the Vagabond Journalist
Americans hope Obama will address the economy in inaugural address
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It’s been more than a month since Election Day, but the economy is still the number one issue Americans are looking to hear about from Obama when he delivers his inaugural speech on January 20.
“I would like to see him touch on his plans for the economy,” said Adam Short, a lecturer in political science at Elon University. “He has stayed in the background in the past few weeks on the auto bailout and plans for an economic stimulus package, so I would like to know more on day one what his plans are.”
Tony Williams, an employee at Wal-Mart from Burlington, North Carolina, agrees that the economy should be the top issue for Obama to address.
“I’d like him to talk about the economy, to continue to do the things that are necessary to get the economy back on track,” Williams said.
Tony Williams, Air Force veteran and Wal-Mart employee from Burlington, North Carolina, discusses what he would like to hear Obama talk about during the his inaugural speech.
Williams, a veteran of the United States Air Force, also says Obama needs to address his course of action in removing troops from Iraq.
“[He should] also concentrate on getting the military people out of Iraq. I don’t feel like they should have been there to start with,” Williams said.
Obama made the campaign promise of a 16-month timetable to remove U.S. combat troops from Iraq.
Harlen Makemson, an assistant professor in the School of Communications at Elon, also wants to hear more on the specifics of Obama’s economic plan.
“I’m encouraged by the people he’s putting into place but the problems are so many and so immense I’d like to know where he’s going to go first to tackle these sorts of things,” Makemson said.
Makemson also hopes that Obama will help bridge the divide between conservatives and liberals.
“There seems to be some good things he’s done on that aspect as well but I think there’s so much work to be done and I worry sometimes that perhaps its too big to be crossed,” said Makemson.
Even those who supported McCain are ready to hear about Obama’s plans for the economy. Joni Grooms, a McCain supporter during the election, wants to hear more of the specifics on how Obama will manage the economy.
“Mainly what I would like him to talk about is how he’s going to pay for all of the things he’s proposing; the new jobs and the changes for America and how he’s going to pay for them,” said Grooms.
Pauli Hawkins, a Wal-Mart employee from Burlington, North Carolina, wants to hear about Obama’s plans for job creation.
“What’s he going to do to help people with jobs?” Hawkins said.
Hawkins supported Obama during the election and has high hopes for the president-elect.
“He’s such a good man, anything he says I’ll be happy with. We have someone now who I can understand and who is intelligent, for the first time in a decade,” said Hawkins.
Mary Morrison, director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning, hopes that Obama will address public service.
“My hope is that Barack Obama will be able to inspire a whole new generation of people who are committed to public service, [that he] can restore the next generation’s belief in government and the power of government and also in their own efficacy for addressing issues on a local level,” Morrison said.
Brian Collins, associate director of Residence Life for community building at Elon, wants to know what Obama will do to improve America’s standing in the global community.
“I’m hoping that he talks about improving the way America is viewed by the rest of the world and talks about how we need to come together as a community and that there is a world community and that we all play a part in that,” said Collins.
Brian Collins, associate director of Residence Life for community building at Elon, on his hopes that Obama will address America's role in the global community during his inaugural speech.
Elon senior, Chika Kusakawa, says that, judging from his Election Day speech, Obama should handle the inaugural speech well.
“I think he’s always a good speaker and very motivational. I’m sure he’ll say what his goals are, what he plans on doing, and how he plans on achieving those goals,“ Kusakawa said.
With the continuing dismal news coming from the economy, it’s no surprise that American’s are ready to hear Obama’s specific course of action. With more than a month to go until inauguration, most Americans are ready to hear the leadership Obama plans to take to halt the economic recession.
Tags: auto bail out, economics, economy, elon, inaugural address, inauguration, north carolina, obama
What Elon U. means to Elon, NC
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Exploring the university’s relationship with the town of Elon and surrounding communities.
by Dan Rickershauser
It’s a quiet day in late August as storefronts raise their signs of “Welcome Back Elon Students”. For the small town of Elon, it’s a storm of thousands of students, some new to the area, returning to the Elon University campus. But what exactly does this onslaught of students mean to the community?
This graph shows the uneven population distribution by age. Elon students make up a large number of Elon's population. Source: city-data.com
In 2007, WFMY News 2 ran a newscast on excessive student drinking at Elon University. It focused on the student body of Elon to highlight what has become a problem on campuses around the nation. While stories like this and other press coverage can focus on the negative, coverage sometimes overlooks the positive things students contribute can to their community.
Town Student Committee to improve relations with Elon residents.
“I dont think the town’s relationship with the school is strained, nor have I noticed a strain,” Elon senior Torin Reedstrom said.
Reedstrom will be an Elon student chair for the future Town Student Committee, which hopes to improve relations between Elon’s student off-campus residents and Elon’s permanent residents.
“What this committee will try and address is student concerns and issues who live within the town of Elon,” said Reedstrom. “We want to catch and address these concerns and issues before they create a strain on the relationship that the school and the town have.”
Assistant Vice President for Student Life Jana Lynn Patterson has helped to form this group and has worked as the liaison for the town.
Patterson says the committee will help students learn about what their expectations are living in town and being a good neighbor.
“When I would deal with student complaints a couple years ago I found that students just didn’t really understand what the ordinances and things like that were,” said Patterson. “I think the first step is just helping students understand the ordinances. If students know what there expectations are they meet them.”
According to Dean Patterson, the majority of the complaints she hears about are related to trash and garbage issues. As students left for the end of the semester last year, many complaints came in from the town about trash that hadn’t been picked up.
“We really don’t get big complaints about big parties. We got a few earlier in the semester and the community policing officer just went and talked to the kids and they were fine,” said Patterson.
The Town Student Committee will also give students a voice in the town.
“As there is talk about developing the downtown more, we want students to be able to have a conversation about what that might look like,” said Patterson.
Dean Patterson said she also has received complaints from three different students from three different apartment complexes about no recycling program. She hopes this is something the Town Student Committee will be able to address.
To help improve our standing with the town, Patterson has contributed to the town newsletter on the types of things Elon students are involved in.
“I think we have an opportunity to help people understand the good things our students are doing,” said Patterson.
“I think the mayor and the board of alderman understand that they have to appeal to the concerns of different lifestyles of the townspeople,” said Patterson. “But I think they also have a great appreciation for our students and the richness that they bring to our community. It’s a tough balance for them sometimes.”
The good things: The service Elon students’ contribute to the community.
One of the school’s biggest contributions to the community has been the service that Elon students do. Last year alone, 2,847 students participated in service, with 90,184 hours of service reported. While this number includes service Elon students have done everywhere, a large amount of this service has been done within Alamance County. The number includes service done by many different organizations, including Greek Life and other organizations.
“I think for a school this size, that’s a pretty impressive number,” Mary Morrison, Director of the Kernodle Center for Service Learning.
“I think it builds a lot of good will, with community people that have had an opportunity to work with our students,” Morrison said. “Many of our community partners express that they depend on Elon Volunteers to get their work accomplished.”
This year, Elon Volunteers celebrates its 20th anniversary. The group was founded by Chaplain McBride and Elon student, John Barnhill.
“They felt that service was an important part of an Elon education,” Morrison said. “Jimmy Carter had been on our campus talking about Habitat for Humanity, so they started a habitat for humanity chapter along with Elon volunteers at the same time.”
Morrison believes that service is a vital part of the education students receive at Elon.
“The only way to really learn how to be part of a community is to volunteer with the community,” Morrison said. “You have to become engaged with community in order to understand how it works, how you get things done and how you make change.”
While community service is done all across the nation by Elon students, the LINCs program, or Leaders in Collaborative Service, works with various non-profit organizations in Alamance County to help bring in Elon students to volunteer.
For Elon junior Patrick Berrier, service to the community in Alamance county began before he even started school as an Elon freshman. Berrier, along with other incoming freshman, did community service with the annual Pre-serve program.
“It’s a week over the summer that we came and worked with organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, Boys and Girls club, and worked at a retirement home,” Berrier said.
Today, Berrier is the Secretary for the Human Service Society, as well as a member of Habitat for Humanity.
“I grew up in a Methodist church where a lot of community service was really important. I feel like those ideals are still at Elon, so I just continue with [community service] here,” Berrier said. “It’s nice to go out and help other people who may not be as fortunate or well off as me or a lot of students at Elon.”
According to Mary Morrison, service-learning can play an important role in an education at Elon.
“The only way to really learn how to be part of a community is to volunteer with the community. You have to become engaged with community in order to understand how that works and how you get things done and how you make change,” Morrison said.
“I think it’s a vital part of what Elon is trying to accomplish, in terms of preparing our students to make a difference after their time at Elon.”
Living in Elon from both perspectives
For Elon Junior Palmer Dillon, going to college didn’t mean going far from home. Dillon has lived at Elon since 1990. Dillion’s mother, like many others in the community, has been a long-time employee of Elon University and currently works with the Teaching Fellows program. According to City-data.com, Elon University is the largest employer for the town of Elon.
Dylan had many positive experiences attending school events at Elon.
“When I was growing up I would go to baseball games and basketball games,” said Dillon.
Dillon is a 2006 graduate of Western Alamance High School. Although Dillon never left his hometown when going off to college, he does say that it can feel like a different place.
Dillon does consider living at Elon different while attending Elon University. For him, attending Elon University means you are in the “Elon Bubble”, a phrase coined for the limited interaction students have with members of the town and sorrounding area.
“Elon’s really like it’s own world,” he said. “That’s what I realized once I got here is that it really was, nobody really mixes with the town and the town doesn’t really mix with us.”
With all the community service students contribute and in many other ways, students do interact with the town and other residents in Alamance County. But according to many others, it’s still the “Elon Bubble”.
Tags: alamance county, community service, elon, kernodle center for service learning, LINCS, town gown
