Cassie Weymouth

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Recent Articles

LIFESTYLE 1/11/26 1:01pm

Shuffle N Roll game nights welcome newcomers, regulars

By Cassie Weymouth

Shuffle N Roll, a tabletop game store in Mebane, hosts a game night every Thursday at 6 p.m. and every Saturday at 7 p.m. for all game players, but particularly for “Magic: The Gathering” lovers. “Magic: The Gathering” is a collectible trading card game where players “duel” using their customized card decks. The store, opened by owner Austin Smith, has been a longtime dream of his. This game night has filled a space in Mebane where people can gather and connect to those with shared interests. “I started Mebane game nights just for something to do in Mebane,” Smith said. “I didn't like having to drive 15 to 20 minutes out to go somewhere. And then, just because of how it grew, I figured I was able to do it with my personal timeline.” 

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NEWS 10/29/25 9:21pm

Elon University adopts Okanagan Charter, expands commitment to campus well-being

By Cassie Weymouth

Elon University officially signed the Okanagan Charter on Oct. 29 in a ceremony held in the Koury Gym. The Okanagan Charter, originally created at an international health promotion conference in 2015, calls on universities to embed health into all aspects of campus culture and to lead health promotion locally and globally. “Students don't leave their wellness at the classroom door,” Provost Rebecca Kohn said. “Our faculty and staff members don't separate their well-being with their work and the most transformative education development happens when we attend the whole person.”

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NEWS 10/28/25 3:13pm

Elon University to sign Okanagan Charter

By Cassie Weymouth

Elon University is set to sign the Okanagan Charter Oct. 29. This charter is the outcome of a 2015 international health conference on the promotion of health in universities and colleges. The U.S. Health Promoting Campuses Network serves as a support network meant to help campuses define what it means to be a "health promoting campus." Anya Bratić, the student government association president, will also be speaking at the signing event. "I see Elon as an institution that doesn't just talk about wellness and well-being in name," Bratić said. "They're actively trying to implement elements of it in every aspect of life."

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NEWS 10/28/24 9:37pm

Elon Town Council addresses first responders, looks to revitalize downtown

By Cassie Weymouth

The Town of Elon held a town council meeting Oct. 28 to commend first responders who went to western North Carolina to help with Hurricane Helene recovery efforts. The council also discussed town public transport and funding for downtown Elon’s future development. Mayor Emily Sharpe approved a $250,000 grant for downtown revitalization. This grant will go toward sidewalks specifically and will be used to revitalize downtown from the Elon Community Church to MaGerks Pub. The redesign will include extended sidewalks allowing for outdoor dining and better lighting.

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NEWS 10/25/24 4:10pm

Greek Dance marks end of 2024-25 Greek Week

By Cassie Weymouth

Oct. 24 marked the end of Elon University’s 2024-25 Greek Week with a dance competition consisting of 16 chapters of Elon’s greek organizations. The performance was held in the Schar Center and chapters were judged on creativity and theme, performance and overall stage presence. Judges were senior Robin Falkow from SGA, Elon Mayor Emily Sharpe, the women’s basketball head coach Charlotte Smith and Elon basketball players Laila Anderson and Isaac Harrell. Greek Week also fundraised over $20,000 for Habitat for Humanity and allowed free admission to Greek Dance for the first time.

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NEWS 10/14/24 8:27am

Campus political engagement surges as Elon Votes mobilizes students

By Cassie Weymouth

Senior Lydia Cohen recently changed her voter registration from New Jersey to North Carolina. Cohen, who is planning on voting for Democratic candidates, felt it made more sense to vote in North Carolina. Lindsay Bialecki, a coordinator for Elon Votes, has seen this in registrations. According to Bob Frigo, assistant dean of campus life and director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, in the 2020 election, almost 90% of Elon students were registered to vote and 74% cast their ballots. In the 2016 election, almost 79% of Elon students were registered to vote and 49% cast their ballots.

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NEWS 10/8/24 9:28pm

Elon Town Council discusses upcoming schedule, reaffirms committee policy

By Cassie Weymouth

The town of Elon held a town council meeting Oct. 8 to address scheduling council meetings and reaffirm policies pertaining to committees and committee appointees. For the next two upcoming months, the meeting Nov. 10 was rescheduled to Nov. 17 and both Nov. 24 and Dec. 23 were canceled due to holiday rush, a motion passed by Randy Orwig. The town council also reaffirmed their bylaws, stating committees should consist of residents of Elon unless there is specific expertise needed or the potential member has vested interest.

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NEWS 9/28/24 6:11pm

Happiness expert shares ‘tricks’ for college success at Elon's Fall Convocation

By Cassie Weymouth

Arthur Brooks, social scientist, bestselling author and columnist for The Atlantic, spoke at Elon’s 2024 Fall Convocation on Sept. 27. Brooks is the author of 13 books as well as a professor at Harvard where he teaches courses on leadership and happiness. Prior to convocation he spoke to Elon News Network about the key to setting yourself up for happiness and success during college. Brooks opened convocation by speaking about expectations that college students have about happiness.

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NEWS 9/24/24 3:02pm

Elon University explores integration of AI in classroom

By Cassie Weymouth

AI has become a topic of debate on college campuses, from professors encouraging and designing projects around the use of AI to others banning it from their classroom. Some classes, such as COM 3340: Politics and Mass Media, have introduced projects that utilize ChatGPT asking it to write analyses based on a student’s notes, while other classes ask that their students refrain from using any AI. Tom Kerr, a political science professor, asks students to refrain from using AI to write papers. Elisa Edwards, a sophomore in international global studies, said she is very nervous about the use of AI.

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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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NEWS 4/12/24 2:48pm

Elon University president issues statement following Palestinian speaker event on possible solutions to the Israel-Hamas War

By Cassie Weymouth

Elon University President Connie Book today acknowledged the controversy surrounding a speaker whose talk "Is Peace Possible in the Middle East?" earlier in the week left some audience members rattled. In an email to the university on April 12, Book said that Jonathan Kuttab's remarks "left the agreed-upon format on the anticipated topic of peace building, and he provided additional views and opinions on the conflict." "Several members of the community in attendance deeply disagreed with his divergent comments," Book wrote. "Not anticipating the changes to the speaker’s planned remarks, the event’s design did not include plans for opposing views to be offered at that moment, and limited time did not allow for all submitted questions to be heard.”

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LIFESTYLE 3/11/24 10:37am

Women beyond borders: Students navigate experiences abroad

By Cassie Weymouth

Elon has been ranked first in undergraduate students who participate in study abroad for the 18th time. Many of these students are women with varying experiences, often dependent on the culture within the country of their choice. Allegra Laing, executive director of the Global Education Center, encourages all female-identifying students to study abroad. She advises them to engage with other female-identifying students from the country they are staying in to learn how to safely navigate that specific culture. Laing also takes into consideration that other identities, such as race, religion, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation, can also play into a student’s experience abroad.

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NEWS 3/1/24 10:38am

Breaking down Alamance County elections ballot

By Cassie Weymouth

With the 2024 Presidential Primary Election coming in March several positions besides the Presidential nomination are up for election. These include 15 positions that are up for election, depending on how the voter registered these positions vary from the Republican, Democrat and Libertarian ballots. There are 15 positions on the ballot across all three ballots. Early voting is open now until March 2 and Elon South Gym is an early voting location. Election Day is March 5 and voting is open from 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

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NEWS 1/24/24 5:00pm

Former colleagues share lasting impact of professor emeritus on Elon community

By Cassie Weymouth

Professor Emeritus of Economics Tom Tiemann served Elon University for more than 30 years. He passed away on Friday, Dec. 22 at age 75. A recipient of the Elon Medallion, Tiemann was the founding dean of the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business, department chair of economics, director of general studies and director of the business fellows program. Apart from these various titles and accolades, he is most remembered for his compassion, kindness and his dedication to his community. A close colleague, economics professor Steve DeLoach recalls Tiemann’s faith in students, his efforts to always continue improving Elon and his continued work well after his retirement.

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NEWS 11/14/23 4:17pm

Elon University hosts multifaith panel to discuss the Israel-Gaza war

By Cassie Weymouth

A panel of Elon University’s multifaith chaplains gathered in the Sacred Space of the Numen Lumen Pavilion. The panelists discussed the Israel-Hamas war and how to navigate the conversations around it, particularly with the holidays drawing near. The Rev. Kirstin Boswell, the Rev. Julie Tonnesen, Imam Shane Atkinson and Rabbi Maor Greene spoke at the event Nov. 13. During the event, Greene said because the attack on Oct. 7 happened on Shabbat and the festival of Sukkot — a Jewish holiday —, there was extra shock and grief felt by the Jewish community. 

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NEWS 9/12/23 7:31am

North Carolina DMV no longer issues, renews Confederate flag license plates

By Cassie Weymouth

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review a 2021 North Carolina Department of Transportation ban on issuing or renewing specialty license plates with the Confederate flag. According to the North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles, North Carolina offers three standard plates and over 200 specialty license plates, representing more than 100 civic clubs and interest groups. In 2021 the Sons of Confederate Veterans sued the North Carolina Department of Transportation. A lower court dismissed the case and a federal appeals court agreed with that decision in 2022. Elon Law professors Luke Bierman and Enrique Armijo shared mixed opinions about the Supreme Court refusing to review the case.

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