ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ

When Nick Igdalsky '99 visits Daytona International Speedway this weekend to begin his first full season in the ARCA Racing Series, he’ll find himself running against a familiar name in motorsports: Danica Patrick, an international sensation making her debut in stock car racing in the same field as the ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ alum.

A 2007 graduate of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ represented North Carolina in the Miss America pageant in Las Vegas on Jan. 30. Katherine Southard, a double major in business administration and dance, won the North Carolina contest in June.

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ has created a new web page for the campus community to share news and information on outreach efforts following the January 12, 2010, earthquake that killed more than 100,000 people in Haiti. The page, www.elon.edu/haiti, lists fundraising events, updates and awareness campaigns sponsored by student organizations, classes and individuals at the university.

ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ athletics has announced its 2010 Phoenix football schedule, which includes a change of date in the annual Family Weekend. ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ will open the season at Duke University Sept. 4, with the home opener scheduled for Sept. 11 vs. Shaw University. The Family Weekend game will be Oct. 2, with Homecoming set for Oct. 23.

It’s been a while since North Carolina has seen a lengthy warm spell, so at noontime on Wednesday, how did a crowd of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ students take advantage of the January weather? By jumping into Lake Mary Nell, naturally, as part of the seventh annual Polar Bear Plunge.

Many students, faculty and staff at ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ have expressed concern for the people of Haiti following a massive earthquake on Tuesday that killed tens of thousands and devastated much of the Caribbean nation. A current student and a 2009 alum on the ground in Haiti have made contact with their families in the United States, while another two current students and other alumni have started hearing from their own relatives still in the country.