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.”

�þ��� student Rony Dahdal ’26, and his brother, alumnus��Rafi Dahdal ’24 G’24��were highlighted in a The Assembly article chronicling their family’s journey from war-torn Syria to North Carolina in search of educational opportunity.

The story, details how the Dahdal family’s commitment to learning endured despite the dangers of civil war and the challenges of rebuilding their lives in the United States.��

After fleeing Damascus in 2012 amid escalating violence, the Dahdal family settled in North Carolina, where education remained central to their long-term goals.��Rafi Dahdal is��an Elon graduate through the Accelerated 3+1 Dual Degree Program in business administration and business analytics. He has gone on to serve as a Youth Trustee for the university.

At Elon, Rony Dahdal has distinguished himself as a Lumen Scholar and Goldwater Scholar, conducting innovative research using LiDAR technology to explore noninvasive ways to detect vital signs — work aimed at improving health outcomes through emerging technologies.

“I felt so encouraged to continue research because I’ve seen my parents value higher education,” said Rony. “It was very hard to deal with as a little kid, but I look back on it now, and I’m grateful.”

The story focuses on how Alamance County is preparing for long-term economic shifts, including an aging workforce and the increasing integration of AI across industries. During the summit, Book emphasized the importance of taking a forward-looking approach to these challenges.

“We actually have five generations in the workplace working side by side for the first time in history right now in the United States,” Book said. “I believe that the businesses that thrive in the future will be the ones who can put a lot of brain power behind that and leverage it for the future of their business.”

�þ��� football player and nursing student Jake Marion ’26 was recently for donating bone marrow through the National Marrow Donor Program (formerly Be The Match)

The national nonprofit agency works to spread awareness of the need for bone marrow donation and to increase the number of participants in the��bone marrow��registry. While��Elon Football has worked��with the organization for several years, Club Nursing��joined��in 2024��for an annual awareness and registry event.

Marion joined the registry through Elon Football in 2022. He was almost matched in previous years, but blood testing revealed it was not a high enough match necessary for donation. That all changed this year when he got a call in January to begin the donation process, which was completed this spring.

“He’s a part of me now, and I’m a part of him,” Marion said of the recipient. “My cells are inside his body and hopefully they’re doing their job, and they’re helping him, so it’s hard. I’m just praying he’s going to get better, and I’m rooting for him.”

Assistant Professor of Journalism Israel Balderas appears on on March 3, offering a two-hour live analysis of North Carolina’s primary results and what they signal ahead of November.

Balderas discussed the major statewide contests, key congressional races affecting the Triad region and Capitol Hill majority. Also, how turnout patterns, voting results and current events (such as the War in Iran) will impact November’s Election.

“There are a lot of things that can happen in six months, and when you’ve got a war in the Middle East that is a war of choice, for a lot of people on the MAGA-right, (…) for the people who believe Trump, that he was going to get us out of war, that he wasn’t going to get us into war the way Bush got us into war, the way that Obama got us into war, the way Biden got us into war, he made a lot of promises. And those promises? They’re not coming to fruition.”

One of the largest stories from the North Carolina primary election was the extremely tight Senate primary between Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page for NC Senate District 26.��

“There’s always the ‘I’m the outsider’ versus (Berger) is the party loyalist. Among the MAGA-right, there’s this idea that ‘we don’t like the establishment, it doesn’t matter who it is. We just don’t like the establishment’ (…). (Berger’s) name is powerful,” said Balderas.

�þ��� Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Jason Husser was quoted in The Assembly examining the razor-thin Republican primary between North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. The story, explores how turnout patterns and political geography helped shape one of the most dramatic primary contests in recent state history.

With unofficial results showing the race separated by only a handful of votes, the article notes that the portion of Senate District 26 located in Guilford County played a pivotal role. Berger performed strongly there, while Page dominated in Rockingham County, making turnout differences between the counties a key factor in the close outcome.

Husser offered insight into why Berger may have seen stronger support in the Guilford section of the district. He pointed to demographic shifts and migration patterns in the region.

“One reason Berger might have done better in Guilford is there is more population mobility there,” Husser told The Assembly, noting that Republicans moving to fast-growing areas near Gibsonville along the I-40/I-85 corridor may not have long-term ties to the region.

Husser also noted that voters may see Berger as the Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump and as a major architect of policy victories of the state’s Republican majority.

“People who haven’t been attached to town politics for 30 years would likely say, ‘Let’s go with the establishment guy,’” Husser said.

A proven approach to �þ��� children with dyslexia how to read – and how that approach will be the guiding philosophy at a new grade school set to open this fall at �þ��� – was the focus on a recent news report by FOX 8 WGHP broadcast across North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad.

Anchor and reporter Madison Forsey spoke with administrative leaders behind the Roberts Academy at �þ���, which will be the only university-based school of its kind in North Carolina when it opens in August for third- and fourth-graders.

The school will open in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue in the Town of Elon while a new elementary school rises across campus with an expected open date of Fall 2028. Once open, the school will enroll up to 200 students in the first through sixth grades.

That report, features an extended interview with Lisa LeBlanc, whose adult son has dyslexia. LeBlanc has been an advocate for Roberts Academy at �þ���.

“If there would have been an opportunity like the Roberts Academy at �þ��� for my son when he was in second, third, fourth��grade,” she said, “I would’ve crawled on broken glass for him to be there.”

Applications are now being accepted for rising third- and fourth-graders whose families wish to be a part of the charter cohort to attend Roberts Academy at �þ���.��

“I was primarily a pitcher in college myself, so I can appreciate the effort,” Director of Athletics Jennifer Strawley told the Associated Press. “It doesn’t happen every day that you see a perfect game or a no-hitter and to have both on the same day. You also recognize it’s a total team effort and to get to that place, there are plays made behind them that led to the pitchers being able to enjoy that moment.”

Elon’s Anna Dew completed a����against Charleston Southern, followed by the Phoenix baseball team pitchers Aidan Stieglitz, Mike Staiano and RJ Latkowski pitching their own no-hitter . Dew’s perfect game was Elon’s first since 2022.

“It’s just a really special moment for the student-athletes, for our coaches and our institution as a whole to have something like two unbelievable performances in the same day lead to a little bit of publicity for us,” said Strawley.

Marion was matched earlier this year as an exact genetic donor after previously joining the donor registry. He described his decision to donate as deeply personal, noting that the experience of caring for his sick grandmother helped inspire his nursing path. After completing the three-hour stem cell collection process, Marion emphasized the significance of giving someone a real chance to fight cancer — even if the donation procedure is taxing on the body.

“Those stem cells are basically binding to the bone marrow, and it’s giving him a shot to recover, because this is the first time in his life where his body has been strong enough to fight the cancer,” he said. ��“From there, what they can do is actually attack with chemotherapy. It might be a tiny bit taxing to your body, but it’s well worth it for the person that’s struggling with their life.”

Assistant Professor of Nursing and Club Nursing faculty advisor Jeanmarie Koonts offered thoughtful commentary in the article on the role of compassion in healthcare education. She highlighted that while clinical skills and techniques are essential, the ability to empathize and truly care for others is equally vital to the nursing profession.

“For many years running, nursing has been voted the most trusted profession,” Koonts said, adding that empathy cannot always be taught but is a defining trait of exceptional caregivers.

�þ��� President Connie Ledoux Book was featured in a on how college administrators are confronting major disruptions in the higher education landscape, including international enrollment challenges and artificial intelligence adoption.

The article, “How 3 college administrators are tackling higher education disruption,” highlights remarks Book made during a panel at the American Council on Education’s annual conference in Washington, D.C.��

Book pointed to tightening visa policies and shifting global student flows as key pressures facing institutions nationwide. She noted that even colleges not heavily dependent on international enrollment are feeling the effects of broader declines in traditional student populations.

“If you rely on immigration and international students as the primary driver of your enrollment strategy, you are vulnerable,” Book said.

Reflecting on how disruptions beyond Elon’s campus could affect the national higher education ecosystem, Book added, “We’re losing domestic students because of the hole that other schools are filling,” signaling that competitive pressures ripple across institutions when one segment of the student market contracts.��

On the topic of artificial intelligence, Book noted that a liberal arts education could help students use AI in their work.

“This is going to breathe life into skill sets around philosophy, religion, problem-solving, history,”��Book��said. “The human side is going to get a new burst of energy because that’s where the skill sets of connecting the dots and critical thinking live.”