White trash, thug, biker. These terms and more have been used for decades to describe people with tattoos and extravagant piercings. But those days are gone and a new era is coming into dominance.
Elon University’s Festival of Lights and Luminaries took place on Dec. 4 and was hosted by the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life. Luminaries lit up Elon’s campus as students walked around and enjoyed the night. The festival started incorporating themes in 2020 with each year being a new theme. This year it was, “Many Lights on One Night.” “This year the festival is bigger than ever, so the theme represents how all the small lights that each of us bring create one larger light on campus,” Hillary Zaken, the director of multifaith programming and engagement for the Truitt Center said.
The energy in Schar Center was palpable as the Phoenix built an early 18 point lead. However, the Phoenix couldn’t sustain momentum as Furman University surged in the second half to hand Elon a home defeat on Dec. 3. Head coach Billy Taylor said the Phoenix simply didn’t respond well when Furman started to take control. While there were encouraging moments during the game, Taylor stressed the importance of maintaining that level. “When they punched back, we didn’t respond the right way,” Taylor said. “We need more of those moments strung together over the course of 40 minutes.”