Page 2 / Wednesday, September 19, 2007
NEWS
The Pendulu
m
Planning continues for pedestrian tiinnel
Nate Acosta and Nancy Whitman
Reporters
Development of a new pedestrian
tunnel under the railroad tracks
between Lebanon Avenue and West
Trollinger Avenue continues this fall,
with the tunnel expected to open spring
2009 according to Neil Bromilow, the
Director of Construction Management.
After the death of an Elon student
at the railroad tracks last spring, new
interest in a pedestrian tunnel has
emerged, though the tragedy did not
affect the university’s existing plans
to build a tunnel, Bromilow said.
Architects
are in the
designing
process of
the tunnel
while the
project
awaits
funding
approval
from the university.
The tunnel will be located behind
Hook, Brannock and Barney residence
halls. The project will cost an
estimated $1 million, a figure to be
shared by the university and Norfolk
Southern Railway Company.
^ ^/’m glad the university is con
cerned about our safety rather
than the cost of such a project? ^
- Colleen Cooper, senior
Lebanon Avenue may be
converted to a one-way street
during construction, said Bromilow.
Reactions from the student body
have been mixed.
“The project is good in theory,
but I don’t think it’s going to be
very effective,” said junior Maura
McGrath. “People won’t walk the
entire length of the tracks just to use
the tunnel.”
To keep people from continuing
to walk over the tracks, the state
will put up a fence. The fence will
run the length of the tracks adjacent
to Trollinger and Lebanon.
Some
students
who walk
to South
Campus
through
main campus
on a daily
basis especially
support the
school’s new project.
“I feel a little bit scared when I
cross the tracks, and since the trains
do go through there so fast there are
safety issues,” said senior Virginia
Zint.
According to Norfolk Southern,
File Photo
Plans for construction of a pedestrian tunnel between Lebanon and Trollinger av
enues are currently underway.
Elon News Briefs
Voices of Discovery begins Monday
Kaitlin Ugolik
News Editor
In keeping with the theme of
climate change and sustainability,
Elon will host the president and
CEO of the Organization of
Tropical Studies September 24 at
7:30 p.m.
This talk marks the first
installment of the 2007-2008
academic year of the Voices of
Discovery series.
Dr Elizabeth Losos, president
and CEO of the Organization of
Tropical Studies [OTS], will speak
about climate change in Costa Rica
in Whitley Auditorium.
In a talk entitled, “Seeing the
Forest for the Trees: Understanding
Global Climate Change Through
the Costa Rican Experience,”
Losos will share her knowledge
of environmental impact on Costa
Rica and other tropical countries.
She earned her Ph.D. in ecology
and evolutionary biology in
1993 from Princeton University,
and worked for the Smithsonian
Tropical Research Institute’s Center
for Tropical Forest Science before
joining the OTS in 2005
According to their Web site, the
OTS was founded in 1963 as a non
profit association of universities
and research institutions from the
United States, Latin America and
Australia.
The organization leads members
in researching and using natural
resources responsibly.
The Voices of Discovery series
is sponsored by Elon College, the
College of Arts and Sciences.
Suspect apprehended, laptops retrieved
Olivia Hubert-Alien
News Editor
A string of on-campus thefts
between 9:30 and 11 a.m. ended in
the apprehension of a suspect on
Friday, Sept. 14.
The Elon Campus Safety and
Police office received a call from
a student reporting a missing book
bag. Shortly thereafter, a laptop
was reported missing from a faculty
member’s office in McEwen
Communications Building. Then a
third complaint reported a missing
laptop in McMichael Science
Building.
Bystanders in and around
McMichael were able to come up
with a description of the suspect
and an e-mail was sent out to
faculty and staff members. Campus
Safety and Police then received
several phone calls indicating
the direction that the suspect was
moving. Officers confronted the
suspect outside Holland House
shortly after 11 a.m.
All stolen property was
recovered, including three laptops,
one wallet and one book bag. The
suspect has been charged with
four felonies and has been set on
$50,000 bond.
“I thought [the situation was
handled] extremely well,” said
Chuck Gantos, chief of Campus
Safety and Police. “People were
observant and we were able to get a
description of the suspect.”
Gantos urges Elon community
members to lock doors and take
care of personal possessions. He
says that universities are perceived
as easy targets for criminals
because people tend to be relaxed.
the speeds of the trains through the
Triad increased in the past four years.
Previously, passenger trains were not
allowed to go above 59 mph, but now
they are allowed to operate as fast as
79 mph in accordance with the North
Carolina Transportation Department
and state law.
“I’m glad the university is
concerned about our safety rather than
the cost of such a project,” said senior
Colleen Cooper.
While construction is not expected
to start for a few more months, there
will be some noticeable changes
when building begins. Trains will still
operate, but at slower speeds through
the Elon community.
Ominous odor detected,
Carolina evacuated
Angela Aslanian
Reporter
Wednesday night all 150 Carolina
girls were evacuated from their dorm.
Security paced the halls as
ambulances and fire trucks arrived to
investigate a mysterious fume floating
around the first floor hallway.
“I started coughing, my throat was
burning, and my eyes started to water,”
said Erica Edmondson, freshman and
first floor resident
Girls sensed the odorless fume as
soon as they opened their doors
“It felt like somebody put pepper in
my lungs,” freshman resident Caroline
Adams said.
Room after room, girls flooded
out of the dorm, perched on the steps,
many with books and laptops in hand.
“ I could tell it was going to be a
long process so I grabbed my Mac
and hauled my ass out of there, my
first paper was due in a few hours, ”
freshman resident Jayna Roberts said.
After they realized the intensity of
the situation, a few of the girls fled to
their RA’s room to caution her about
the problem. Liz Adcock took one
breath before she also started to cough;
she then called security.
It took a while for the firefighters to
figure out the cause of the fumes.
“We were the contaminated group,”
said freshman and first-floor resident
Jennifer Hempel.
The firemen discovered the fume
was caused by a bathroom exhaust fan
malfunction.
In an e-mail to the girls of Carolina,
Niki Turley, director of residence life
explained that, “the plastic fan blades
were rubbing on the housing of the
unit and the constant abrasion created
some heat and the blades began to
erode away and, at the same time, emit
a melted plastic odor”
The bathroom was barricaded for
the night but the girls were let back
into their dorm around 1:30 a.m. A
crew came the next day to prevent
Anna Tolner/ Photo Editor
Residents of Carolina were
evacuated Wednesday night when a
strange smell was detected; firemen
discovered fan blade erosion as the
source of the smell.
future damages.
Some girls continued to feel
nauseous, dizziness, chest pressure.
Twelve girls were checked out by
the EMTs and three girls decided to
take a trip to the hospital.
“I’ve never rode in an ambulance
before,” said freshman resident Erica
Edmondson, also commenting that it
was about a three hour wait once they
arrived.
The girls were treated for smoke
inahlation and told to drink lots of
water and to rest.
Days after the incident a couple of
the girls are still experiencing mild
symptoms. ...
Additional horns and strobes w
be installed in the shower area,
after
several girls missed the fire alanns
while taking showers.