Fiona McAllister

Executive Producer of ENN Tonight

Fiona McAllister '26 currently serves as the Executive Producer of ENN Tonight. Fiona finds a passion in reporting, especially after her internship with WCIV ABC News 4 in Charleston, South Carolina. Her love for journalism has also led her to become president of Elon's chapter of The Society of Professional Journalists. Find her best work on her portfolio.

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Recent Articles

NEWS 4/25/25 2:49pm

Elon Poll finds majority of Americans fear crisis between Trump, courts

By Fiona McAllister

An Elon University Poll surveyed 1,000 American adults and found a drop in President Donald Trump’s approval rating. The survey, conducted April 10 to 17, found 41% of respondents approve of Trump’s job performance, while 47% disapprove. This contrasts with the February 2025 Elon University Poll, which showed a 45% approval and 41% disapproval rating. These numbers show public concern about the balance of power between the executive branch and the courts, with 67% of Americans worried about a potential constitutional crisis due to conflicts between these branches.

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LIFESTYLE 4/22/25 8:50pm

Elon community gathers to grieve the death of Pope Francis

By Fiona McAllister

Silence held a loud volume in the Numen Lumen Sacred Space as Elon community members gathered to honor Pope Francis’ life through a memorial mass. After Francis died on Monday April 21, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley sent out a message alerting students and faculty about a memorial mass being offered by the Catholic Life team. Father Peter Tremblay led this mass and highlighted Francis’ life and achievements. During his time as the pope, Francis focused on topics like immigration and internally wanted to promote women within the Catholic Church.

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LIFESTYLE 4/22/25 8:50pm

Elon community gathers to grieve the death of Pope Francis

By Fiona McAllister

Silence held a loud volume in the Numen Lumen Sacred Space as Elon community members gathered to honor Pope Francis’ life through a memorial mass. After Francis died on Monday April 21, Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley sent out a message alerting students and faculty about a memorial mass being offered by the Catholic Life team. Father Peter Tremblay led this mass and highlighted Francis’ life and achievements. During his time as the pope, Francis focused on topics like immigration and internally wanted to promote women within the Catholic Church.

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NEWS 4/22/25 2:30pm

Memorial mass to be held for Pope Francis at Elon University

By Fiona McAllister

Early Monday April 21, the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis died from a stroke. Franics was 88 years old. He died near Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he has resided since his election in 2013. At 5 p.m. Monday evening, the bells at Elon University’s Rhodes Stadium rung 88 times, once for each year of his life. On Tuesday, April 22, Elon University’s Numen Lumen Sacred Space will hold a memorial mass for Francis at 4:30 p.m. After this mass, the space will be open for people to share words about Francis and the legacy he left behind. 

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NEWS 4/22/25 2:30pm

Memorial mass to be held for Pope Francis at Elon University

By Fiona McAllister

Early Monday April 21, the head of the Catholic Church Pope Francis died from a stroke. Franics was 88 years old. He died near Saint Peter’s Basilica, where he has resided since his election in 2013. At 5 p.m. Monday evening, the bells at Elon University’s Rhodes Stadium rung 88 times, once for each year of his life. On Tuesday, April 22, Elon University’s Numen Lumen Sacred Space will hold a memorial mass for Francis at 4:30 p.m. After this mass, the space will be open for people to share words about Francis and the legacy he left behind. 

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NEWS 4/6/25 12:13pm

Cracking down on REAL IDs, deadline approaches

By Fiona McAllister

As the May 7 deadline for U.S. residents to get a REAL ID approaches, the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles’ appointments are filling up quickly. REAL ID is a federal law that sets minimum security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and identification cards. It is indicated by a star on the corner of the drivers license and it allows citizens to travel and go to government buildings without having to carry a U.S. passport. The REAL ID Act, passed by Congress in 2005, was put into effect after the 9/11 Commission Report set standards for safety within the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attack. 

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NEWS 3/25/25 10:16am

Elon University Student Government Association breaks down budget

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University’s Student Government Association receives an annual budget of $436,000 to fund the over 150 campus organizations eligible for funding, according to Elon senior and Vice President of Finance Clare Ruldolph. The budget for SGA is part of Vice President for Student Life Jon Dooley’s budget, made up from student activity fees — which are $292 per person per year. But the $436,000 does not include the additional budget SGA receives that is used up to its discretion. For the over 150 approved campus organizations available to request funding, the 2022-23 academic year had only 557 budget requests approved.

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NEWS 3/7/25 4:10pm

Elon University raises over $3 million during 12th annual Elon Day

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University celebrated its 12th annual Elon Day on March 6, 2025, with a series of events and opportunities designed to engage the campus community and alumni worldwide. Highlights of the day included a special edition of the university's tradition, College Coffee, and a comedy performance by Joe Gatto. According to the Elon Day website, Elon raised the most money in Elon Day history, with over $3.1 million and a total of 6,385 gifts. Elon Day serves as a cornerstone for the university’s philanthropic efforts, encouraging donors to support areas of campus that resonate personally with them.

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NEWS 2/26/25 5:53pm

Elon University's Student Government Association cuts down travel funding

By Fiona McAllister

In the previous Student Government Association financial bylaws, travel for conferences and other off-campus events covered the cost of hotels, meals and mileage for personal vehicles. However, those expenses are no longer covered by SGA. SGA will still cover the cost of registration fees, flights and mileage for university vehicles. As for covering those non-included fees, such as hotels, Cote said SGA is looking to help organizations raise their own funding According to SGA’s Finances website the first funding requests for quarter one, June 1 to Oct. 31, will be due April 11.

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LIFESTYLE 2/25/25 10:43pm

Historic photos of Elon put on display in town annex

By Fiona McAllister

The Town of Elon hosted a showing of historic photos from places around Elon — like Elon University. People were encouraged to stop by and write down anything they knew about each photo’s backstory. The photos were enlarged in order for people to see the photos clearly. Artificial intelligence was used to enhance physical features on those in the photographs. Jill Weston, the downtown development director for the town of Elon said the photos went through a very thorough process, until finally ending up back in North Carolina.

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NEWS 2/21/25 3:37pm

Fellows programs double in applications; Scholarship Weekend is now 2 separate dates

By Fiona McAllister

As Scholarship Weekend, also known as Fellows Weekend, approaches Elon University has scheduled two separate weekends for potential fellows to come. The first Fellows Weekend will be Feb. 21 to 22 and the following is March 7 to 8. The changes made to the process resulted in having a separate application available in the Acorn Account after a student applied, making it available in the freshman application. New this year, the Fellows applications were embedded in the Common Application where students submit their general college applications.

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NEWS 2/20/25 4:15pm

Burlington resident dead after fatal 53 vehicle collision, adds to snow-related wrecks

By Fiona McAllister

Blankets of snow have piled up all over Alamance County, flown in by a winter storm on Wednesday. This weather has caused a string of vehicle collisions near the I-40 and I-85 split. Approximately 50 vehicles were reported piled up at this interstate split, leaving one person dead and multiple others with non-life threatening injuries. North Carolina State Highway Patrol said the deadly crash was caused by a tractor-trailer colliding with another vehicle from behind.

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NEWS 2/11/25 8:44pm

Elon Town Council approves two new downtown sponsorship programs

By Fiona McAllister and Avery Sloan

Elon is launching two new downtown sponsorship programs, one allowing residents or businesses to sponsor an event and the second allowing sponsors to pay an annual fee. Elon Town Council unanimously approved this fundraising program on Feb. 11 at its council meeting. The downtown Elon event sponsorship opportunities have four levels of sponsorship, ranging from a platinum sponsorship costing $3,500, a gold sponsorship costing $2,500, a silver sponsorship costing $1,500 and a bronze sponsorship costing $500. These sponsorship levels will be for individual events, but for a series with multiple occurrences the sponsorship will last for individual occurrence. 

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NEWS 2/5/25 10:00am

Town of Elon’s diversity committee stands firm amid DEI rollbacks

By Fiona McAllister

The town of Elon’s Diversity, Equity and Belonging Committee held its first meeting of 2025 on Feb. 3. As the meeting unfolded, the committee covered its plans for the next few months, along with addressing the possibility of issues with diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the near future.The DEB was started around two years ago and holds monthly meetings. President Donald Trump recalled DEI programs within the federal government through an executive order during his first few days in office. Through this executive order, Trump said he aims to target DEI within private businesses and higher education.

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NEWS 1/3/25 5:37pm

Elon University’s sustainable efforts see high price tag

By Fiona McAllister

Elon University’s greenhouse gas emissions were 26% lower in the 2023 fiscal year than in 2008 fiscal year in efforts to reach Elon’s goal of becoming fully carbon neutral by 2037, according to Senior Director of Sustainability Elaine Durr. On Oct. 14, 2024, Elon University released its updated Sustainability Draft Master Plan for feedback from the campus community, both online and in group sessions, which will soon be voted on for final approval. Right now, Elon is working off the 2015 Sustainability Master Plan, which outlines becoming fully carbon neutral by 2037. 

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NEWS 11/19/24 4:11pm

Oct. 7 survivor, hero comes to Elon, shares how he saved 750 people

By Fiona McAllister

Rami Davidian, once a farmer, saved 750 people from the Hamas attack Oct. 7, 2023, at the Nova Music Festival in Israel. Elon Chabad, in collaboration with Elon Hillel and Elon Jewish Life, invited Davidian to speak at Elon University on Nov. 18 in Whitley Auditorium. Davidian stopped at Elon as part of his U.S. speaking tour. Joining Davidian was Millet Ben Haim, a survivor of the Oct. 7 attacks, who translated Davidian’s story from Hebrew to English. On the Oct. 7 attack at the music festival, Davidian helped Ben Haim escape from Hamas militants.

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NEWS 10/28/24 10:50am

Burlington Police use AI to monitor unchecked body camera footage

By Fiona McAllister

The Burlington Police Department is the first station in North Carolina to use artificial intelligence in its body camera footage. The department’s partnership with Truleo is meant to help officers on their daily routes. Truleo scans hundreds of hours of body camera footage and highlights key points. Captain Dalton Majors of the Burlington Police Department said Truleo has saved Burlington Police Department millions of dollars and is helping both victims and officers. Majors said one aspect of this tool that has been helpful is reviewing the actions of officers.

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NEWS 10/22/24 3:36pm

Elon Students for Peace, Justice walk through campus

By Fiona McAllister

The Students for Peace and Justice at Elon University walked from Medallion Plaza, throughout Young Commons and eventually ended at the Moseley Center patio. Ten advocates led the march through campus holding signs with slogans like, “Humanity must prevail.” Leading the walk was Elon junior Natalia Sendawy. Sendawy said in a speech to the crowd that their purpose for this event was to stand in solidarity with oppressed people around the world. Adviser to Students for Peace and Justice Thomas Arcaro also encouraged actions of passion and said involvement with current events is something not to be taken lightly.

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NEWS 10/17/24 11:56pm

Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton stop in Durham on first day of early voting

By Fiona McAllister

Durham held two prominent Democratic guests Oct. 17 — vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and former President Bill Clinton. Both Walz and Clinton, accompanied by local political figures such as Durham’s Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton, made key points about why casting an early ballot is important in order to stop Republicans from taking over the state’s elected positions. Clinton repeatedly reminded the crowd that their vote in this election matters and should be for Harris and Walz.

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NEWS 10/1/24 3:27pm

Pennsylvania governor shows support for North Carolina Democrats

By Fiona McAllister

In an effort to rally supporters for Democrat candidates such as Josh Stein, Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the Alamance County Democrats welcomed a special guest — Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Shapiro addressed the North Carolina Democrats on Sept. 29 at the Democratic headquarters in Burlington, emphasizing the urgency of active participation in the upcoming election. ACD volunteer Robert Shuford said it was exciting to see Shapiro talk to Alamance County citizens to help other Democratic candidates.

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