News

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NEWS 5/7/24 10:28pm

Sister of Hamas hostage speaks at Elon’s Chabad

By Fiona McAllister

Lucy Siegel’s younger brother Keith and his wife Aviva were captured by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 from the kibbutz where they lived in Israel. While Aviva was held hostage for 51 days and released on Nov. 26, 2023, Ketih is still currently being held hostage in Gaza. Lucy visited Elon’s Chabad house on May 7 to share her and her brother’s story with the Elon community. Rabbi Mendy Minkowitz introduced Lucy Siegel as she spoke about how the Israel-Hamas War continues to impact her personally.

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NEWS 5/7/24 1:17pm

Associate Director of Teaching Fellows Program dies unexpectedly due to illness

By Ryan Kupperman

Jennifer Fish, associate director of Elon University’s Teaching Fellows Program, died unexpectedly the morning of May 7 due to illness, according to an email sent to the university community by President Connie Book. A Gathering of Friends will be held at 4:30 p.m. on May 8 in the sacred space of Numen Lumen to honor her life. Book stated in the email that Fish recently celebrated 15 years of service to Elon and has taught the teaching fellows throughout that time. Expressions of condolence for Jennifer’s family can be brought to the Truitt Center main desk or sent through campus mail to Truitt Center, 2960 Campus Box.

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NEWS 5/7/24 10:16am

Students for Peace and Justice hosts pro-Palestinian walk across Elon University

By Sophie Rosenthal

The Students for Peace and Justice club held a peace walk in support of Palestinian people in Gaza at 9:45 a.m. on May 7. Palestinian student Naz Shokri will kick off the walk with a speech at Medallion Plaza, followed by a walk around Moseley Center and through Young Commons. Students for Peace and Justice hosted another walk earlier this semester in solidarity with victims of oppression, where some students held signs in support of Palestinians. Yet, "A Walk for Palestine" was the first group demonstration on Elon's campus since the war began that is specifically calling itself pro-Palestinian.

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NEWS 5/5/24 4:58pm

Elon University’s Clohan Dining Hall reopens after gas leak scare

By Erin Martin and Abby Gravely

Clohan Dining Hall was closed on Sunday, due to a potential gas leak, but has since re-opened. According to an Elon campus police officer on scene, there was no immediate danger. Multiple fire trucks and police cars were seen at Clohan on Sunday around 3:30 p.m., along with a maintenance worker from piedmont natural gas, who was equipped with a gas leak detector. Chief LeMire explained that the E-Alert was intended for all students, faculty and staff, but accidentally was only sent to members of the RAVE Guardian Safety App group, reaching about 1,800 people instead of the intended 8,900.

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NEWS 5/5/24 11:36am

National foreign language enrollment declines at collegiate level

By Cailey Cetani

Hallo! Bonjour! Hola! Ciao! According to the American Councils for International Education, 10.6 million students from grades K-12 are enrolled in a foreign language. A new study has shown that although many have learned languages in their early education, there is a decline in the pursuit of learning a language in college. According to the Modern Language Association 2023 Census, there was a 16.6% decrease in enrollment in foreign language classes by college students from 2016 to 2021. This is the largest decline since the association started its census in 1958 with language enrollment peaking in 2009.

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NEWS 5/4/24 12:30pm

Gathering of friends honors Elon junior as ‘selfless’, ‘life of the party’

By Ryan Kupperman

Approximately 70 members of the Elon community attended a gathering of friends in the pavilion behind the Sklut Hillel Center on May 3 to share their feelings of loss and reflect on fond memories they’ve shared with Malinsky. Malinsky, who died on April 29 of brain cancer, was a member of Elon’s class of 2025 and an active member of the Jewish community. Jewish Educator Boaz Avraham-Katz, who was one of Talia’s professors, spoke at the event along with University Chaplain Kirstin Boswell — who led the service in a prayer before allowing Talia’s friends to speak about their memories with her.

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NEWS 5/4/24 11:03am

Fulbright Fellowship sees Elon’s largest applicant pool

By Jordyn Forni

The Fulbright fellowship is a competitive opportunity for graduating college seniors and alumni. Fulbright partners with 140 countries to offer recipients postgraduate abroad opportunities to teach English, conduct research or pursue a graduate degree. With the Fulbright fellowship only having a 20% acceptance rate, the program is extremely competitive. Nicole Galante, assistant director of national and international fellowships, said she has seen an uptick in fellowship applications. This past year, the office had its highest applicant pool ever with 34 applicants from Elon.

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NEWS 5/3/24 8:29pm

Elon discontinues Cinema, Television Arts BFA program for incoming students

By Sophie Rosenthal

Starting with students who enter Elon University in Fall 2024, cinema and television arts majors will no longer be able to pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree. The decision to discontinue the program was not simple, professor Staci Saltz, chair of the CTA department, said. A BFA committee with faculty members and advisers discussed curriculum, the depth of the thesis project and the amount of resources available to the students in the program, such as money, equipment and rental spaces. In any given year, only between 15 and 20 seniors out of around 200 students pursue BFAs in the CTA department.

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NEWS 5/3/24 10:46am

AEPhi visits Elon, hosts interest meeting

By Lilly Molina

AEPhi, a historically Jewish sorority, visited Elon’s campus on May 2 in order to gauge interest in bringing a chapter to Elon. They hosted an interesting meeting in upstairs Moseley with a little over 20 people in attendance. Junior Natalie Schuver said she has been thinking about bringing and joining a Jewish sorority to Elon since she contacted the student involvement office during her freshman year. Sharon Raphael, National President of AEPhi, also said that Elon has been on their radar for at least 20 years.

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NEWS 5/2/24 12:07pm

Elon University names first-ever nominated student commencement speaker

By Ellie Reasbeck

Grace Ackermann was driving to Boston for apartment hunting when she got the call from Elon University President Connie Book saying that she would be the student commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2024. In the past, the speaker has always been the student body president, but in February 2024, the Student Government Association changed the requirements. This new change allowed for all seniors to apply for the speaker position — granting the final decision to a special committee composed of SGA members and students. With graduation on May 24, Ackermann said she is excited for the opportunity to speak for the class of 2024.

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NEWS 5/1/24 2:11pm

Elon University hosts record-breaking SURF Day

By Miles Hayford

Elon University’s annual Spring Undergraduate Research Forum had record-breaking participation this year. There were a total of 322 presentations this year, a 19% jump from last year and the highest in the forum’s 31 year history. According to Jen Hamel, associate director of undergraduate research, this is the result of an upward trend she has noticed over the past several years. Hamel attributes this growth to increased participation in SURF from the School of Communications and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. The 322 presentations were divided into 168 poster presentations, 154 oral presentations and 35 creative performances.

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NEWS 5/1/24 1:43pm

Elon’s Speakers’ Corner finds another voice

By Fiona McAllister

Elon sophomore Noelle Vaught said she finds students at Elon University are “politically sleepwalking.” On April 25, Vaught stood at the Speakers’ Corner holding an upside down American flag with the words “there is no flag large enough to cover up the shame of killing innocent people” written on it. Vaught also said she feels Elon is very “cloistered,” or secluded from the rest of the world. Vaught said her second reason is that she is opposed to the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Hamas War.

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NEWS 5/1/24 9:23am

Elon junior dies of brain cancer

By Avery Sloan and Ryan Kupperman

Elon junior Talia Malinsky died around 5 p.m. on April 29 at the age of 21 surrounded by family. Her mother Irit Malinsky said she died from a recurrence of brain cancer. She has been on leave from Elon since last spring. The family is currently raising money to transport and bury Talia in Jerusalem. As of May 1, they were able to raise upward of $17,000 and will be leaving tonight for Israel. Talia, raised in an Israeli family, wanted to move to Israel after graduating from Elon, according to her dad Mark Malinsky.

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NEWS 4/30/24 10:49pm

Chapel Hill pro-Palestinian camp continues amid arrests, counter protests, pepper spray

By Joseph Navin

For a total of five full days, students at UNC Chapel Hill hosted on-campus encampments to protest the Israel-Hamas war and connections to the Israeli government. The initial camp, which ran from April 26 to 30, was organized by the “Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of North Carolina." This protest remained mostly peaceful and is not to be mistaken with the protest against the administration's response, which took place later in the day on April 30. This led to more arrests, counter protests and physical aggression — as well as UNC Chapel Hill canceling classes for the day.

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NEWS 4/30/24 9:12am

Elon University increases amount of fellows for 2024-25 academic year

By Reagan Sizemore

Next year, Elon University will add 100 spots to its various fellows programs — raising cohort sizes. Elon will accept over 300 fellows across eight programs for the 2024-25 academic year. The Business Fellows program will accept around 60 new fellows, compared to the 52 for the class of 2027 and 40 for the class of 2026. The increase is leaving current fellows worried about what it means for the programs. Kate Rohan, a sophomore in the business fellows program, is concerned about the problems that she feels will come with the larger incoming class cohort.

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NEWS 4/29/24 5:33pm

Campus police confirm no fire on, near campus

By Ryan Kupperman

Following several reports of smoke in the air and a potential fire near campus, Elon Chief of Campus Safety and Police Joe LeMire issued an E-Alert stating there is no fire danger near Elon University. According to the statement, a control burn is taking place in another county and a shift in wind has begun to blow smoke toward the Alamance County area. LeMire stated the smoke will dissipate over time, and it may be helpful to close vents or windows to reduce smoke smell. LeMire closed the alert with cautioning those who have difficulty breathing to remain inside while the smoke dissipates.

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NEWS 4/29/24 1:17pm

Entrepreneurship group pitches digital Phoenix Cards

By Michael Leung

Freshman Ethan Shapiro, junior Brody Hender and sophomore Caitlin Price decided to pitch to their Entrepreneurship class the idea of turning Phoenix Cards digital. The cards would be held in the digital wallet of phones but would retain their functionality. While the project is only for class, the group hopes to pitch the idea to Elon University and possibly digitalize Phoenix Cards. Shapiro said he and his group got the idea from the concept of digital credit cards and would function in the same manner. Phoenix Cards allow students access to phoenix cash, meal plans, dorms and other services.

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NEWS 4/26/24 2:21pm

ENN: Exclusive Interview with Ginna Claire Mason

By Mason Willett

Elon News Network sat down with the class of 2024 commencement speaker Ginna Claire Mason ‘13 ahead of the 2024 graduation ceremony. Mason toured all around campus and saw all the changes that have been made since her time as an undergraduate at Elon University. Mason spoke about her experiences at Elon, from mentorship from her professors to having many opportunities on campus, and said she is grateful for the chance to come back.

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NEWS 4/26/24 1:28pm

Elon Dining celebrates Earth Week with Earth Festival

By Ruth Cruz

Elon University Dining Hall celebrated Earth Week with its annual Earth Festival to highlight important aspects of the environment. The community came together for an afternoon of fun and dining services collaborated with local vendors and student organizations. Elon students had the opportunity to enjoy live music, local food and pet farm animals. The Earth Festival took place on Medallion Plaza on April 25. The event also featured environmental education and entertainment to inform Elon students about the Earth. Tables were set up with information on how to manage students’ ecological footprint and minimize resource consumption.

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NEWS 4/26/24 9:48am

Elon seniors launch STEM Outreach program for ABSS high schoolers

By Liya Rike

Elon University seniors Samuel Ramirez, president of the Biology club, and Chris D'Inzeo, president of the American Chemical Society Club, led an outreach program aimed at inspiring local Alamance-Burlington School System high school students. The initiative was funded by Elon’s Student Government Association and Elon Innovation Fund. This resulted in 41 undergraduate volunteers and faculty. The program exposes ABSS high schoolers to STEM fields to spark interest and potential career paths. Offered on Saturday, April 20, the free event included transportation and meals to ensure accessibility for all participants. They’re hoping it becomes a once-a-semester event called “Stem Saturday.”

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