back at Elon.

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NEWS 11/9/23 8:21am

Elon University students to host CANstruction event Nov. 11

By Madison Powers

Three students in EGR 2210: Engineering Design for Service are partnering with Southern Alamance Family Empowerment to promote the nonprofit, collect canned goods and spread awareness about food insecurity in Alamance County. On Nov. 11, the group of Elon engineering students will deconstruct four structures made of canned goods to be donated to SAFE. Griffin Chase, a senior majoring in entrepreneurship with a minor in engineering design, is one of three students partnering with SAFE. Chase said through this project, he has learned about food insecurity in Alamance County.

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NEWS 11/8/23 1:39pm

Elon University’s Phoenix Policy Institute hosts sustainability discussion

By Ryan Kupperman

Elon University's Phoenix Policy Institute hosted a sustainability discussion where speakers Kelly Harer, Elon University’s associate director of sustainability for education and outreach, the Rev. Donna Vanhook ’07 — Alamance County’s soil and water conservation district supervisor — and professor of political science and policy studies Julianne Liebenguth spoke to nearly a dozen students about barriers to sustainability at Elon and in the community. Vanhook emphasized the importance of race and policy in local change, while Liebenguth related efforts to a global, political scale and Harer reviewed Elon’s sustainability goals and challenges.

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NEWS 11/7/23 10:42am

El Centro brings back conversation class program at Elon University

By Lauren Winslow

After a hiatus due to COVID-19, El Centro revived its Spanish conversation class program, which has been rebranded as Conversa Conmigo. El Centro — Elon’s Latinx and Hispanic center — is offering five levels of classes, including new beginner, beginner mid, intermediate low, intermediate high and advanced. All classes except for the advanced class will be taught by student leaders. Classes will take place in El Centro at different times throughout the week. Remi Shook, senior student team leader of Conversa Conmigo, said one of the first steps to restarting the program was recruiting teachers.

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NEWS 11/6/23 7:48am

Elon University celebrates NAHM, continues a heritage language revitalization process

By Madison Powers

Elon University, which is situated on land originally occupied by the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi nation, is beginning a process to revitalize the tribe’s heritage language: Yesa:sahį. Randy Williams, vice president for inclusive excellence, said the university is partnering with the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation to revitalize the tribe’s heritage language. The language revitalization is the university’s 14th institutional priority for the 2023-24 school year. November is Native American Heritage Month in the U.S. and was established in 1990. Elon’s Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education hosts events throughout the month including a kickoff, artist showcase and beading workshop.

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NEWS 11/2/23 8:45am

Native American Heritage Month events calendar

By Elon News Network

November is Native American Heritage Month in the U.S. and was established in 1990. Elon’s Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education hosts events throughout the month including a kickoff, artist showcase and beading workshop. Elon University, which is situated on land originally occupied by the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi nation, is beginning a process to revitalize the tribe’s heritage language: Yesa:sahį. The language revitalization is the university’s 14th institutional priority for the 2023-24 school year. Randy Williams, vice president for inclusive excellence, said the university is partnering with the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation to revitalize the tribe’s heritage language. 

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NEWS 11/1/23 9:00am

Elon University closes out Filipino American History Month with weekly celebrations

By Cece Ebora

From the moment Elon University freshman Maegan Ramos stepped foot on campus, she said she instantly felt welcome. As an international student, Ramos said Elon University is her home away from home. Ramos comes from the Philippines – which is located 8,675 miles away. Filipino American History Month was originally established in October 1992 by the Filipino American National Historical Society and was officially recognized as a national celebration by Congress in 2009. To celebrate, Elon University's Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education hosted a variety of events to recognize the culture of many Filipino Americans on campus.

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NEWS 11/1/23 8:47am

Elon University students share sense of community after Maine shootings

By Madison Powers

Caleb Albert, a freshman sport management major at Elon University, said he heard of the Oct. 25 shootings near his hometown — Auburn, Maine — through a group text of friends from home. On Oct. 25, a gunman killed 18 people and injured 13 others in Lewiston, Maine — the second most populous city in Maine, following the capital, Portland — in shootings at the Just-In-Time Recreation bowling alley and Schemengees Bar and Grille, according to the Associated Press. Albert, who still has friends in high schools and colleges in the Lewiston area, said he was at a loss for words.

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NEWS 10/30/23 8:04am

Elon community reacts to Israel-Hamas war

By Madison Powers

Shaher Sayed, Palestinian imam of the Burlington Masjid, said it is hard to watch the outbreak of fighting in Israel and Gaza after a yearslong conflict. On Oct. 7, Hamas — a Palestinian militant group — attacked the southern border of Israel, resulting in a declaration of war by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Since then, 1,400 people in Israel and over 8,000 people in Gaza have died as of Oct. 29. Sayed has been imam and board president of the Burlington Masjid — the only mosque in Alamance County — since 2000 and moved to the U.S. nearly 40 years ago.

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NEWS 10/26/23 12:01pm

Garden studio class hosts Pumpkin Festival for Elon community

By Michael Leung

Elon University environmental studies professor Michael Strickland will host an annual Pumpkin Festival at 2:30 PM on Oct 27 at the Elon Community Garden located behind the Hillel house at 401 E. College Ave. The festival is a part of Strickland’s garden studio class, ENS 2200, in which visitors will be able to see the fruits of the students’ labor — as well as participate in activities such as face painting, spikeball and pumpkin carving.

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NEWS 10/26/23 11:18am

Founder of Girls Who Code expresses importance of failure, bravery to Elon University

By Erin Hroncich

Reshma Saujani, founder of Girls Who Code, spoke in McKinnon Hall at Elon University on Oct. 24. She is a lawyer, author, activist and founder and CEO of Moms First — her most recent endeavor that seeks to provide more employment benefits and childcare for mothers. Saujani also said she is an advocate for equal pay between men and women. In her presentation, she said her background with two refugee parents played a pivotal role in her activism. Saujani also said her work has been focused on underserved communities, especially women.

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NEWS 10/25/23 8:42am

Elon University CREDE promotes cultural sensitivity during Halloween

By Monika Jurevicius

Elon’s Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education held its second “Culture is not a Costume” campaign to educate students about culturally appropriated costumes before Halloween. Posters and yard signs with the phrase, “You wear the costume for a night ... I wear the costume for life” were posted around campus starting the second week of October to promote the campaign. Students who are part of minority communities on campus are pictured on the campaign’s signs as they hold pictures of culturally appropriated costumes from cultures.

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NEWS 10/23/23 3:26pm

Elon University faculty struggle to navigate new NC train schedule

By Naomi Washington

It wasn’t until Elon University Human Service Studies professor Monica Burney tried to buy a train ticket over the summer for her usual train route that she discovered her stop no longer existed. Burney enjoyed occasionally riding the train from Durham, where she lives and grew up, to work in Burlington. Burney said she didn’t know anything about the upcoming changes to the schedule. The North Carolina Department of Transportation changed the NC By Train daily schedule in July. NC By Train is the train service operated by the NCDOT, and Amtrak workers staff its trains.

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NEWS 10/22/23 7:56pm

Elon University junior promotes NAMI with rotisserie chicken

By Madison Powers

Elon University President Connie Book won a rotisserie chicken eating contest against junior Jack Zapata and Student Body President senior Britt Mobley on Oct. 20 in the Moseley student center. Having started Sept. 22, Zapata is eating a whole rotisserie chicken every day for 40 days to raise funds and awareness for the National Alliance on Mental Illness — a grassroots mental health organization that provides education, advocacy and support for people with mental illnesses. On his 28th day of eating a rotisserie chicken, Zapata said he teamed up with Book and Mobley to expand his reach and achieve his goal of raising $100,000 for NAMI.

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NEWS 10/21/23 5:36pm

Toasty Kettlyst Beer Garden opens in downtown Elon

By Alex Nettles

The Toasty Kettlyst Beer Garden introduced an outdoor beer garden on North Holt Avenue. The outdoor drinking spot is an expansion of the Toasty Kettlyst Beer Company in Gibsonville. Sitting behind the College Street Taphouse, the addition expands the town of Elon’s social district, which launched in April. The bar opened its space Oct. 12, and is open Thursday through Sunday. Outdoor lights are strung over picnic tables and craft beer is served from a kiosk on a small patch of green.

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NEWS 10/19/23 9:13pm

Contextualizing the Conflict: Elon University students, faculty discuss Israel-Hamas conflict

By Cece Ebora

Elon University hosted Contextualizing the Conflict: Conversations About the Middle East — a collection of roundtable discussions about the Israel-Hamas conflict — on Oct. 18. The event, organized by the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society, the International and Global Studies Program and the Department of Political Science and Policy Studies allowed students to hear from other students and faculty experts. In response to the conflict, Elon President Connie Book said it is vital for the Elon community to participate in civic discussion.

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NEWS 10/19/23 8:13pm

Elon University community honors sophomore with memorial

By Abigail Hobbs and Madison Powers

Friends and family of rising sophomore Jason Titunik, who died over the summer in a car crash, recognized his life Oct. 19 by sharing memories and planting a tree in his honor. Over 75 members of the Elon community gathered outside of Hook, Brannock and Barney residence halls — where Titunik lived his freshman year — to express condolences and support. The Rev. Kristin Boswell and Ira Titunik, Jason’s father, as well as friends and roommates described Jason’s personality and memory before planting a tree outside of HBB.  

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