News

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NEWS 3/12/24 4:13pm

Friends of Alamance County Public Libraries hosts spring book sale

By Naomi Washington

Books are spilling off the shelves and into the bags and baskets of avid readers at this year’s spring book sale. The event is hosted in the basement of May Memorial Library in Downtown Burlington from March 8 through March 17. The Friends of Alamance County Public Libraries is a nonprofit organization that hosts a book sale every fall and spring with the help of more than 50 volunteers. Board member Debbie Mann said the money from book sales funds all children and adult programs across all Alamance County Public Libraries.

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NEWS 3/12/24 11:05am

East Haggard, North Oak Avenue closed due to gas leak

By Ryan Kupperman

East Haggard was briefly closed from North Oak Avenue to Lawrence Street due to a gas leak, according to an E-Alert. This is the third gas leak near or on Elon University’s campus in three months. According to Dante Howell, construction personnel on scene, one of the construction workers hit an active, main gas line on Haggard Avenue. Following protocol, they called the fire department and closed off the area. As of 11:30 a.m. Howell said the road had been reopened for about an hour — though Howell is managing the flow of one-lane traffic just past Sheridan Place.

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NEWS 3/12/24 12:15am

Elon University Liberal Arts Forum hosts Olympic athlete, filmmaker, writer

By Nia Bedard

Elon University hosted a liberal arts forum March 11 where Olympic athlete, filmmaker and writer Alexi Pappas talked about her experiences as an Olympic athlete. According to Pappas, one of the first things she learned after her games is that a lot of Olympic athletes fall into depression after they finish competing. Pappas said she believes that this depression was an aftermath of her mindset at the time; she had reached her peak athletic ability by breaking a national record in the 10k for Greece and was questioned constantly about what would be next for her.

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NEWS 3/11/24 3:24pm

Elon senior delves into black holes: Journey of code, curiosity, cosmic phenomena

By Liya Rike

Elon University senior Jordan Wels is uncovering the mysteries of black holes, fueled by a Lumen Prize scholarship and guided by his mentor: Elon professor of astrophysics Chris Richardson. Wels' research explores the evolution of these celestial objects and their potential impact on the Milky Way galaxy and beyond. Wels said Elon has played a crucial role in supporting his research. Richardson said he and Wels found a new connection between how big a black hole can get and the kinds of elements found in the galaxy that the black hole is located.

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NEWS 3/10/24 1:56pm

Burlington Animal Services invites community to Hike with Hounds

By Naomi Washington

Hikes with Hounds started in spring 2015. The group meets every month at different park trails across Alamance County, which allows community members to not only meet one another, but also dogs from the shelter. The hikes happen with a group of no more than 12 volunteers and between two and five dogs. Beyond the hikes, the Dog Day Out Program is another chance for dogs to get outside for a few hours. Program Manager for Burlington Animal Services Sydney Herron said Elon University students are primarily the ones who participate.

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NEWS 3/10/24 1:52pm

Photo Gallery: Elon Day 2024

By Elon News Network

Elon University received more than $2.6 million in donations and roughly 6,126 gifts for the 11th annual Elon Day on March 7. Throughout the day, four new endowments were created and donors gave to approximately 224 different campus funds. These donations put the total amount of money given to Elon at just under $20 million over the last 11 years — all provided by alumni, parents and grandparents, faculty and staff, friends or students.

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NEWS 3/9/24 3:52pm

Elon’s International Women’s Day panelists encourage inclusion, support

By Charlotte Pfabe

Hosted by the Elon Gender and LGBTQIA Center, Elon students, faculty and Alamance County residents came together to celebrate International Women’s Day with a panel discussion focused on inclusion. The three panelists, Crystal Cavalier-Keck, Ashlie Thomas and Kristen Powers, discussed the importance of creating safe spaces for other people within their communities March 7 in the Lakeside Meeting Rooms. This year’s theme for International Women’s Day was “Inspiring Inclusion.” Elon University President Connie Book also attended the event and said it is important for women to be outspoken about their accomplishments.

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NEWS 3/8/24 3:43pm

Former NC Supreme Court chief justice earns first Justice Sandra Day O’Connor professorship at Elon Law

By Aidan Powley

The Hon. Cheri Beasley has joined the Elon University School of Law faculty as the university’s first recipient of the Justice Sandra Day O’Connor endowed professorship. Beasley, who in 2019 became the first African-American woman to serve as chief justice on the North Carolina Supreme Court, will teach courses on appellate practice at Elon Law for one year beginning in fall 2024. The Justice Sandra Day O’Connor professorship was established to bring distinguished legal figures to Elon University, whose contributions to society reflect the values of the first woman who served on the Supreme Court of the United States. 

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NEWS 3/8/24 11:39am

Rocket Phoenix provides rocketry education for students

By Ruth Cruz

When Freshman Murilo Ferreira Lopes founded Rocket Phoenix in February, his goal was to educate students about rocket building. Lopes said rocketry has always been one of his interests at Elon. He sought a place to explore his fascination with rockets. Lopes is the president of Rocket Phoenix — an organization that allows students to build, design and launch rockets. He said that he collaborated with his physics professor to jumpstart the program. The organization plans to launch its rockets March 21. To contact members of Rocket Phoenix, visit their page on PhoenixConnect.

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NEWS 3/8/24 9:54am

Elon becomes largest university contributor to Daffodil Project in US

By Lilly Molina

The Daffodil project is an initiative from Am Yisrael Chai, a nonprofit Holocaust and genocide education and awareness organization. With over 900,000 planted, its mission is to plant 1.5 million daffodils across the globe to honor the 1.5 million children who died in the Holocaust, according to the founder of the Daffodil Project Andrea Videlefsy. The project began in 2010, but the conception of the idea formed in 2008. Elon joined the project as a partner in 2013 and as of 2024 has planted approximately 30,000 bulbs across campus, making Elon its biggest contributor compared to any other university in the country.

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NEWS 3/7/24 11:09am

First-generation LLC hopes to give sense of belonging to Elon University students

By Lilly Molina

Sophomore Carlos Gomez Lopez could have decided to live off campus next year as many upperclassmen chose to do, but instead, he wanted to live in the First Generation Living Learning Community. Lopez moved into Colonnades his freshman year and noticed his peers knew a bit more of what college would be like because their parents had already been in their shoes. Lopez said he felt like he was going in blind because he couldn’t go to his parents for advice. Paula DiBiasio, professor of physical therapy education, will be one of the advisers for the LLC and said she had been working on this idea since 2022.

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NEWS 3/6/24 10:47am

Elon University sees record numbers for Scholarship weekend

By Mason Willett

Elon University hosted scholarship weekend, its largest admitted students event, March 2 and 3. Over 2,300 people total registered to attend the event, including more than 900 prospective students, according to Vice President for Enrollment Greg Zaiser. During the event, finalists for the eight fellows programs — honors, business, communications, Elon College, engineering, leadership, nursing and teaching — and for the honors and accelerated programs visited campus to interview with faculty and current students. Tours, open houses, information sessions and more were also held throughout Friday and Saturday.

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NEWS 3/4/24 1:08pm

Alamance-Burlington School System superintendent resigns

By Sophie Rosenthal

Alamance-Burlington School System Superintendent Dain Butler resigned March 4 — the latest in a string of senior officials who have left the district in the past month. Butler submitted his resignation to the school board, which accepted the resignation Monday morning. Chief Student Services Officer Kristy Davis will serve as interim superintendent. Butler was superintendent for just under two years. He was elected by the school board and began his position on July 1, 2022. At the time, he signed a four-year contract.

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NEWS 3/2/24 3:37pm

Mediterranean Deli reopens following eight-month delay

By Michael Leung

Mediterranean Deli opened its doors at 11 a.m. on March 2 to their new location at 116 N. Williamson Ave. Jamil Kadoura, owner of Mediterranean Deli, was told by Elon to expect an influx of customers – community members and students alike – who eagerly awaited Mediterranean Deli’s reopening. The establishment had been located at 202 W. Haggard Ave. and closed on Aug 18, 2022, much to the disappointment of the Elon Community. Originally set to open in summer 2023, Kadoura was forced to push back the reopening of Med Deli by six months after the Mediterranean Deli location in Chapel Hill caught fire. 

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NEWS 3/2/24 3:24pm

International protest for Israel-Hamas War calls for immediate ceasefire

By Monika Jurevicius

Millions gathered around the world in solidarity for protesting the Israel-Hamas War as action toward International Day of Action on March 2. The day marks one week before Israel's threatened attacks on Gaza’s city of Rafah, where many displaced citizens have gathered. Socialist Revolution member Harper Houston said that the U.S. is "a little too late" at providing aid to Palestine. She stands with the Palestinian people to have their land after the attacks that have displaced citizens. The Asheville protest takes place at 2 p.m., while Charlotte and Raleigh start at 3 p.m. 

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NEWS 2/29/24 10:55am

Elon School of Education introduces Teach for Alamance graduate program

By Nia Bedard

The Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education introduced the Teach for Alamance program, a new graduate program for the School of Education. Matthew Trez ’23 did his student teaching in Alamance County and fell in love with it. Now, he is still giving back to his community and plans to stay here. The program also gives fellows job opportunities even after they are done with the graduate program. The Teach for Alamance program offers a full scholarship to Elon’s Masters of Education in Innovation program in exchange for a two-year commitment to teach in Alamance County Public Schools.

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NEWS 2/28/24 12:47pm

Elon University welcomes Holocaust survivor to share her story

By Leela Cherukuri

Holocaust survivor and 98-year-old Margot Lobree visited Elon to share her story as a child on the Kindertransports in England. The Kindertransport was a British initiative to rescue approximately 10,000 jewish children who were located in Nazi occupied territories. Lobree began her journey on Nov. 9, 1938 in Frankfurt, Germany where she was told by her mother that she would have to leave her hometown due to her Jewish identity. At 13 years old when she moved, Lobree said her story was a little different from most Holocaust survivors.

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NEWS 2/28/24 11:11am

10th annual Black Solidarity Conference inspires resilience, empowerment at Elon University

By Liya Rike

At the Black Solidarity conference, freshman Adrianna Stapleton attended the session on "Science Fiction/Social Reality: An Islamic View of Race," led by Shane Atkinson, the associate chaplain for Muslim life. Stapleton reflected on her experience at the session noting her newfound knowledge about the Islamic faith and the significant presence of Black Muslims in America. In a testament to resilience and solidarity, the 10th Annual Black Solidarity Conference set grace to the halls of Elon University on Feb. 23. Since its inception at Elon University in 2014, many believe the conference has served as a unifying factor for Black students.

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NEWS 2/27/24 12:44am

Community voices support for Alamance Virtual School during ABSS meeting

By Joseph Navin

For numerous faculty members and roughly 236 students in Alamance County, the Alamance Virtual School is an integral part of their daily lives. When Superintendent Dain Butler proposed cutting the school amid a budget shortfall of $3.2 million for the Alamance-Burlington School System; it left many community members concerned. The Alamance Virtual School is an online alternative for ABSS students and is designated as its own school in the school district. After a tense public comment period during the board meeting on Feb. 26, numerous members of the Board of Education voiced their support for keeping the virtual school.

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NEWS 2/27/24 12:31am

‘We Are Charleston’ authors speak on gun reform

By Monika Jurevicius

Herb Frazier recounted the times in his life when he lived near Mother Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church before the shooting that killed nine bible study members in 2015. The shooting was later determined to be a racially-motivated crime committed by then 21-year-old Dylann Roof. Frazier is one of the authors of “We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emanuel.” Along with co-authors Bernard Powers and Marjory Wentworth, Frazier spoke to the Elon community on Feb. 26 about gun reform as part of the Martin Luther King Jr. Commemorative Address.

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