Alannah Klingsporn

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NEWS 12/9/25 10:41pm

Elon Town Council swears in recently elected members

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon Town Council swore in new member Steve Exum during their meeting on Dec. 9. Returning council member Randy Orwig and Mayor Emily Sharpe were resworn into their current positions, with Monti Allison being resworn in as Mayor Pro Tem. Steve Exum thanked his family for their support and talked about what he is looking forward to accomplishing as a member of the town council. “I do want to be a bridge builder, a teammate, a lister,” Exum said towards the end of the meeting. “I want to help Elon grow wisely, with opportunity for all and with heart.”

NEWS 11/18/25 12:54pm

Death penalty advocacy organization screens Racist Roots

By Alannah Klingsporn

The North Carolina Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty screened a 25 minute documentary in Turner Theater on Nov. 17. The film showed the racial history in North Carolina death penalty cases in the past and present. After the film screening there was a panel with death row exoneree Alfred Rivera. “The newly passed law adds execution methods that we have not used in North Carolina previously,” NCCADP executive director Noel Nickel said “So it's really important for people to understand that reality.”

NEWS 11/5/25 1:47pm

El Concejo Municipal de Burlington nombra a un nuevo administrador de la ciudad

By Alannah Klingsporn

El Ayuntamiento de Burlington nombró a Bob Patterson como nuevo administrador municipal, tras la jubilación del anterior administrador, Craig Honeycutt. Según la página web del Ayuntamiento de Burlington, el puesto de administrador municipal es de designación y supervisa las operaciones diarias de la ciudad y todos los departamentos municipales, implementa las políticas del Ayuntamiento y mantiene a este informado sobre las finanzas y los asuntos de la ciudad. "Nuestros objetivos a corto plazo son mantener la plantilla, salarios competitivos, garantizar que contamos con empleados cualificados para seguir ofreciendo un excelente servicio a nuestros ciudadanos en todos los departamentos y, además, proporcionar el mejor uso posible de sus impuestos", declaró Patterson.

NEWS 11/5/25 1:42pm

Burlington City Council appoints new city manager

By Alannah Klingsporn

Burlington City Council appointed Bob Patterson as the new city manager, as former City Manager Craig Honeycutt retired. The Burlington City Manager is an appointed position that oversees daily city operations and all municipal departments, implements council policies, and keeps the council informed on the city’s finances and affairs, according to the City of Burlington’s website. “Near-term goals are to maintain our staffing levels, competitive wages, make sure we have good quality employees to provide that continued excellent service to our citizens across all of our departments, and also provide the best value for our citizens’ tax dollars,” Patterson said.

NEWS 10/26/25 5:28pm

Town of Elon Fire Department celebrates 100th anniversary

By Alannah Klingsporn

The Elon Fire Department celebrated its 100th anniversary Oct. 25 with an open house that included a slideshow of the fire department's history and was attended by residents and town council members. The fire department was established in 1925 following the Elon fire in 1923. The fire destroyed most of the campus including the main building of Elon College, which was replaced with Alamance. “We have student volunteers,” Assistant Chief of the Elon Fire Department Ray Pruitt said. “It's been a great opportunity to be able to work with the students and the community.” 

NEWS 10/14/25 11:50pm

Elon Town Council schedules code enforcement, discusses disputes over pavement on East Haggard Avenue

By Alannah Klingsporn

The Elon Town Council discussed updates to retirement bonuses, the Elon Fire Department’s 100th anniversary and scheduled code enforcement during their meeting Oct. 14. Town council members voted to schedule code enforcement every January for tenants and landlords to abide by. Kristin Cummings is the code enforcement officer for Elon and patrols the area for violations of Elon residents' properties. “The ultimate goal is to change behavior and prevent it from happening in the first place.” Mayor Emily Sharpe said. 

NEWS 10/10/25 6:10pm

PBS North Carolina begins to lay off employees

By Alannah Klingsporn

PBS North Carolina has laid off employees due to cuts from federal funding. According to the Raleigh The News & Observer, PBS North Carolina has laid off 32 employees and eliminated 16 vacant positions, in addition to offering voluntary separations due to federal funding cuts to public media. In July 2025, President Donald Trump signed the Rescissions Act of 2025, which included a provision to cancel all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting . The CPB, which is a private, non-profit organization, funnels federal money to public media stations like National Public Radio  and The Public Broadcasting Service across the country.

NEWS 9/30/25 11:43am

Elon Town Council discusses a new pump station through Gibsonville, new retirement benefits, updates on new appointments

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon Town Council discussed retirement benefits, new parking available for community establishments and an additional education awareness in Beth Schmidt Park during their meeting on Sept. 29. Elon Town Council is planning to give employees who have served for over 25 years a $5,000 retirement bonus.  “The fact that we have people that have given their whole careers to a town, this is the least that we can do for them, is to show them that we appreciate all the hard work that they've done and that they have made a commitment to this community,” Council member Stephanie Bourland said.

NEWS 9/15/25 6:53am

Elon community comes together with Walk for Hope

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon University students gathered Sept. 12 on Medallion Plaza to close out Suicide Prevention and Life Awareness Week with the Walk for Hope around Lake Mary Nell. Participants held signs with phrases such as “You matter” and “The world is better with you in it,” written on them. Sophomore and Vice President for Active Minds Phoebe Struminger said she came to the event to spread awareness. “There's never enough information out there,” Struminger said. “It's become a super big stigma, which definitely needs to be broken as many people struggle with it.”

NEWS 9/6/25 6:33am

Town of Elon block party builds community between residents, students

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon University students and residents of the town of Elon gathered Sept. 5 in downtown Elon for the annual block party, which included vendors, inflatables and live music. Town of Elon Downtown Development Director Jill Weston said the block party started three years ago when they launched the social district downtown. Community events like this just bring everybody together,” Weston said. “And we're a very unique community. We have senior citizens, we have families and obviously we have students. So this is the type of event that has appeal for everybody.

LIFESTYLE 5/6/25 8:29pm

Elon University’s Black Student Union hosts annual Coolin' on the Commons

By Alannah Klingsporn

On Saturday, May 3, Elon University’s Black Student Union Board hosted its annual Coolin on the Common in the Academic Village in partnership with Elon’s National Pan-Hellenic Council and Student Government Association. This year included a step show, food trucks and a bounce house. Eight out of the nine Black greek letter organizations that are a part of Elon NPHC competed in the step show, including Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, Omega Psi Phi fraternity, Delta Sigma Theta sorority, Phi Beta Sigma fraternity, Sigma Gamma Rho sorority and Zeta Phi Beta sorority. 

LIFESTYLE 4/15/25 5:35pm

Student-run theater organization presents original play

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon University’s student-run theater company NewWorks debuted "Captain’s Log" on April 12, a student-written play by senior Graham Cole exploring the challenges of college life through the lens of two freshmen with social anxiety. Inspired by Cole’s own college experience, the play challenges the idealized view of college as “the best years of your life.” Directed by senior Grace Minton and featuring Elon junior Maggie Blakeney as Adrianna, "Captain’s Log" emphasizes inner monologues and emotional honesty, aiming to foster empathy and remind students they’re not alone in their struggles.

LIFESTYLE 3/29/25 12:19pm

Elon University’s Liberal Arts Forum hosts Maysoon Zayid

By Alannah Klingsporn

Students filled Whitley Auditorium on Thursday evening, March 27, as the Liberal Arts Forum hosted Maysoon Zayid as the second speaker of its 2025 spring Speaker Series.  Zayid, a comedian, actress and disability activist living with cerebral palsy spoke about a number of topics, ranging from her personal experiences to choosing her identity. Zayid also focused on the representation of disabilities in the media. Zayid is the founder and co-executive producer of the New York Eric Comedy Festival and the Muslim Funny Fest. She has also written for Glamour Magazine and appeared on 60 Minutes and ABC news. 

LIFESTYLE 2/15/25 2:45pm

Late Night Elon hosts Stuffed with Love event to close out Valentine's Day

By Alannah Klingsporn

Students packed Moseley Center on Feb.14 as Late Night Elon celebrated Valentine's Day with "Stuffed with Love." Briston Witt, a coordinator of Student Involvement who organizes Late Night Elon events, said the event was meant to bring people together for the holiday."As cliche as it sounds, I do think all we need is love. I think when you get back to the core of that, that is what is most important," Witt said. "I just wanted to create a space where students can come and celebrate that."

NEWS 10/18/24 1:07pm

Elon’s College Democrats host town hall with state house candidates

By Alannah Klingsporn

Elon University’s College Democrats hosted a panel with North Carolina House of Representative Democratic candidates LeVon Barnes and Robin Wintringham on Oct.17. The discussion was held to give students more information about both candidates and what issues they are running on. Wintringham, who graduated from Elon University’s School of Law and previously worked with Habitat for Humanity for over 20 years, is running for a seat to represent District 63. Barnes, who previously worked in education as a public school teacher and coach, is running to represent District 64.

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SPORTS 01/30/2026 10:59pm
Elon University women’s basketball falls to conference-leading Charleston

In Elon women’s basketball’s 77-69 loss to the College of Charleston Cougars, strategic positioning, discipline and physicality took center stage. The game, which was pushed from a 7 p.m. to 6 p.m. tip-off due to weather, was a rematch from earlier in the season, when Elon fell to Charleston 87-64. Charleston entered the game on a nine-game win streak, undefeated in the Coastal Athletic Association. The team is the best offensive, rebounding and three-point shooting team in the CAA. Head coach Charlotte Smith said she wanted to present the Cougars with a 3-1-1 zone, which she said is unorthodox against a good shooting team.

NEWS 01/30/2026 12:14pm
Elon University to close early Friday ahead of winter storm

Elon University offices will close at 3 p.m. Jan. 30 to allow for preparation time ahead of the upcoming winter storm. Vice President of Student Life Jon Dooley announced the closure in an email Jan. 30 that also outlined changes to campus parking and weekend basketball schedules. 

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