Sophomore club president Stephen Rusterholz competes individually in the triathlon, but trains with the rest of the club to make it a team effort. Photo submitted.

November 3, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

Triathlons may be primarily an individual sport, but the members of Elon’s triathlon club function as a team.

“When we run, we try to stick together, and when we spread out, we always group back up again,” said sophomore club president Stephen Rusterholz. “One of the officers and I will drop back to run with the slower members.”

Team members meet four times a week for practice, two days running or cycling and two days swimming, although much of their training is done on their own time. Because the triathlon is so physically intensive, members must make sure to train correctly and maintain healthy diets before any race.

Sophomore member Annie Huth said she had no experience with running or swimming when she joined the team, and the camaraderie and support from other club members was, at one point, the only thing that kept her going.

“I almost quit a few times at the beginning because I hated running and was so slow, but everyone was so nice and encouraging, and sticking it out has been one of the best decisions of my college experience,” she said.

Sophomore Annie Huth nears the finish line at the Emerald Isle Triathlon. Photo submitted

It helped that Huth’s roommate, sophomore Haley Pope, joined as well. A veteran triathlon competitor, Pope completed her fourth race during fall break on the club’s trip to Emerald Isle, N.C.

Junior member Leah Darkes calls the trip one of her favorite club memories. The group stayed at Rusterholz’s beach house and relaxed together after the race, having an impromptu cookout and listening to a club member play guitar.

“We go every year, but this year was especially fun,” Darkes said. “It was freezing during the race, 50 degrees and nothing but a bathing suit, but almost everyone got a medal. It was great to finish an individual race with such a team-oriented mindset.”

The triathlon club has seen quite a bit of success. The races, which are scored according to age group and gender, typically give awards to the fastest three competitors in each group.

Rusterholz estimates about three-fourths of the club regularly finishes in the top three of their respective groups.

The triathlon club has become a haven for former high school athletes ready to try something new.

Freshman Thomas Berry is a member of a junior bike racing team in Maryland, his home state, and he said the triathlon club has given him the chance to compete at Elon.

Rusterholz has been running for years, but he joined the club as a way to connect with his father, who has been competing in triathlons all his life.

“It’s a way to do what they love and take it to another level,” Rusterholz said.

For now, the club’s race schedule is based on where it will realistically be able to travel and when multiple club members will have the time to commit to a race, but the club hopes to compete in larger, national races in the near future.

“The races we’ve done have really loved having a big group of college kids there to compete, and it would be great to get other schools involved in that, as well,” Huth said.

Rusterholz and several other club members echoed Huth’s ambitions. They said with more funding they could fly to more distant races or even hold a   collegiate race at Elon. The possibilities are limitless, Rusterholz said.

Despite its unappealing outside appearance, Prego’s intimate indoor atmosphere and “Old World” style service make it a prime choice for Italian dining. Photo by Lindsay Fendt.

September 30, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

Near the corner of Huffman Mill Road and Church Street sits an aging, unassuming and grayish building.

From the outside, it doesn’t look very promising. With the drive-thru from its previous owner still intact, the restaurant’s appearance sends most Italian-seeking patrons back down the road to Olive Garden. But one step inside changes everything.

Welcome to Prego’s Trattoria, Burlington’s best-kept secret and the closest thing to real Italian food for miles.

Once inside the odd little building’s fast food-style double doors, the atmosphere completely changes. Evening low-lighting, fine dining décor, Italian opera ambiance and servers in black-and-white tuxedos greet patrons in an intimately sized, but not overcrowded, dining room.

Even on a weekend night, there is seldom a wait for seating, making this off-the-beaten-path restaurant worth the venture off the interstate.  As diners soon find, the chain restaurants have nothing on this place.

Sure, Olive Garden might have its breadsticks, but Prego’s offers not one, but two choices of free appetizers. Along with a delectable bread and olive oil combination, each table is set with a dish of fried polenta cubes, a boiled cornmeal dish that is a staple in Northern Italy.

The “Old World” style service is a refreshing change to the rushed speeches of most wait staffs. In excellent English, the servers can assist in describing any menu item in detail and will offer a list of tempting daily specials. Here, no water glass will ever be empty, yet you’ll never be rushed into leaving if you’re looking for a leisurely meal.

A salad at Prego’s is certainly a must. The restaurant has its own house dressing, a mustard vinaigrette of the perfect potency, and one salad is enough to feed four.

Splitting orders is the way to go here, as the prices for dinner entrees can be on the expensive side.

For a college student, Prego’s provides a nice night out that won’t quite break the bank. A nook in one corner of the restaurant is home to a generously stocked wine bar that can be affordable even for those with part-time jobs and student loans. Prego’s house white is well worth the extra buck, even in a time when cheap $4 bottles are the norm.

No matter the craving, Prego’s menu won’t disappoint. More than 20 pasta dishes and a full page of entrees that range from veal to seafood to chicken to steak provide patrons with more than enough options. And these dishes live up to their peculiar, foreign names.

It’s obvious every dish is homemade, as the taste and texture is distinctive. Even Italian food snobs will love it.

To a restaurant whose name means “You’re welcome” in Italian, there is only one word: Grazie.

October 28, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

Elon volunteers help some of the Avalon children complete their homework during a tutoring session. Photo by David Wells.

Tucked away on the back roads of suburban Greensboro, Avalon Trace Apartments is only a 30-minute drive from Elon, but it might as well be a different world.

Loitering is a favorite hobby of the residents, many of whom can only find part-time work or have been left unemployed in an unstable economy. A few hang around outside the one-story gray brick buildings, but the real center of this community is where the children go after school.

The apartments set aside for the Avalon Community Center’s tutoring program are like caves, mostly windowless and poorly lit. The hodgepodge of furniture has seen better days, but the walls make an effort to be youngster-friendly with brightly-colored artwork.

“The program has about 30 to 35 children,” said Jack Tyler, the tutoring center’s volunteer coordinator. “It’s for anyone who’s in school. But all of them don’t always come every day.”

Tyler, an employee of UNC Greensboro’s Center for New North Carolinians, said the tutoring program started in January as a partnership of the Americorp Community Collaborative and the African Services Coalition, groups that assist local immigrant and refugee communities with their adjustment to life in the states.

A Reidsville native, Tyler got involved with Americorp and the CNNC after graduating from UNCG with a degree in international and global studies.

“I’ve always wanted to help people,” he said. “Refugees are Americans, too, and they want to be here like everyone else. They just need help because they’re starting from scratch.”

The funding for the program came from a grant to the ACC from the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and the tutoring center grew out of an existing initiative to help adult refugees find employment and further their education.

According to the CNNC, there are likely more than 15,000 people from Africa living in Guilford County, although there are no official numbers because the census categorizes them as “black” or “African American.” About 1,500 of these residents are refugees. The Southeast Asian immigrant population in Greensboro is also sizable, estimated at more than 10,000 people.

Tyler said most of the refugees who come to Avalon hail from the Democratic Republic of Congo or Myanmar, escaping oppressive military regimes and ethnic conflict.

Volunteer Brant Miller, a senior at UNCG, said even in reflection papers for his service learning class, he never used the names of any refugees at Avalon.

“Some of them escaped illegally, so we don’t use their names to keep someone from coming after them,” he said.

Miller is one of dozens of university student volunteers who go to Avalon every weekday evening to help refugee children, from kindergarten to high school, get through their homework and overcome the language barrier.

Elon students have volunteered at the tutoring center since the spring, alongside students from other colleges like UNCG, Guilford College, North Carolina A&T and Bennett College. This fall, it became an official Elon Volunteers! organization, headed by senior Grace Helms and sophomore Katie Kenney.

Anyone is welcome to volunteer, but as a French major, Miller has an advantage over some of the other tutors. Many of the children and their parents come from French-speaking nations like Ethiopia, allowing Miller to communicate with them in their native tongue when necessary.

But the language barrier the children have with other tutors and their teachers at school does not prevent them from doing their best.

Guilford College freshman and Avalon volunteer Andrew Glass said he thinks the children at Avalon work harder than the typical student. Glass has been giving up his Friday nights to come to the tutoring center since September.

“I just enjoy being around the kids and building relationships with them,” he said.

Some of the volunteers admit to having a “favorite” — a child with whom they share a special bond and come back to see week after week. For Miller, it’s 7-year-old Bubba. For first-time volunteer Arthur Wood, it might be Papi, a friendly 5-year-old Congolese child.

“I came because my girlfriend tutors here, but I can’t see myself stopping,” he said, holding Papi in his arms. He motioned to the boy. “I mean, how could I not?”

Papi hopped down to chase after another child with a soccer ball and joined in the continuous pickup game on the dusty lawn behind the tutoring center. The three apartments that comprise the community center are in constant motion, with children running in and out of the doors and adults lingering to speak with program coordinators.

One room with computers is set aside as a place for residents to fill out job applications and children to type up their school assignments, and it is always in high demand. Here, closing the door is not a sufficient way to say “keep out.” Intermittent banging on the apartment doors is considered normal, rather than cause for alarm.

“For me, the best part is when parents stop —” Tyler started. He stopped short when the locked door burst open and three men crossed the threshold, asking for the computer. After sternly sending them away, relocking the door and shooing a few small children back outside, he sat down again to finish.

“The best part is when parents stop coming up to me because it means things are going well,” he said. “(The refugees) have had everything given to them for such a long time, and now they have to start over with no help. When they stop coming to me asking for things, I know they’re doing OK.”

October 13, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

Let’s face it — fall break is that awkward time  when students are never sure what to do. For out-of-state students, it’s not always worth the hassle of the day-long drive home and back, but sticking around a deserted campus isn’t the most fun way to spend a few days off.

Instead, try one of these quick, fun roadtrips to get just far enough away.

Blue Ridge Parkway (Photo courtesy of wikimedia.com)

Blue Ridge Parkway
Western North Carolina
Distance from Elon: 160 miles
Approximate drive time: 3 hours

Called America’s original scenic drive, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a winding road along the edge of North Carolina’s Appalachian Mountains. The stunning mountain views are dotted with points of interest like Linville Falls, a craggy, multi-tiered waterfall, and Chimney Rock, a unique rock formation that overlooks a gorge and lake.

For an extra treat, head to Boone, N.C., and take the parkway South to Asheville. On the trip back, stop by Black Mountain, a popular historic and resort community.

The Outer Banks (Photo courtesy of wikivisual.com)

The Outer Banks
Kill Devil Hills and Cape Hatteras, N.C.
Distance from Elon: 265 miles
Approximate drive time: 5 hours

It might not be 80 degrees and sunny, but North Carolina’s Outer Banks can be just as fun in the offseason as they are in the summer. Start with a visit to Kill Devil Hills (near Kitty Hawk) and see the Wright Brothers National Memorial where the first airplane was flown in 1903. Then move down the coast to Cape Hatteras to see a classic black-and-white striped lighthouse, and be sure to make a stop at Ocracoke Island, a historic coastal town connected to Blackbeard the pirate.

Sunbathing might not be on the agenda for an October trip to the coast, but kite-flying, boat rides and scenic views are still in full swing.

W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir (Photo courtesy U.S. Army Corps of Engineers)

W. Kerr Scott Dam and Reservoir
Wilkesboro, N.C.
Distance from Elon: 105 miles
Approximate drive time: 1 hour, 45 minutes

This U.S. Army-managed park has the right combination of activities for the active student who wants to get away from the daily hustle and bustle. With 14 different facilities and three campgrounds, the lakeside parks offer hiking and biking trails, beaches, boating, hunting and fishing. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the area is the old stomping ground of the Cherokee tribe and explorers like Daniel Boone.

Not a fan of camping? Visitors can stay in the historic town of Wilkesboro, located just a few minutes east.

NASCAR Banking 500 (Photo courtesy of lowesmotorspeedway.com)

NASCAR Banking 500
Concord, N.C.
Distance from Elon: 95 miles
Approximate drive time: 1 hour, 40 minutes

Just in time for Fall Break, Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Charlotte will host the NASCAR Banking 500 race Saturday. Experience a Southern tradition complete with country music, hot dogs and screaming fans in cowboy hats while watching a pivotal race in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series. Entertainment at the race will include Eric Church, MercyMe and TobyMac, as well as local high school bands and cheerleaders.

This race is home to Carolina CollegeFest, where participating students can play cornhole, listen to live music and watch college football from a special viewing area.

Colonial Williamsburg (Photo courtesy of history.org)

Colonial Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Va.
Distance from Elon: 230 miles
Approximate drive time: 3 hours, 45 minutes

Tri-cornered hats and petticoats bring the 18th century off the pages of a textbook and into reality with Colonial Williamsburg’s historical reenactments. With more than 30 historic buildings and sites open to tourists, visitors will be busy for days learning how the wealthy elite, common tradesmen and poor slaves once lived. Whether interested in politics, religion, nature or military, there is something for everyone.

Done with history and ready for a little modern fun? Visit Busch Gardens theme park just a few minutes down the road.

The Biltmore Estate (Photo courtesy of wikipedia.org)

The Biltmore Estate
Asheville, N.C.
Distance from Elon: 195 miles
Approximate drive time: 3 hours

Students don’t have to wait for their Winter Term trips to Europe to see a castle. As America’s largest home, the Biltmore Estate features 250 rooms, a banquet hall with 70-foot high ceilings, a 10,000-volume library and original masterpiece art. When done exploring the luxurious home, visitors can spend the day in the 8,000-acre “backyard” with carriage rides, horseback riding, river float trips and even Land Rover driving. Students of age can visit the estate’s winery.

This time of year is perfect for college students short on cash to visit. Biltmore is currently offering a $10 discount for tickets purchased online for any day except Saturday.

October 6, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

Amber Christino, Elon senior

For senior Amber Christino, birthday cake and gift wrap always signals the coming of unwanted attention.

“It can get awkward around birthdays,” Christino said.

At birthday parties, particularly the milestones like 18 and 21, the conversation often turns to the ages of the guests. And when it’s Christino’s turn to answer, as she puts it, “the record stops.”

Christino came to Elon at age 16. Now, as a senior who is graduating in January, she is just 19 years old.

“I skipped kindergarten, and I have a late birthday,” she said. “But it’s not something I advertise.”

The Hanover, Md., native has dealt with the stigma of being the youngest of her peers since she started school, so the attention is nothing new for her.

The hardest thing, she said, is watching her friends reach milestones she won’t experience for nearly another two years.

“It feels like I’m being punished for being young and smart,” she said.

In high school, Christino watched as, one by one, her friends got their driver’s licenses, but her age limited her from driving until the end of her senior year of high school.

Now that she’s in college, she watches as her friends turn 21 and can buy alcohol or go to bars for the first time.

“The milestones are definitely tougher,” Christino said. “It’s hard to see them all get new privileges. Soon, I’ll have two Bachelor of Arts degrees and be in graduate school and still not be able to legally go get a drink.”

In the spirit of completing things early, Christino will be graduating a semester short of four years.

She’ll be sticking around Elon in the spring, but in the meantime, she’ll be working hard. The French and international studies double major is currently completing her senior thesis on sex trafficking and AIDS.

“I never intended to graduate early,” Christino said. “I just thought there was no use in dragging it out.”

Christino came to college with AP credits and then took an overload while studying abroad for a semester in Paris.

An avid traveler, Christino visited Paris a second time while backpacking through Europe — alone.

“My dad made sure I watched the movie ‘Taken’ several times,” she said. “It helped that I had contacts there, but I’m more afraid walking the streets of Baltimore than I am of Europe.”

Christino said she may return to Paris again to study international relations and diplomacy in graduate school. She knows she’ll be one of the youngest students there as well, but she said her ability to handle the same work as older colleagues and classmates has always been a source of pride.

September 29, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

Even before he left for Australia, senior Ryan Bleam knew the Aboriginal town he’d visit would be different. But when he found himself surrounded by people eating half-cooked kangaroo legs like fried chicken, he had to fight the urge to flee.

“I’ve never felt so out of place,” the Doylestown, Penn., native said. Instead of sprinting back to his home for the week, Bleam made the most of situation, forcing himself to “really experience the moment.”

After all, this unique culture was what brought him to the middle of the Australian desert in the first place.

A Lumen Scholar studying sociology and anthropology, Bleam spent a semester at Curtain University of Technology in Perth to research “bush medicine,” the holistic health care of the Aboriginal population.

“I’ve always been interested in holistic and traditional medicine,” Bleam said. “My brother is a leukemia survivor, so I’ve seen the medical system here and have respect for it. But I’ve always known there was more to health than medicine, and I wanted to study the human approach.”

Anthropology professor Anne Bolin, who mentored Bleam in his research, suggested a trip to Australia because of her expertise in Aboriginal culture.

“Bush medicine is very connected to the earth,” Bleam said. “I wanted to find that unquantifiable factor of the tradition. (For them), there is no separation between health and spirituality.”
In fact, Bleam found the Aborigines have an entirely different perception of cancer from Americans.

“They call it a ‘white man’s disease,’” Bleam said. “They didn’t have it until the British came and they adopted a sedentary lifestyle.”

Because of this, cancer carries a certain shame with the Aboriginal population.

“It shed light on the problem, but it also muddied the water on what to do about it,” Bleam said.

Bleam discovered similar perception on his second excursion abroad. Through an international health exchange program, he visited one of the most remote areas of the world, a region in the Himalayas called Jammu Kashmir that provides a unique cultural mix of Chinese, Tibetans, Indians and Pakistanis.

There, Bleam interviewed dozens of local residents, mostly Tibetans, about their experiences with allopathic (American) medicine and Amchi, the traditional herb-based health care of the region.

“India is trying to modernize its health care beliefs, and people are afraid of seeming backward,” Bleam said.

At first, Bleam said he was very formal with his approach, introducing himself as a student and taking notes in his notebook, but eventually, he discovered that he could get more out of the process if he turned the interview into a conversation.

“I’ve had more cups of tea with Indian shop keepers than I can count,” Bleam said.

Of all the interviews he conducted, Bleam found one quote stuck out to him, summarizing the attitudes of almost everyone to whom he spoke.

“He said, ‘When things happen, they’re going to happen. So why worry about it?’” Bleam said.

Now that he is back in the United States, Bleam is working on presentations for the National Conference for Undergraduate Research and the Student Undergraduate Research Forum as well as building a Web site to share what he learned.

Bleam said he found that holistic medicine may bridge the gap between health and wellness that exists in Western medicine.

“I don’t think anyone should go completely holistic, but using both methods could have a lot of power to it,” he said.

Last spring, senior Laura Wainman adopted two three-week-old kittens a friend found under a car in the Oaks parking lot. Oscar, being bottle-fed above, is now five months old and living with feline AIDS. Photo submitted.

Lack of licensing laws contributes to growing problem in county

August 31, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

A furry tail disappears into a dumpster. Something quick and four-legged scurries into the bushes next to the dining hall. A pair of round eyes peer out from behind the tire of a car. Even the squirrels are less shy than this hidden community.

Meet the stray and feral cats of Elon.

According to Laura Michel, outreach coordinator at the Burlington Pet Adoption Center, it’s not just Elon’s campus that’s full of homeless feline residents. The strays are widespread throughout Alamance County and are a major contributor to the shelter’s more than 8,000 animals each year.

“Most of what comes through our doors are strays,” Michel said.

Without homes and human companions, these cats live dangerous lives, at risk for illness, getting hit by cars and fighting with other animals. Because of this, the ASPCA estimates their average lifespan is only two to five years.

Feral cats, those that have no human contact and reverted to a wild state, often live in a colony to use a particular food source. Elon is host to one of several feral colonies across Alamance County. The target? Campus garbage.

Michel pins the root of the stray and feral population’s development on irresponsible ownership and the lack of licensing laws in Alamance County.

“It could be that Elon students are taking animals in as pets and letting them go when summertime rolls around,” Michel said. “But most of them do a good job and will take them home.”

The bulk of the problem, she said, comes from owners who do not bother to spay or neuter their cats then let them run free.

According to the Humane Society, a pair of unaltered (unspayed or unneutered) cats can produce 420,000 offspring during the course of seven years.

“You have to take into account that cats can have three litters a year and how many kittens can be in a litter,” Michel said. “Dogs aren’t quite as prolific.”

Not surprisingly, Elon students have been known to take in abandoned litters or even full-grown cats they find living near dorm rooms and apartments.

Michel warns students to use caution when approaching any stray, having been bitten by a feral cat herself.

“You don’t know where they’ve been, what diseases they carry,” she said. “They can always call us. We’ll bring in a trap, which is basically a big cage with food, and catch the cat. If at all possible, we’ll put the animal up for adoption.”

Michel also encourages students to consider whether they’ll really have the time and resources to take in a stray as a pet.

“Cats can be more independent than dogs, but first consider whether your landlord will allow it,” she said. “Then you have to take it to the vet right away for vaccinations and rabies shots, which is state law.”

Burlington Animal Services is willing to help catch any strays reported in the area, although truly feral cats may have to be euthanized rather than put up for adoption. The euthanasia is humane and can be an alternative to the dangerous lives feral cats normally lead.

“People think that they can just turn these cats loose, but that’s not the case,” Michel said.

“They’re too domesticated. I would rather them be safely taken care of, even if they have to be put down in the end.”

September 15, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

According to the American Collegiate Health Association’s national survey, Elon is not the only college in the Southeast on alert with cases of the H1N1 flu virus. The weekly survey, which collects data on student cases from 236 institutions, reported that cases of flu-like illness in college students in the Southeast are more than four times more prevalent than in other areas of the country.

The Southeast reported a total of 3,339 cases since the project’s inception in January, while neighboring regions are reporting numbers that haven’t yet reached 1,000. The southeastern region surveyed includes institutions from North Carolina to Florida and reaches as far west as Tennessee and Alabama.

Similarly, the U.S. Influenza-like Illness Surveillance Network reports a more than 5 percent increase in outpatient flu cases in the Southeast.

North Carolina is one of 11 states currently reporting widespread influenza activity, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The ACHA also reported 73 percent of institutions surveyed have had instances of the H1N1 virus.

Several colleges in South Carolina have reported varying numbers of H1N1 flu cases, including 120 cases at Clemson University, seven at the University of South Carolina and two at The College of Charleston.

The University of Georgia is experiencing one of the largest outbreaks in the region, with more than 300 confirmed or suspected flu outbreaks. Nearby, Georgia Tech reported more than 200 students with flu-like symptoms.

Health officials noted that campuses with higher numbers of flu cases tend to be those that held fraternity and sorority recruitment before classes began.

So far, only two college students are known to have died from H1N1 complications. Both David Skorton of Cornell University and Andrew Salter of Troy University had underlying medical complications that contributed to their deaths.

Some colleges, like Emory University, have confined large numbers of flu victims to a single dorm as a containment measure. Similar to Elon’s containment plans, these students are confined to their rooms, do not attend class and receive free meals inside the dorm.

Davidson College has employed a similar strategy, designating two “break rooms” — one for males and one for females — for flu victims.

September 8, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

For junior Elon football punter Andy Leffler, it all started with a crazy idea and some sidewalk chalk.

It was summer 2008, and the Columbus, Ohio native and his best friend were taking a road trip to Nashville, Tenn. By that point, Leffler had been following country singer Taylor Swift for a few years already, but it wasn’t until that trip that he became, quite possibly, her biggest fan.

“He said, ‘You should write a letter to Taylor,’” Leffler said of his friend. “Then he showed me that he found her address in Nashville and dared me to write a letter to her in sidewalk chalk in front of her house.”

Never one to turn down a spontaneous challenge, Leffler agreed, even with concerns about seeming too forward. As he finished the letter, stick of chalk in hand, a black Hummer pulled up and a man climbed out before walking over to ask Leffler about the letter.

“He asked me, ‘Is that a letter to Taylor?’ and I said ‘Yes.’ Then he said, ‘Well, I’m Taylor’s father,” Leffler said. “We ended up talking about Nashville for about 10 or 15 minutes.”

Later during their trip, Leffler and his friend were approached by a woman giving away tickets to the CMA awards that would allow them to meet Swift.

To Leffler’s surprise, Swift remembered the letter he’d written to her, and her mother even commented that she thought it was sweet.

“She just seemed like such a genuine girl with values and morals,” Leffler said.

It was only natural for him to write a song about the experience.

Now with more than 6,500 hits on YouTube, his song, “Taylor Swift (Broken in Two)” has gotten Leffler more attention than he’d ever anticipated.

Shortly after he posted the video last September, Leffler was contacted by Winston-Salem radio station  107.5 WKZL, which played the song and interviewed him. Not much time went by before a radio station in Maryland contacted him as well.

“They actually made fun of me on the radio,” Leffler said. “For the record, I’m tone-deaf. I want people to pay more attention to the lyrics than the singing.”

Leffler said he gets teased by some of his Elon football teammates because of the video as well.

“They like to call me ‘Taylor’ or ‘Taylor Swift’ because of the video,” Leffler said. “They played it for the coaches, too.”

Leffler started writing poetry long before he began songwriting, using it as an outlet for stress in high school. Even though he is the punter on Elon’s football team, he said the sport isn’t a substitute for the outlet songwriting has become.

“It’s more of a mental, emotional thing,” he said.

Leffler got into songwriting simply by picking up a how-to book from the library. He had no previous musical experience, and he taught himself to play guitar from YouTube videos.

“I searched ‘learn to play guitar,’” Leffler said. “You and Me’ by Lifehouse was the first song I ever learned to play.”

A man of many interests, the biology major spent the summer researching a different kind of music — the songs of North Carolina mockingbirds. Leffler is an aspiring small-animal veterinarian, Spanish minor, Tae Kwon Do expert and ghost-hunting fanatic.

Taylor Swift doesn’t know what she’s missing.

August 31, 2009

By Rachel Cieri

Most kids were raised to learn that racial issues are not fit for dinner conversation. But it is not unusual to encounter this taboo subject in the most intimate aspect of college life: roommates.

According to Director of the Multicultural Center Leon Williams, moving into a room with someone of another race can be a shock that puts up a wall in the roommate relationship.

“From personal experience, I can say that there is the potential to open up a dialogue and be good roommates, but if you don’t get to that point, the stereotypes and your past experiences can get in the way,” Williams said.

A study by Ohio State psychology professor Russell Fazio unearthed a few surprising results. Randomly assigned interracial roommates, the study found, were more likely to change rooms than same-race roommates in the same situation.

The study also found that first-year black students paired with white roommates tended to have better grade point averages than those in same-race room assignments.

The suggested explanation for this trend is the black students’ desire to dispel stereotypes, but Williams thinks that it’s not the case at Elon.

“Here at Elon, there is already a different academic motivation, so race does not come into play that way,” he said.

Williams said incoming multicultural students had an average GPA of above 3.7 and SAT scores above 1600, which he said means their academic motivation comes from elsewhere.

More than 70 percent of Elon’s student body comes from out of state, a factor that Williams thinks helps dispel campus bias. Popular hometowns like New Jersey, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta bring in students with more diverse experiences and backgrounds.

Williams, who went to Ohio Northern University, said he and his freshman roommate eventually learned that their upbringings had given them different perspectives. He said his undergraduate experience was in a different time and that, at Elon, he has not heard students complain about a roommate of another race.

Students have expressed concern, though, about their experiences in the classroom.

“Multicultural students have a different motivation for being articulate,” Williams said. “Everyone goes through that anxiety when it comes to being engaged in the classroom, but it’s on a deeper level for a diverse student.”

He explained that minority and international students, especially those for whom English is not a first language, fear falling into the stereotype of being inarticulate. They tend to put much more thought into class participation because they don’t want classmates and professors to think they are unintelligent because of the way they speak.

Williams said the way to overcome campus bias is through introspection from each individual.

“It comes from recognizing that we all have prejudice inside us,” he said. “It’s an ongoing process, not something that’s going to happen in a day or a week.”