For more information, contact Melinda Box at mbox@elon.edu or (336) 278-6225.

Scavenger Hunt
Monday – Friday, Feb. 9 – 13

Join in the competition by racking up credits for attendance, safety knowledge, and equipment identification. Win awesome, hand-crafted, collectible prizes.

Hazard Symbol Bingo
Monday, Feb. 9, 7 – 8 p.m., East Commons Lounge

Have fun and learn essential safety symbols while you play. Win Flubber-themed prizes.

Film Festival: “Flubber” (1997)
Monday, Feb. 9, 8:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m., East Commons Lounge

Join us for laughs, Flubber-themed refreshments, and a fun departure from stodgy protocols and esoteric regulations.

Play It Safe!
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 4 – 7 p.m., IQ Atrium

Engage in hands-on safety activities with virtual reality and mood-setting black lights. Test your decontamination skills, firefighting abilities, and safety knowledge, and win collectible event swag.

Film Festival: Meltdown Three Mile Island
Tuesday & Wednesday, Feb. 10 & 11, 8 – 10 p.m., Sato Commons Media Room

Experience the stories of nearby residents who lived through and cleaned up after the worst nuclear reactor accident in the United States history. Learn how close conditions came to a widespread major accident.

Safety First, Coffee Always with International Coffee
Thursday, Feb. 12, 9:30 – 10:30 a.m.

Discuss the international comparison of nuclear reactor accidents and their connection to modern practices of lab safety.

Film Festival: K19: The Widowmaker
Thursday, Feb. 12, 8 – 10 p.m., LaRose Student Commons

Become immersed in the world of nuclear-powered submarines with this dramatization of an actual near-miss nuclear reactor accident. Starring Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson, this movie tells the story of the heroic and resourceful efforts of a Russian crew to prevent meltdown and possible explosion.

Lab Mystery Night
Friday, Feb. 13, 7 – 8 p.m., LaRose Theatre (KOBC)

Compete to find out “who done it”! Who left the unlabeled beaker of clear liquid in this random location? Where did it come from, and more importantly, what is it? Be among the first to solve the mystery and win unique prizes.

Film Festival: Radium Girls
Friday, Feb. 13, 8 – 10 p.m., LaRose Theatre (KOBC)

Follow this group of determined watch dial painters as they discover the reality of the hazards they have been exposed to and pursue justice for themselves and workers of the future. Scavenger Hunt prizes will be awarded before the movie screening.

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• The Month in Photos: July
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• The Month in Photos: September

The Fall 2025 semester is flying by, and as the leaves turn vibrant shades of red and gold, 消消犯 students, faculty and staff are embracing every opportunity to learn, grow and celebrate together.

View some of the most impactful moments of the past month through the eyes of staff in the Office of University Communications.

Here Ye! Here Ye!

Student celebrated News Engagement Day at Elon’s Oct. 7 College Coffee. Student journalists rang bells and delivered headlines to students, faculty and staff gathered on the Moseley Lakeside patio, encouraging the campus community to read, watch, listen to and discuss the news ��� and to share how they engage with journalism using #NewsEngagementDay.

Established in 2014 by the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), News Engagement Day promotes informed citizenship and highlights the importance of consuming and discussing credible news.

A dedication to Toshio Sato

Elon leaders dedicated Toshio Sato Commons on Oct. 10, 2025, as part of Homecoming & Reunion Weekend in a ceremony that recognized the university���s first international student and first four-year graduate from outside the United States.

Homecoming happiness

消消犯���s 2025 Homecoming & Reunion Weekend welcomed alumni, students, faculty and staff onto campus for a dynamic slate of weekend events.

From open houses and an evening step show through a Saturday football game against Villanova University, highlights included the return of the Rock the Block Homecoming concert featuring ���The Plain White Ts,��� the Golden Alumni Luncheon, campus and academic department receptions, oral history booths, affinity group award celebrations, leadership and networking conversations across schools, themed tailgates, tours, and wellness events.

Molecular moves

Given the option to film a video or write a paper for a chemistry course, Bailey Skinner put her moves to the test.

Learning at Loy

消消犯 took class outside at Elon’s Loy Farm on Oct. 14, 2025.

A Health Promoting University

消消犯 has adopted the Okanagan Charter as a member of the U.S. Health Promoting 消消犯es Network, pledging to nurture a campus culture that prioritizes health, belonging and well-being for students, faculty and staff.油The university marked the milestone with an institutional adoption ceremony on Oct. 29, 2025.

Cross Country CAA champs

Elon continued its run of dominance in the Coastal Athletic Association on Oct. 31, claiming its in the past seven years.油Elon bested runner-up William & Mary by 40 points, marking the most lopsided CAA women’s cross country championship victory since the Phoenix bested the field by 51 points to win the 2020 title.

Halloween in the garden

An Elon tradition, the annual Pumpkin Festival was held on Halloween with the addition of trick-or-treaters for the first time.

Participants learned about the油EcoVillage LLC at Loy Farm油proposal process and how the LLC integrates with the existing farm and academic initiatives on site. Presenters also offered learning moments, bumps in the road, and reflections on the EcoVillage’s first two years as a community.油Participants also gained insights on how to potentially kickstart a conversation on tiny house partnerships at their institution.油

The EcoVillage will be available for sophomores through seniors to select during Housing Selection coming up in February for returning students for the 2026-27 academic year.

Thursday, Oct. 23, students are welcome to participate in a Halloween Costume Swap Shop and S���mores event at the Colonnades fire pit from 7:30-9 p.m.

Global Fall Festival

The annual Global Fall Festival is on Friday, Oct. 24 from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Global quad. Stop by for fall crafts, food, music, Pelican���s and prizes at this great celebration of community.

Outdoor Movie Night

Monday, Oct, 27, East Neighborhood is hosting an Outdoor Movie Night ��� bring your blanket and friends and come enjoy snacks and a show from 7-9pm on the East quad lawn.

Pumpkin Carving & Painting

On Oct. 28 from 4-5:30 p.m. there will be pumpkin carving/painting in the Colonnades Neighborhood Tea Room.

Spooky Open Mic Night

Also on Oct. 28, Historic Neighborhood will host their annual Spooky Open Mic Night at 8 p.m. on the Mooney lawn.

Trick or Treat on Greek Street

Loy Center Neighborhood is hosting their annual Trick or Treat on Greek Street Wednesday, Oct. 29 from 6 to 8 p.m. Elon faculty and staff are invited to bring their children to Loy Center Neighborhood to trick or treat and enjoy Halloween activities sponsored by Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Some Station at Mill Point residents might receive a spooky sweet treat from staff reverse trick or treating (distributing goodies) on Oct. 29 ��� be sure to answer the door! The Crest Great Pumpkin carving will be on Thursday, Oct. 30 from 7-9pm in the Crest Clubhouse.

Residents in Oaks and Park Place can participate in a spooky scavenger hunt all day on Thursday, Oct. 30 for the chance to win fantastic prizes.

Halloween Fall Fest

On Oct. 31, Danieley Center Neighborhood will host a Halloween Fall Fest油from 5- 8 p.m. All students are welcome to come enjoy free food truck treats, caramel apples, spooky activities, photo booth, potion making and more!

Elon leaders dedicated the Toshio Sato Commons on Oct. 10, 2025, as part of Homecoming & Reunion Weekend in a ceremony that recognized the university���s first international student and first four-year graduate from outside the United States.

Members of Sato���s family from Japan were joined at the ceremony by dignitaries of the Japanese government as well as executives from The Japan-America Society, the NC Japan Center at North Carolina State University, and representatives from Honda and Toyota.

Descendants and distinguished guests gathered with 消消犯 faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and students in what had been known as Global Commons to celebrate Sato���s remarkable campus legacy.

The early afternoon ceremony featured remarks by President Connie Ledoux Book, who described Sato���s story as ���a testament to the courage, imagination and aspirations of a young Japanese woman who came to our campus, formed powerful and lasting relationships and established an ethos of global friendship and partnership that has remained strong across generations.���

Sato arrived at Elon in 1914 from the rural town of Wakuya, Japan, supported by church and community leaders who recognized her potential. She studied through the challenges of World War I and the global influenza pandemic, graduating as valedictorian in 1920. On campus she served as president of the Women���s Association for Self-Government, an early version of Elon���s Student Government Association.

���When Toshio arrived at Elon, she didn���t just survive ��� she soared,��� Book said. ���She became a beacon of leadership and intellectual curiosity on our campus.���

After returning to Japan, Sato lived through the destruction of World War II, losing her home and possessions but not her connection to the university she once called home.

���She rebuilt her life with the same quiet dignity and strength that had defined her all along,��� Book said. ���We live in a world that desperately needs more Toshios ��� more people who can reach across oceans and divides and appreciate the wonderful common humanity that unites us all.���

We live in a world that desperately needs more Toshios ��� more people who can reach across oceans and divides and appreciate the wonderful common humanity that unites us all.

– 消消犯 President Connie Ledoux Book

Book presented a gift from 消消犯 to each of Sato���s descendants during the dedication: A metal plate with an image of Toshio Sato Commons to display in their homes.

Among those family members in attendance was Sato���s grandson, Yusuke Kato, a physics professor at the University of Tokyo.

���Toshio never thought it would be for her to come back again to North Carolina,��� Kato said in remarks delivered on behalf of the family. ���Nor would she have imagined that her descendants would be participating in Homecoming week, more than 100 years after her graduation.���

Kato described his family���s visit as a reminder of the enduring ties between Elon and Japan. ���We are attracted so much by 消消犯 and would like to contribute in some way,��� he said. ���We thank again all the people in 消消犯 for remembering Toshio���s pioneering role and leadership in her college days over 100 years ago.���

Chika Kusakawa ���09, an Elon alumna who helped the university reconnect with Sato���s descendants, recalled in the ceremony���s welcoming remarks how she first learned as a student about Sato���s historical significance at the university.

���Reading about her success at the time gave me a quiet confidence ��� if she could thrive then, I could thrive now,��� Kusakawa said. ���Knowing someone like me had been on this journey had a profound impact. It underscores that representation matters. Leaders like her paved the way for people like me.���

Nick Gozik, dean of global education, said Sato���s courage continues to influence Elon���s approach to international learning. ���What we call the present is given shape by an accumulation of the past,��� he said, quoting novelist Haruki Murakami. ���May Sato Commons continue to remind us that courage, curiosity and human connection are at the heart of education ��� here at Elon, and in the world beyond.���

Sato���s name is now displayed on a building that is home to the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center and the Elon Core Curriculum. The commons also includes classrooms, meeting spaces and gathering areas for students.

The screening was introduced by Duke University German Studies Professor Mert Reisoglu, whose research centers on Turkish-German Studies, media theory and history and intellectual history. In his opening remarks, Reisoglu noted the film���s historical parallels with the political climate in Germany in the 2010s.

The event was co-moderated by Assistant Professor of English Dan Burns, who assigned the film as part of his Winter Term film studies class, ���The Social Thriller.��� Eager to explore an international variant of the course���s largely U.S.-themed focus on sociopolitical allegory in suspense and horror narratives, students noted that Reisoglu���s commentary offered an international perspective on the issues explored in American films such as Jordan Peele���s ���Get Out��� and Nikyatu Jusu���s ���Nanny.��� Other students appreciated the new exposure to director Fatih Akin���s work, which revolutionized the treatment of migrants in Germany by emphasizing ���the pleasures of hybridity��� associated with navigating two countries in films like ���Head-On��� and ���The油Edge of Heaven.”

Global Neighborhood���s Spring 2025 series continues Feb.18 in Global Commons 103 with filmmaker Frederick Murphy���s ���Indelible Appalachia.��� Other series titles centering on the neighborhood theme of ���Sustainable Futures��� this year will include Ryusuke Hamaguchi���s ���Evil Does Not Exist��� on March 11, Micha Peled���s ���Bitter Seeds��� on March 25 and Zheng Xu���s ���Upstream��� on April 15.

On Oct. 28, Historic Neighborhood will host their annual Spooky Open Mic Night at 8 p.m. on the Mooney lawn.油Residents at Station at Mill Point might also experience some reverse trick or treating as staff members bring around something extra sweet Monday night.

On Oct. 29 from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. there will be pumpkin carving/painting in the Colonnades Neighborhood Tea Room.

On Oct. 30 at 10:30 a.m. the Station at Mill point Donuts at the Depot will have a spooky and delicious theme.

Loy Center Neighborhood is hosting their annual Trick or Treat on Greek Street Wednesday, Oct. 30 from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Elon faculty and staff are invited to bring their children to Loy Center Neighborhood to trick or treat.

On Wednesday, Oct. 30, East Neighborhood is partnering with several local elementary schools and after school programs to host trick or treating from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. East residents can come play games with kid in the East intersection.

On Oct. 30, Danieley Center Neighborhood will host a Halloween party油from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Daniel Commons.

The annual Global Neighborhood Fall Fest falls on Halloween (Oct. 31) this year ��� come out from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. for a great celebration of community.

On Nov. 2 at 7 p.m., Oaks Neighborhood will host a spooky movie night in McCoy Commons clubhouse.

On Sunday, Nov. 3, join the Historic Neighborhood for s���mores at the fire pit at 7 p.m., followed by a dramatic reading of The Raven at 7:30 p.m. by faculty in residence Kevin Otos.

During their visit, the Elon community had the opportunity to view油Gu辿rette’s film “L���audience” (The Hearing) which documents a Congolese family’s journey immigrating to Canada. The screening was followed by a Q and A session with Carballo and Gu辿rette. Both visitors spoke extensively about their experience with the Canadian immigration system and the process of applying and being granted refugee status in Canada. Elon students and faculty also enjoyed conversations with Carballo who offered insights about her experience as a writer, translator and interpreter, as well as an immigrant.

Both Carballo and油Gu辿rette graciously spoke to classes and interacted with Elon students. This was a wonderful opportunity to engage students with diverse voices and perspectives on immigration narratives.

The visits were made possible by the generous support from and collaboration with the Fund for Excellence Grunt from Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences, Sigma Delta Pi Honor Society, Global Neighborhood and the Department of World Languages and Cultures.

���When I���m writing, I don���t think about genre or what side of the bookstore it���s going to end up in. You have to finish the thing first,��� Karunatilaka said. ���Once the book is humming, when it���s talking to you and the characters are talking to you, you don���t feel the need to contrive anything.���

Karunatilaka���s ���The Seven Moons of Maali Almedia,��� won the 2022 Booker Prize, one of the most prestigious literary awards in the English language. The novel is an absurdist comedy, murder mystery and political satire set during Sri Lanka���s civil war in the 1980s and told from the perspective of a slain journalist.

The author spoke for more than an hour Monday, Oct. 7, in Turner Theatre during a wide-ranging conversation moderated by Assistant Professor of English Dinidu Karunanayake and taking questions from the audience of about 100 people.

Repeatedly calling himself a cynic, he recounted his middle-class Sri Lankan upbringing during an era of political turmoil and violence that informs his writing and worldview.

���People live in these dystopias. How do we make sense of life?��� Karunatilaka said. ���The trope is that the hero flies away in a helicopter and writes a Pulitzer-winning article. But what about the guy who���s waving at the helicopter? His story is interesting. Someone should write that.���

Rather than feature police detectives, he has preferred to tell stories through the eyes of journalists and use satire to criticize politics and society. He prizes absurdism, ���the throughline in my work,��� and often ���plays with reality��� using the perspective of unsung heroes who are also unreliable narrators.

���You can still make jokes when you���re staring into the abyss,��� he said. ���Maybe it���s my warped sensibility. Maybe absurdism is the only plausible explanation I���ve caught onto as an accurate way to write about Sri Lanka.���

Karunatilaka described the difficult and sometimes ���patronizing��� process of rewriting ���The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida��� for Western audiences ��� that included the publisher changing the title from its original ���A Chat with the Dead��� to make it easier to market ��� but said working with a ���brilliant editor��� created the book���s definitive version.

Karunanayake, who is also Sri Lankan, was particularly interested in why the author used the second person point of view to tell ���The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.���

���What survives the death of your body? I thought it would be the voice in your head. For me, that���s in second person, telling me what I did wrong or what I should be doing,��� Karunatilaka said. ���Maybe I thought I could get away with more and include more between the lines, but honestly, it just felt right.���

Karunatilaka is the author of two novels, including ���Chinaman,��� the short story collection ���The Birth Lottery and Other Surprises,��� and several children���s books. As for his much-anticipated third novel?

���When you get down to writing, you have to shut out the noise. It���s you and the page and the words,��� Karunatilaka said. ���It won���t be easier to write, but I���ll find a story and attack it from every side.���

Shehan Karunatilaka won ��� one of the most prestigious awards given for works in the English language ��� in 2022 for his novel ���The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida.��� The book is an absurdist comedy, murder mystery and political satire set during Sri Lanka���s civil war in the 1980s. Karunatilaka will discuss his work, its impact on his country, Sri Lanka and the process of bringing his fiction to Western audiences with Assistant Professor of English Dinidu Karunanayake at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7, in Schar Hall���s Turner Theatre.

���When Shehan Karunatilaka won the Booker Prize, it was a victory for all Sri Lankans,��� said Karunanayake, who also is from Sri Lanka. “The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida” was published at the end of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa���s regime which was brought about by mass, nonviolent protests.

���The novel arrived when Sri Lanka was at a crossroads,��� Karunanayake said. ���At a time of despair and new dreams, Karunatilaka���s victory was like a fresh rain on parched land. It put Sri Lankan resilience and creativity on the world map.���

Karunanayake incorporates the author���s works into his classes, and this fall he included ���The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida��� in his ENG 3800 Advanced World Literature course. 消消犯 have responded enthusiastically to Karunatilaka���s humor and genre-bending, as well as his experiments with history, memory and the use of magic realism in his narratives, he said.

He hopes the audience will leave the discussion with new perspectives on the power of literature to make ethical interventions and a deeper understanding of Sri Lanka���s culture and history.

���Reading a book is one thing, but being in the same space to chat with its creator is a unique experience,��� Karunanayake said. ���I hope everyone interested in global politics, literature and humor will show up to share the evening with Karunatilaka.���

Karunatilaka���s visit is coordinated by the Department of English with additional sponsorships from the Dean���s Office of Elon College, the College of Arts and Sciences; the Periclean Scholars Program; the Center for the Study of Religion, Culture and Society; the Provost���s Office; the Isabella Cannon Global Education Center; the Elon Core Curriculum; the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning; the Global Neighborhood; the Peace Corps Prep Program; the Department of Religious Studies; and the Asian Studies, American Studies, Interreligious Studies, and Peace and Conflict Studies Programs.