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.
Noel Allen, after serving 40 years on the board of trustees, was honored with an Elon Medallion on April 19, the highest honor given by the university. Allen grew up in the town of Elon and then was a student at Elon where he served as the student body president.
Allen has witnessed Elon’s growth as an institution, joining the board when enrollment was under 3,000 students. Allen has been a part of every long range strategic plan, since he was a student member of President Emeritus J. Earl Danieley’s first planning committee in 1966, University President Connie Book said. Allen also served as board chair from 2001 to 2003, when Elon transitioned from a college to a university and adopted the Phoenix as its mascot, Book said.
Her first night at Elon, junior Kelsey Eshleman was invited by members of Elon Young Life to a bonfire event at an off-campus house, affectionately nicknamed Full House. That night, Eshleman said she remembered thinking how cool it would be to live there with her newfound friends. Now, Eshleman is still close with many students she met her first night and is one of five people living in Full House. But after living in the house for this past year and signing her lease renewal for next academic year, Eshleman and her roommates received a message from their landlord in February — the house that had been a pass down in Elon’s Christian community for 15 years was no longer available to rent.
