Hurricane Florence Coverage

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NEWS 5/5/24 11:36am

National foreign language enrollment declines at collegiate level

By Cailey Cetani

Hallo! Bonjour! Hola! Ciao! According to the American Councils for International Education, 10.6 million students from grades K-12 are enrolled in a foreign language. A new study has shown that although many have learned languages in their early education, there is a decline in the pursuit of learning a language in college. According to the Modern Language Association 2023 Census, there was a 16.6% decrease in enrollment in foreign language classes by college students from 2016 to 2021. This is the largest decline since the association started its census in 1958 with language enrollment peaking in 2009.

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NEWS 5/4/24 12:30pm

Gathering of friends honors Elon junior as ‘selfless’, ‘life of the party’

By Ryan Kupperman

Approximately 70 members of the Elon community attended a gathering of friends in the pavilion behind the Sklut Hillel Center on May 3 to share their feelings of loss and reflect on fond memories they’ve shared with Malinsky. Malinsky, who died on April 29 of brain cancer, was a member of Elon’s class of 2025 and an active member of the Jewish community. Jewish Educator Boaz Avraham-Katz, who was one of Talia’s professors, spoke at the event along with University Chaplain Kirstin Boswell — who led the service in a prayer before allowing Talia’s friends to speak about their memories with her.

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NEWS 5/4/24 11:03am

Fulbright Fellowship sees Elon’s largest applicant pool

By Jordyn Forni

The Fulbright fellowship is a competitive opportunity for graduating college seniors and alumni. Fulbright partners with 140 countries to offer recipients postgraduate abroad opportunities to teach English, conduct research or pursue a graduate degree. With the Fulbright fellowship only having a 20% acceptance rate, the program is extremely competitive. Nicole Galante, assistant director of national and international fellowships, said she has seen an uptick in fellowship applications. This past year, the office had its highest applicant pool ever with 34 applicants from Elon.

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NEWS 5/3/24 8:29pm

Elon discontinues Cinema, Television Arts BFA program for incoming students

By Sophie Rosenthal

Starting with students who enter Elon University in Fall 2024, cinema and television arts majors will no longer be able to pursue a bachelor of fine arts degree. The decision to discontinue the program was not simple, professor Staci Saltz, chair of the CTA department, said. A BFA committee with faculty members and advisers discussed curriculum, the depth of the thesis project and the amount of resources available to the students in the program, such as money, equipment and rental spaces. In any given year, only between 15 and 20 seniors out of around 200 students pursue BFAs in the CTA department.

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LIFESTYLE 5/3/24 4:54pm

El Centro celebrates Elon University’s LatinX/Hispanic community with release of “Perspectivas”

By Nia Bedard

Elon University’s Latinx/Hispanic student center, El Centro, celebrated their value of “mi comunidad” with the release of its zine, “Perspectivas.” “Perspectivas,” is a zine published on a semesterly basis that gives a space for Latinx/Hispanic-identifying students the opportunity to publish their art. The first edition of the magazine was released last fall and was created and supervised by junior Leslie Aviles. This edition is centered around the value of “mi comunidad,” one of El Centro’s core values that can be found on their website.

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NEWS 5/3/24 10:46am

AEPhi visits Elon, hosts interest meeting

By Lilly Molina

AEPhi, a historically Jewish sorority, visited Elon’s campus on May 2 in order to gauge interest in bringing a chapter to Elon. They hosted an interesting meeting in upstairs Moseley with a little over 20 people in attendance. Junior Natalie Schuver said she has been thinking about bringing and joining a Jewish sorority to Elon since she contacted the student involvement office during her freshman year. Sharon Raphael, National President of AEPhi, also said that Elon has been on their radar for at least 20 years.

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NEWS 5/2/24 12:07pm

Elon University names first-ever nominated student commencement speaker

By Ellie Reasbeck

Grace Ackermann was driving to Boston for apartment hunting when she got the call from Elon University President Connie Book saying that she would be the student commencement speaker for the graduating class of 2024. In the past, the speaker has always been the student body president, but in February 2024, the Student Government Association changed the requirements. This new change allowed for all seniors to apply for the speaker position — granting the final decision to a special committee composed of SGA members and students. With graduation on May 24, Ackermann said she is excited for the opportunity to speak for the class of 2024.

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NEWS 5/1/24 2:11pm

Elon University hosts record-breaking SURF Day

By Miles Hayford

Elon University’s annual Spring Undergraduate Research Forum had record-breaking participation this year. There were a total of 322 presentations this year, a 19% jump from last year and the highest in the forum’s 31 year history. According to Jen Hamel, associate director of undergraduate research, this is the result of an upward trend she has noticed over the past several years. Hamel attributes this growth to increased participation in SURF from the School of Communications and the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business. The 322 presentations were divided into 168 poster presentations, 154 oral presentations and 35 creative performances.

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NEWS 5/1/24 1:43pm

Elon’s Speakers’ Corner finds another voice

By Fiona McAllister

Elon sophomore Noelle Vaught said she finds students at Elon University are “politically sleepwalking.” On April 25, Vaught stood at the Speakers’ Corner holding an upside down American flag with the words “there is no flag large enough to cover up the shame of killing innocent people” written on it. Vaught also said she feels Elon is very “cloistered,” or secluded from the rest of the world. Vaught said her second reason is that she is opposed to the United States’ involvement in the Israel-Hamas War.

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NEWS 5/1/24 9:23am

Elon junior dies of brain cancer

By Avery Sloan and Ryan Kupperman

Elon junior Talia Malinsky died around 5 p.m. on April 29 at the age of 21 surrounded by family. Her mother Irit Malinsky said she died from a recurrence of brain cancer. She has been on leave from Elon since last spring. The family is currently raising money to transport and bury Talia in Jerusalem. As of May 1, they were able to raise upward of $17,000 and will be leaving tonight for Israel. Talia, raised in an Israeli family, wanted to move to Israel after graduating from Elon, according to her dad Mark Malinsky.

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NEWS 4/30/24 10:49pm

Chapel Hill pro-Palestinian camp continues amid arrests, counter protests, pepper spray

By Joseph Navin

For a total of five full days, students at UNC Chapel Hill hosted on-campus encampments to protest the Israel-Hamas war and connections to the Israeli government. The initial camp, which ran from April 26 to 30, was organized by the “Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of North Carolina." This protest remained mostly peaceful and is not to be mistaken with the protest against the administration's response, which took place later in the day on April 30. This led to more arrests, counter protests and physical aggression — as well as UNC Chapel Hill canceling classes for the day.

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NEWS 4/30/24 9:12am

Elon University increases amount of fellows for 2024-25 academic year

By Reagan Sizemore

Next year, Elon University will add 100 spots to its various fellows programs — raising cohort sizes. Elon will accept over 300 fellows across eight programs for the 2024-25 academic year. The Business Fellows program will accept around 60 new fellows, compared to the 52 for the class of 2027 and 40 for the class of 2026. The increase is leaving current fellows worried about what it means for the programs. Kate Rohan, a sophomore in the business fellows program, is concerned about the problems that she feels will come with the larger incoming class cohort.

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NEWS 4/29/24 9:36pm

Elon Town Council discusses fire inspectors, changes to fire lanes

By Miles Hayford

The Elon Town Council met on April 29 and focused on changes to the fire department and new policies the department will be enforcing. Previously, inspections were done by county inspectors at no cost. However, Elon is implementing a new method to directly hire inspectors. The council discussed how this change would force Elon citizens who own businesses to now need to pay for fire inspections out of their own pockets. Town of Elon Fire Chief Landon Massey said the town will be implementing a tiered system of charging inspections, which is currently being utilized by Durham’s fire departments. 

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NEWS 4/29/24 5:33pm

Campus police confirm no fire on, near campus

By Ryan Kupperman

Following several reports of smoke in the air and a potential fire near campus, Elon Chief of Campus Safety and Police Joe LeMire issued an E-Alert stating there is no fire danger near Elon University. According to the statement, a control burn is taking place in another county and a shift in wind has begun to blow smoke toward the Alamance County area. LeMire stated the smoke will dissipate over time, and it may be helpful to close vents or windows to reduce smoke smell. LeMire closed the alert with cautioning those who have difficulty breathing to remain inside while the smoke dissipates.

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LIFESTYLE 4/29/24 4:04pm

Elon, Eastlawn elementary school gardens act as outdoor classrooms

By Charlotte Pfabe

Tucked behind Elon and Eastlawn Elementary are over 20 plant beds growing fruits and vegetables. In the gardens, the crops are ready for the peak spring season. Created and maintained entirely by volunteers, many Elon University students are involved in the efforts that go into taking care of the space. Both gardens work with the North Carolina School Garden Network, which connects schools from across the state with resources to build their own gardens. Elon Professor Scott Morrison is a founding member of the network and sees the gardens as extensions of the classroom.

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NEWS 4/29/24 1:17pm

Entrepreneurship group pitches digital Phoenix Cards

By Michael Leung

Freshman Ethan Shapiro, junior Brody Hender and sophomore Caitlin Price decided to pitch to their Entrepreneurship class the idea of turning Phoenix Cards digital. The cards would be held in the digital wallet of phones but would retain their functionality. While the project is only for class, the group hopes to pitch the idea to Elon University and possibly digitalize Phoenix Cards. Shapiro said he and his group got the idea from the concept of digital credit cards and would function in the same manner. Phoenix Cards allow students access to phoenix cash, meal plans, dorms and other services.

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SPORTS 4/28/24 2:37pm

Game, set, match: Elon University men’s tennis coach retires after 20 years, leaves behind lasting legacy

By Miles Hayford

Elon University Men’s Tennis Coach Michael Leonard will retire after 20 years of coaching at Elon following the 2024 season. Leonard is the winningest coach in Elon men's tennis history with a record of 295-173 over his 20-year career. He is a seven-time conference Coach of the Year and led Elon to six regular season championships. With a win on April 20 in the semifinals of the 2024 CAA Men’s Tennis Championship, Leonard reached the significant milestone of 300 career wins. Under Leonard's mentorship, the program had 74 all-conference selections, six conference Players of the Year and six conference Rookies of the Year.

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OPINIONS 4/27/24 5:45pm

OPINION: Elon University alienates itself from the South

By Alex Nettles

You rarely hear a southern accent around the Moseley Student Center or Alamance Building. If a drawl echoes, it’s usually a campus employee. Each time there is an accent, I think of growing up in the South and feel that mix of dread and nostalgia. Time in the South gets you acquainted with those two feelings. The South is both a good memory and a bad one. Once I heard a friend say, “I know about the South, I go to Elon.” As a South Carolinian, that phrase struck me as a little strange. I crunched some numbers.

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OPINIONS 4/27/24 5:44pm

OPINION: We close our eyes

By Syd Danziger

I am looking. I am looking for liberated people. I look and look and I find no one. It is Passover. Pesach. A holiday formed to commemorate liberation from oppression. It is with a scarred and sad and heavy, no, leaden heart, that I watch people who are MY people commit massacre upon massacre unchecked and then JUSTIFY it. All during the holiday of Pesach. A time to acknowledge those who are not yet free. And a time to free them. At my home Passover Seder, we used to remind ourselves that no one is free until we all are.

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NEWS 4/26/24 2:21pm

ENN: Exclusive Interview with Ginna Claire Mason

By Mason Willett

Elon News Network sat down with the class of 2024 commencement speaker Ginna Claire Mason ‘13 ahead of the 2024 graduation ceremony. Mason toured all around campus and saw all the changes that have been made since her time as an undergraduate at Elon University. Mason spoke about her experiences at Elon, from mentorship from her professors to having many opportunities on campus, and said she is grateful for the chance to come back.

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