Getting down to the wire

With less than five hours to go, the 24-hour dancers are starting to drag their feet and feeling the pain, but there have been morale boosters along the way.

A midnight dip in the pool was rejuvenating for the 24-hour dancers, and the third and final shift dancers came in at 6 a.m. and morale was boosted once again with their arrival.

Final steps of the morale dance were taught and 24-hour dancers have now learned the entire dance.

The Spartones, UNC Greensboro’s all male a cappella group performed and they were a lot of fun for the crowd.

Coming up later this morning are more miracle children and a performance by Twisted Measure.

Elonthon photos: first 12 hours

The arrival of new dancers

The 24-hour dancers formed two lines down the middle of the gym for the second shift of dancers to run through when they arrived at 10 p.m.

Morale dancing is certainly keeping morale up – the dance was taught to the new group for the first time and it’s getting better and better.

Abron Kelly, a miracle child, is a natural born perfomer who charmed the crowd with her miraculous story and her music. Abron experienced kidney failure, but received a transplant from her mother. Unfortunately, the kidney didn’t work. A miracle happened and a total stranger donated a kidney to her. She went through acute rejection a few years ago, but the doctors were able to fix it.

Abron sang a beautiful song about a caterpillar becoming a butterly, which is similar to her own story of wanting to be a normal kid again. She also sang “Dancing Queen,” another immediate morale booster.

One little rockstar and 14 big ones

Musical talent is becoming a theme this evening as the crowd was recently entertained by miracle child and up-and-coming rock star, Landen Ryan, and later by Rip_Chord.

Landen took the stage with his mother to tell his courageous story and then performed two rock songs for the crowd. His voice and guitar skills weren’t the only impressive talents he showcased. His energy and dance moves swept the crowd away as everyone erupted into applause. Several dancers even approached him after his performance to request an autograph and photo.

After a dinner donated by Panda Express, Elon’s all male a cappella group, Rip_Chord sang a handful of songs for its usual screaming crowd of fans. Rip_Chord has performed at every Elonthon since the group formed three years ago.

Elonthon morale team member, Melanie Binder, was one of the many screaming fans and commented that every girl at Elonthon had to be crowded around the stage at that moment.

Right left, right left, turn!

The Flight of the Phoenix, who are members of the Club Dance: Elon’s Ballroom Dance Club, performed the salsa, rumba and East Coast swing during Elonthon. After their own spectacular performances, they gave the crowd its own ballroom dancing lessons. The ballroom group has grown a lot even since their performance at Elonthon last year, so they were able to incorporate some multiple partner dancing with all the dancers onstage at once.

Part two of the morale dance is being taught to the group right now to break up the down time shooting hoops, playing video games, tossing around balloons and other games.

24-hour dancers are having their “wishes” granted throughout the marathon and a couple have already been granted. The first was to have three members of Elonthon exec team dance to the Macarena with Kristen Clements in a bunny suit, and the second was to embarrass a friend by making her dance alone to Soulja Boy.

Rip_Chord is performing next!

Elonthon is officially underway!

Elonthon 2009 began at 2 p.m. today. The theme this year is the “Ultimate Miracle Machine” and everyone is wearing a rainbow of colorful T-shirts, as is tradition with Elonthon. The 24-hour dance marathon began with the introduction of everyone on executive staff who have been planning this event since last spring.

Dancers have already shown their support for the kids by competing in a dance-off, raving and getting their first taste of the morale dance.

Group X is even taking part in this year’s Elonthon, and dancers are getting a chance to lie on the ground and stretch.

Mason Lindley, the miracle child to whom Elonthon is dedicated, was represented by his mom and sister, who shared his story. This is the first year that a group of students would not remember Mason since he passed away in May 2005, which makes this Elonthon an especially emotional time for Mrs. Lindley.

Getting ready for Elonthon

How do you prepare for 24 hours of dancing?

How do you survive 24 hours of dancing?

How many hours goes into planning one 24-hour event?

What does it take to be a miracle child?

All these questions and more will be answered from 2 p.m. Saturday to 2 p.m. Sunday as the Pendulum follows Elonthon 2009! Stay tuned!

Elon students, alumni a presence at inauguration

Olivia Hubert-Allen
Senior Reporter

Washington, D.C. – Given a long weekend, a beige minivan and a free place to stay in Washington, D.C., Marshall Sharpe and Shane Morris knew what they had to do: pack up the van, spend some quality time on Interstate 95 and see America’s 44th President get sworn into office.

It’s not the typical way that Elon students spend Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, but it is one that many say they will fondly remember. Elon made a definite mark at the inauguration this year, as students and alumni made small sacrifices of time, gas money or bedtime comfort to attend the event.

“I think it’s one of those once in a lifetime opportunities,” said Megan Farrell a 2008 graduate. “I live right in the middle of it all.”

Farrell walked from her apartment in nearby L’Enfant Plaza to the national mall at 3 a.m. Tuesday morning to stake out a good spot. Her efforts paid off and she got as close to the stage as a non-ticked spectator was able.

Other students weren’t in such a convenient location, but were glad to attend anyway. Sharpe and Morris drove their van from Elon to Trinidad, a neighborhood in the northeastern part of the city. They stayed with Sharpe’s sister and were able to make a long, 6 a.m. hike to get to the inauguration on time.

“Being young and in college, you have to take an opportunity to be a part of this,” Marshall said.

A few Elon students showed up at Sen. Kay Hagan’s (D-NC) office to try and get one of the leftover inauguration tickets that her staff was handing out. Juniors Brandy Sparks and Iris Versmissen spent several hours in the hallway outside of Hagan’s office on Monday. The two were in D.C. with the teaching fellows program, and have marveled at how the city had transformed during their two weeks there.

“Everyone is so excited here. The energy is just crazy,” Brandy Sparks said. “It’s just exciting to be a part of something so big.”

Brad Hartland, a 2008 graduate also tried to get tickets from Hagan, but gave up quickly after he learned they were no longer accepting names for the waiting list. In the end his roommate pulled through with an extra ticket and he was able to get a close-up view of the inauguration. Hartland says that having recently moved to the area, he has a unique take on the three-day celebration.

“I feel like I’m getting to see it from the perspective of a resident because I live here now, but also as a tourist because it’s my first time being here for an inauguration,” he said.

No matter what Elon students or alumni went through to see the inauguration, they were all pleased to be a part of a moment that will live on in American history.

“For our generation, a lot of things have happened, but very few things have happened that we’ve been able to be a part of, especially politically,” Farrell said. “I feel a responsibility to my children and grandchildren to go.”

Not so much “good night,” but we need the “good luck”

Tonight is the night. It’s probably the night that will never end considering it will run into the morning when we leave the place we’re staying in Arlington for the Metro around 5 a.m. We definitely debated heading out on the first train at 4 a.m., but then reconsidered after realizing how much content we need to finish producing tonight before heading back to Elon tomorrow afternoon.

Today was very productive, once again. Our first interview was around 10 a.m. at the Willard Hotel. It was really interesting to hear about the history behind the hotel, especially when I found out that Martin Luther King Jr. stayed there to finish his “I Have a Dream” speech and that Abraham Lincoln stayed there on occasion.

We then made our trek to the Dirksen Senate Office Building to interview Kay Hagan. When we got into the office at 1 p.m., we were feeling very confident about getting as much in as possible into the 2-minute slot we were alotted with Hagan. She was very busy today! It was a great interview and it seemed like she would have loved to talk more if only she had the time. After that, we headed to Richard Burr’s office with hopes of an interview, but got a photo instead. Later, I conducted a phone interview with Howard Coble. It was a big day for interviews with politicians.

Our day was winding down, but before we headed out of the city, Derek and I were determined to get a story on the street vendors. After interviewing four of them, we had a solid base for our favorite feature story.

And now, I am tackling about four stories at once and uploading hundreds of photos to flickr so that The Pendulum and Burlington Times-News have solid content from us to run in the papers and online! So for now, good night (though it may never end) and good luck!

Inauguration concert sets tone for festivities

By Olivia Hubert-Allen
Posted to elon.edu last night

Bundled head to toe in mittens, long underwear, scarves and hats, thousands swarmed the National Mall on Sunday for an unprecedented inaugural concert that set the tone for the three-day inauguration party in Washington, D.C. Spectators clustered together from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to beyond the Washington Monument to witness a star-studded event that felt part pep rally, part Woodstock with a hint of a history lesson in the mix.

President-elect Barack Obama’s entrance drew cheers, applause and tears from the audience that has come from around the world to see him become America’s first black president.

“Robert Kennedy once said ‘Forty years from now there will be an African American president of these United States … well Barack Obama is the fulfillment of that prophecy and that dream,” said Ruthie Stevenson of Mount Clemens, Mich. who serves as president of the Macomb County Branch of the NAACP. The 62-year-old said she never thought she would see this day.

A host of artists performed songs, beginning with Bruce Springsteen who opened the concert with “The Rising,” which he wrote as a tribute to firefighters following Sept. 11, 2001. Between musical performances politicians, celebrities and everyday people spoke about past presidents, service and unity, serving the concert’s theme, “We Are One.”

Audience members hung from trees, sat on each other’s shoulders and climbed on top of portable toilets to get a better view of flag adorned stage. At the chorus of “Ain’t that America,” by John Mellencamp or “Lean On Me,” by Mary J. Blige viewers sang along, dancing to the familiar tunes. James Taylor joined together with John Legend to perform Taylor’s hit, “Shower the People,” and Sheryl Crow and Will.i.am collaborated to cover Bob Marley’s famous, “One Love.”

Though many came for the music, the highlight of the night for many was Obama’s speech which addressed the hardships that the country faces. Speaking with a sense of purpose and resolve Obama explained his hopes for the future.

“Despite the enormity of the task that lies ahead — I stand here today as hopeful as ever that the United States of America will endure — that the dream of our founders will live on in our time,” Obama said, noting the things about America that make him hopeful.

Despite the turmoil in the world’s economic markets, the Iraq War or the situation in Gaza, few people spoke about the problems that will certainly plaque the first months and years of the Obama administration. Instead conversations took an optimistic tone as attendees reveled at the historic moment they were witnessing.

About 400,000 spectators looked up at Obama, their cheeks red and chapped from the cold, but their eyes bright and eager. The enthusiasm of the masses made it clear that this party will go on – no matter what.

“I never thought in my lifetime I would ever see a black president in the United States,” said Gregory Floyd of Germantown, Md. “There’s so many people coming out to see this. It’s wonderful, just wonderful.”