WGS Program Turns 25
Jennifer Smith November 15, 2013 The 2013/2014 academic year marks the 25th anniversary of Elon University’s Women’s/Gender Studies program. A minor in Women’s Studies was first offered at Elon in the Fall of 1988 after having been approved during a February 1988 faculty meeting. In the mid-1980s Elon professors, Dr. Seena Granowsky and Dr. Martha Smith attended a conference on Women’s Studies programs at Duke University and were inspired to create a program at Elon. The two worked together to create the minor and the program of Women’s Studies in order to expose students to women’s issues through courses in English, History, Philosophy, Economics, and other related fields. Some examples of early course titles included Introduction to Women’s Studies, Feminist Approaches to Literature, and History of Women in the United States.
Read MoreHats Off to Elon College’s First Homecoming King
Julia Mueller November 6, 2013 In 1993, the first Homecoming King at Elon College was crowned. David Bynes (Class of 1997), a Communications major, represented the Black Cultural Society. Holly Good of Alpha Omicron Pi was crowned Homecoming Queen. The nominees represented twenty organizations, and the theme of Homecoming was “Hats Off to Hollywood.” Each nominee wrote a personal statement and was interviewed by a Student Government Association Homecoming committee. This constituted 40% of the score. Popular vote accounted for the remaining 60%.
Read MoreKCSL Celebrates 25 Years!
Julia Mueller October 30, 2013 This academic year the Kernodle Center for Service Learning is celebrating its 25th anniversary! The Kernodle Center for Service Learning and Community Engagement provides a variety of volunteer opportunities to students, faculty, and the community. The goal is to promote leadership, student learning, and citizenship through community engagement. The Center for Service Learning was founded in 1988 when Habitat for Humanity was chartered at Elon College. In 1989, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter promoted Habitat for Humanity during his visit to Elon. In 1990, Elon Volunteers (EV!) was founded as a part of the Chaplain’s Office. In 1992, the Center for Service Learning hired its first paid staff member, which was funded through a grant given to the college from the United Church of Christ. The academic year from 1992-1993 were the first years that volunteer hours and number of volunteers were tracked. The Service Learning…
Read MoreAdvertising Elon
Shannon Tennant October 28, 2013 Think back to when you first heard about Elon University and first considered coming here. What influenced your decision? At some point in the process, you saw an ad that extolled the virtues of the school. In magazines, on billboards, in brochures, on the internet – Elon’s advertisements are everywhere. Universities have come to realize that they are businesses, and they need to reach prospective customers. Elon has to market its image to attract top quality students in this competitive environment. But what that image is, and how to best present it, has changed over the years. Here is an ad from the Asheville newspaper in 1917. Some of the attractions Elon lists seem amusing now. Well water is not so important when we all drink bottled water. What about no outbreaks of “dangerous sickness?” They obviously don’t mean the cold that you caught from…
Read MoreWomen’s History Month: Women’s Athletics at Elon in the 2000s
Julia Mueller March 29, 2013 On May 14, 2010, the Elon women’s softball team, coached by Patti Raduenz and seeded number two, defeated the number four seed UNC-Greensboro Spartans in the Southern Conference Championship. Prior to playing UNC-G, the Phoenix defeated UT–Chattanooga Mocs, which was the number one seed in the SoCon tournament. This was the first time in the season that the Mocs lost. The championship was a first for Elon as well–it was the first time an Elon women’s sports team won a conference tournament title since joining the Southern Conference in 2003. This was also the first tournament title for Elon women’s athletics since the soccer team brought home the Big South tournament title in 1999.
Read MoreWomen’s History Month: Women’s Athletics at Elon in the 1960s-1970s
Julia Mueller March 15, 2013 The 1960s and 1970s were a time of different turning points in both American and Elon history. The Vietnam War, the Civil Rights and women’s movements were just a few of the milestones that occurred. This impacted women’s sports in various ways. The Commission of Intercollegiate Athletics for Women was soon recognized, and America faced a time of subsiding societal restrictions. This in part was due to increased coverage of the Olympics, where women had been at least to some extent competing since the 1900 Paris Games.
Read MoreWomen’s History Month: Women’s Athletics at Elon in the 1940s-1950s
Julia Mueller March 8, 2013 “Archery for skill, volleyball for coordination, and riding for the figure is Elon’s way of turning out healthy, ‘well-rounded’ girls.” – Phi Psi Cli, 1953 World War II caused lasting impacts at Elon College, especially the changed role of sports for both men and women. In 1942, men’s intercollegiate activities were temporarily abolished, and the soldiers stationed on campus used the gymnasium for training. It was not until 1944 that sports became a part of Elon activities once again. Due to the effects of the war, fitness became a more crucial factor in individuals’ lifestyles on local and national levels. It was soon acceptable for women too to physically train to improve overall health and strength.
Read MoreWomen’s History Month: Women’s Athletics at Elon in the 1920s-1930s
Julia Mueller March 1, 2013 During the beginning decades of Elon as an institution, society held a very different impression about women than the contemporary opinion. Lady-like behavior was strongly encouraged, and women were often protected against potential masculinity that was incorporated in notions about sports and physical training. At the turn of the twentieth century, women were confined to calisthenics and recreational tennis. Over the next twenty years, the Young Women’s Christian Association at Elon College was formed and requests for more athletic opportunities were expressed. As views of women changed in America from delicate to more durable, the trend in sports was reflected accordingly.
Read MoreForbidden Love at Co-Educational Elon
Julia Mueller February 14, 2013 For Valentine’s Day this year, we have a story of forbidden love at Elon. In the early years of Elon College, being a co-educational higher learning institution was relatively rare. Elon, however, offered education to both males and females, though strict conditions accompanied the interactions. In 1907, faculty minutes expose the story of Marie Winn and L.I. Gay and their disobedience toward the college’s social rules. The minutes are as follows:
Read MoreStudent Uniforms
Katie Nash August 24, 2012 What if Elon students were required to wear a uniform while on campus and/or attending classes? Today students have a choice about what to wear each day, but that was not always the case for Elon students. The first mention of students wearing uniforms appears in the 1890-1891 Bulletin of Elon College catalog publication. It states, “For economy and to avoid unpleasant distinctions in dress, young ladies will be required to wear a black uniform. The trimmings and scarfs to be determined by the individual’s taste. It is desired that the quality shall not be expensive, but heavy enough to hold the color and last through the winter. Young men need plain and substantial, but not expensive clothing. As a general rule, the more money a student spends on dress the less time is given to study.” It was understood that the uniform for men…
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