Newspapers / The pendulum. / Sept. 10, 2014, edition 1 / Page 1
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Elon alums become part of magical cast in Broadway production Volleyball looks to gain experience from non-conference play Elon strives to educate women about all aspects of Greek life page? page 11 pages The Pendulum Elon, North Carolina • Wednesday September io, 2014 • Volume 40 Edition 19 www.elonpendulum.conn Students weary of Physical Plant backlog Emergency response system exists for pressing problems amidst ‘typical’ congestion Michael Bodley News Editor A Physical Plant work request backlog has left Elon University students scattered across Danieley Center fhistrated by fading facilities ranging from interior flooding to mold-cov ered ventdators. Its a recurring problem, one not uncom mon to the beginning of the school year when the requests start pouring in, said Paul Holt, maintenance control manager for Physical Plant. From 2012 to 2013, Physical Plant received 24,260 work orders — a number this school year has already exceeded with 26,460 requests placed so far. Dubbed a “beginning of the year botde- neck effect” by Holt, students who have been living with the lingering backlog have been JANE SEIDEL I Photo Editor Sophomore Francesca Collins lives in a Danieley C apartment that has seen its fair share of problems. The Danieley Apartments have been a focal point for less than content. Sophomores Emdy Rawls, Bettina Geiss- buehler, Francesca Collins and Doriana Moody moved into a damp Danieley C apart ment that smelled of dead fish — a stench later attributed to mold covering the aging apartment’s air filters. “When we moved in, there was this funny, nasty smell for a long time, and we couldn’t fig ure out what it was,” Rawls said, adding that a hint of mold on the side of her dresser provid ed a clue. “Some things are very strange here.” The strangeness continued for the four fi’iends. As the mold continued its slow, un checked spread, they noticed other apartment ailments — a certain steady dripping within a bathroom wall and other little alarm bells. After three work requests sent online to Physical Plant, Geissbuehler — who is allergic to mold — gave up and called. The next day, a worker showed up and fixed the filters, advis ing the four to stay on the lookout for signs of the mold’s return. They aren’t the only Danieley residents who have run into problems. ASHLEY KING I Staff Photographer Physical Plant work requests so far this year. Sophomore Katie Condon, a resident of Danieley E, had an issue that required more urgent attention: a ceiling hallway light filled with water from a leaking dishwasher up stairs that sloshed more than an inch of water through the upstairs apartments and leaked through the floor, to downstairs. The light remained filled with water for about a week, taking two to three requests firom Condon. After the toilet started leaking and a shower light filled with water, Condon had enough and called. A worker came the next day. “It’s more of an annoying headache for our building,” Condon said. She added that she was most concerned about the dangerous mix of water and electricity in her shower. “Our building hasn’t caught on fire. But at the same time, it’s like, we’re all paying to live here. If it was a regular housing situation — an off-cam pus situation — you wouldn’t want to live here anymore.” For those vdth more dangerous, and po tentially life-threatening issues. Holt suggests See DANIELEY page! Senior brings Active Minds to Elon, seeks to raise depression awareness Morgan Abate Senior Reporter Depression claimed her prisoner and made her bed the cell. She missed countless classes she cared about immensely. She just couldn’t get her self out of bed. Her friends surrounded her in the hopes that she would pick her back up. One year later, senior Emilia Azar is back on her feet, sprinting ahead with an idea to help draw attention to the more than 1,000 student suicides committed on college campuses annually. Thanks to Azar’s efforts, Elon looks to become the 399th chapter of Active Minds to raise awareness of mental health . issues and to erase its surrounding stigmas, pending approval by the Office of Student Activities. “There’s a need for people to be aware that mental health issues are very real,” said Paul Fromson, professor of psychol ogy- Active Minds was created in 2002 at the University of Pennsylvania by then-ju nior Alison Malmon whose brother had suffered from severe schizophrenia and committed suicide. Since her first efforts twelve years ago in Philadelphia, Malmon’s idea has spread to college campuses across the country fostering open discussions of mental health issues. In July, while reading Cosmopolitan in a nail salon, Azar stumbled across an arti cle about young women starting nonprof its, with one of them being Active Minds. “As I read through the description ... it really spoke to me. I researched it, and I was hooked,” she said. According to Fromson, whose research focuses on emotional disorders, students need to talk about mental health and to understand that no one is immune to these disorders. “Throughout the interview process [for the executive board], I was surprised at how many people told me about their issues or past issues,” said senior Emilia Azar, now pending president of Elon’s Ac tive Minds chapter. “[The stigma] is going to be easier to break than we realize.” During her sophomore year at Elon, Azar was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder, a mental disease that causes peo- See ACTIVEMINDS page 2 study abroad, Study USA grow, attract students from all majors Morgan Abate Senior Reporter Seven years ago, 12 Elon University students approached Associate Provost for Academic Affairs Connie Book re questing transfer credit through an Ithaca summer program in Los Angeles. The next summer. Book and a team of professors piloted Elon’s own summer program in Los Angeles. “When students were reflecting on these experiences, we realized that many of their observations were the same as when students study abroad,” Book said. Elon in New York City started two summers later in 2010 with only 20 stu dents. The following year, the program amassed 80 applicants. By 2012, these two programs had seen such tremendous growth that Book knew they were here to stay. Study USA ac quired its official title that summer. Study USA continues to grow at Elon — 11 percent of last year’s graduating class participated in a Study USA pro gram. This semester, 386 students have taken their studies outside of Elon, which is the highest number to date. The Elon Centers in London and Florence, Semester at Sea, the CIEE Business and Culture program in Barce lona, Spain and the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) have all seen signif icant increases in participation since last fall. “It’s an indicator that there’s a strong program in place and that our students are coming back and sharing that with friends and faculty,” said Paul Geis, asso ciate director of study abroad. There have been instances, though, when programs could no longer accom modate the amount of Elon students ap plying and enrolling in them, Geis said. Even without those cases, the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center never slows down. The staff is constantly look ing into new offerings for Elon students to choose from as well as to accommodate varied interests, especially in languages. “We’re looking into new options in Spanish, German, French and Arabic,” Geis said, “especially for students with no experience in the language.” Students who study Italian at a more advanced level should be on the lookout, too. According to Geis, soon there could be more opportunities to study in Italy outside of Florence. This semester also marks the inaugural semester for the Elon, in New York City program. It follows three years of success ful summers in New York City and See STUDY ABROAD page 2
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