News

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LIFESTYLE 11/3/23 8:25pm

‘Spring Awakening’ brings 19th century cautionary tale to Elon University

By Sarah T. Moore

When performing arts professor Kim Shively was approached about directing Elon University’s fall main stage musical, “Spring Awakening,” she said she thought about how the musical's message applies to the world today. “Spring Awakening” is a rock musical set in 19th century Germany that follows young teenagers navigating their society and sexuality. Elon’s closing performance is at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 4 and tickets are available through the university’s ticketing website for $15 or free with an Elon ID. Shively said beneath the layers of teen angst, the musical serves as a cautionary tale of what happens when people don’t cultivate curiosity, conversation and understanding. 

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LIFESTYLE 11/3/23 10:32am

Elon University showcases art exhibition connecting humanity, consumerism

By Abigail Hobbs

Every time Elon exhibiting artist Joshua Newth went for a walk around his Missouri neighborhood in 2019, he would pick up a piece of trash. Bridging his degree in biology and interest in painting, Newth created “Confessions of the Consumer,” a collection of paintings and sculptures that reuse litter to get his audience to think about the connections between nature and humanity. The collections will be on display in Arts West until Dec. 1. In his works, Newth, an art professor at Southeast Missouri State University, said he uses the human form “accessorized” with litter to explore humanity’s relationship with consumerism in a non-confrontational way.

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LIFESTYLE 11/2/23 8:10pm

Elon University Percussion Ensemble celebrates shared spaces

By Nia Bedard

Music instructor Isaac Pyatt directed his percussion ensemble students and other instructors in a fall concert at the Yeager Recital Hall on Nov. 1. In his first semester at Elon University, Pyatt taught the ensemble of five students who enrolled in the Percussion Ensemble class this fall, all of varying ages and majors. In addition to the five students, professor Mariana Poole,  drumline instructor for Elon’s marching band — the Fire of the Carolinas — Alex Richard and Pyatt also participated in the concert.

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LIFESTYLE 11/2/23 8:10pm

Elon University Percussion Ensemble celebrates shared spaces

By Nia Bedard

Music instructor Isaac Pyatt directed his percussion ensemble students and other instructors in a fall concert at the Yeager Recital Hall on Nov. 1. In his first semester at Elon University, Pyatt taught the ensemble of five students who enrolled in the Percussion Ensemble class this fall, all of varying ages and majors. In addition to the five students, professor Mariana Poole,  drumline instructor for Elon’s marching band — the Fire of the Carolinas — Alex Richard and Pyatt also participated in the concert.

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LIFESTYLE 11/2/23 7:21pm

Student-written, produced play debuts at Elon University

By Sarah T. Moore

Elon University’s club for student playwrights, NewWorks, is producing “Cardboard Boxes,” written by junior Laney Lynch. Lynch wrote the play throughout her sophomore year and now, “Cardboard Boxes” will have its opening night at 5 p.m. on Nov. 3 — with additional performances at noon on Nov. 4 and Nov. 5 and a 5 p.m. performance on Nov. 4 — in the Center for the Arts Black Box Theatre. The play follows a group of college students in a film club learning who they are and how to be true to themselves.

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NEWS 11/2/23 12:24pm

North Carolina redistricting sets stage for 2024 elections

By Joseph Navin

The North Carolina General Assembly passed a series of new district maps, including ones for the State House and the Senate, along with a new congressional map for the U.S. House of Representatives on Oct. 25. Currently, Alamance County is part of North Carolina’s fourth congressional district, which is represented by Democrat Rep. Valerie Foushee. The new map will place Alamance in the 9th congressional district, which Republican Rep. Richard Hudson represents. Elon professor of political science Jason Husser, who has expertise in North Carolina politics, said the new maps will put Republicans at an advantage.

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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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LIFESTYLE 10/31/23 11:59am

Elon Community gathers for pumpkin festival

By Michael Leung

Elon University’s garden studio class hosted its annual Pumpkin Festival on Oct. 27. Visitors gathered around the community garden entrance as they participated in a variety of activities and explored what the Elon Community Garden had to offer. The event started slowly, with more visitors arriving at the garden as the minutes went by. Within the first 30 minutes, the garden was filled with dozens of visitors, both from the Elon Community and outside of Elon. Pumpkin carving in particular was one of the more popular activities.

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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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LIFESTYLE 10/29/23 10:41am

Elon University junior advocates for suicide prevention, awareness through dance

By Sarah T. Moore

“Semicolon,” a student-run dance production three years in the making, involved more than 40 students and community members collaborating to tell the stories of those impacted by suicide ideation, convey a message of hope and create a safe space for community members to share their stories. With three performances across Oct. 20 and 21, Director and choreographer junior Pheriby Bryan’s research was presented to the public through four dance pieces. The production featured recordings of Burleson reading excerpts from his journals, and the live choir Bryan envisioned came in the form of the Elon Camerata.

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LIFESTYLE 10/28/23 12:18pm

Junior at Elon University advocates for mental illness by eating rotisserie chicken

By Madison Powers

Every day for 40 days, junior Jack Zapata is eating a whole rotisserie chicken to raise funds and awareness for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Zapata’s goal is to raise $100,000 for NAMI, $10,000 of which he has raised as of Oct. 20, when Zapata hosted a chicken eating contest with university President Connie Book and student government president senior Britt Mobley. At the event — his 28th day of chicken eating — Book won the contest by donating $100 to $200 for every piece of chicken eaten by an attendee, donating a total of $1,500.

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LIFESTYLE 10/27/23 11:01am

Elon University fall musical opens Oct. 27

By Sarah T. Moore

Elon University’s 2023 fall main stage musical will have its opening night performance at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 27 in McCrary Theatre. The show, “Spring Awakening,” is an angsty, coming-of-age rock musical set in 19th century Germany. The show follows a group of young teenagers discovering their sexuality and will have showings at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 and 28, and Nov. 2 to Nov. 4. There will also be a matinee at 2 p.m. on Oct. 29. Tickets are available on the Elon ticketing website for $15 or free with an Elon ID.

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SPORTS 10/27/23 9:35am

High school quarterback tackles college classes

By Mason Willett

For Western Alamance High School senior Evan Kuehnel, the college classroom is a chance to get ahead no matter how tired he may get undertaking college classes, football and being a regular teenager. Kuehnel is currently taking an accounting and a communications class at Elon University in the morning and attending Alamance Community College classes online. Though he is currently not taking any classes at Western, he is still considered a student. After Kuehnel’s classes at Elon and Alamance Community College, he takes the football field to lead Western’s football team as quarterback. 

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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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LIFESTYLE 10/26/23 11:15am

Elon University alumna wins ‘Best Student Short Award’ at Grand Rapids Film Festival

By Maggie Braswell

Elon University alumna Emily Prins ’23 produced a film titled, “Not without a Trace” during this past summer. The 14-minute film premiered at the Grand Rapids film festival in Michigan and captured the audience, leading her to win “Best student short" award. Prins' movie is an authentic retelling of the 1981 incident when 14-year-old Deanie Peters went missing. More than four decades later, the suburban community near Grand Rapids remains haunted by the lingering impact of her disappearance.

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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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SPORTS 10/24/23 11:51am

Elon University women’s soccer dominates Charleston in regular-season finale

By Jack Prahinski

The Elon University women’s soccer team put on a dominant performance against the College of Charleston during their regular-season finale at Rudd Field Oct. 22. An early goal by junior forward Kelly Degnan gave the Phoenix breathing room from the outset. Impressive second-half goals by freshman forward Grace Gelhaus and freshman midfielder Gabby Hoschek put Elon in position to cap off their 2023 campaign with a 3-0 victory. Both teams sat near the bottom of the Coastal Athletic Association standings entering the match and there were no outcomes that would allow either squad to clinch a postseason berth to the CAA tournament.

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