Online gambling p. 8
Women's'
golf team
hosting Elon
Invitational
£/on University’s Weekly Student Publication
tCfje ^enbulum
Wednesday, September 19, 2007 • www.elon.edu/pendulum • Volume 33, Edition 16
Ashley Barnas/ Assistant Photo Eiditor
Students lined up through the dining hall for the opening of the Colonnades on Friday. The new dining hall features a large variety of restaurant and dining options.
Colonnades finally open for business
Kristin Feeney
Reporter
For college students, next to sleep,
nothing is more important than food.
For Elon students, this past Friday
aftemoon marked the opening of the
long-awaited Colonnades Dining Hall.
“The Colonnades opening
highlights two years of an entire
student-influenced process.” said Rita
Gordish, district marketing manager
of ARAMARK. This process utilized
surveys, demographic studies, and
interest planning groups to better
recognize Elon students’ needs and
satisfaction.
The resulting two-story, seven-
restaurant hall and market is, “the kind
of place that could easily be one of the
nicest campus facilities around,” junior
Mac Wilson said. “It’s really upscale, I
feel off-campus.”
Looks weren’t the only thing
students praised. At the 1889 Grill
Room, a full-service restaurant named
after the year of Elon’s founding,
students were stunned to find an
upscale establishment that actually
takes meal plan swipes. One student
joked that it was “unprecedented and
finally putting our meal dollars to
value”.
Another eatery is on the second
floor include Isabella’s, a restaurant
named after Elon’s own Isabella
Cannon and her passion for cultural
diversity. Isabella’s serves up
international cuisine right before
guests on the Mongolian-style grill.
If Isabella’s isn’t your style, there’s
a meal at Tuscany, the all-you-care-
to-eat Mediterranean style firestone
oven buffet where pasta and pizza are
always on the menu. For a sweet treat
or a fix for a carb-craze, the Bread
Basket bakery offers a number of
breads, pastries, sandwiches, soups and
delectable desserts.
For those who don’t have time to
sit down upstairs, the Colonnades first
floor is doing its part to satisfy on-the-
goers, too.
Shopping at the organic Fountain
Market is made easy and get the same
products supplied to Whole Foods
Market chains. During prime growing
seasons, the marketplace even
COLONNADES continued on p. 5
New bill increases tuition funding
Maggie Griffiths
Reporter
Congress recently approved the
College Cost Reduction and Access
Act, which will provide $20 billion in
aid to make college more affordable in
upcoming years.
The bill, approved on Sept. 7, will
spark the largest increase in federal
tuition funding since the end of World
Warn.
Over the next six years, the
maximum Federal Pell Grant (which
provides aid to 5 million low-income
students per year) will gradually
increase on a yearly basis.
The maximum Pell Grant is
currently $4,310. By the 2012-13
academic year, the grant will top off
at $11,600.
Patrick Murphy, director of
financial planning, said that 352 Elon
students receive the Federal Pell
Grant. This year, 89 of those students
received the maximum grant.
“That is a relatively small
proportion of Elon’s population, but
for those students, the impact of a
higher Pell Grant will be felt,” Murphy
said.
The bill also creates an Income
Based Repayment Program, which will
allow borrowers to repay their student
loans as a percentage of their income.
Borrowers with low salaries will
therefore be protected from making
unmanageable payments.
The bill’s call for debt
forgiveness will benefit
those who chose to pursue ^
a career in the public sector,
such as teachers in low-
income areas, librarians and law
enforcement officials.
“Teaching is a profession where you
give back to your community,” said
senior Cyndie Kline, an elementary
education major. “They don’t have
the extra money to pay for a great
education because they’re already
giving back.”
This aspect of the act will allow up
to $ 1,000 of debt forgiveness per year
of public service.
Additionally, the bill calls for
a reduction in the interest rates on
subsidized
Federal
Stafford loans.
During
the 2006-
2007 academic
year, 1,471
Elon students
received a
subsidized
Stafford Loan.
Graphic by Angie Lovelace
TLTITION continued on p. 3