Ruby Burckle

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Recent Articles

LIFESTYLE 7/1/25 12:30pm

Elon University Year of Service Fellows give back to Alamance County

By Ruby Burckle

Every year, six seniors at Elon University are chosen to participate in the Elon Year of Service Fellows Program; a post-grad opportunity allowing them to live and work in Alamance County, and give back to the community they lived in during the four years of their undergrad experience. “I feel like as an Elon student Alamance County gives us so much and I really liked the idea of being able to give back to the county that we live in for four years,” said Abby Lee, a 2025 fellow.

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NEWS 5/26/25 10:45am

6 Elon University faculty members retire

By Trista Panagakos , Megan Walsh and Ruby Burckle

With the 2024-25 academic year over, six Elon University faculty members are retiring. The retiring faculty members include Martin Fowler, Nancy Harris, Betty Garrison, Pieter Swanepoel, Joyce Davis and Mary Jo Festle. These faculty members have worked at Elon University teaching classes, sitting on committees and leading Winter Term trips. As the six retiring faculty members prepare to leave Elon University, they reminisced on their time at Elon Univeristy and how Elon has changed and shared their plans for their future. 

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NEWS 5/14/25 11:17am

Elon Town Council holds public hearings on proposed budget, fire tax increase

By Ruby Burckle

The Elon Town Council held public hearings for the proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year, the proposed fire tax increase and a permit request for an accessory dwelling unit during its meeting May 13. During the public hearings for the proposed budget and proposed fire tax increase, there were no members of the public who wished to comment. The council endorsed an increase the fire tax for the 2026 fiscal year. The council is scheduled to vote on the proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year June 10.

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NEWS 5/8/25 12:01pm

University to increase yearly contribution to Elon fire department

By Ruby Burckle

In the proposed town of Elon budget for the 2026 fiscal year, Elon University is reportedly increasing its contributions to the fire department from $86,598 to $423,524. As detailed in the proposed budget, Twin Lakes, a local retirement community, is also increasing its contributions to the fire department from $56,000 to $60,000. In order to help pay for the cost of the ladder truck, the fire department has also proposed an increase to the fire district tax rate from $0.0865 to $0.10.

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NEWS 5/8/25 12:01pm

University to increase yearly contribution to Elon fire department

By Ruby Burckle

In the proposed town of Elon budget for the 2026 fiscal year, Elon University is reportedly increasing its contributions to the fire department from $86,598 to $423,524. As detailed in the proposed budget, Twin Lakes, a local retirement community, is also increasing its contributions to the fire department from $56,000 to $60,000. In order to help pay for the cost of the ladder truck, the fire department has also proposed an increase to the fire district tax rate from $0.0865 to $0.10.

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NEWS 4/28/25 11:20pm

Elon Town Council discusses proposed budget for 2026 fiscal year

By Ruby Burckle

Elon Town Council members debated whether it would be in the community and council’s best interest to increase property tax rates in order to fund the proposed budget for the 2026 fiscal year during the town council meeting April 28. Elon Town Manager Rich Roedner proposed a property tax increase from $0.35 to $0.365, or a one and a half cent increase. Unlike many other municipalities, sales tax is the number one revenue source for the town of Elon, according to Mayor Emily Sharpe. The council will hold a public hearing on May 13 before approving the budget.

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LIFESTYLE 4/4/25 10:53am

HealthEU center construction brings excitement, concerns

By Kate Gray and Ruby Burckle

Construction on the new HealthEU center began unexpectedly for some students. Construction began in January, raising both excitement and concerns among Elon students. The project was announced in the spring of 2024, with the goal of being completed by summer 2026. However, the building will now be completed that fall instead, according to David Haught, senior director of planning, design and construction management. According to Haught, construction is currently in phase one, which involves tree removal, utility work and reshaping land to prepare the site.

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NEWS 3/24/25 10:32pm

Elon Town Council approves conditional rezoning request for new development

By Ruby Burckle

The Elon Town Council held a meeting March 24 to decide whether to approve or deny a conditional rezoning request presented during a previous meeting, hear public complaints about excessive speeding, and discuss borrowing scenarios for recreational projects. During its meeting on March 11, the council discussed a proposal for a new mixed-use development called “Parc Village” located behind the Schar Center with plans to make a decision on the topic at this meeting. Before making a decision about the development, the council discussed concerns over changing the lengths of driveways to be 18 feet instead of 19 feet.

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NEWS 3/12/25 8:57am

Elon Town Council discusses proposal for new mixed-use development

By Ruby Burckle

The Elon Town Council held a meeting March 11 to discuss plans to construct a new mixed-use development at the southwest intersection of University Drive and North Williamson Avenue. If the town council votes to approve the development, Parc Village will be located behind the Schar Center, in close proximity to Elon University property. Though the development is so close to campus, developers will not be able to build pedestrian access between the two sites unless the university agrees to the idea, according to Lori Oakley, town planning director.

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NEWS 2/28/25 5:50pm

Elon President Connie Book says Elon will not be affected by recent executive orders

By Ruby Burckle

Elon President Connie Book said Elon University will not be impacted by recent executive orders that propose cuts to funding for higher education and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Elon’s Student Government hosted a fireside chat event with Book and Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley to answer questions regarding recent executive orders and accessibility issues on campus.

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LIFESTYLE 2/24/25 2:40pm

Elon University Truitt Center hosts Ripple Conference, fosters interfaith connection

By Ruby Burckle

With an estimated 150 attendees hailing from over 10 universities, the Ripple Conference, held from Feb. 21 to 23, showcased the importance of interfaith dialogue on college campuses. The Ripple Conference is the largest student-led interfaith conference in the Southeast. This year, the conference’s theme was “The Art of Interfaith” and explored how art can bridge the gap between people of different faiths. On Feb. 21, the first day of the conference, participants gathered in the Richard McBride Gathering Space to hear from keynote speaker Rodger Kamenetz, a poet and author.

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LIFESTYLE 12/22/24 8:17pm

Elon’s Irish Dance Team provides strong sense of community for members

By Ruby Burckle

The sound of fiddles and flutes fill the conference rooms in upstairs Lakeside as the Elon Irish Dance Team begins its weekly practice. The team is a small but close knit community made up of people from all ranges and skill levels. Some members, like senior and co-president Sarah Dawkins, have been dancing since as early as 3 years old, while others like freshman Trudie Arling, have never done Irish dance before. The uniqueness of the sport has created a strong sense of community within the club that provides an outlet for its members. 

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LIFESTYLE 10/29/24 5:33pm

Elon’s production of ‘Legally Blonde’ brings audience members to their feet

By Ruby Burckle

As the cast of Elon University’s fall mainstage musical, “Legally Blonde,” came on stage to take their final bows, the audience rose out of their seats to give the actors a standing ovation. Morgan Brady was at the show to support her brother sophomore Kyle Brady, who plays Your Majesty and is the understudy for Kyle, the UPS man. Morgan said she was a fan of the movie and musical prior to attending this show and Elon’s production met all of her expectations.

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LIFESTYLE 9/29/24 5:59pm

Elon University challenges students’ perspectives with unconventional map

By Ruby Burckle

The world map in Lindner 106 within Elon University’s Academic Village depicts the world with accurate land proportions using the Galls-Peters projection. The Mercator projection is the most commonly used world map; however, it distorts the size of land masses farther away from the Equator, making them disproportionately large. For example, Greenland appears to be larger than Australia. In reality, Australia is over three times larger than Greenland. Also unlike traditional world maps, the one in Lindner is south side up, oriented with Antarctica reaching the ceiling and the Arctic Circle pointed toward the floor.

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