News

---

NEWS 10/30/25 12:16pm

More than a shot: Weight loss drugs are reshaping student health, identity

By Charlotte Pfabe and Lilly Molina

An increasing number of Americans are turning to weight loss drugs like Wegovy to lose weight, including students on Elon University’s campus. While many on the medications said they have changed their lives for the better, some experts are concerned about the long-term effects of these relatively new drugs. “Once it’s approved on the market, they’ll collect data for like, a year, and that’s it,” said Alexis Moore, assistant professor of Physician Assistant studies and a clinician by training. “So, since this drug is relatively new, we don’t know the outcomes over time.”

---

NEWS 10/29/25 9:21pm

Elon University adopts Okanagan Charter, expands commitment to campus well-being

By Cassie Weymouth

Elon University officially signed the Okanagan Charter on Oct. 29 in a ceremony held in the Koury Gym. The Okanagan Charter, originally created at an international health promotion conference in 2015, calls on universities to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion locally and globally. “Students don't leave their wellness at the classroom door,” Provost Rebecca Kohn said. “Our faculty and staff members don't separate their well-being with their work and the most transformative education development happens when we attend the whole person.”

---

NEWS 10/29/25 1:11pm

Released hostage discusses future for Jewish community

By Emma Luckman

The darkness of the past and the promise of the future were shared to more than 220 attendees in Turner Theater as released hostage Moran Stela Yanai shared the story of her 54 days held captive by Hamas with the audience. All the seats in Turner Theater were filled with the students, alumni and community members who came to listen to Yanai’s story. “Every challenge a person faces is not meant to break him or her, but to reveal the strength that was hidden within that person,” Yanai said. 

---

NEWS 10/29/25 9:39am

North Carolina Republicans approve new congressional map

By Trista Panagakos

The North Carolina state legislature approved a new congressional map. This change comes after the Trump administration has been pressuring Republican states to change their congressional maps to ensure Republicans continue to control Congress after the 2026 midterm elections. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, North Carolina senate leader Phil Berger said, “The NCGA is ready to help Republicans secure Congress and move Donald Trump’s agenda forward.” The North Carolina House of Representatives voted 66-48 in favor of the new map on Oct. 22. This will affect voters in the 1st and 3rd congressional districts.

---

NEWS 10/29/25 9:39am

Los republicanos de Carolina del Norte aprueban un nuevo mapa congresional

By Trista Panagakos

La legislatura del estado de Carolina del Norte aprobó un nuevo mapa congresional el 22 de octubre. Este cambio llega después de que la administración de Trump presionó a los estados republicanos para que modifiquen sus mapas congresionales y aseguren que los republicanos continúen controlando el Congreso después de las elecciones de medio mandato de 2026. La Cámara de Representantes de Carolina del Norte votó 65-48 a favor del nuevo mapa, que afectará a los votantes de los distritos congresionales 1 y 3. El representante Don Davis, demócrata, es el representante del distrito 1, que ganó en 2024 por solo dos puntos. El nuevo mapa aumentaría las posibilidades de que los republicanos obtengan un escaño en las elecciones de medio mandato del próximo año.

---

NEWS 10/28/25 3:13pm

Elon University to sign Okanagan Charter

By Cassie Weymouth

Elon University is set to sign the Okanagan Charter Oct. 29. This charter is the outcome of a 2015 international health conference on the promotion of health in universities and colleges. The U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Network serves as a support network meant to help campuses define what it means to be a "health promoting campus." Anya Bratić, the student government association president, will also be speaking at the signing event. "I see Elon as an institution that doesn't just talk about wellness and well-being in name," Bratić said. "They're actively trying to implement elements of it in every aspect of life."

---

NEWS 10/28/25 7:43am

Cone Health to open new hospital in Mebane in 2029

By Rachel Holley

Cone Health, a healthcare network in central North Carolina, has been approved  to move forward with construction of a new hospital in the city of Mebane that is scheduled to open in 2029. The new hospital will be a full-service facility holding 46 beds adjacent to Cone Health MedCenter Mebane. Alamance Regional Medical Center President Chad Boore said the 161,578 square foot facility will have three general operating rooms, one cesarean section operating room, a rehabilitation space, an emergency room, and imaging, ancillary and support services. 

---

NEWS 10/27/25 3:41pm

Human trafficking in Alamance County and the fight led by CrossRoads

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Christa Hippe was just 12 years old when the sexual abuse began. The abuse was from someone her family trusted, and it went on for years before she knew what human trafficking meant. “As a young child, I was traumatized,” Hippe said. Now, almost 20 years later, Hippe works at CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response & Resource Center, a Burlington nonprofit that supports survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking. She found herself using CrossRoads resources in the 1990s after a friend recommended their services.

---

NEWS 10/26/25 5:28pm

Town of Elon Fire Department celebrates 100th anniversary

By Alannah Klingsporn

The Elon Fire Department celebrated its 100th anniversary Oct. 25 with an open house that included a slideshow of the fire department's history and was attended by residents and town council members. The fire department was established in 1925 following the Elon fire in 1923. The fire destroyed most of the campus including the main building of Elon College, which was replaced with Alamance. “We have student volunteers,” Assistant Chief of the Elon Fire Department Ray Pruitt said. “It's been a great opportunity to be able to work with the students and the community.” 

---

NEWS 10/23/25 11:28pm

Elon University Liberal Arts Forum guest says every American is a survivor

By Mia Torres

Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, was hosted by Elon University’s Liberal Arts Forum on Oct. 22, a student organization that researches and pitches speakers throughout the semester.Watts started her journey as an activist for ending gun violence after the Sandy Hook elementary school shooting. “I sort of just sat down and watched this horrific tragedy and it was truly unfathomable at that time,” Watts said during the event. “You know we’re all vicarious survivors of trauma in this country, whether you’re a gun violence survivor or not, you’ve experienced these shootings individually.”

---

NEWS 10/22/25 11:19pm

Burlington, Guilford County announce $860 million Ahold Delhaize USA partnership

By Alice Morrissey

The City of Burlington and Guilford County announced a partnership with Ahold Delhaize USA to build a distribution center in Burlington during a press conference Oct. 22. According to a spokesperson for the company, Ahold Delhaize USA is investing $860 million into the project, and the distribution center is estimated to bring around 500 or more jobs to the area. “There's going to be somebody they can provide for their family in a meaningful way. That's going to be their first trip to Disneyland. That’s the first home that they buy,” Burlington Mayor James Butler said.

---

NEWS 10/15/25 12:46pm

Elon University AAUP issues statement asking for transparency on Elon, Queens merger

By Nia Bedard

Elon University’s chapter of the American Association for University Professors issued a statement Oct. 15 asking both Elon and Queens University of Charlotte to include faculty from both institutions in the planning and decision making process of the proposed merger. According to the statement from Elon’s AAUP chapter, questions about how faculty will be involved in the merger have not been answered. “Faculty have been invited to submit questions at town halls, but direct questions about how faculty will be integrated into the decision-making prior to the approval of the merger remain unanswered in these forums,” the statement said. 

---

NEWS 10/11/25 2:53pm

Alumni share their Elon stories at the Voices of Elon Oral History Booths

By Megan Walsh

For the first time, Elon University alumni had the chance to share a little bit of their experience with the school at the Voices of Elon Oral History Booths. The booths were hosted by the Committee on Elon History and Memory in conjunction with Belk Library and The Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education. Alumni were given a chance to participate in filmed 10-to 15-minute interviews where they were asked two questions: “What made you choose Elon?” and “What do you hope students today, or 50 years from now, understand about your experience at Elon?”

---

NEWS 10/11/25 1:58pm

Elon University honors LGBTQ+ alumni during awards reception

By Mia Torres

Members and advocates of the LGBTQ+ community gathered in the Lakeside meeting rooms to honor several Elon University alumni and students. Jonathan Monti ‘08 said this event gives the Elon LGBTQIA Alumni Network the ability to connect not just as alumni but as an entire community. “The enrichment awards are an opportunity for us as an alumni network to acknowledge the work of our alumni,” Monti said. “Sometimes we also include faculty or staff as well as there’s a specific award for undergraduate students as well to recognize the work that they’re doing.”

---

NEWS 10/10/25 11:08pm

Belk Library connects alumni to Elon University’s past at annual Flashback Friday

By Lily Mosbacher

Elon University Belk Library and University Archives staff hosted their annual Flashback Friday event Oct. 10, giving alumni the chance to take a look back at Elon’s history. The event was part of Homecoming weekend programming and aimed to connect alumni with Elon’s history through resources preserved by University Archives staff. Randall Bowman, archivist and assistant librarian at Belk Library said the event showcases Elon’s history, particularly from the past 50 years through yearbooks, student publications and photographs. “We had a gentleman who graduated in 2000 come and actually look through the 90s one and identified quite a few people, including himself,” Bowman said. 

---

NEWS 10/10/25 10:00pm

Elon University holds listening sessions for alumni about proposed Queens merger

By Miles Hayford

Jim Piatt, Senior Vice President for Advancement and External Affairs and co-chair of the Elon University and Queens University merger sprint team, held a listening session for alumni on Oct. 10 in LaRose Commons 200. The session was part of Elon's Homecoming Weekend activities and was a way for alumni to learn more information about the merger and voice their opinions about it. Piatt told them that there is still a lot of work to be done, but that next steps involve assuming governance of Queens by Aug. 1, 2026.

---

NEWS 10/10/25 7:28pm

Elon University dedicates building to first international graduate

By Nia Bedard

Elon University administration, students and community members came together Oct. 10 to celebrate the university’s first international graduate, Toshio Sato, who graduated in 1920. The university also renamed the Global Commons in her honor. Kelly Policelli, coordinator of university archives and special collections, described Sato as highly involved during her time at Elon. “There was an announcement the week that she got here about her arrival, then literally a week later, she is singing at a mission group event. So she was, from the very beginning, super involved. She seemed very happy to be here.”

---

NEWS 10/7/25 11:25pm

NC State professor encourages Elon students to be disruptors in sustainability

By Lily Mosbacher

Students and faculty gathered in McKinnon Hall Oct. 7 to hear North Carolina State University professor Jessica Yinka Thomas, director of the Business Sustainability Collaborative, deliver the keynote address, kicking off Elon University's Sustainability Week. The Business Sustainability Collaborative at NC State works to integrate environmental and social responsibility into business, education, and industry partnerships. Yinka Thomas discussed B Corps, which are companies that demonstrate high social and environmental performance.“Their vision is to build an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economic system for all people and the planet,” Yinka Thomas said.

---

NEWS 10/7/25 9:18pm

Elon skatepark committee looks to break ground with redesign following failed grant application

By Miles Hayford

Since being named the chair, Scott Ingalls, member of the town of Elon skatepark committee, has helped lead the committee one step closer to building Elon’s first ever skatepark.The skatepark has been several years in the making and initially began with an 8,000 to 10,000 square foot design that would cost around $600,000, according to Ingalls. To make up for this money, the committee applied for a North Carolina Parks and Recreation Trust Fund grant from the state of North Carolina but did not receive it. 

---

NEWS 10/7/25 9:59am

Suspects arrested after shooting in Green Level

By Fiona McAllister

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference to announce arrests from a shooting that happened Sept. 20 in Green Level, North Carolina. Five people were injured by gunfire. The sheriff’s office has made two arrests in relation to the ongoing investigation. Cedric Lamont Watson Jr., 20, has been charged with 18 counts. Javiya A. Parker, 19, was also arrested in relation to the shooting and has been charged with one count of felony accessory after the fact of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill. Parker’s bond was set at $50,000, but Parker has been released after posting bond.

---