Two years ago, Ruby Radis watched her sorority big, best friend and Elon alum, Grace Ackerman, speak at the commencement ceremony in 2024. What Radis didn’t know was that moment would open the possibility of being a speaker at her own graduation. Radis, a human service studies major, was selected by a board of Elon University students, faculty and President Connie Book to be the undergraduate commencement speaker for the 136th Commencement ceremonies on May 22.
More than 20,000 students were absent from Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools during immigration enforcement operations last fall, according to district reporting, a wave of fear that helped spark a new bill in the North Carolina General Assembly aimed at protecting immigrant students in public schools.House Bill 1061, titled the “Plyler Educational Protections,” would reinforce students’ right to public education and establish clearer guidance for how schools respond to federal immigration enforcement requests.
