THE PENDULUM
NEWS
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14. 2009 V PAGF 3
Local Elon alumni carry on spirit of service
Caitlin O'Donnell
Reporter
Last Saturday afternoon, a
group of 30 Elon alumni from
the Triangle Alumni Chapter
gathered to collect boxes of
food donated to the food bank
in an effort to feed the hungry
a at the Food Bank of Central
and Eastern North Carolina.
“With this event, we want
to give back to the community
through our contributions
and our time however we can
and become re-engaged with
Elon and our local alumni,”
said Lisa Johnston Smithdeal,
’83 Elon University alumna
and president of the Triangle
Chapter.
This is not the first time
the Triangle Chapter has
participated in local volunteer
events. Each year, all regional
chapters are asked to take
part in the October “Make a
Difference" month of service.
“They can choose a service
project specific to their area
or one that benefits a national
campaign,” said Lauren
Kelly, coordinator of alumni
chapters.
Smithdeal said she believes
it is important to give back to
the community throughout
the year as well. The chapter
organizes teams for the komen
Race for the Cure every spring
and is an official sponsor of
the Triangle Spokes Group,
along with the Salvation Army,
which provides bicycles for
needy families.
“Especially in these trying
times, where so many people
are suffering with job loss
and cutbacks, every little bit
makes a difference in someone
else’s life,” she said.
With a variety of service
projects, the Triangle Chapter
seeks to provide opportunities
for all its alumni to volunteer
in projects that suit their
personalities, interests and
schedules.
“Some alumni are only
interested in sporting
events, others want to have
networking and/or social
gatherings, while some
alumni want to become more
involved with community
service,” Smithdeal said. “We
try to reach out to all alumni
so they can continue to live
a life that is bigger than
themselves.”
Through the Triangle
Chapter’s annual volunteer
events, alumni hope to
continue what they first
experienced during their time
at Elon.
Kyle Fleischmann
Missing 2007
Elon Alumnus
NASCAR aims to
drive missing alumnus
into national spotlight
Danielle Hatch
Reporter
Almost two years ago, the Elon community was shaken
by the disappearance of 2007 alumnus Kyle Fleischmann.
Now, the Kyle Fleischmann Foundation, along with the
brothers of Elon's the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity, are
spreading the word about his disappearance to a national
audience at this weekend’s NASCAR Dollar General 300.
Fleischmann disappeared after a
night out in uptown Charlotte on Nov.
9, 2007. He w’as last seen leaving Fuel
Pizza around 2:20 a.m., and there
has yet to be any conclusive evidence
surrounding his current w'hereabouts.
To promote awareness of the young
alumnus’ disappearance, the Kyle
Fleischmann Foundation will sponsor
a vehicle at the upcoming Charlotte
NASCAR weekend.
“It's going to create a lot of
awareness,” said senior and Kappa
Alpha Order President Jeff Criswell.
“It’s not so much a money-raising
event as it is an opportunity to get
Fleischmann’s case into the public eye."
Elon graduate and close friend of Fleischmann, Garrett
Turner, worked alongside his brother, Parker Turner, to make
this event possible. The two have previously sponsored
NASCAR vehicles for their IT and Telecommunications
company. Liberty Port. When they sponsored a car at the
Coca-Cola 400 in Daytona, Fla., in July, they received an
overwhelming response.
“The first day we announced that we were sponsoring
the race, our Web site got 1,000 hits,” Garret said. “The day
before the race, our Web site got 10,000 hits."
After realizing the amount of positive exposure they
could receive, Liberty Port teamed up with Rick Ware Racing
to sponsor a vehicle for Fleischmann. The vehicle, No. 31 Rick
Ware Racing Nationwide series car, will have Fleischmann’s
picture and the Kyle Fleischmann Foundation’s logo on the
side, as well as the hotline’s number on the hood.
“We have always been adamant about finding Kyle, and
when we decided to do the Charlotte race, we just put two
and two together," Turner said.
The Dollar General 300 will be this Friday at Lowe’s
Motor Speedway in Charlotte, N.C. The Kyle Fleischmann
Foundation will receive national exposure from networks
such as CNN, ABC and Fox, and w ill reach millions of people
when the race is aired on ESPN2.
“The national press is really coming together to generate
more interest about a story that is essentially two years old,”
Turner said. “We are trying to keep Kyle in the spotlight. He
hasn’t gone away.”
Friends and family of Fleischmann urge students to
attend the event, even if they did not personally know
Kyle.
“This could happen to anyone and we’re just trying
to spread the word," Criswell said. “Any kind of help^ any
student could give would mean a lot to a lot of people.”
"During their
undergraduate years,
students spend a great deal
of time volunteering in the
community, so they honor
that Elon spirit of service as
they participate in chapter
service events,” Kelly said.
Elon has been recognized
nationally for its efforts in
encouraging students to
think beyond themselves and
give back to their community
and others around them.
“We want to keep these
ideas going after graduation
because the lessons we
learned at Elon will always be
a part of us,” Smithdeal said.
Triangle members and Elon
alumni Megan Livengood,
(’03), and Katie Hendrick,
(’04), only had positive things
to say about their time as
students at Elon.
“We loved it,” Livengood
said. “Students certainly have
many challenging and fun
experiences ahead of them.”
For Smithdeal, volunteering
for these events is more than
just giving up her time. She
said she has been repeatedly
blessed by the experiences she
has shared with the Triangle
Chapter.
Working at the Triangle
Spokes Group with her
CAITLIN O'DONNELL | Photographar
Katie Hendrick, left, a 2004 graduate, and 2003 graduate Megan Livengood,
right, help out at the Triangle Alunnnl Food Bank event.
daughter last December,
Smithdeal was amazed at the
excitement a simple bicycle
could bring a child.
“My daughter talked to
me about the many ways to
volunteer for community
service events on campus,”
Smithdeal said. “She was
impressed that the alumni
keep up those ideals of giving
back long after graduation.”
Neuroscience minor probes
into Elon’s science department
Camille DeMere
Multimedia Editor
Think fast. Focusing on
neuroscience during their
college career is the newest way
for pre-medical and science
students to prepare for graduate
school. For the first time, this
fall Elon is offering a minor in
the field, which focuses on the
brain and the nervous system.
In recent years, it has
become apparent that graduate
school means neuroscience
classes. Alumni have reported
back from graduate programs
in psychology and physical
therapy saying no matter what
the end goal is, neuroscience
plays a part in medical school.
The decision to add the
minor came after two years of
planning and involvement from
many science departments that
realized they had members to
benefit and professors with
passion for the concentration.
The minor’s course load
draws from fields like biology,
psychology, computer science,
exercise sports science and
chemistry.
“This is beyond traditional
science,” said Amy Overman,
assistant professor of
psychology. “We all have a
brain. Neuroscience is the
underpinnings of all of our
lives."
Hall said a few professors
had been interested in starting
the minor, but the university
waited until it was sure the
minor would be useful.
It was clear last fall
that students were ready
for neuroscience to be
recognized as a defined course
of study. More than 130
students attended a daylong
neuroscience workshop that
a group of professors and
students planned in October.
Fifty percent of those who
answered a poll after the
presentations showed interest
in the minor.
Though the minor requires
24 semester hours, most
students on the track said fitting
in the credits is not difficult.
Many, like senior Sarah
JUSTINE SCHULERUD | St«f( Ph0t08r«pll«
Junior AM Bower discusses brain wave images in a student workshop.
Electronic signals from her brain can be collected through the cap on her
head and the resulting information is displayed on screen.
Foushee, were preparing for the
minor without even meaning to.
She began her freshman year
with a biology minor. Those
classes, combined with exercise
sports science classes required
for her major and a summer
class, put her in line.
“I signed up as soon as it was
available,” she said.
Senior Olivia Ackerman
had little direction for her
career path until taking the
Biological Basis of Behavior
class her sophomore year.
The course emphasized
neuroscience and inspired
Ackerman to consider
specializing in the field.
“Spending time in Dr.
Overman’s Biological Basis
of Behavior class showed me
what I wanted to go into,” she
said. “There isn’t exactly a
neuroscience field, but I want to
focus on it in my profession.”
The class’s subject matter
has stayed the same, but
it was renamed Behavioral
Neuroscience this year to reflect
the university's new emphasis
on neuroscience.
So far, 22 students have
declared the minor, and Hall
said he thinks the number will
climb after pre-registration at
the end of the semester.
Junior Sean Glynn is one
of those waiting to make a
decision. As a double-major
in communications and
psychology, the time to earn
credits is dwindling, but his
desire to expand his reach is
not.
Glynn said the minor
would be convenient because
he’s already met many of the
requirements and it also relates
to his life outside of school.
“I don’t actually plan for my
career to use my psychology
major," he said. “I plan to go
into communications. But I
have family members who have
mental disorders and I work
with Special Olympics, so it
has to do with things that are
important to me."
The minor is attracting
students mainly from the
science department but is open
to everyone.
“The questions we present
and the answers that we seek
are interesting to most people,"
Hall said.
Some of those answers
come in the form of
neuroeconomics, which looks
at buying decisions, how they
are made and how they can
be manipulated. Hall said
neuroscience often involves
the performing arts in its
studies.
Religious studies professor
Jeff Pugh serves as a member
on the advisory committee for
the minor. He works closely
with another committee
member, associate professor
of psychology Jeff Gendal, on
issues like the existence of free
will.
“Everything goes into
understanding people and
understanding our bodies
starts in our brains," .Ackerman
said. “It makes sense when
we’re studying the body to start
there."