News

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NEWS 9/19/24 12:07pm

First class of ABSS Dual Language Immersion program prepares to graduate college

By Nia Bedard

Alamance-Burlington School System’s first class of the Dual Language Immersion program is preparing to graduate college this spring. The program was instituted in some ABSS public schools through Participate Learning, an educational consulting firm focused on global education and primarily teaches students Spanish. Elon senior Annelise Weaver was a student in the Dual Language Immersion program at Elon Elementary after she and her family moved to Alamance County when she was in the first grade.

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NEWS 9/18/24 10:39am

Elon’s faculty union launches petition

By Avery Sloan

Elon’s Faculty Union is looking to increase its visibility on campus — and looking for answers from the administration, Susan Ladd, union president, said. The lack of response from Elon’s administration and adjunct faculty’s names continuing to be left off of OnTrack during class registration has led the union to release a petition, open to all faculty, staff and students to sign. During class the class registration period, adjunct professors were listed as “Staff” on OnTrack for classes they knew they would be teaching. This was not a part of the union agreement and adjunct faculty were not aware this change would be coming.

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NEWS 9/18/24 8:07am

2024 Hispanic Heritage Month events calendar

By Elon News Network

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated nationally from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year. El Centro — Elon University’s educational and cultural hub for engagement, collaboration, advocacy and more within the Latinx / Hispanic community — hosts a month-long celebration for the community to explore and engage with Latinx and Hispanic cultures. This time period marks the independence anniversaries of several Latin American nations, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Additionally, Mexico and Chile commemorate their independence on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18.

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NEWS 9/16/24 1:29pm

Jarabe Mexicano band brings border stories to life at Elon University

By Lilly Molina

Mexican folk, reggae, rock and roll and cumbia are some of the genres Jarabe Mexicano plans to play at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in McCrary Theatre. At the heart of the performance, Jarabe Mexicano sings about their experiences of living at the border. Gustavo Alcoser, the lead singer, said there is a lot that goes on in their show, but at the core, it is their experiences at the border. Jarabe Mexicano visiting Elon’s campus is one of many events hosted for Hispanic Heritage Month which lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

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NEWS 9/15/24 1:35pm

SGA cracks down on a cappella funding

By Nia Bedard

A cappella organization Vital Signs is scrambling to find funding for events after no longer receiving usual allocation from Elon's Student Government Association. Aidan Coy, Vital Signs president, said the a cappella presidents were scheduled to meet with the SGA executive board on Sept. 6 to discuss this, but SGA canceled the meeting the day prior. Coy, along with all other a capella presidents, received an email from the SGA Executive Board on May 14 stating “the Student Government Association will no longer allocate funds to support events that require students to purchase tickets.”

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NEWS 9/13/24 9:54am

New restaurant under construction at Park Place

By Aidan Powley

Rosemary’s is under construction at the previous location of Mediterranean Deli and the first floor of Park Place, one of Elon’s on-campus apartment buildings. According to the restaurant’s website, Rosemary’s is an Italian restaurant with several locations around New York, specializing in seasoned Italian cooking and neighborly hospitality. It will be located at 202 W. Haggard Avenue and will seek to tailor to all members of the Elon community, according to Derek Bates, owner of the new location and Elon graduate ’85.

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NEWS 9/12/24 6:20pm

Elon University sees 7.4% decrease in first-year enrollment

By Charlotte Pfabe and Ryan Kupperman

The Office of the Registrar released its fall 2024 report Sept. 12, which revealed a 7.4% decrease in first-year enrollment with 1,719 students in the class of 2028. The last time first-year enrollment was below this number was in 2021. Last year, the class of 2027 accounted for 1,857 students. The report includes data on student admissions; religious tradition demographics; county, state and country breakdowns; and enrollment by major. Notably, total undergraduate enrollment increased by only 50 students from 6,402 in fall 2023 to 6,452 in fall 2024.

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NEWS 9/12/24 9:34am

Elon students struggle to find parking on campus

By Fiona McAllister and Abigail Hobbs

For three years, senior Ashland Sutton has been commuting to Elon’s campus with no issues. Now, she is accustomed to the sight of the full Innovation Quad parking lot and cars circling the lot. Living half an hour away, Sutton now gets up at 6 a.m. to guarantee a spot before her 8 a.m. class or risk parking further away in the Danieley parking lot. Sutton contacted Campus Police so they would be aware of the problem, Chief of Police Joe LeMire sent photos of available parking spaces throughout the day with timestamps.

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NEWS 9/11/24 12:39am

Elon Votes hosts presidential debate watch party

By Nia Bedard

Fifty-six days away from the election, Elon Votes hosted a watch party for the first 2024 presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in Moseley Student Center on Sept. 10 to get students engaged in the general election. This is now the 10th year that Elon Votes has hosted watch parties for Elon students, Lindsay Bialecki, Elon Votes student coordinator, said. Bialecki said Elon Votes was excited by the student turn-out for the event; around 100 students were at the event — with both the student center and the Oak Room filled with people.

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NEWS 9/9/24 10:26pm

Elon Athletics investigates football player for alleged offensive remarks

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University Athletics is investigating a football player after accusations that he yelled racial slurs and curses at a North Carolina Central student during an away game Sept. 7. NC Central freshman Samihya Love, who is Black, said she was watching from the stands when a white Elon player repeatedly shouted at her from the sidelines. Associate Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Jason Knavel wrote in an email to Elon News Network that Elon Athletics is aware of the accusation and is looking into it.

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NEWS 9/8/24 2:47pm

ABSS hires new chief finance officer amid financial crisis

By Monika Jurevicius

The Alamance-Burlington School System hired Tony Messer as its new chief finance officer immediately following a financial crisis that came to the forefront in summer 2023 and continues to impact the school system. Messer was previously the CFO for Chatham County Board of Education before joining ABSS. ABSS also recently announced that it is in a $2.4 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year — as it overspent its budget for last year, according to a report released July 22. Former ABSS CFO Kim McVey left her position Feb. 19 after investigations began for the financial crisis. 

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NEWS 9/7/24 7:04pm

Elon Volunteers partners with Rise Against Hunger

By Abby Gravely

Over 23,000 meals were shipped from Alumni Gym to South Africa on Sept. 7, according to campus kitchen student director junior Lillian Argabrite. The meal packing marked this year’s edition of a tradition started in 2008 — Elon University’s partnership with Rise Against Hunger. The event was sponsored by Elon Volunteers! and featured two shifts of meal packing. Over 190 students and community members helped pack the meals, including teams from Elon Athletics.

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NEWS 9/7/24 6:20pm

Photo gallery: scenes from the weekend at Elon

By Elon News Network

The Elon Community came together in multiple ways on Friday, with the Town of Elon hosting its 2024 Social District Block Party. On Sept. 6, members of the university and town came together from 6 to 9 p.m. for live music, food and vendors, an inflatable obstacle course, face painting and more. Later that evening, the Student Union Board hosted its annual carnival, where students enjoyed similar festivities of games, food and more.

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NEWS 9/5/24 10:47pm

Elon community voices concerns amid election season

By Monika Jurevicius

At the student issues forum hosted by the Student Government Association and Elon News Network on Sept. 5, students and faculty discussed concerns they had about the election and what was at stake for them personally. Political science professors moderated and provided further commentary on responses about media, immigration and DEI initiatives. The forum was described as a way to engage in topics focusing more on issues and less on candidates. Political science professors Julianne Liebenguth and Matthew Young moderated the session, beginning with questions about the emotions felt during this presidential election.

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NEWS 9/5/24 9:14am

Oak House celebrates 10 year anniversary

By Fiona McAllister

The Oak House, a popular Elon coffee house and bar, is celebrating one decade of being in business. Ten years ago on Sept. 5, owner Phil Smith opened its doors to the public. He said time has flown by faster than he could have imagined. This celebration is set to have specials all day, including birthday cake and some “trinkets” to give away, Smith said — along with “Cheers to 10 years” pint glasses and coasters. “The goal would be to keep going until it's ready for somebody else to take over. But it's been a great 10 years and I could see another 10.”

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NEWS 9/4/24 1:24pm

HealthEU introduces specialized rooms for students to de-stress

By Reagan Sizemore

Elon’s HealthEU program has opened two new spaces on campus for students to take a break from their daily stress: The Serenity Suite in Ellington Center and the Mind Body Connection room in Koury Center. Anita Hodnett, Elon director of counseling services, said the new spaces have been built to encourage students to practice mindfulness. The spaces feature a number of tools designed to help students de-stress and provide an environment to learn new self care techniques. The rooms come from funding provided by an endowment from Andrew G. Bennett ’08, which previously funded “Safe Rides,” a service that was suspended in 2019.

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NEWS 9/2/24 11:03pm

Jewish community mourns loss of hostages in Gaza

By Nia Bedard

Elon’s Jewish community gathered at Speaker’s Corner to mourn the lives of six hostages whose bodies were found in an underground tunnel in Gaza. The six victims were among the 200 people taken by militants into Gaza on Oct. 7. Elon Chabad’s Rabbi Mendy Minkowitz said he is heartbroken over the loss of these lives and the events that have occurred in the last 11 months. Junior Sam Khavinson, Chabad’s co-president, said he wanted Jewish students to have a moment where they could grieve together.

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NEWS 9/2/24 10:54am

First-Generation student initiatives empower students at Elon

By Sarah T. Moore

The First-Generation Society was established in 2021 as a student-driven organization to support, build community with and advocate for first-generation students on campus. Starting this semester, the First-Generation Society will have an office on the first floor of the Moseley student center in room 105E. Senior Ja’Mya McKoy is the organization’s president, but said she didn’t always understand the way her first-generation identity impacted her college experience. As a first-generation mentor, McKoy said she noticed first-generation students at other colleges don’t always have the community and advocacy resources that Elon does.

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NEWS 9/2/24 9:22am

Student Issues Forum aims to provide safe space for discussion at Elon University

By Avery Sloan

One of the reasons Ella Kucera, vice president of communications for Elon’s student government, said SGA is prioritizing election events and campus climate this semester is to help make sure all students feel safe. This Thursday, Sept. 5 as one of the first election events in the school year, SGA is cosponsoring a student issues forum with Elon News Network. This event, and others in the series, were planned by an Elon ad hoc committee co-chaired by Naeemah Clark, associate provost for inclusive excellence, and Jon Dooley, vice president for student life.

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NEWS 9/1/24 8:30pm

Elon BSU cookout welcomes students back to campus

By Charlotte Pfabe

Energy and music filled Phi Beta Commons on Aug. 31 as Elon’s Black Student Union kicked off the school year with its annual cookout. According to junior and BSU President Maleah Proctor, events like the cookout help strengthen community connections and closeness for Black students on campus. BSU Athletic Liaison Haleigh said being a part of BSU empowers students to advocate for themselves — especially for students of color at a predominantly white institution. BSU will host a vision board event on Wednesday, Sep. 4 in Moseley 215.

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