News

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NEWS 9/12/24 9:34am

Elon students struggle to find parking on campus

By Fiona McAllister and Abigail Hobbs

For three years, senior Ashland Sutton has been commuting to Elon’s campus with no issues. Now, she is accustomed to the sight of the full Innovation Quad parking lot and cars circling the lot. Living half an hour away, Sutton now gets up at 6 a.m. to guarantee a spot before her 8 a.m. class or risk parking further away in the Danieley parking lot. Sutton contacted Campus Police so they would be aware of the problem, Chief of Police Joe LeMire sent photos of available parking spaces throughout the day with timestamps.

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NEWS 9/11/24 12:39am

Elon Votes hosts presidential debate watch party

By Nia Bedard

Fifty-six days away from the election, Elon Votes hosted a watch party for the first 2024 presidential debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris in Moseley Student Center on Sept. 10 to get students engaged in the general election. This is now the 10th year that Elon Votes has hosted watch parties for Elon students, Lindsay Bialecki, Elon Votes student coordinator, said. Bialecki said Elon Votes was excited by the student turn-out for the event; around 100 students were at the event — with both the student center and the Oak Room filled with people.

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NEWS 9/9/24 10:26pm

Elon Athletics investigates football player for alleged offensive remarks

By Anjolina Fantaroni

Elon University Athletics is investigating a football player after accusations that he yelled racial slurs and curses at a North Carolina Central student during an away game Sept. 7. NC Central freshman Samihya Love, who is Black, said she was watching from the stands when a white Elon player repeatedly shouted at her from the sidelines. Associate Athletics Director of Strategic Communications Jason Knavel wrote in an email to Elon News Network that Elon Athletics is aware of the accusation and is looking into it.

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NEWS 9/8/24 2:47pm

ABSS hires new chief finance officer amid financial crisis

By Monika Jurevicius

The Alamance-Burlington School System hired Tony Messer as its new chief finance officer immediately following a financial crisis that came to the forefront in summer 2023 and continues to impact the school system. Messer was previously the CFO for Chatham County Board of Education before joining ABSS. ABSS also recently announced that it is in a $2.4 million deficit for the 2024-25 school year — as it overspent its budget for last year, according to a report released July 22. Former ABSS CFO Kim McVey left her position Feb. 19 after investigations began for the financial crisis. 

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NEWS 9/7/24 7:04pm

Elon Volunteers partners with Rise Against Hunger

By Abby Gravely

Over 23,000 meals were shipped from Alumni Gym to South Africa on Sept. 7, according to campus kitchen student director junior Lillian Argabrite. The meal packing marked this year’s edition of a tradition started in 2008 — Elon University’s partnership with Rise Against Hunger. The event was sponsored by Elon Volunteers! and featured two shifts of meal packing. Over 190 students and community members helped pack the meals, including teams from Elon Athletics.

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NEWS 9/7/24 6:20pm

Photo gallery: scenes from the weekend at Elon

By Elon News Network

The Elon Community came together in multiple ways on Friday, with the Town of Elon hosting its 2024 Social District Block Party. On Sept. 6, members of the university and town came together from 6 to 9 p.m. for live music, food and vendors, an inflatable obstacle course, face painting and more. Later that evening, the Student Union Board hosted its annual carnival, where students enjoyed similar festivities of games, food and more.

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NEWS 9/5/24 10:47pm

Elon community voices concerns amid election season

By Monika Jurevicius

At the student issues forum hosted by the Student Government Association and Elon News Network on Sept. 5, students and faculty discussed concerns they had about the election and what was at stake for them personally. Political science professors moderated and provided further commentary on responses about media, immigration and DEI initiatives. The forum was described as a way to engage in topics focusing more on issues and less on candidates. Political science professors Julianne Liebenguth and Matthew Young moderated the session, beginning with questions about the emotions felt during this presidential election.

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NEWS 9/5/24 9:14am

Oak House celebrates 10 year anniversary

By Fiona McAllister

The Oak House, a popular Elon coffee house and bar, is celebrating one decade of being in business. Ten years ago on Sept. 5, owner Phil Smith opened its doors to the public. He said time has flown by faster than he could have imagined. This celebration is set to have specials all day, including birthday cake and some “trinkets” to give away, Smith said — along with “Cheers to 10 years” pint glasses and coasters. “The goal would be to keep going until it's ready for somebody else to take over. But it's been a great 10 years and I could see another 10.”

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NEWS 9/4/24 1:24pm

HealthEU introduces specialized rooms for students to de-stress

By Reagan Sizemore

Elon’s HealthEU program has opened two new spaces on campus for students to take a break from their daily stress: The Serenity Suite in Ellington Center and the Mind Body Connection room in Koury Center. Anita Hodnett, Elon director of counseling services, said the new spaces have been built to encourage students to practice mindfulness. The spaces feature a number of tools designed to help students de-stress and provide an environment to learn new self care techniques. The rooms come from funding provided by an endowment from Andrew G. Bennett ’08, which previously funded “Safe Rides,” a service that was suspended in 2019.

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NEWS 9/2/24 11:03pm

Jewish community mourns loss of hostages in Gaza

By Nia Bedard

Elon’s Jewish community gathered at Speaker’s Corner to mourn the lives of six hostages whose bodies were found in an underground tunnel in Gaza. The six victims were among the 200 people taken by militants into Gaza on Oct. 7. Elon Chabad’s Rabbi Mendy Minkowitz said he is heartbroken over the loss of these lives and the events that have occurred in the last 11 months. Junior Sam Khavinson, Chabad’s co-president, said he wanted Jewish students to have a moment where they could grieve together.

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NEWS 9/2/24 10:54am

First-Generation student initiatives empower students at Elon

By Sarah T. Moore

The First-Generation Society was established in 2021 as a student-driven organization to support, build community with and advocate for first-generation students on campus. Starting this semester, the First-Generation Society will have an office on the first floor of the Moseley student center in room 105E. Senior Ja’Mya McKoy is the organization’s president, but said she didn’t always understand the way her first-generation identity impacted her college experience. As a first-generation mentor, McKoy said she noticed first-generation students at other colleges don’t always have the community and advocacy resources that Elon does.

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NEWS 9/2/24 9:22am

Student Issues Forum aims to provide safe space for discussion at Elon University

By Avery Sloan

One of the reasons Ella Kucera, vice president of communications for Elon’s student government, said SGA is prioritizing election events and campus climate this semester is to help make sure all students feel safe. This Thursday, Sept. 5 as one of the first election events in the school year, SGA is cosponsoring a student issues forum with Elon News Network. This event, and others in the series, were planned by an Elon ad hoc committee co-chaired by Naeemah Clark, associate provost for inclusive excellence, and Jon Dooley, vice president for student life.

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NEWS 9/1/24 8:30pm

Elon BSU cookout welcomes students back to campus

By Charlotte Pfabe

Energy and music filled Phi Beta Commons on Aug. 31 as Elon’s Black Student Union kicked off the school year with its annual cookout. According to junior and BSU President Maleah Proctor, events like the cookout help strengthen community connections and closeness for Black students on campus. BSU Athletic Liaison Haleigh said being a part of BSU empowers students to advocate for themselves — especially for students of color at a predominantly white institution. BSU will host a vision board event on Wednesday, Sep. 4 in Moseley 215.

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NEWS 9/1/24 3:51pm

Teach for Alamance Graduate Program welcomes newest class

By Audrey Geib

As Elon students return to class, six recent Elon graduates prepare to lead classrooms of their own — here in the Alamance-Burlington School System. Class of 2024 graduates Julia Kearney, Meghan Malone and Malaina Carter are among the six recent Elon graduates in the newest class of the Teach for Alamance program who join the collection of Elon alumni teaching in Alamance County. Beginning with the graduating class of 2023, Teach for Alamance is offered to Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education graduates who hope to enroll in Elon’s Master of Education in Innovation program. 

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NEWS 8/30/24 1:16pm

EcoVillage opens 6 days later than scheduled

By Avery Sloan

Sophomore Kai Baker said he signed up to live in the EcoVillage Living Learning Community this year as an environmental and sustainability studies major excited to live with like-minded people. Baker did not plan to be living out of a suitcase in Danieley for the first week of classes while the EcoVillage houses are still being finished. The houses were supposed to be done by the beginning of the 2024-25 school year, with students originally moving in Aug. 10, Baker said. The 11 students registered to move into EcoVillage homes are temporarily living in different places on campus.

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NEWS 8/30/24 12:32pm

Elon launches AI alumni network program, ElonGPT

By Avery Sloan

When asked what services they want from their alma mater, Elon alumni overwhelmingly said they don’t need anything — but want to give back to current students. Kendra Haskins, senior director of Alumni Engagement, said Elon is launching a new AI program Sept. 16 to help students connect to Elon alumni. The Student Professional Development Center in partnership with Alumni Engagement is using a platform called Protopia, which is made for AI alumni engagement. The company is headquartered in Raleigh but works with schools internationally.

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NEWS 8/29/24 9:14am

Elon University installs naloxone stations as part of opioid harm reduction initiative

By Avery Sloan

This semester, naloxone boxes were placed around campus in each residential hall across campus. Narcan, the brand name for the drug naloxone, was placed in what’s called one boxes as a preventative measure in case any student overdoses from fentanyl or opioids. But, in the last 10 years there have been two suspected situations where naloxone was used — one off campus, one on campus — Joe LeMire, chief of Campus Police, said. Naloxone is a life saving drug that blocks the effects of opiates on the brain and restores breathing.

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NEWS 8/28/24 10:20am

Interning Elon senior pushes community engagement

By Arti Jain

An internship for the town of Elon may not be the most obvious choice for Elon University senior Kai Whiteside, who is pursuing an English major with a focus in creative writing. But that’s exactly what he did this summer. Whiteside pursued the internship opportunity because of his previous experience with the town of Elon. In 2022, Whiteside and a group of Elon University students went before the town council to petition for the creation of a skate park. Since, they’ve received preliminary funding and hope to open the park in 2026.

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NEWS 8/27/24 4:13pm

Elon Poll shows voter concern over fair, accurate election

By Abigail Hobbs

Less than half of North Carolina voters said they have confidence that the national vote count will be fair and accurate in the 2024 election, as found by a poll conducted by Elon Poll in partnership with The Charlotte Observer, The News & Observer and The Durham Herald-Sun. This is a major decrease from the 2020 poll, where 69% of voters were confident in the election process. Jason Husser, director of the Elon Poll, said the lack of confidence in the integrity of elections is a new phenomenon.

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NEWS 8/27/24 2:52pm

West End Apartments discovers mold

By Fiona McAllister and Ryan Kupperman

Kelly Reis, owner and operator of Blue Kangaroo Packoutz of Greensboro, arrived at West End Apartments on Aug. 27 to clean and clear out an apartment experiencing a mold outbreak. West End Apartments are located just past MaGerk’s Pub on West Lebanon Avenue; the complex is owned by RedStone Property Management and is not affiliated with Elon University. Brandon Sowers, CEO of RedStone Property Management, refuted Reis’ statement — stating that the incident was not caused by the air conditioning being left on all summer, but rather by the system being used incorrectly.

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