THE PENDULUM
STYLE
CAMPUS GLOWS WITH WINTERY CELEBRATIONS
Lindsay Kimble
Copy Intern
The holiday season is here, and Elon has once
again offered a slew of traditional festivities
for student enjoyment. Whether one celebrates
Christmas, Hanukah or Kwanzaa Elon provides an
event honoring almost every tradition. There are
still many exciting celebrations to come, but this
week was peppered with holiday fun.
Luminarias Holiday Celebration
On Dec. 3, Elon’s main campus was Illuminated
with thousands of Christmas lights and luminaries
lining the sidewalks between the Moseley Center
and Alamance Building. Students, faculty, staff and
many community members gathered in the early
evening for a night of carols, hot chocolate and
cider and rides in a miniature motorized train.
Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by to talk with the
children and even some nostalgic Elon students.
Crowds gathered around Fonville Fountain outside
Alamance to watch a band and chorale group
perform, as well as to view the “attempted” lighting
of a menorah and finally, the beautiful white lights
sparkling in the trees.
“I loved the luminaries,” freshman Rachel
Gianfredi said. “It was adorable and got me so
excited for the holidays.”
This Elon tradition is sponsored annually by the
Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life.
Holiday Celebration afterparty
Following the Luminarias Holiday Celebration,
Irazu coffee shop, located in Moseley Center,
continued the festivities with live holiday music,
special holiday Irazii beverages and tips on going
“green” during the holiday season. The small
coffee shop was brimming with chilly yet spirited
attendents.
Jingle Bell Ball
Hosted by Sigma Alpha Omega, the Jingle Bell Ball
offered guests mocktails and the chance to mingle
and enjoy holiday tunes. The ball is an annual
fundraiser, with proceeds from the $5 ticket sales
benefitting the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance.
The ball was held Dec. 5 at Harden Clubhouse.
Moravian Christmas Love Feast and Candle
Service
Held at Elon Community Church on Sunday, the
Moravian Love Feast honored a holiday ceremony
brought to North Carolina in the 1700s by German
settlers. The traditional service included a special
candlelight aspect and was followed by a fellowship
meal of coffee and a Moravian bun.
According to tradition, the love feast is meant to
be symbolic of church fellowship, and when bread
is broken together those involved are united in
fellowship much like a family would be. This event
was also sponsored by the Truitt Center.
DAVID WELLS I Photo EdrtOf
Elon held its annual Luminaries Holiday Celebration Dec. 3.
Christmas party at El Centro
Elon’s El Centro Spanish center invited students to
come celebrate Christmas on Nov. 30 while learning
Hispanic traditions. The event featured a wide array
of food as well as Spanish Christmas music.
The Multicultural Center, in a joint effort with El
Centro, also invited three local Mexican families to
join in the festivities. Both centers have been providing
help to the families throughout the semester.
Hillel Hanukkah party
A campus-wide event open to all students, the
Hillel-sponsored Hanukah party for Elon’s Jewish
community was held Dec. 1 at the Truitt Center.
The party included dreydel games, chocolate gelt
(chocolate packaged to symbolize coins) and Latkes
(traditional potato pancakes).
Elon University Camerata performs Celebration of
Light
Elon’s choral ensemble Camerata performed a
cappella works spanning the centuries Nov. 30, all
with the holiday spirit in mind. The event featured
not only narration from special carols and poems, but
also a candlelight processional and special lighting
effects.
Whitley Auditorium was decked with holiday
decorations for the event, and students were graced
with the presence of School of Communications chair
Don Grady as narrator and University Organist Mary
Alice Bragg. The annual event proved to be a festive
celebration of the season for the fifth year in a row.
Home for the holidays?
International students face
choice of returning home or
traveling for winter break
Edith Veremu
Reportef
For many students, the December
holidays, are a time of joy and celebration.
With the anxiety of exams behind them,
students pack their bags to return home for
a well-deserved break.
But for certain group of students, going
home for the holidays may be a problem.
For the international students at Elon, the
December holidays mean having to make
plans of their own when home is thousands
of miles away.
Unlike other universities, Elon does not
offer housing or place international students
with U.S. families. International students are
often given two choices: either go home or
stay with friends or relatives in the country.
Frangois Masuka, the director of
international student and faculty scholar
services, said Elon has “never had the need
to institute housing” for students during the
December holidays.
In addition, he said since there are no
definite ways of investigating a family’s
history to ensure a student’s safety, Elon has
not implemented programs that place their
students with host families.
For the students that will stay in the
United States, there is still a desire to return
home.
Senior Fentuo Tahiru, a foreign exchange
student from Ghana, plans to embark on
a tour of the East Coast with friends from
the International Pavilion. Eager to explore
American culture, he also expressed his
feelings about the upcoming holiday
season.
“If I had the chance to go home and be
with my family, I would,” he said. “However,
the holidays are too short for my trip.”
The recession has forced students like
Tahiru to make arrangements with friends.
Nonetheless, a solid number of
international students are excited to
be going home. Freshman Fiona Alfaro,
although thrilled to return to El Salvador,
said it will be “weird, because I’ve become so
accustomed to this new life that I don’t know
how I’m going to feel back home.”
Returning home can seem unusual, as
Alfaro points out, but most welcome the
chance to see their loved ones.
Decorate on a Dime: Ways to save
Kristi Jacobsen
RejX)rter
The holidays are just around the corner and Elon
students couldn't be more excited. To celebrate, they
are finding cheap and crafty ways to fill their dorms with
holiday cheer.
Have a vision
Sophomore Tori Spearman found her inspiration for
a “preppy Christnias tree” from Martha Stewart Living
magazine.
“It’s a good idea to look through catalogs to look for
ideas on how to decorate and then base your own Ideas
around it,” Spearman said.
To deck out your dorm, search online sites like
www.hgtv.com and www.marthastewart.com to find
appealing pictures, then start shopping and crafting a
similar look for half the price. And while out shopping,
look through magazines at the check-out to find even
more fun ideas.
Shop cheap
Gut out coupons, search for bargains and shop at
places like The Dollar Store where you will certainly
get the most for your money. Shop around to compare
prices and call stores to find the best deal.
Sophomore Jackie Serany said she found an
adorable pre-lit pink Christmas tree for only $20 at
Michaels.
Think like a kid
Cutting paper to make
snowflakes and paper chains
isn’t just for elementary school children. These simple
creations can add tons of holiday splendor to bare
walls and doors. So dig out those scissors, buy some
construction paper and enjoy some arts and crafts
time.
One word: lights
The Lamba Chi Alpha Fraternity suite is glowing with
holiday cheer.
“It’s a good mood setter," suite manager Eric
Menchacha said.
Strings of white lights, colored lights and icicle lights
line the hallways.
“It’s nice to turn off the fluorescent lights and just
have the Christmas lights on,” sophomore Brandon
Gurney said.
Lights are an excellent and inexpensive way to
brighten up a dorm and show off holiday spirit.
Recycle
Ask parents, friends and family if they have any extra
holiday decorations to bring back to school. Also, start
saving holiday cards. They make fantastic decorations
by providing material for collages, or they can be
displayed in a card holder.
Make it a group effort
Gather your roommate and suitemates together to
have a fun decorating party. Put on some holiday music
and pull out the arts and crafts. Decorating is always
better with friends, and everyone has their own unique
ideas how to best create holiday glee. Remember to
set a bag of popcorn aside when popping some for
the group. Let the popcorn cool, then use a needle and
thread to make' a decorative strand of popcorn to put
around a Christmas tree or over your door.
Express yourself
Washable window markers make for a great way to
show holiday spirit to all who pass by. These markers
last for years and can t3e found in any store carrying
craft items. Use them to draw holiday scenes of winter
wonderlands or Christmas gatherings. Holiday greetings
can also be written for passersby to read. Just make
sure not to write it backward so everyone outside the
room can read it.
Wrap It up
Wrapping paper is a very Inexpensive way to add
holiday cheer to the dorm. Purchase low-priced paper,
ribbon and bows at Walmart or The Dollar Store, then
wrap a room door. Cover the entire door with wrapping
paper, tie ribbon around it and add a festive t>ow. It
will feel like opening a present every time the door is
opened.
Get creative
Strings of popcorn, gift-wrapp>ed doors, soda can
Christmas trees and marshmallow snowmen — there
are so many unique ideas perfect for adding holiday
sparkle to a room at an inexpensive price. Think of a
favorite holiday Items (gifts, snowflakes, candy canes,
Santa, etc.) and find a fun way to craft them. Have class
work that is no longer needed? Use the paper to cut up
snowflakes and hang them. Construction paper, ribtxjn
or felt can make larger holiday items to display on a
door or wall.