WWW,elonnewsnetwork.com
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Eton, North Ca^rolina
n facebook.com/elonnewsnelwork
@elonnewsnetwork
i
Elon News Network
Ml
Alex Roat and
Margaret Malone
Contributor and News Editor!
@alexandrajoat @niegretjean
For three Elon University
students, going home for Fall
and Thanksgiving Break will
^ean facing a new reality on
the island of Puerto Rico.
Hurricane Maria struck the
U.S. territory of Puerto Rico
Sept. 20., two weeks after the
island was barraged by Hurri
cane Irma. The recovery is es
timated to take years and cost
$30-60 billion. As of Oct. 2,16
people have been confirmed
dead by Maria, while 30 re
main missing. Meanwhile, the
majority of the island is still
without power and lacking ac
cess to basic necessities such
as clean water, fuel and food.
“I don’t think I’m emotion
ally prepared to see my island
destroyed,” said sophomore
Ana Ford, who will return to
her family in Puerto Rico for
Thanksgiving break.
Ford’s father sent her a video
of her childhood playground,
GLOSSING OVER
Puerto Rico
Students tram Puerto Rico wonder what they will be
returning home to following Hurricane Maria
PHOTO COURTESY OF THE FAMILY OF ANA FORD
Top: Sofia Wensei, left, Kevin Vergne, center, and Ana Garcia, right, hold the Puerto Rican
flag together to show support for their native country after Hurricane Maria.
Bottom: A severly damaged McDonalds sign in the capital of Puerto Rico, San Juan, is an
example of the destruction from Hurricane Maria.
CAROLINE BREHMANI PHOTO EDITOR
now covered in downed power
lines and palm trees.
Senior Sofia Wensei said
she, too, is unsure about the
state of the home she will be
returning to.
“My dad says it looks like a
bomb exploded,” Wensei said.
“The infrastructure is com
pletely destroyed and there is
chaos in the streets. My neigh
borhood and home are okay,
thank God. My house has
damage, but nothing that will
not be able to get replaced and
fixed later.”
“I think Puerto Rico is go
ing to be 100 percent differ
ent than how I remember it,”
Wensei said.
The majority of homes in
junior Ana Garcia’s neighbor
hood were spared, because of
their concrete foundations,
but the neighborhood is flood
ed, and Garcia does not know
when she will be home to see
how her island has changed.
See PUERTO RICO
Pg.
Elon Elementary School closing approved
Maggie Brown
Assistant News Editor j @maggieAbrown_
Elon University finally closed its
deal with Elon Elementary School
at the Alamance-Burlington School
Board Member (ABSS) meeting Sept.
25. The board approved Elon to give
the land they owned on 752 Walker
Rd. to Elon Elementary School.
The current elementary school
will close and Elon will build a new
MORE SPACE
There are about
700 students
currently
enrolled at Elon
Elementary
school. The
new facility will
house 1,000
students.
school about 1.2 miles north of its
current location. The construction of
this new school is estimated to cost
$18 million.
Elon Elementary school was
built in 1953 and is badly in need
of renovations. Along with main
tenance issues, the school is also
experiencing overcrowding.
“ABSS will be getting a brand-new
school, and Elon Elementary will have
a new facility for their students,” said
board member Allison Grant. “It is
certainly advantageous for the univer
sity because they need that property
to continue to expand and build.”
The construction of the new
school will not cost the school sys
tem — or the tax payers — anything.
All of the furnishing and technology
will be moved to the new location.
No new resources will be bought for
the school.
See ELEMENTARY | pg 6
‘I am tired
of praying
about these
things’
Elon reacts to Las Vegas
shooting, the deadliest in
modern U.S. history
Emmanuel Morgan
and Alex Hager
Managing Editor and Web Producer |
@_EmmanuelMorgan and @awhager
Elon University alumna Laura
Stump ’12 arrived in Las Vegas for
a conference earlier this week. She
stayed in the
GUN COUNT
Authorities
found 23 guns
and thousands
of rounds of
ammunition in
the shooter’s
hotel room.
MGM Grand
Hotel, only an
eight minute
drive from Man
dalay Bay Resort
and Casino.
But little did
she know that
she would be
merely 1.4 miles away from the
deadliest mass shooting in modern
U.S. history that happened late Sun
day night.
“By about a little after 10 p.m.,
I started hearing kind of popping
noises outside,” Stump told Elon
News Network. “And so of course
you don’t want to immediately
think that this is ... you know gun
shots. You want to think it’s fire
works instead.”
For about 15 minutes, those
noises continued. A stampede
of people ducked for cover and
amid the carnage, 59 people were
shot dead and more than 500
were injured.
Las Vegas Police say Stephen
Paddock, 64, of Mesquite, Ne
vada, fired into a crowd of about
22,000 people during a Jason Al-
dean country concert. Paddock
took his own life before authorities
could apprehend him. Hauled in
his room on the 32nd floor of the
Mandalay Bay Resort, authorities
found 23 guns and thousands of
rounds in ammunition. Ingredients
for explosives were found in his car.
While a motive hasn’t been deter
mined, every detail of the massacre
was meticulously planned.
And as the nation grapples with
the fallout of yet another tragedy,
Elon is doing the same.
A time for reflection
Members of the Elon commu
nity gathered in Numen Lumen
Pavilion on Monday afternoon in
what was called, “A time of prayer
and lament,” following the shooting.
The vigil, hosted by the Truitt
Center for Religious and Spiritual
Life, allowed people to speak and
voice their thoughts and feelings.
See LAS VEGAS | pg. 4
NEWS • PAGE 5
Latest Elon Poll
examines President
Trump’s likeability
LIFESTYLE'PAGE 13
Elon students pursue
musical theater
off campus
SPORTS • PAGE 15
Discussing NFL
protests is hard, but
we need to do it