Pate McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition and instructor of communications, was quoted by Axios Charlotte about the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Charlotte’s Web, which yielded 1,300 arrests in the city.

Axios Charlotte reports that much of the information about Operation Charlotte’s Web has come out of lawsuits, and there is a lack of transparency about the details of the operation.

“It’s a very dangerous thing for the government to be doing. It is an abuse of power,” McMichael said. “They’re not following the law, and that’s why they’re getting sued, and that’s why they’re losing.”

Pous’s talk was part of a much larger week of events that included other research presentations, cultural events, and public talks, with an epicenter in a huge street demonstration that took place on March 24 throughout the country. The massive mobilization commemorates the day on which the dictatorship started in 1976, and brought together political activists and groups, as well as cultural spectacles and common citizens, to remember the dark years of the dictatorship, so as not to repeat them again. Under the cry of Nunca Mas! (Never again), the people maintain a culture of memory despite the attempt of the current government to dismantle the human rights platform that makes it possible.

In the context of the Cold War, Argentina, like most Latin American countries during the 60s, 70s and 80s, went through a period of military dictatorships that targeted political opponents with the financial and political support from the U.S. From 1976 to 1983, Argentina was under a military dictatorship that utilized irregular methods of repression against its own population. Following the lesson learned at the School of the Americas, the military regime created a system of clandestine centers of detention in which political opponents were brought after being kidnapped in the streets, their workplaces or in their homes. Once in these clandestine prisons, they were tortured, treated with minimum care, uncommunicated from their family members, and most of them were killed and their bodies disappeared. It is calculated that 30,000 people disappeared under this system of repression.

Since the return of democracy in 1983, there has been a grassroots collective effort to recompose the social link by fomenting a culture of memory in the country under the banner of Not forget, not forgive (Ni Olvido ni Perdón). Throughout the years, different human rights organizations worked along with state officials, international support groups, and local community organizations to persecute the criminal legally (over 1000 were already condemned), build and maintain several sites of memory, and provide retribution to the people affected directly and indirectly by it.

Pous’s talk emphasized this collective effort to cultivate a culture of memory across different generations. For Pous, “the task of memory today is an intergenerational endeavor that requires to be open ot listen to the questions and concerns of the new generations.” In his talk, he focused on key cultural products like the films “The Official History” (1985) and “Argentina 1985” (2022) as well as the fiction books “La casa de los conejos” (2006) and “Diario de una princesita Montonera” (2012) to highlight the public debates around postdictatorship democracy that have fed the culture of memory in the country.

Earlier in the week, Pous presented his book, Eventos Carcelarios (UNC Press, 2022), at the University of El Salvador for an audience of professors and graduate students. He delivered a talk about the novel “El beso de la mujer araña” (Puig 1976) in conjunction with a historical analysis of the liberation of political prisoners in 1973, at the return of a seven-year dictatorship that preluded the most horrific one mentioned above. His talk focused on the “connection between an historical event that was lived as if it was the revolution, but it turned out to be the beginning of the defeat of the revolutionary project”. For Pous, the prison cell became “a singular place of reflection and self-critique” that the novel depicts in detail to reimagine the possibility of a radical imagination today.

“This purposeful alignment of HealthEU Day with the Health Promoting �þ���es Week and Earth Week highlights our commitment to advance the well-being of people, places and the planet that we made as we adopted the Okanagan Charter last fall,” said Anu M Räisänen, director of HealthEU initiatives and assistant professor. “HealthEU Day provides an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to celebrate Elon’s culture of health and well-being and reflect on how we can make an impact on the well-being of our communities and the planet.”

This year’s event will feature a special College Coffee and sessions throughout the day. It will also introduce new offerings, as all university departments and organizations were invited to host sessions. Many sessions reflect HealthEU’s “Rooted in Community” campaign, which emphasizes how caring for individuals, creating supportive environments and promoting environmental stewardship all contribute to fostering a healthier campus community.

All sessions will have exciting giveaways and opportunities to win great prizes. In addition, there will be “health forward” eating ideas and samples shared throughout the day, courtesy of Harvest Table. All events are free and open to students, faculty and staff.

HealthEU is the university’s integrated health and well-being initiative that focuses on empowering students, faculty and staff to practice holistic well-being through the six dimensions of well-being: emotional, community, financial, physical, purpose and social.

HealthEU Day Schedule of Events

College Coffee

9:40 – 10:20 a.m. | Phi Beta Kappa Commons

Designing for Well-Being Workshop

10:30 – 11:15 a.m. | Belk Library 102

DIY Self-Care Boxes

10:30 a.m. – noon | Young Commons

Fleet Feet on �þ���

11 a.m. – 3 p.m. | Koury Concourse

Reserve a time using or drop by.

Drum, Destress and Decompress!

1:30 – 2:15 p.m. | Young Commons

CommUnity Field Day

2:30 – 4 p.m. | Young Commons

STARS Celebration

4 – 5 p.m. | Lakeside Meeting Rooms

Explore the Pilates System

4:15 – 5:15 p.m. | Needham Pilates Studio (bottom floor of the Koury Fitness Center)

Pickleball Smash

5 – 7 p.m. | Outdoor courts at the Gerald L. Francis Center

Feel free to drop in at any time or register for a time slot using the .

For a detailed schedule of events, please visit the HealthEU website.

Vasudha Narayanan, distinguished professor in the University of Florida’s Department of Religion, introduced Allocco’s keynote. Allocco focused her lecture on pampaikkārar, musicians who play the twin-headed set of drums known as pampai and sing to invoke the deities in diverse Hindu devotional contexts. Drawing on material from her recently completed sabbatical fieldwork project in Tamil-speaking South India, she highlighted the role of pampaikkārar as both musicians and ritual specialists who invoke deities through sound. She argued that these practitioners innovatively adapt their performances in response to changing aesthetic preferences, devotional needs and social contexts while both maintaining credibility and inspiring the “god-feeling” referenced in the title of her presentation. Allocco also reflected on her own research methods, emphasizing how fieldwork relationships as well as lived traditions shape scholarly questions and, by extension, outcomes.

Following her address, Allocco met with graduate students for an hour-long seminar on methodologies for the study of religion, where emerging researchers had the opportunity to ask questions about ethnography and research ethics as well as their own projects. Participants read two of Allocco’s journal articles, which had been selected by conference organizers as the starting point for this seminar.

On Saturday morning, Allocco delivered welcome remarks to inaugurate the full day of paper sessions. The symposium was sponsored by the University of Florida’s Department of Religion with support from its Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere.

The Employee Volunteer Program was created to allow Elon staff to receive paid leave to volunteer with community organizations, a benefit now formalized through Human Resources. Today, full-time staff working 30 or more hours per week can take up to 16 hours of paid leave annually to support causes that positively impact the quality of life within communities. Beyond the policy itself, the program reflects something deeper.

“Allowing Elon employees to have paid volunteer leave is symbolic of �þ���’s commitment to supporting local communities,” said Bob Frigo, director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life and assistant dean of campus life.

He emphasizes that engagement is not just a student responsibility, but “it is important for staff and faculty to model the way in terms of being active citizens in our communities.”

For many employees, these hours open doors to experiences that might otherwise be difficult to access during a busy workweek. Kelly Harer, associate director of sustainability for education and outreach, used her volunteer time to work the polls during a local primary election.

“Volunteering is something I’ve been doing my entire life, and I’m so thankful that Elon gives us the opportunity to volunteer during work hours,” she said. Her role involved guiding voters through the process, but the experience became more personal than procedural.

“I volunteered in my own voting precinct; it was lovely to chat with folks that live near me that I might not otherwise get to know,” said Harer.

Nicole Bergen, program assistant for the Kernodle Center for Civic Life, also participated in an experience that highlights the variety and flexibility the program offers. From reading with first graders to participating in Haw River cleanups, she has used her hours to connect with the Alamance County community in multiple ways.

“I am always amazed at what a group of working volunteers can accomplish in such a short time,” she reflected. Whether collecting bags of trash or seeing “a student partner smiling at you the second you appear in the doorway,” Bergen has found both purpose and connection.

For Bergen, who does not live in the county, the program has been especially meaningful.

“It has felt like a lovely adventure to discover the area outside work,” she said, adding that it has reshaped her understanding of her role in the community.

The co-authored study, “,” published in Marketing Letters, examines how devices such as Amazon Alexa and Apple Siri influence consumer decisions.

Across four experimental studies, the researchers found that using voice assistants can increase the likelihood of donating to charity, choosing eco-friendly products and supporting socially responsible brands. The study suggests that voice-enabled devices may influence how consumers approach everyday decisions, particularly in social and ethical contexts. Rather than functioning solely as a convenience tool, these technologies may shape how users perceive and respond to social norms.

Key findings: 

• Consumers using voice-enabled smart devices may be more likely to engage in prosocial behaviors, such as donating money or selecting sustainable and socially responsible products.
• Voice interactions may create a stronger sense of social presence, making users feel as though they are engaging with another entity rather than a traditional online platform.
• Increased awareness of social norms, including generosity and sustainability, may influence more ethical purchasing decisions.

The primary goal of this project is to investigate the link between EBV and MS using a virtual clinical trial framework by testing three hypotheses: EBV resurgency, impaired B cell regulation, and molecular similarity between EBV antigens and myelin in genetically predisposed individuals.

The team has developed a within-host mathematical model of EBV infection, building on existing frameworks that incorporate epithelial and B cell dynamics, to examine which mechanisms are most likely to drive disease onset, with a current focus on immune cross-reactivity. The model will be further extended to include autoreactive immune responses and myelin damage, providing a more comprehensive representation of MS-related pathology.

During her visit, Ryu also delivered a colloquium talk titled “Immune Dysregulation in COVID-19: What Can Mathematical Modeling Tell Us?” based on her recently published work supported by the National Science Foundation. In the talk, she addressed why some individuals experience mild COVID-19 while others develop severe disease, presenting a mathematical framework that captures interactions between SARS-CoV-2 and the immune system. Through computational simulations and sensitivity analysis, she demonstrated how variations in immune responses can lead to divergent disease trajectories and highlighted key mechanisms that influence disease progression.

Following her time in Sydney, Ryu will travel to the University of Melbourne in late April to help organize a two-week workshop, “Collaborative Workshop for Under-Represented Genders Advancing Mathematical Biology,” co-organized with Jenner. This will be held at for the mathematical sciences in Australia near the campus of the University of Melbourne.

These visits provide valuable opportunities to advance interdisciplinary collaboration and strengthen international research connections in mathematical biology.

Visiting Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Statistics Keta Henderson gave an invited talk on her collaborative work titled “Analysis of trade-off between dispersal and patch intrinsic growth for a landscape ecological model exhibiting Weak Allee effect growth” in a special session on advances and applications in integral and differential equations.

Assistant Professor of Statistics Andre Waschka presented his work titled “A Semi-Parametric Bootstrap Simulation Using Causal Machine Learning”  in a contributed paper session.

Tracy Roof, who retired from Guilford County Schools in 2025, said she’s excited about her new opportunity to help start North Carolina’s first university-based, all-day private elementary school for children with dyslexia.

The Roberts Academy at �þ��� will use the multisensory Orton-Gillingham approach to reading instruction once it launches in August to third- and fourth-grade students in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue.

The academy will expand to grades 1-6 when a new building opens for the 2028-2029 academic year on East Haggard Avenue near the university’s Danieley Neighborhood. Each classroom will be capped at 12 students.

“The Roberts Academy model offers a meaningful opportunity to help students with dyslexia become confident, capable readers so they can truly thrive in school,” Roof said. “I’m excited to welcome our first students and families, build our inaugural classes and establish strong systems that will support both �þ��� and learning from day one.”

“The Roberts Academy model offers a meaningful opportunity to help students with dyslexia become confident, capable readers so they can truly thrive in school.”

– Tracy Roof, director of business and school operations, Roberts Academy at �þ���

Roof joins Assistant Professor Alicia Tate, acting director of the Roberts Academy at �þ���, as a founding administrator at the school.

“Tracy’s career achievements and her experience working closely with students with a variety of needs made her an ideal candidate for this position,” Tate said. “Having her on the Roberts Academy team will ensure early success for a school with such promise for so many children and their families.”

Over the past 15 years, Roof has served in school leadership roles as both an assistant principal and principal at the elementary and middle school levels, leading efforts to improve student outcomes and overall school performance. Earlier in her career, she spent 12 years �þ��� math, science, and social studies, followed by six years as a curriculum facilitator, where she supported instructional improvement and teacher development.

Throughout her career, Roof has worked closely with students and families to develop effective Individualized Education Plans, helping ensure each child receives the support needed to succeed.

Beyond her professional roles, Roof has been an active community volunteer supporting individuals with special needs and disabilities.

Her involvement includes supporting the launch of  that employs individuals with special needs, as well as volunteering with Night to Shine, an inclusive prom experience, and the Special Olympics.

Established in 2025 through a gift from philanthropists Hal and Marjorie Roberts of Lakeland, Florida, the Roberts Academy at �þ��� will be the fourth in a series of successful university-based private elementary schools the couple established at Vanderbilt University, Mercer University and Florida Southern College.

Families interested in learning more can visit the Roberts Academy website at www.elon.edu/robertsacademy.

“We are honored to receive this national recognition for our nonpartisan work in civic engagement,” said Bob Frigo, assistant dean of campus life and director of the Kernodle Center for Civic Life. “With each passing year, we become a more politically engaged university where our students are prepared to become the next generation of informed leaders who will help strengthen communities and shape our democracy.”

The ALL IN �þ��� Democracy Challenge empowers colleges and universities to achieve excellence in nonpartisan student democratic engagement.

“This recognition is a testament to Elon’s emphasis on nonpartisan democratic engagement. This work is truly a team effort and speaks to our incredible partners both on and off campus,” Andrew Moffa, assistant director of Kernodle Center for Civic Life said.  “We look forward to continuing our focus on developing strong civic leaders and active citizens.”

The recognition highlights institutions that are taking intentional, nonpartisan steps to strengthen democratic engagement through civic learning, political engagement and student voter participation. Elon’s action plan, co-authored by Frigo and Moffa, outlines key goals, such as hosting local elected officials on campus and expanding voter registration drives to reach the entire campus community.

Elon also received recognition in 2024 and is among .