Newspapers / The pendulum. / Feb. 4, 2015, edition 1 / Page 1
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I^GRAPHIC BY MEGAN GRAVLEY i Design Editor Editorial: Conversation about race at Elon University requires greater diversity pg. 8 Austin Hamilton scores 31 points against Delaware pg. 14 Oscar buzz for this upcoming weekend pg. 11 HE PENDULU Elon, North Carolina • Wednesday, February 4, 2015 • Volume 41 Edition 2 □ facebook.com/thependulum ^ @elonpendulum Another semester, another pg- JANE SEIDEL | Photo Editor Sophomore Jamal Joseph recounts a story from his time at Eton to Susan Kirkland, assistant vice president for business and finance, in a Jan. 23 forum that was organized by the Black Cultural Society. The meeting, a response to a reported Jan. 21 incident of racial and sexual bias, was attended by predominantly black students, prompting criticism of the absence of other ethnic groups. The incident was at least the fifth at Elon since 2011. Students stranded by winter storm . As snow piles up, staff scrambles to bring students back to Elon amidst delays f^Leena Dahal ^jjAssistant News Editor As many students, faculty and IstalT returned from Elon Uni- [versity Study Abroad and Study JSA programs, they were greeted by a traveler’s worst nightmare: a ecord-breaking series of winter jstorms. Winter Storm Juno, accompa nied by other winter storms in the 'Northeast region, have caused hav oc across the nation, affecting the [lives of millions of people and test- ng the patience of travelers. Media [reports noted more than 14,000 flights were canceled because of heavy snow and record-breaking high-speed winds. According to Rhonda Waller, di rector of study abroad at the Global Education Center, six of the 35 total programs at Elon were affected by the inclement weather conditions. Of that group, about a dozen flights had to be re-routed. “We were being told that air ports in the Northeast might be closed for four to five days,” Waller said. “So, getting students, faculty and staff back to the United States became our next priority, even if it meant dividing the program into smaller groups or bringing them into cities not on their original itin erary.” Madeline Monaco, a senior aboard the “India: Education 6c Development” Winter Term trip departing from Kerela, India, was one of the students whose arrival home was delayed. Her transferring flight from Dubai was scheduled to leave at 2 a.m. Jan. 27, but didn’t end up flying out until 8 p.m. Jan 27. Anticipating the cancellations caused by the weather conditions, the group decided to stay at a hotel, paid for by the university, and wait for word from Elon. 6 of 35 braveling courses were affected by Juno and obher Northeastern snow storms 12 flights had bo be re-routed ^ 1 program was scheduled bo arrive Sunday, bub due bo delays it did nob return untii Tuesday “The time difference was at some points fhistrating,” Monaco said. “But with Wi-Fi in the hotel, good food and good company, we made it through.” According to Waller, the process of rerouting flights was difficult, es pecially because many were group bookings handled by divisions within airline offices that were all dealing with systems overloaded with cancellations and limited seat availability. “In a few cases, we had to wait for the airline to officially cancel the flight before they could be asked to respond to requests for rebooking,” she said. “We were grateful to the airlines that acted proactively and canceled flights early on, as opposed to those few who adopted a ‘wait and see’attitude.” Lexi Williams, a sophomore student on “The Sundance Experi ence” trip returning from Utah, said that though her traveling group in evitably had to be divided because of flight availability, she is staying positive. “I’ve been up since 5 a.m. this morning, so it has definitely been a long day,” she said. “But we’re all trying to remain positive, especially because we’ve had such a great ex perience on the program.” Williams emphasized the role of her program leader, Mark Dalhouse, director of Study USA, who missed his ovm flight home in order to be with his students, in maintaining a sense of calm to weather the storm. “They told us that everything would be taken care of, booked us a hotel and have offered to pay for our dinners,” she said. ‘At this point, there’s nothing we can do biit just wait — so I think everybody’s try ing to do the best they can.” Waller said that while the of fice did everything possible' to keep groups together, the scenario of finding 30 available seats on anoth er flight, aU within 24 hours, proved tough. For the most part, she said, the airlines determined how indi viduals were rebooked. Elon Winter Term programs include a round-trip international airfare from a designated US. de parture airport in their program fee. Some students who didn’t depart from a nearby city had to book oth er domestic flights vrith the office’s affiliated travel agency, Aladdin Travel. Waller noted that many stu dents booked their domestic flights independently of the GEC, which complicated the troubleshooting proccess. But for some students, finding their own way home wasn’t an op tion. Senior Leah Channas, who was also a member of the Sundance program and a former Pendulum staff member, said that she is dis appointed by how the situation has been handled. “Students spend thousands of See STUDYABROAD pg. 3
Feb. 4, 2015, edition 1
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