News

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NEWS 10/19/23 8:13pm

Elon University community honors sophomore with memorial

By Abigail Hobbs and Madison Powers

Friends and family of rising sophomore Jason Titunik, who died over the summer in a car crash, recognized his life Oct. 19 by sharing memories and planting a tree in his honor. Over 75 members of the Elon community gathered outside of Hook, Brannock and Barney residence halls — where Titunik lived his freshman year — to express condolences and support. The Rev. Kristin Boswell and Ira Titunik, Jason’s father, as well as friends and roommates described Jason’s personality and memory before planting a tree outside of HBB.  

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NEWS 10/18/23 11:11am

Permanent plaza in downtown Elon expected by early December

By Miles Hayford

A permanent plaza has been under construction since Aug. 3 in downtown Elon, and will be complete by early December. The plaza, which will cost roughly $450,000, will be located on West College Avenue and North Williamson Avenue. According to town of Elon downtown development director Jill Weston, the purpose of the plaza is to create a gathering place for events such as a dining space, a place for live music and somewhere to hold holiday events.

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NEWS 10/17/23 7:57am

Community continues to mourn, honor loss of Elon University sophomore

By Ryan Kupperman

Jason Titunik, a 19-year-old rising Elon sophomore from Sarasota, Florida, was killed in a car crash July 6. A funeral service was held for Titunik in New Jersey over the summer, but the Elon community will be hosting a memorial at 3:45 p.m. on Oct. 19 in the grassy area just north of the Hook, Brannock and Barney residence halls — where Titunik lived his freshman year. According to an email sent by Vice President for student life Jon Dooley, the event will feature an opportunity for the community to share memories of Titunik, as well as plant a memorial tree in his remembrance.

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NEWS 10/16/23 9:50pm

Elon University Jewish fraternity hosts walk of solidarity for Israel

By Madison Powers

Alpha Epsilon Pi said prayers and hosted a walk of solidarity around Elon University’s campus for the state of Israel on Oct. 16. The fraternity, joined by university community members, prayed for peace and walked around campus to make a stand against terror and violence, according to sophomore and AEPi member Benji Stern. The walk comes a little over a week after Hamas, a militant group, attacked the Israeli southern border on the night of Oct. 7. As of Oct. 16, 2,670 Palestinians have died and over 1,400 Israelis have died, according to the Associated Press. 

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NEWS 10/16/23 2:32pm

All ABSS students discharged from hospital following bus crash

By Ryan Kupperman

Alamance-Burlington School System Public Information Officer Les Atkins announced Oct. 16 that the last of seven students were discharged from UNC Chapel Hill Hospital following a school bus crash. According to a report from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety, 18 students were aboard the bus on the way to B. Everett Jordan Elementary School the morning of Oct. 12. State Highway Patrol responded to reports of a crash on Highway 87 near Judge Sharpe Road in Alamance County. According to the report, the bus driver was charged with failure to maintain lane control.

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NEWS 10/13/23 1:26pm

‘Anti-Woke is Anti-Black’ : Elon University students, panelists explore state of Blackness

By Cece Ebora

Sandra Reid, a lecturer in human service studies at Elon University, said the fight for civil rights and racial equality will never end until actual reform is made. On Oct. 3, Elon University's African & African American Studies program hosted an educational discussion through a State of Blackness Panel. Reid said the main purpose of the panel discussion was to explore the importance of what it means to be Black today. Wendy Scott, the associate dean of special projects and professor of law at Elon, criticized this summer’s Supreme Court decision in which colleges and universities can no longer consider race in their admissions process.

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NEWS 10/12/23 2:22pm

Burnout trend poses challenges for Elon University’s school of education

By Alex Nettles

Following concerns about the Alamance-Burlington School System mold problems and high rates of teachers quitting their jobs, senior education major Ally Shibata said she has doubts about entering the field of teaching due to burnout. Shibata teaches part-time at Central Park School for Children in Durham. She said she often feels flustered as a student teacher, and balancing an education along with a college social life she feels is already difficult. K-12 workers showed the highest rates of burnout of all professions in the U.S., according to a 2022 Gallup Survey.

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NEWS 10/11/23 8:33am

NC Jelly Donuts temporarily closes because of malfunctioning equipment

By Michael Leung

According to the automatic voice messaging system of NC Jelly Donuts, the fryer at the 3260 S. Church St. Burlington location started to malfunction — causing the business to temporarily close. The new fryer will be arriving on Oct. 16 and the store is scheduled to reopen Oct. 17. Owen Crider, an Elon University sophomore, said he was more than disheartened when he heard NC Jelly Donuts is temporarily closed, which has been the case since Oct. 3.

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NEWS 10/10/23 10:22pm

Elon University Admissions impress visiting families

By Michael Leung

Elon has an undergraduate enrollment of around 6,000 students — a 13% increase from the 5200 undergraduate students it had roughly a decade ago in 2012. According to the Registrar's report, Elon sees an increase of roughly 100 students each year. Therefore, as Elon’s student body grows in size, new dorms such as the one being built in East neighborhood are being constructed in order to accommodate new incoming students. This growth can be accredited to how Elon is portrayed to potential students, according to Greg Zaiser, Vice President for Enrollment.

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NEWS 10/10/23 8:14am

Numen Lumen celebrates 10 years at Elon University

By Isabella DeJong

Numen Lumen Pavilion — a multifaith sacred space in the heart of Elon University — is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Numen Lumen was established in 2013 and houses the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life and the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society. The center fosters a space for discussion of religion, explores shared aspects of common humanity and promotes values of multifaith collaboration. Rev. Kirsten Boswell said she praises Elon’s Numen Lumen for the community it has built.

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NEWS 10/9/23 9:54pm

Elon University students, faculty gather to support Jewish community

By Abigail Hobbs

At the Israel Solidarity Gathering on Phi Beta Commons on Oct. 9, students and faculty came together to support those affected by the Israel-Hamas war. On Oct. 7, the Hamas militant group attacked the southern border of Israel — killing and abducting local residents. The Israeli government declared a war on Hamas on Oct. 8, which has led to bombings and mass casualties of nearly 1,600 as of 4 p.m. Oct. 9, according to the Associated Press. The gathering, hosted by Elon Hillel and Chabad, included praying, singing Oseh Shalom — a Jewish prayer for peace —, offering resources to students and providing options of where to donate.

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NEWS 10/6/23 8:31am

Film community at Elon University examines WGA deal

By Alexa Citrin

The WGA reached a tentative agreement after months of negotiations with studio executives. The deal came on Sept. 24, over four months after the strike began May 2. This agreement comes after negotiations restarted, bringing an end to the strike that has paused production and project development. Kai Swanson, a cinema and television arts professor, said for many in the industry, the strike has halted any development and changed the way they feel about the future of their careers. 

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NEWS 10/5/23 9:45pm

Town of Elon mayor, town manager declare funding a pressing issue

By Abigail Hobbs

Town of Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe and Town Manager Rich Roedner sat down with students Oct. 5 in Moseley Center to answer questions about working at a local municipality. The town hall event included town, community and county issues. The event was part of the Active Citizen Series hosted by the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Elon Votes, Elon Political Engagement Work Group and Council on Civic Engagement. Elon Votes coordinators sophomore Lindsay Bialecki and junior Bo Dalrymple moderated the discussion. 

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NEWS 10/5/23 9:09am

Elon University battles mold

By Keely Garcia

Despite recent renovations, Hook, Brannock and Barney — otherwise known among students as HBB — has a history of mold reports, and this year is no different. On Sept. 26, eight third floor Brannock residents were informed in an email from the Historic Neighborhood Community Director Jordyn Williams that they were being reallocated throughout Historic and Colonnades so their rooms could be rid of mold. Senior Director of Facilities Management Raymond Fletcher has been working at Elon for five years and wrote that facilities management focuses on prevention.

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NEWS 10/4/23 7:52am

Elon University police, Title IX office attribute trained, trusted employees to more rape reports

By Abigail Hobbs

Elon University has seen an increase in reported rapes in the last three years, according to the 2023 fire and safety report. The report details crimes reported in 2022, which includes 17 cases of rape, seven more than the year prior and 15 more than 2020. All 17 cases were in residential facilities, which the university defines as dormitories and other on-campus housing. Elon University Chief of Police Joe LeMire said the large jump from 2020 to 2022 can be partially attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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NEWS 10/2/23 10:44am

Elon University students, families enjoy Phoenix Fan Fest after relocation last year

By Emily Stabell

As a part of Elon University’s Family Weekend, the Phoenix Fan Fest gathered students and their families together for a tailgate with lawn games, face painting, caricature artists, photo booths and a buffet with a variety of food and desserts. After the previous year’s relocation of the Phoenix Fan Fest due to the weather from Hurricane Ian, many students and their families attended this year on Sept. 30, excited for an eventful tailgate before the football game. This year’s Family Weekend took place from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. 

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NEWS 9/30/23 9:08pm

Burlington links Apollo Chemical to unsafe water

By Joseph Navin

Apollo Chemical’s facility on Willow Springs Lane near Alamance-Burlington Regional Airport has been connected to a discharge of 1,4 Dioxane into Haw River. Burlington has fined Apollo Chemical for a violation of the city’s Sewer Use Ordinance. According to Bob Patterson, the water resources director for the city of Burlington, this was due to a pH level of 4.9 being detected — just under the required pH range of between five and 11. Patterson also said there is the potential for further enforcement action on Apollo Chemical for the leak.

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NEWS 9/30/23 2:37pm

Daymond John delivers Elon University’s 2023 Fall Convocation

By Jenna Rudolph

Daymond John, star of ABC’s “Shark Tank,” joined Elon University as the Fall Convocation speaker Sept. 29 in the Schar Center. From living in his mother’s basement to becoming an award-winning entrepreneur, John said he decided from the very beginning that if he had a passion, he would not let a lack of money hold him back. John used visual aids, music and videos to highlight his main points of what it means to “think like a shark.”

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NEWS 9/29/23 7:50am

Haw River continually contaminated by Burlington companies

By Abigail Hobbs

The town of Pittsboro is performing tests on the water it receives from the Haw River due to a 1,4-dioxane leak in Burlington — the second time in two months. On Sept. 22, the city of Burlington received a test it had conducted by its wastewater treatment plant from Sept. 14 showing 459 parts per billion of 1,4-dioxane were leaving Burlington’s wastewater treatment plant at that time. The Environmental Protection Agency’s health advisory for 1,4-dioxane is .35 parts per billion in rivers and 35 parts per billion in drinking water — meaning this contamination is 1,300 times the EPA’s health advisory levels for rivers.

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NEWS 9/28/23 1:46pm

Elon University joins Reuse Pass for to-go container program

By Maggie Braswell

Elon University has started off the 2023-24 school year with a new method of to-go containers, now offering a free app called ReusePass. The app allows students to check out the green to-go containers for up to three days, rather than the previous years where students could trade to-go boxes for carabiners. Last year, students and faculty were limited to borrowing one to-go container at a time. Now they have the option to borrow multiple to-go containers and retain them for a period of up to three days.

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