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the pendulum Elon Law races raises awareness, funds for Alzheimer’s organization NEWS THURSDAY. MARCH 15. 2012 H PAGE 5 Ashley Fahey Copy Chief The morning was bright and crisp Saturday for the fourth annual Barbara Sullivan Race for Women’s Health 5k Race. The event, which has been sponsored by Elon University School of Law's Women’s Law Association since the organization was formed, was held at Northeast Park in Gibsonville and brought out 130 participants — the largest number of attendees since the race began in 2009. “We begin by choosing a health issue that impacts women in our community, and then we choose a corresponding nonprofit organization to sponsor," said Courtney Roller, the philanthropy chairperson of the organization. This year, WLA partnered with Alzheimer’s North Carolina to raise money and awareness. Roller said it was important to choose a charity that had a state-wide impact, rather than a national impact, as WLA focuses its philanthropy on community charity. The race is named for Barbara Sullivan, the mother of an Elon Law graduate who passed away in November 2009 from a brain tumor. Her daughter, Elon Law alumna Ann Sullivan, assisted in starting the annual 5K race and naming the race in honor of her mother was a way to commemorate her, according to Danielle Kennedy, WLA president. Since then, WLA has attempted to increase awareness and raise more money each year for the sponsored charity. In the past, the races have been very successful in raising thousands of dollars lor charities that are benefiting women’s health, said Kennedy. “Last year alone, our small race raised over $1,500 for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.” As the years progress, WLA hopes to meet higher fundraiser goals for the 5K. We strive to involve more people, raise more money and generate more awareness about the particular nonprofit we are sponsoring," Roller said. “This year, for the first time, we reached out to local businesses and requested donations. The response was overwhelming (and) many local business owners went above and beyond our requests." But the annual 5K race is just one example of what WLA does as an organization. In addition to our race, we have other programs that strive to help the community,” Kennedy said. “For example, this year, we raised money through our annual bake sale and collected goods for Family Service of the Piedmont.” The race participants were not just limited to Elon Law School students. “We had people from all walks of life who came out,” Roller said. “We had avid marathon runners, Guilford County judges, a few Elon undergraduates, law school professors, local business owners, many law school students and several dogs registered to participate.” The race awarded winners in several categories, including male, female, team and dog runners. Second year law Budget increase provides funding for new domestic, international initiatives Grace Elkus News Editor The Isabella Cannon International Centre will implement new domestic and international initiatives in 2013 with additional funds provided by the 2012- 2013 budget increase. A new Office of Domestic Programs is currently in the works, and an Honors Fellows Winter Term study abroad course to Turkey will begin January 2013. The new Office of Domestic Programs will serve as a support system for current domestic programs in place and will aid students who find their own opportunities to study domestically, according to Woody Pelton, director of the Isabella Cannon Centre. The creation of the office will contribute to the growing enthusiasm for domestic programs, he said. “We believe the office will generate more interest in these kinds of programs and will itself be entrepreneurial in developing domestic programs,” Pelton said. “One of the advantages of centralizing the support is that there can be consistency in the administration of these programs. Also, students would have one place to turn to get information about the various programs which currently operate out of different departments and different schools.” The ICC will be soon begin looking for someone to fill the director position for the Office of Domestic Programs. The second initiative the budget increase will support is the Winter Term trip to Turkey, which will be offered to first-year Honors Fellows only. Pelton worked with Maureen Vandermaas- Peeler, director of the Honors program, and Michael Carignan, associate director of Honors, to come up with a plan for creating a course specific to Honors. “Woody said think big; Don’t just go to Europe — think Turkey," Carignan said. Turkey is kind of a crossroads between the East and the West, and it’s a rich environment for Honors Fellows to ask fitigaging questions.” Carignan and Vandermaas-Peeler spent a year working on the idea after deciding to seriously consider Turkey as ^ option for the program’s location. In July 2011, Carignan, Vandermaas-Peeler, Pelton, President Leo Lambert and Provost t^ven House traveled to Istanbul to explore the city’s potential for the course and establish contacts at Koc University, a school with which Elon now has an exchange relationship. After their return from Istanbul, arignan and Vandermaas-Peeler gained approval for the funding of the pilot course, which is a shrunken version of the ultimate proposal, Carignan said. Twelve to 15 first-year Honors Fellows will participate in 2013, but the long-term aspiration is that all 40 first-year Fellows will take part in the program. “If we require it for the program, we are going to have to pay for the whole thing, and that’s going to be a big expense,” Carignan said. “In the meantime, the president agreed that we should start a small version of it, see how it goes and use that as a basis to maybe raise more funds in the future." The program is specifically targeted at first-year students who will be able to use their experience in Turkey as an inspiration for their thesis projects and undergraduate research. “What we intend to do is introduce students to some of the methods that academic disciplines provide for framing inquiry," Carignan said. “Whereas a tourist can go to a place and just ask any kind of wild, curious question, we want to use some academic disciplines as explicit ways for helping develop those questions as something that becomes a research proposal." New 2013 Winter Term Programs India's Identities; Religion, Caste & Gender in Contemporary South India The new program to India will run jointly with another university, a first for the ICC. Half of the participants will be from Elon University, and half will be from Maryville College. The program will be led by Amy Allocco, professor of religious studies at Elon, and Brian Pennington, professor of religion at Maryville. France: Reconsidering “Religious” Experiences and Sacred Space in Southern France The new program, which Is the only Winter Term course located in France, will be based in Montpellier, a city in south central France. “We are looking for students who are interested in exploring the culture, the language, the history and the politics of France, and who are Interested in approaching French culture through the lens of religion, said L.D. Russell, lecturer of religious studies. The program will be led by Russell and Sarah Glasco, a French professor. k SARA HUDAK | Stafl Ptiotograph«r Steven and Sarah Lucente, Elon Law alumni, and Molly, a Gemian shorthair, won first place for dogs at the fourth annual Barbara Sullivan Race for Women's hteaKh 5K Race at Northeast Park in Gibsonville. Student Clayton Purcell won first in the male runner category, Elon Law Charter Class alumna Alix Hazel won first for female runners, Team Swift Justice took the first prize for team runners and German shorthaired pointer Molly was the first place winner for dogs. Most of the participants said they decided to run the race not only because they were avid runners, but because supporting the cause and the Elon Law WLA was important to them. Many were also returning participants in the 5K. “I graduated from Elon Law in 2009," said Steven Lucente, Molly's owner and one of the race participants. “(My wife Sarah and I) started to do the race to support our friends and the cause. We run this race every year." According to WLA members, this year's 5K race was a success. “I think everybody really eryoyed it this year," Roller said. “Each year, it's been growing, so we're really excited about that.” MORE ONLINE See what went on during the day at the race. http://pend.lu/run ASHUEY FAHEY | Copy Chief Elon’s not afraid of the dark New initiative sparks peer coorperation during POWERless Melissa Kansky News Editor Learning and living have cultivated an inextricable link. For sophomore Emily Forinash, information extracted from environmental studies is apparent in her behavior and efforts throughout POWERless competition. “My msgor is environmental studies, and I've realized that the stuff I’ve been exposed to are along the lines of environmental duties,” Forinash said. “I think educating people to have a sustainable lifestyle now in college is a way to promote that lifestyle throughout their lives.” Elon’s seventh POWERless competition encourages students to assume more ownership of the competition, according to Elaine Durr, director of sustainability. POWERless, a three-week program that ended March 13, is designed to encourage students to improve energy habits and raise awareness of energy conservation. Residence areas compete to have the lowest energy. Residence halls and Loy Center courts also compete. This year, members of the Office of Sustainability asked students to serve as hall captains to promote the objectives of the competition. Forinash, an eco-rep for the Danieley Center, volunteered as a hall captain and described her position as a liaison between Residence Life and the Office of Sustainability. Throughout the competition, she informed her residents of feasible ways to reduce energy consumption. “We have seen in past efforts if it is coming from a peer it is better received," said Thomas Bowie, assistant director of Residence Life in Danieley Center. The program’s new initiative empowers the students and develops a sense of community among the residents, Forinash said. “I know when I was a freshman, the competition was there and it was promoted, but there wasn’t a sense of ‘I can do this’ or ‘I can make a difference,’" she said. “Having a peer that is constantly there promotes a sense of a sustainability lifestyle." The student leaders demonstrate each individual’s potential to positively influence the environment. “It serves as a reminder of what each of us can do to save energy on a daily basis," Durr said. While all on-campus residents participate in POWERless, not all halls and areas have had students volunteer to serve as captain during the three- week competition. “We did not have any students that came forward as a hall leader for our area," said Scott Hendershot, assistant director of Residence Life for West Area. Sustainability efforts are most frequently communicated to his residents through emails from their respective eco-rep and fliers he posted on light switches reminding students to conserve energy, Hendershot said. Regardless of the messenger, witnessing sustainable behavior still motivates students to reduce energy use, according to Hendershot. “I expect students will gain information during POWERless and continue that throughout the rest of the year," he said. The competition illuminates small actions individuals can continuously do to reduce their carbon footprint, according to Bowie. Environmentally-friendly practices during the three-week period cultivate habits, Forinash said. “Having this experience to show how easy it is (to conserve energy) and how harmless it is to themselves will make it last throughout the rest of the semester and time at Elon,” she said. Engaging the whole community also opposes what Forinash called the tragedy of the commons, where each person believes his individual effort does not have a great influence and discourages each person from acting positively, she said. The building dashboard, an online tool that indicates the amount of reduction in energy and carbon dioxide emission shows the results of daily actions. According to Hendershot, the dashboard best communicates how student conduct relates to global issues. “They see immediately what is happening when they turn off the lights and unplug unused electronics,” he said. The dashboard indicates participation in POWERless has saved more than 12,000 kilowatt-hours, which signifies the amount of energy needed to operate for one hour. Additionally, more than 14,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and more than $800 have been saved. Each POWERless competition has reduced overall energy use from 6 to 20 percent, Durr said. For the spring competition, she said she hopes to see a cumulative energy reduction of at least 10 percent.
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March 15, 2012, edition 1
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