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NEWS 9/18/24 8:07am

2024 Hispanic Heritage Month events calendar

By Elon News Network

Hispanic Heritage Month is celebrated nationally from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 each year. El Centro — Elon University’s educational and cultural hub for engagement, collaboration, advocacy and more within the Latinx / Hispanic community — hosts a month-long celebration for the community to explore and engage with Latinx and Hispanic cultures. This time period marks the independence anniversaries of several Latin American nations, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Additionally, Mexico and Chile commemorate their independence on Sept. 16 and Sept. 18.

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SPORTS 9/17/24 11:08am

Elon senior faces off with hockey, academics

By Monika Jurevicius

High Point University women’s hockey captain and Elon senior Melanie Joy “MJ” Volpe had her biggest birthday surprise when she scored a hat trick that secured a 9-2 win against Virginia Tech University at the Atlantic Coast Collegiate Hockey League Championships. However, she said her dream would be to wear an Elon women’s hockey jersey, when in reality there is only a men’s club hockey team on campus. Elon alumna Grace Moroney and the High Point men's and women's coaches created the women’s team in the 2021-22 season with a majority of Elon students on its roster.

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NEWS 9/16/24 1:29pm

Jarabe Mexicano band brings border stories to life at Elon University

By Lilly Molina

Mexican folk, reggae, rock and roll and cumbia are some of the genres Jarabe Mexicano plans to play at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 18 in McCrary Theatre. At the heart of the performance, Jarabe Mexicano sings about their experiences of living at the border. Gustavo Alcoser, the lead singer, said there is a lot that goes on in their show, but at the core, it is their experiences at the border. Jarabe Mexicano visiting Elon’s campus is one of many events hosted for Hispanic Heritage Month which lasts from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15.

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OPINIONS 9/16/24 12:45pm

OPINION: Rediscovering Elon after studying abroad

By Halli Harwood

Hands down, studying abroad was the best experience of my entire life. I never knew I had the capacity to appreciate and miss the experience as much as I do. I had five months of absolute autonomy and a long list of life lessons that made my time in Australia freeing and full of growth. Elon is known for their study abroad programs and roughly 88% of students go abroad in some capacity before graduating. Yet, I had never heard other people discuss the challenges they faced when they returned.

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NEWS 9/15/24 1:35pm

SGA cracks down on a cappella funding

By Nia Bedard

A cappella organization Vital Signs is scrambling to find funding for events after no longer receiving usual allocation from Elon's Student Government Association. Aidan Coy, Vital Signs president, said the a cappella presidents were scheduled to meet with the SGA executive board on Sept. 6 to discuss this, but SGA canceled the meeting the day prior. Coy, along with all other a capella presidents, received an email from the SGA Executive Board on May 14 stating “the Student Government Association will no longer allocate funds to support events that require students to purchase tickets.”

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SPORTS 9/14/24 10:13pm

Elon University football falls to Western Carolina

By Miles Hayford

The Elon University football team lost its home opener 24-17 to Western Carolina University in a game defined by turnovers and mistakes. As the players ran onto the field, smoke trailing them, the excitement for the home opener Sept. 14 was palpable. A generous crowd had shown up to Rhodes Stadium. This crowd was rewarded early with some entertaining play. Elon started their first drive with a spark of trickery, employing an end-around rush by wide receiver senior Chandler Brayboy that resulted in 16 yards. Elon continues a four game home stretch, playing East Tennessee University next week.

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SPORTS 9/14/24 3:42pm

Former Elon volleyball player returns to coach

By Miles Hayford

The Elon volleyball team has a familiar face this year. Two years after leaving Elon with numerous accolades from her time on the volleyball team, Haylie Clark has returned to Elon’s campus as an assistant coach. During her time at Elon as a student-athlete, Clark played volleyball under head coach Mary Tendler from 2018-22. She earned many achievements during her time, including being named to the 2021 All-Coastal Athletic Association Second Team and the 2021 CAA Setter of the Year. She also racked up 349 kills, 879 digs, 142 blocks and 113 aces during her time at Elon.

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LIFESTYLE 9/14/24 11:35am

Hillsborough tattoo shop celebrates Friday the 13th with discounts

By Abigail Hobbs

With 56 people coming to get tattooed on Friday, Sept. 13, shop owner and tattoo artist Lillian — aka “Honeybadger” — said Friday the 13th specials started as a way to lean into the negative stereotypes that come with tattoos. Inkognito Tattoo Studio — a minority and woman-owned studio — offered $31 tattoos with $13 tips from a set of designs called flash. Elon juniors and roommates Ash Crouse and Brooke Boozer got their first tattoos at the event due to the discount. Inkognito will be hosting another Friday the 13th discount event Dec. 13.

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NEWS 9/13/24 9:54am

New restaurant under construction at Park Place

By Aidan Powley

Rosemary’s is under construction at the previous location of Mediterranean Deli and the first floor of Park Place, one of Elon’s on-campus apartment buildings. According to the restaurant’s website, Rosemary’s is an Italian restaurant with several locations around New York, specializing in seasoned Italian cooking and neighborly hospitality. It will be located at 202 W. Haggard Avenue and will seek to tailor to all members of the Elon community, according to Derek Bates, owner of the new location and Elon graduate ’85.

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NEWS 9/12/24 6:20pm

Elon University sees 7.4% decrease in first-year enrollment

By Charlotte Pfabe and Ryan Kupperman

The Office of the Registrar released its fall 2024 report Sept. 12, which revealed a 7.4% decrease in first-year enrollment with 1,719 students in the class of 2028. The last time first-year enrollment was below this number was in 2021. Last year, the class of 2027 accounted for 1,857 students. The report includes data on student admissions; religious tradition demographics; county, state and country breakdowns; and enrollment by major. Notably, total undergraduate enrollment increased by only 50 students from 6,402 in fall 2023 to 6,452 in fall 2024.

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NEWS 9/12/24 5:36pm

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Greensboro focusing on healthcare, cost of living

By Avery Sloan

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to speak at 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. This event is a part of her campaign’s New Way Forward battleground tour, with the goal of reaching undecided voters. This is her second event in North Carolina today and both campaigns have already visited North Carolina multiple times this month. But, in a recent YouGov poll conducted after the presidential debate this week, Harris is ahead in the polls among voters who said they watched the debate. Notably, 54.4% of voters asked in the poll felt Harris won the debate, 31.3% felt Trump won and 14.3% were unsure.

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LIFESTYLE 9/12/24 3:28pm

Buddhist monk creates annual sand mandala at Elon University

By Sarah T. Moore

For Hillary Zaken, Elon’s sand mandala tradition is an important piece of starting the fall semester. The Green Tara sand mandala is created by Geshe Palden Sangpo, a Tibetan Buddhist monk of the Kadampa Center in Raleigh. Sangpo began working on the design Sept. 11 and will finish — and destroy — the mandala at 3 p.m. Sept. 13 in the Numen Lumen Pavilion. Zaken is the interim assistant dean of multifaith engagement at Elon and said beyond bringing greater multifaith understanding to campus, the sand mandala shows students that nothing is permanent.

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SPORTS 9/12/24 10:16am

Elon University soccer program remains undefeated, stands atop Division I

By Miles Hayford

Elon University’s soccer program is red-hot right now. The first few weeks of games have gone extremely well for the Phoenix, and both soccer teams are playing incredible on the field. Between the men’s and women’s combined 9-0 record, the program is on a tour of wins as the soccer season begins. Elon soccer is the only current program in all of Division I to be undefeated and untied. Additionally, men’s soccer is ranked No.  20 in the nation by the United Soccer Coaches Poll — the first time the team has reached the top 20 since 2015.

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NEWS 9/12/24 9:34am

Elon students struggle to find parking on campus

By Fiona McAllister and Abigail Hobbs

For three years, senior Ashland Sutton has been commuting to Elon’s campus with no issues. Now, she is accustomed to the sight of the full Innovation Quad parking lot and cars circling the lot. Living half an hour away, Sutton now gets up at 6 a.m. to guarantee a spot before her 8 a.m. class or risk parking further away in the Danieley parking lot. Sutton contacted Campus Police so they would be aware of the problem, Chief of Police Joe LeMire sent photos of available parking spaces throughout the day with timestamps.

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LIFESTYLE 9/11/24 1:37pm

Elon University’s bingo tradition brings students together

By Sarah T. Moore

When Bunny Ingram first became an Elon student, they knew they were going to play bingo. They had initially heard about the monthly games from their older sister, who had also attended Elon. Since freshman orientation, the now-junior has only missed games for three reasons: attending a funeral, having COVID-19 and studying abroad. On Sept. 5, Ingram was one of 333 players at the first bingo night of the 2024-25 academic year. Swarms of students filed into McKinnon Hall after swiping their Phoenix Cards to receive bingo boards.

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NEWS 9/11/24 12:39am

Elon Votes hosts presidential debate watch party

By Nia Bedard

Fifty-six days away from the election, Elon Votes hosted a watch party for the first 2024 presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in Moseley Student Center on Sept. 10 to get students engaged in the general election. This is now the 10th year that Elon Votes has hosted watch parties for Elon students, Lindsay Bialecki, Elon Votes student coordinator, said. Bialecki said Elon Votes was excited by the student turn-out for the event; around 100 students were at the event — with both the student center and the Oak Room filled with people.

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NEWS 9/10/24 9:57pm

Elon Town Hall tackles community growth, unity

By Cassie Weymouth

The town of Elon held a town council meeting on Sept. 10 to address community events and ongoing initiatives. Key highlights include the approval of a five-year agreement which outlines staffing support and possible funding for downtown development, upcoming community events, progress on designing and building a local skatepark and hiring for an administrative position within the Elon Police Department. A resolution was also approved to investigate an annexation petition, which is a petition to add an unincorporated piece of land to the town. This step is crucial for obtaining any approval on upcoming construction projects.

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SPORTS 9/10/24 9:09pm

Elon University volleyball pulls out four-set win

By Miles Hayford

Elon volleyball defeated Norfolk State University in a difficult, four-set affair on Sept. 10 at Schar Center. The Spartans got off to a hot start, jumping to a quick 7-3 lead thanks to a flurry of kills to begin the match. A lengthy point at 8-6 got Elon’s motivation back up, and after a strong serve by senior Sydney Love, the Phoenix tied it up. After Elon tied it up, the two teams traded points in a back-and-forth volley. Despite Elon’s comeback to tie it up, Norfolk State didn’t relent their attack, notching 11 kills to Elon’s three halfway through the first set.

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NEWS 9/10/24 3:51pm

Class of 2028 candidates campaign for SGA elections

By Alexa Citrin

Three weeks into their first year on campus, 24 freshmen have decided to run for Student Government. Voting opens on Sept. 17, and students will have the opportunity to vote for their president, treasurer and six senators. Elon News Network spoke to each candidate and asked what their motivations were for running. Official campaigning will take place for the rest of the week.

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NEWS 9/9/24 10:26pm

Elon Athletics investigates football player for alleged offensive remarks

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University Athletics is investigating a football player after accusations that he yelled racial slurs and curses at a North Carolina Central student during an away game Sept. 7. NC Central freshman Samihya Love, who is Black, said she was watching from the stands when a white Elon player repeatedly shouted at her from the sidelines. Associate Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Jason Knavel wrote in an email to Elon News Network that Elon Athletics is aware of the accusation and is looking into it.

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