Anjolina Fantaroni

Executive Director

Anjolina Fantaroni ‘26 is studying journalism with a minor in leadership studies. Fantaroni serves as the Executive Director of Elon News Network. She has previously served as the Broadcast News Director. When not in the newsroom, she is involved in the Isabella Cannon Leadership Fellows Program, Elon's First Generation Society, and the Elon Social Media Ambassador Program. Outside of Executive Director, she holds two on-campus jobs as an Operation and Communication Assistant and a Tour Guide. Find her best work on her portfolio.

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Recent Articles

NEWS 12/1/25 1:13pm

Elon’s Festival of Lights and Luminaries moved to Dec. 4

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University’s annual Festival of Lights and Luminaries has been rescheduled for Thursday, Dec. 4, from 6:30 - 8 p.m. due to forecasted rain on Dec. 1 into the morning of Dec. 2. According to the National Weather Service, there is a 100% chance of precipitation in Alamance County on Dec. 2 with rain mainly before 11 a.m.Aside from the date change, all other aspects of the event will remain the same, according to an email from Vice President of Student Life Jon Dooley.

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NEWS 11/19/25 1:48pm

Alamance County Sheriff’s Office to stop housing ICE detainees amid new state law requirement

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Alamance County Sheriff’s Office will stop housing those detained by  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement effective Nov. 16, according Alamance County Sheriff Terry Johnson in a press release Nov. 19. According to the press release, Johnson sent a letter to ICE and said the decision comes from changes to state law taking effect Dec. 1. North Carolina House Bill 307, known as “Iryna’s Law,” tightens rules on pretrial release, electronic monitoring and detention of individuals charged with violent crimes. 

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LIFESTYLE 11/13/25 9:06pm

Animatronic dinosaurs, deep-dish cookies bring families to Lowe’s parking lot

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Lowe’s Home Improvement parking lot in Mebane wasn’t just filled with cars Nov. 13 — it was filled with animatronic dinosaurs and deep-dish cookies. Hosted by the traveling food truck I Heart Cookies, the event paired a dinosaur-themed attraction with cookies baked from scratch at the company’s bakery in Wichita, Kansas. “I was like, ‘What is this?’” Burlington resident Nicole Parker said. “I have never seen this before. It is really cool.“

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LIFESTYLE 11/9/25 10:12pm

‘Graze the Grid’ teaches Elon community about agrivoltaics

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Two new guests explored the Solar Farm at Elon University’s Loy Farm on Nov. 9. Penelope and Snowflake are two sheep that graze the grass underneath the solar panels to make the soil healthy for planting, according to Elon senior Ava Litzinger. The sheep are part of a wider project, led by an Elon environmental studies senior seminar called “Graze the Grid.” Litzinger is in the class and said the class is separated into different focus groups, such as clean energy in sustainable business practices. 

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LIFESTYLE 11/9/25 1:13pm

Peacehaven Community Farm grows mission of inclusion with new community center

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Peacehaven Community Farm, an 89-acre farm in Whitsett, North Carolina, that provides community housing, programs and an environment for adults living with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as a place for adults of all abilities to work and learn together is set to grow with the addition of a new 20,000-square-foot community center on its current property. “Society is really having it set up for this group of folks and their families, and so we’re trying to create change on what that looks like,” CEO of Peacehaven Community Farm Phelps Sprinkle said. 

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LIFESTYLE 11/9/25 1:13pm

La granja comunitaria Peaceheaven amplía su misión de inclusión con un nuevo centro comunitaria

By Anjolina Fantaroni

La Granja Comunitaria Peacehaven, una finca de 36 hectáreas en Whitsett, Carolina del Norte, que ofrece vivienda comunitaria, programas y un entorno para adultos con discapacidades intelectuales y del desarrollo, así como un espacio para que adultos de todas las capacidades trabajen y aprendan juntos, se expandirá con la construcción de un nuevo centro comunitario de 1.858 metros cuadrados en su propiedad actual. "La sociedad está adaptando sus recursos a este grupo de personas y sus familias, y por eso estamos intentando generar un cambio en cómo se ve esa integración", declaró Phelps Sprinkle, director ejecutivo de la Granja Comunitaria Peacehaven.

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NEWS 11/6/25 3:02pm

Elon University announces establishment of private school for children with dyslexia

By Charlotte Pfabe and Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University President Connie Book announced that Elon will welcome the Roberts Academy at Elon University to campus in fall 2026. The Roberts Academy will be a private school for children with dyslexia. It will be the first private school in North Carolina located on a university campus and dedicated to serving students with dyslexia. The Roberts Academy will open in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue, enrolling children in third and fourth grades. A new facility on East Haggard Avenue is set to open in fall 2028, expanding enrollment to include students in first through sixth grades. 

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NEWS 11/4/25 11:16pm

Three incumbents rejoin Mebane Town Council

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Incumbents Montreena Hadley, Tim Bradley and Jonathan White will rejoin the Mebane Town Council following municipal elections on Nov. 4. Hadley received the most votes with 33.27% to reclaim her seat on the council. Hadley said she is looking forward to the next four years. “Continuing the work that I've started with the community, and making my community proud of me, making sure that the citizens of Mebane and all citizens of Mebane have a voice,” Hadley said.

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NEWS 11/4/25 10:40pm

Two incumbents rejoin Green Level Town Council

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Following municipal elections on Nov. 4, incumbents Patricia Jones and Jose McBroom will rejoin the Green Level Town Council. Jones received 33.61% of the votes to re-secure her seat, while McBroom received 29.51% to re-secure his.  Newcomers Lesley Sanders-Carter and Theodore Howard fell more than 10% short of securing a seat. Jones said she is excited for her next term. “I'm looking forward to the next four years of love, spreading more love around our town, more growth, and trying to bring new business to the town of Green Level,” Jones said.

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LIFESTYLE 10/31/25 2:38pm

Room2Grow offers support, education for young, at-risk parents

By Anjolina Fantaroni

In the corner of a conference room at CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response and Resource Center, Jekilah Suenu carefully places a sticker on a cup that reads, “Growing 2 Be the Best I Can Be!” Meanwhile, her mother, Brandy Daye-Suenu, prepares the room for the night’s class. Daye-Suenu is the founder of Room2Grow, an organization that hosts educational and therapeutic classes for at-risk and young parents 16 to 30 years old. “They didn’t have the resources to help them deal with what they were dealing with, emotionally, and understanding how to just balance being a parent and being a person in everyday living,” Daye-Suenu said.

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NEWS 10/27/25 3:41pm

Human trafficking in Alamance County and the fight led by CrossRoads

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Christa Hippe was just 12 years old when the sexual abuse began. The abuse was from someone her family trusted, and it went on for years before she knew what human trafficking meant. “As a young child, I was traumatized,” Hippe said. Now, almost 20 years later, Hippe works at CrossRoads Sexual Assault Response & Resource Center, a Burlington nonprofit that supports survivors of sexual assault and human trafficking. She found herself using CrossRoads resources in the 1990s after a friend recommended their services.

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LIFESTYLE 10/22/25 11:36am

Ms. Sandra greets students with strength after surviving breast cancer

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Sandra Greeson is a familiar face at McEwen Dining Hall, greeting students five days a week in the mornings and afternoons. Greeson was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer four years ago and was the first person in her family to have it. Even through her diagnosis and chemotherapy in 2021, she still worked the McEwen cash register, which she said gave her a drive. “I wanted to be strong and show others what it was like to be strong when you have cancer. It’s not just something you set back. You can be strong and move on forward with it.”

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LIFESTYLE 10/11/25 7:08am

Elon School of Communications celebrates 25th anniversary

By Anjolina Fantaroni

With food, live music, and  memories, the Snow Family Grand Atrium in Schar Hall served as the site of the School of Communications’ 25th anniversary. School of Communications Dean T. Kenn Gaither, introduced the event and extended a warm welcome and congratulations to Asha Michelle Wilson '13 with the school's Alumna of the Year Award. “I haven't actually been back to campus since graduation, so it's been 12 years since I've been back,” Wilson said. “I've done a lot of Elon panels in L.A. and coming back and being here for the 25th anniversary of the comm school and seeing everybody has been amazing.”

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NEWS 9/23/25 3:18pm

Queens, Elon merger aims to expand graduate pathways for students in Charlotte

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University announced Sept. 16 during College Coffee in McKinnon Hall that they plan to merge with Queens University of Charlotte. If the universities’ boards of trustees approve a merger, Elon would take over operations at Queens. Queens senior Emily Wouterse said that it was a surprise to most, but she’s looking on the bright side. “They position it as a way of Queens becoming stronger,” Wouterse said. “That's how I want to look at it. I feel like change is something you don't have to resist. Accept, go with the flow.”

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NEWS 9/22/25 7:04pm

Charlie Kirk’s killing at Utah Valley University sparks online threats, free speech debates

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, was fatally shot during a speaking event at Utah Valley University on Sept. 10, setting off waves of shock and speculation across multiple social media platforms. That same night and into the next morning, anonymous posts on social platforms like Fizz and YikYak appeared, with some sending love, but others sending political shame or threats. “In anonymous apps, some of the questions relate to ‘how public is this speech?’” Director of the Imagining the Digital Future Center Lee Rainie said. 

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NEWS 9/22/25 10:25am

Alamance-Burlington schools labeled low performing for first time since 2014

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Alamance-Burlington School System has been designated as “low performing.” This is the first time ABSS has received this designation since the Department of Public Instruction began using its A-F grading system in 2014. The grade identifies ABSS as low performing out of North Carolina’s 115 public school districts for the 2024-2025 academic year. With more than half of its schools receiving a failing grade, ABSS is the largest district in the state to carry that title. The DPI grades schools on a number of factors including enrollment, attendance, performance and test scores. 

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LIFESTYLE 9/18/25 7:33am

Former NC representative forges path for Latino advocacy

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Former North Carolina state Rep. Ricky Hurtado was born to two Salvadoran immigrants who fled the country's civil war in 1980. Hurtado is the co-founder of LatinxEd, a nonprofit that promotes leadership development and education equity across North Carolina. He said Elon University offers several resources that support the Latine community both on and off campus. "Students have interned with us, use this as a resource as needed, and we always find ways to collaborate with other programs and initiatives happening on campus as well," Hurtado said.  

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LIFESTYLE 9/18/25 7:33am

Exrepresentante de Carolina del Norte forja un camino para la defensa de derechos latinos

By Anjolina Fantaroni

El exrepresentante estatal de Carolina del Norte, Ricky Hurtado, es hijo de dos inmigrantes salvadoreños que huyeron de la guerra civil del país en 1980. Hurtado es cofundador de LatinxEd, una organización sin fines de lucro que promueve el desarrollo del liderazgo y la equidad educativa en Carolina del Norte. Comentó que la Universidad de Elon ofrece varios recursos que apoyan a la comunidad latina tanto dentro como fuera del campus. "Algunos estudiantes han realizado prácticas con nosotros, utilizan este recurso cuando lo necesitan, y siempre encontramos maneras de colaborar con otros programas e iniciativas que se llevan a cabo en el campus", dijo Hurtado.

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NEWS 9/10/25 8:41pm

Carolina Cowboys ride into Greensboro for professional bull riding

By Anjolina Fantaroni

The Carolina Cowboys are set to take over First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro this weekend as Professional Bull Riders Cowboy Days bucks into town. Jerome Davis, head coach of the Carolina Cowboys, said he’s excited for the Greensboro games, where the team has won its last two games at the Coliseum. “We've had some tough, tough runs at it, but our guys are starting to get back together and getting healthy, and it looks like we're gonna have a good year finishing it out,” Davis said. The Carolina Cowboys will be at the First Horizon Coliseum in Greensboro from Sept. 12-14.

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NEWS 9/9/25 7:44pm

Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation unveils historical stone at Elon University

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University unveiled a stone honoring the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation and the Native American land the university is built on in a ceremony on Sept. 9. Vickie Jeffries, or Mihe Heyananhes Yattse, is a beader, basket weaver and Indigenous herbalist. She was born in Alamance County and is an enrolled citizen of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. “You wouldn't think that it would actually happen, but it did, and all things are possible,” Jeffries said. “To know that people will finally see this stone, they can read it and read about the evolution.”

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