News

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NEWS 3/18/24 8:16pm

County Commissioners welcome ABSS interim superintendent

By Joseph Navin

Hours after being sworn in as Interim Superintendent of the Alamance-Burlington School System, Bill Harrison was welcomed into his role by members of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners during their meeting on March 18. He replaced former Superintendent Dain Butler who resigned earlier this month. Harrison is no stranger to Alamance County, he previously served as both interim superintendent and superintendent of the school system between 2014 and 2018. Before that, he served as the chairman for the State Board of Education from 2009 to 2013.

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NEWS 3/18/24 1:27pm

Three individuals trespass on campus; false rumors circulate

By Elon News Network

Last night, multiple Elon resident assistants sent messages to their halls warning students about going outside alone, as there were rumors circulating about three individuals targeting girls on campus. Elon University Campus Police Chief Joe LeMire said three individuals were found making rude comments and “racially charged words.” Elon News Network reached out to the office of campus police for comment at roughly 11:30 p.m. on March 17, and was told police were actively dispatched and unavailable for comment. Elon News Network then reposted the messages sent from RAs to Instagram and Facebook.

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NEWS 3/18/24 9:51am

Elon upperclassmen face challenges with on-campus housing changes

By Monika Jurevicius

Elon University upperclassmen face challenges with housing following residence life’s announcement no longer allowing all residents in the Crest, Danieley and Oaks apartments to renew their leases. Students living in Park Place and Station at Mill Point apartments were allowed to renew at designated times earlier this semester. Students living in Crest, Danieley and Oaks are able to participate in the housing selection process, the same as students who did not previously have leases in these neighborhoods. This is the first year the change will be implemented.

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NEWS 3/16/24 3:34pm

Elon University’s Student Professional Development Center helps students with job, internship opportunities

By Emilio Nunez

Junior Chris Murphy has been searching for internships that would fit for his major in music or his minor in communications. One way he has been trying to find these options is through the Student Professional Development Center with Brooke Buffington, assistant vice president for the SPDC. Buffington said the SPDC has always had the goal of getting 85 to 90% of graduating seniors to work with the office in one way or another. 

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NEWS 3/15/24 11:02am

Elon downtown development department to open on 104 N. Williamson Ave

By Michael Leung

Richard Roedner, town manager for the town of Elon, announced that the town government is renting the building on 104 N. Williamson Ave, in downtown Elon. The town will be relocating its new downtown development department there, as well as establishing the Elon Police Department’s community outreach program. The location used to be Elon’s town hall in the 1960’s before moving to their current town hall across the train tracks at 104 S. Williamson Ave. Now, according to Roedner, the town government is reclaiming the spot to expand their office space. They are renting the location from the property owners at $6,000 per month.

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NEWS 3/14/24 9:34pm

Elon University hosts multi-sided discussion on Israel-Hamas War

By Audrey Geib

Elon University hosted Mira Sucharov, professor of political science at Carleton University, on March 14 as part of Elon's initiative to promote discussion and foster understanding of the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. The event was called "Identity, Trauma, and Justice: The War between Israel and Hamas," and led by Baris Kesgin, Elon professor of political science and policy studies. Sucharov emphasized the importance of defining the terms people use in a discussion about the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Sucharov’s discussion takes place two days after students joined together to march in solidarity and support of victims of oppression.

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NEWS 3/13/24 5:03pm

Elon University webinar highlights AI’s effect on academia, future of thought

By Tucker Price

Elon University President Connie Book and Elon’s Imagining the Digital Future Center hosted a webinar titled “AI in Academia: Transforming Teaching and Learning in the Digital Era” to discuss issues involving artificial intelligence in higher education. Panelists included Lee Rainie, the director of the Imagining the Digital Future Center; Ethan Mollick, a faculty scholar at the University of Pennsylvania; Udo Sglavo, the Vice President of Applied AI and Modeling R&D at the SAS Institute; and Hoda Mostafa, the director of the Center for learning and teaching at American University in Cairo, Egypt.

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NEWS 3/12/24 8:09pm

Elon students walk in solidarity for victims of oppression

By Monika Jurevicius

Members of the Elon University community gathered on campus March 12 to walk in solidarity with and for victims of oppression. The march was organized by Students for Peace and Justice roughly one week after the International Day of Action, during which protestors gathered worldwide to demand an immediate ceasefire of the Israel-Hamas War. Participants at Elon met together with signs and traditional Middle Eastern shemagh scarves. They marched twice on the designated route through Global and Loy neighborhoods. During the event, demonstrators started yelling “stop killing women, stop killing children” upon the second time of walking the route.

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NEWS 3/12/24 6:51pm

No students initially applied for student body president, application extended

By Avery Sloan

Despite Elon’s Student Government Association working to recruit members to run in elections, no student applied to run for student body president. The application closed at 5 p.m. March 11. The organization met for a special meeting March 12 to amend the bylaws and extended applications for all SGA positions until 10 a.m. March 13. SGA initially extended the deadline to 10 a.m. March 12, but according to SGA election bylaws, the organization was not technically allowed to extend it without an election amendment approved by the senate, and no applications were accepted by the second deadline. 

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NEWS 3/12/24 4:13pm

Friends of Alamance County Public Libraries hosts spring book sale

By Naomi Washington

Books are spilling off the shelves and into the bags and baskets of avid readers at this year’s spring book sale. The event is hosted in the basement of May Memorial Library in Downtown Burlington from March 8 through March 17. The Friends of Alamance County Public Libraries is a nonprofit organization that hosts a book sale every fall and spring with the help of more than 50 volunteers. Board member Debbie Mann said the money from book sales funds all children and adult programs across all Alamance County Public Libraries.

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NEWS 3/12/24 11:05am

East Haggard, North Oak Avenue closed due to gas leak

By Ryan Kupperman

East Haggard was briefly closed from North Oak Avenue to Lawrence Street due to a gas leak, according to an E-Alert. This is the third gas leak near or on Elon University’s campus in three months. According to Dante Howell, construction personnel on scene, one of the construction workers hit an active, main gas line on Haggard Avenue. Following protocol, they called the fire department and closed off the area. As of 11:30 a.m. Howell said the road had been reopened for about an hour — though Howell is managing the flow of one-lane traffic just past Sheridan Place.

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NEWS 3/12/24 12:15am

Elon University Liberal Arts Forum hosts Olympic athlete, filmmaker, writer

By Nia Bedard

Elon University hosted a liberal arts forum March 11 where Olympic athlete, filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas talked about her experiences as an Olympic athlete. According to Pappas, one of the first things she learned after her games is that a lot of Olympic athletes fall into depression after they finish competing. Pappas said she believes that this depression was an aftermath of her mindset at the time; she had reached her peak athletic ability by breaking a national record in the 10k for Greece and was questioned constantly about what would be next for her.

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NEWS 3/11/24 3:24pm

Elon senior delves into black holes: Journey of code, curiosity, cosmic phenomena

By Liya Rike

Elon University senior Jordan Wels is uncovering the mysteries of black holes, fueled by a Lumen Prize scholarship and guided by his mentor: Elon professor of astrophysics Chris Richardson. Wels' research explores the evolution of these celestial objects and their potential impact on the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. Wels said Elon has played a crucial role in supporting his research. Richardson said he and Wels found a new connection between how big a black hole can get and the kinds of elements found in the galaxy that the black hole is located.

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NEWS 3/10/24 1:56pm

Burlington Animal Services invites community to Hike with Hounds

By Naomi Washington

Hikes with Hounds started in spring 2015. The group meets every month at different park trails across Alamance County, which allows community members to not only meet one another, but also dogs from the shelter. The hikes happen with a group of no more than 12 volunteers and between two and five dogs. Beyond the hikes, the Dog Day Out Program is another chance for dogs to get outside for a few hours. Program Manager for Burlington Animal Services Sydney Herron said Elon University students are primarily the ones who participate.

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NEWS 3/10/24 1:52pm

Photo Gallery: Elon Day 2024

By Elon News Network

Elon University received more than $2.6 million in donations and roughly 6,126 gifts for the 11th annual Elon Day on March 7. Throughout the day, four new endowments were created and donors gave to approximately 224 different campus funds. These donations put the total amount of money given to Elon at just under $20 million over the last 11 years — all provided by alumni, parents and grandparents, faculty and staff, friends or students.

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NEWS 3/9/24 3:52pm

Elon’s International Women’s Day panelists encourage inclusion, support

By Charlotte Pfabe

Hosted by the Elon Gender and LGBTQIA Center, Elon students, faculty and Alamance County residents came together to celebrate International Women’s Day with a panel discussion focused on inclusion. The three panelists, Crystal Cavalier-Keck, Ashlie Thomas and Kristen Powers, discussed the importance of creating safe spaces for other people within their communities March 7 in the Lakeside Meeting Rooms. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day was “Inspiring Inclusion.” Elon University President Connie Book also attended the event and said it is important for women to be outspoken about their accomplishments.

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NEWS 3/8/24 3:43pm

Former NC Supreme Court chief justice earns first Justice Sandra Day O’Connor professorship at Elon Law

By Aidan Powley

The Hon. Cheri Beasley has joined the Elon University School of Law faculty as the university’s first recipient of the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor endowed professorship. Beasley, who in 2019 became the first African-American woman to serve as chief justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, will teach courses on appellate practice at Elon Law for one year beginning in fall 2024. The Justice Sandra Day O’Connor professorship was established to bring distinguished legal figures to Elon University, whose contributions to society reflect the values of the first woman who served on the Supreme Court of the United States. 

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NEWS 3/8/24 11:39am

Rocket Phoenix provides rocketry education for students

By Ruth Cruz

When Freshman Murilo Ferreira Lopes founded Rocket Phoenix in February, his goal was to educate students about rocket building. Lopes said rocketry has always been one of his interests at Elon. He sought a place to explore his fascination with rockets. Lopes is the president of Rocket Phoenix — an organization that allows students to build, design and launch rockets. He said that he collaborated with his physics professor to jumpstart the program. The organization plans to launch its rockets March 21. To contact members of Rocket Phoenix, visit their page on PhoenixConnect.

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NEWS 3/8/24 9:54am

Elon becomes largest university contributor to Daffodil Project in US

By Lilly Molina

The Daffodil project is an initiative from Am Yisrael Chai, a nonprofit Holocaust and genocide education and awareness organization. With over 900,000 planted, its mission is to plant 1.5 million daffodils across the globe to honor the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust, according to the founder of the Daffodil Project Andrea Videlefsy. The project began in 2010, but the conception of the idea formed in 2008. Elon joined the project as a partner in 2013 and as of 2024 has planted approximately 30,000 bulbs across campus, making Elon its biggest contributor compared to any other university in the country.

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NEWS 3/7/24 11:09am

First-generation LLC hopes to give sense of belonging to Elon University students

By Lilly Molina

Sophomore Carlos Gomez Lopez could have decided to live off campus next year as many upperclassmen chose to do, but instead, he wanted to live in the First Generation Living Learning Community. Lopez moved into Colonnades his freshman year and noticed his peers knew a bit more of what college would be like because their parents had already been in their shoes. Lopez said he felt like he was going in blind because he couldn’t go to his parents for advice. Paula DiBiasio, professor of physical therapy education, will be one of the advisers for the LLC and said she had been working on this idea since 2022.

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