Avery Sloan

Executive Director of Elon News Network, Managing Editor of The Pendulum

Avery Sloan ‘25 is studying journalism with minors in political science and leadership studies. Sloan has previously served as the politics editor. Find more of her work on her portfolio.

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Recent Articles

NEWS 11/18/24 12:32pm

Daycare to open in psychology, human service student building

By Avery Sloan

A senior student who wishes to remain anonymous found out in a meeting with his research mentor that his psychology research will need to be conducted in Lindner Hall instead of the psychology building. Next fall, the building on South Campus that currently houses the psychology and human service studies majors will become a child care facility. Originally, the student said he was told he, along with other researchers, would be asked to move by the end of October, but the move has now been pushed back until the end of the semester.

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NEWS 11/13/24 3:56pm

Elon Votes expands efforts to close voter participation gap on campus

By Avery Sloan

Senior Bo Dalrymple said he has felt a different, more positive energy on campus this year regarding politics and civic engagement. The midterm elections voter rate across all institutions was 30.6% and Elon’s was 25% — 3.3% less than in 2018, according to data from the National Study of Learning, Voting, and Engagement. As co-coordinator for Elon Votes, Dalrymple said the organization has been working to increase the voter rate on campus and reach students politically who might be less likely to seek out civic engagement.

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NEWS 11/7/24 12:46pm

Elon invites hope through public art display post elections

By Avery Sloan and Anjolina Fantaroni

Hugs, smiles, tears and words of encouragement filled Haggard Avenue on Nov. 6 following the election results between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris. In the early hours of Wednesday morning, former President Trump was elected the 47th President of the United States. Elon University invited students, staff and faculty to express words of hope on the portion of Haggard Avenue in front of Young Commons — closing the road from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to showcase and work on their public art display.

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NEWS 11/6/24 2:52am

Dennis Riddell elected North Carolina House of Representatives District 64

By Avery Sloan

Republican Dennis Riddell won the North Carolina House of Representatives District 64 seat by 54.95% of the votes. Democrat LeVon Barnes received 45.05% of the votes. This will be Riddell’s seventh term in office. When running for office, Riddell campaigned on lowering income tax rates and protecting the Second Amendment. He also previously told Elon News Network that he is comfortable with the current 12-week abortion ban and supports exceptions up to 20 weeks for rape and incest. He said he cares about the environment, but is skeptical of claims of rising sea levels. His main platform is focused on maintaining a strong economy.

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NEWS 11/6/24 2:48am

Stephen Ross elected North Carolina House of Representatives District 63

By Avery Sloan

Republican Stephen Ross won the North Carolina House of Representatives District 63 seat by 55.13% of the votes. Democrat Robin Wintringham received 44.87% of the votes. Ross previously served as the state house representative for District 63 from 2013 to 2021, he lost his election in 2020 to Ricky Hurtado, but won in 2022 rematch. Ross did not respond to any interview requests from Elon News Network, but according to his biography on the North Carolina General Assembly website, he is the chair of the commerce, house select committee on substance abuse and finance committees.

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NEWS 11/6/24 1:25am

Four board of education candidates elected

By Avery Sloan

Four candidates — Sandy Ellington-Graves, Avery Wagoner, Seneca Rogers and Tameka Harvey — were elected to the Alamance County Board of Education. Ellington-Graves received 15.35% of the votes, Wagoner received 14.71%, Rogers received 14.65% and Harvey received 13.67%. Eight candidates ran, but did not receive enough votes to be on the board. Last fall, mold was found in 32 of the 36 ABSS schools, leading to a late start for the school year and an estimated recovery plan totaling $225 million over five years.

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NEWS 11/2/24 12:26pm

Elon Club Baseball dedicates dugouts to former player who died 2 years ago

By Avery Sloan

Scott Yelle said it is always bittersweet returning to Elon’s campus, because he wouldn’t be visiting club baseball’s game Nov. 2 if his son was still alive. His son, Jackson Yelle, was a former junior at Elon who was killed in a hit-and-run in April 2023 on a beach trip with the rest of the club baseball team. Scott and his wife Andrea Yelle have been back to campus multiple times to see members of the club baseball team and other friends of Jackson’s. This time, they came back to see the dedication of the field’s dugouts to their son before the team played against William and Mary.

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NEWS 10/26/24 3:39pm

Elon ’24 alumna remembered as devoted friend, hard worker

By Avery Sloan

Juliana Kuhno ’24 is remembered as fearless, adventurous and a fierce friend by her father Chuck Kuhno. Her mother Deana Kuhno said she was creative and always involved — whether she was working on her own passion projects or leading student organizations at Elon. Juliana died Oct. 19 after complications from surgery. She was 22 years old and living in Wake Forest with her family after having graduated from Elon in May. At Elon University, she was involved with Limelight Records, Net Impact and The Edge Magazine on campus.

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NEWS 10/6/24 2:31pm

Elon partners with Occaneechi Tribe for language revitalization course

By Avery Sloan

The Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation has been what Tribal Chairman Tony Hayes considers a well kept secret within Alamance and Orange counties — something he is hoping is changing. In two weeks on Oct. 12 and 13, the tribe will host a Powwow — the Occaneechi’s largest event of the year, Hayes said. Corey Roberts, professor of Native American and Indigenous studies, will be running a language table for the Occaneechi language Yesa:sahį́, featuring a board game he created incorporating the language. 

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NEWS 10/4/24 6:20pm

Lt. Gov. urges supporters to vote, tells fans to ignore protests

By Avery Sloan

Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson filled the Hursey’s Bar-B-Q restaurant in Graham with supporters, local elected officials and law enforcement. Outside the restaurant, a handful of protesters were chanting things such as, “My body, my choice” at Robinson and his supporters. Robinson, the Republican candidate for the state governor race, spoke to supporters at Hursey’s on Oct. 4. Hursey’s employee Reggie Young said Robinson came to this spot because Hursey’s owner, Charles Hursey, “loves Mark Robinson.”

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NEWS 10/2/24 12:50am

Alamance County Board of Commissioners candidates prioritize lowering taxes, funding education

By Avery Sloan

The six candidates running for Alamance County's Board of Commissioners spoke at a forum held Oct. 1 at the Paramount Theater in Burlington. The board has six commissioners, with three seats open at this election. Two candidates, Democrat Pamela Tyler Thompson and Republican John Paisley Jr., are running for reelection and Democrat Carissa Graves, Democrat Chris Smith, Democrat Anthony Pierce and Republican Ed Priola are looking for a seat. The forum was hosted by Impact Alamance, Alamance Chamber and Elon University with support from the city of Burlington and Elon News Network.

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NEWS 10/1/24 10:36am

Candidates differ on budget plans at ABSS Board of Education candidate forum

By Avery Sloan

Candidates at the Board of Education candidates forum agreed that the Alamance-Burlington School System needs to focus on students and help recoup its finances — but candidates differ on the best way to do that. The event, sponsored by Impact Alamance, Elon University and The Alamance Chamber — with support from Elon News Network and the city of Burlington — was Sept. 30 at the Paramount Theater in Burlington. Five out of the eight candidates were present at the forum, which was moderated by Ann Bullock, dean of the Dr. Jo Watts School of Education.

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NEWS 9/28/24 3:16pm

Elon anatomy lab opens space for Family Weekend

By Avery Sloan

This year is the second year the program had permission from Elon to invite families to see the students’ work in the lab over Family Weekend. During the open house Sept. 28, parents could come by the lab and see a human brain, spinal cord and heart; tools for dissections; and models of bones and parts of the body. The human brain on display was one students had used in a craniotomy a couple of weeks ago, removing the brain from a donor. Elon’s anatomy lab uses human donors, through Elon’s Anatomical Gift Program, allowing students and professors to study human bodies after death.

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NEWS 9/24/24 11:14am

Elon University moves up 12 places in 2025 national university rankings

By Avery Sloan and Ryan Kupperman

Elon placed 121st — climbing  12 places from last year’s 133rd ranking in the U.S. News and World Report 2025 national university ranking, released  Tuesday, Sept. 24. Elon was also notably named No. 1 in undergraduate teaching for the fourth consecutive year and also topped the charts this year for learning communities and first-year experiences. Elon also continues to rank low in social mobility. Having placed 345th out of 433, the social mobility category measures how well schools graduate economically disadvantaged students.

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NEWS 9/24/24 10:51am

Elon Poll finds Attorney General Josh Stein 14 points ahead Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson in governor race

By Avery Sloan

The governor race would have been close if Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson wasn’t an unpopular candidate, Jason Husser, director of Elon Poll, said. The most recent Elon Poll came out Sept. 24, showing 49% of voters favor Democrat Attorney General Josh Stein over Robinson. In contrast, the presidential race is still close and are polling less than one point apart. The poll surveyed 800 registered voters in North Carolina between Sept. 4 and 13 — before inflammatory comments Robinson had written on a pornographic site came to light Sept. 19.

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NEWS 9/18/24 10:39am

Elon’s faculty union launches petition

By Avery Sloan

Elon’s Faculty Union is looking to increase its visibility on campus — and looking for answers from the administration, Susan Ladd, union president, said. The lack of response from Elon’s administration and adjunct faculty’s names continuing to be left off of OnTrack during class registration has led the union to release a petition, open to all faculty, staff and students to sign. During class the class registration period, adjunct professors were listed as “Staff” on OnTrack for classes they knew they would be teaching. This was not a part of the union agreement and adjunct faculty were not aware this change would be coming.

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NEWS 9/12/24 5:36pm

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at Greensboro focusing on healthcare, cost of living

By Avery Sloan

Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to speak at 7 p.m. at the Greensboro Coliseum. This event is a part of her campaign’s New Way Forward battleground tour, with the goal of reaching undecided voters. This is her second event in North Carolina today and both campaigns have already visited North Carolina multiple times this month. But, in a recent YouGov poll conducted after the presidential debate this week, Harris is ahead in the polls among voters who said they watched the debate. Notably, 54.4% of voters asked in the poll felt Harris won the debate, 31.3% felt Trump won and 14.3% were unsure.

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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 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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