A best day on Cloud Pacemaker

I was in my producing class and got out early - about 2:30. I had a voicemail from Pam, one of my best friends the current editor-in-chief of The Pendulum. Something along the lines of, "Ms. Barnas, I know you are in class right now but I have something incredibly important to tell you. Call me the SECOND you get out of class." I was nervous! I didn't know what to expect! I had a feeling it was something good by the tone of her voice, but I had no idea what it could be.

The next thing I did was call Pam back. I was instructed to come to Acorn immediately - "no detours, do not pass go, do not collect $100." My "little and g-little" (Pam and Sunshine, respectively) were waiting for me outside. I arrived at Acorn and was told to sit down in between Pam and Sunshine. That's when Pam told me The Pendulum's Web site was named an Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker finalist today. I grabbed their hands and was shaking with shock and happiness. It was quite the moment...especially considering we were outside and all the other tables were full and I was squealing and sobbing with joy. People were judging.

The article on E-net explains how our Web site was one of 20 chosen to be finalists out of more than 240 newspaper Web sites. Our site was judged based on:

• Multimedia storytelling
• Writing and editing
• Site design
• In-depth and complete coverage
• Interactivity
• Graphics and photography

I just couldn't be more excited. After a round of hugs, gripping the metal armrests of the chair and tearing up, I finally let it sink in that my greatest goal as online editor-in-chief was one step closer to being achieved. Each of the editors meet with our adviser at the beginning of our term. It was January 2009 when I stepped into the role and I knew immediately that I wanted to transform our Web site, produce quality multimedia journalism and earn a Pacemaker for The Pendulum Online. I kept my old document, "Ashley's Goals for The Pendulum Online," and the first bullet on the list is, "Win Pacemakers!" Little did I know then that my goal would (almost) come true a year later.

When The Pendulum won its first Pacemaker for the weekly student newspaper, it was such an incredible moment to share with five of my closest friends and fellow editors at the ACP/CMA convention in Austin, Texas. It is an honor we have been working toward since I've been working for The Pendulum. But to me, this online honor is even dearer to my heart, especially since we only just launched the new version of The Pendulum Online in February 2009.

While I may not have accomplished every other goal I bulleted on that original list, I am most proud of the fact that our staff embraced multimedia and an online presence so swiftly and successfully a year ago. It was a long and trying task at times, which makes the achievement all the more sweet. The accomplishment couldn't have happened without the section editors' willingness to embrace the new venture and the awesome multimedia team producing high quality videos, photo slideshows, podcasts and flash elements.

I will be holding my breath until the convention in Louisville, Ky., on Oct. 30, when the winners are announced. Returning home from Austin this fall made our win for the paper so real. The accomplishment was all the more amazing when it was shared with everyone. Because without everyone, there would be no Pendulum and certainly no Pacemaker. The promise on an Online Pacemaker is so close, much closer than I could have dreamed a year and a half ago.

 The staff in the office when we returned from Austin with our first Pacemaker plaque.

The Pendulum break is broken

My first article and videos of the semester ran with today's edition of The Pendulum. It's been a while since I've contributed because I was abroad for Winter Term and the final semester of senior year has been holding me back. But it's about time!

Features is definitely my calling in life, so my first story was about a mock Jewish wedding held on campus. Here is my story, and here is my video:




I also shot my first basketball video! I absolutely adore shooting sports video and I've made it a goal to shoot every sport before I graduate...I have a couple more to go. Shooting basketball was a completely different experience than shooting football (I'm fairly certain nothing can beat the fun I had all fall), but I still had a wonderful time trying something new!

I found an opinion!

I have officially written for every section of The Pendulum. My final section, and in my opinion the most terrifying, was opinions. But this week, Morgan Little, the opinions editor, convinced me to find an opinion and write my first column. So, here it is...I found an opinion on "Twilight":

When 'Twilight' loses its sparkle

There he stood like the Greek Adonis. There she stood several feet away, tortured by the desire to approach him and weave her fingers through his tousled bronze hair and stare into his molten gold eyes. When his gravitational pull inevitably draws her close enough to touch him, realization hits. He's too good to be true. He does not actually exist. She crumbles on the spot.

The "Twilight" series didn't invent the concept of women existing solely to find the men to marry and begin a family with. The series just perpetuates a theme that has survived in popular culture for decades. Author Stephenie Meyer even references the classic love stories of "Wuthering Heights" and "Romeo and Juliet" in her own story.

The readership of "Twilight" is the same general audience for Disney stories where the damsel in distress spends the entire tale seeking her Prince Charming. Young girls, who have never been in love before, are reading these books and gaining a false idea of what first love is like. Edward and his ilk set a high bar for men. Who wouldn't want the mysterious man with a classically tortured soul? He's beautiful, polite, refined, listens to classical music and sparkles in the sun. Any young girl would want that.

According to Box Office Mojo, "‘New Moon' distributor Summit Entertainment's exit polling indicated that 80 percent of the audience was female and 50 percent was under 21 years old." No matter how appealing the "Twilight" series is, and regardless of how many times girls devour the books and watch the movies, the negative connotations the themes have regarding gender roles in the context of romantic relationships cannot be avoided.

Women in popular culture are often portrayed as weak. Bella Swan "wins" in the end by getting the guy, but what she teaches her young female audience along the way lacks empowerment. When Edward leaves her, she falls apart and loses her will to live. Because of her full devotion to Edward, she has no friends to turn to in her time of need.

From the very beginning of the "Twilight" series, it's apparent that Bella's only goal is to be with Edward forever. She doesn't want college, she doesn't want a job and she doesn't even want children.

But it's not Edward's fault. Everything that drives Bella is about him. Edward pushes her to experience all those human things she would rather not have.

Any cultural production reflects the populace as a whole, and the themes in turn influence society. In the same way, it also reinforces how we perceive gender, said Lynn Huber, assistant professor of religious studies and the women's/gender studies program coordinator at Elon.

A practicing Mormon, Meyer is writing from a particular perspective with very clear thoughts on religion and sex. Beyond the theme of abstinence, Religion Dispatches cites the Mormon values of eternal marriage and family life as the strongest themes in "Twilight."

Rebecca Pope-Ruark, assistant professor of English at Elon, taught a vampire literature Winter Term class that included "Twilight." She said one has to take Bella for who she is: a 17-year-old girl who is bound to grow unhealthily attached to her first love. If Bella had been 25 years old, then she would be considered supremely weak. Like Bella, when someone we love leaves us, we seek validation elsewhere. When Edward left, Bella ran to Jacob Blake for safety and to seek that validation.

It's a puzzle as to why popular culture is ridden with weak female characters. When it comes to the best sellers and blockbusters, a damsel in distress sells.

"New Moon" brought in a $143 million opening weekend. Women today aren't weak, but for some reason, we relate to the weak characters in popular culture. Maybe our nurturing tendencies lend themselves to pitying characters like Bella. Or maybe those weak characters help us find that fulfillment we've been seeking in knowing we are stronger than them.

The "Twilight" series won't be the last to present its female protagonist as powerless. The themes of eternal love and finding a soul mate ring true because of what we've been taught: to be attracted to the mythical male savior figure. We want someone to take care of us and protect us while we, in turn, can take care of them. It's become so culturally ingrained that it's nearly impossible to step out of it.

Many men's trash, anyone's treasure

This is my final story as an editor at The Pendulum...and in true Ashley style, it's a feature story:



Melissa Kansky went along with me and shot this video.

In the back of the store, one can find melted and flattened green glass bottles in one corner and dolls made out of old T-shirts in the opposite corner. The main room is lined in plastic blue barrels filled to the brim with buttons, hangers, stockings, Burger King crowns and other random trinkets.

In the Artist's Marketplace, one can discover everything from an adorned Chinese checkerboard, a necklace made with spoon handles, purses, decorative buttons to a cardboard construction of WALL-E.

And that just scratches the surface of the layout of The Scrap Exchange in Durham, N.C.
The creative reuse center is a place for artists, children, teachers, collectors and anyone with an imagination. Its mission is "to promote creativity, environmental awareness and community through reuse."

The nonprofit is 90 percent self-sufficient, and it supplements all activities through fundraising, support from the city of Durham, different grants and foundations and individual donations.

The Scrap Exchange's materials come from different industries. The center specializes in industrial discards, but it has opened the door to residential waste. Businesses and manufacturers get rid of leftovers by giving them to sustainable stores like The Scrap Exchange.

The store receives more than 800 drop-off material donations per year in addition to collections from regular visits to more than 250 businesses around Durham.

"There's only 44 creative reuse centers in the country in 13 states, and we are the only one in North Carolina," Executive Director Ann Woodward said.

Since the store is a destination location for people looking for strange and unusual materials, Woodward said they attract people from across the state.

Chris Rosenthal, an immigrant who worked for a similar organization in her home country of Australia, started The Scrap Exchange in 1991. Rosenthal, along with her husband, got together with some other people interested in the project.

Woodward started in 1994 when she did outreach for a creative art service. She directed hands-on programming, drove to factories to pick up materials and helped with almost every job.

She minored in sculpture at Buffalo State College, where she found a particular passion for metal.

"(I) just realized there is a lot of power in found objects and found materials, and I'm very interested in how things fit together," she said.

Bethany Yoder has been to The Scrap Exchange on several occasions, but was there for a particular reason this week.

Along with her 4-and-a-half-year-old daughter Lily, Yoder was searching for materials to make Christmas gifts for her nieces and nephews. She wanted to make fuzzy little critters with eyes and noses, flags, wands or caterpillars. In the past, Yoder has come to the store to buy rugs for her home, materials for sewing projects and supplies to make birthday gifts.

The store hosts more than 70 birthday parties on- and off-site per year. Laura Conner brought her older daughter to the store for a birthday party with her school friends.

"It's very neat," Conner said. "Kids like it a lot. It's a good way to recycle things."

In addition to birthdays, The Scrap Exchange offers hands-on creative arts programming at festivals and big fairs, visits schools to host creative arts workshops, trains teachers on how to use the materials in their curriculums and leads corporate teambuilding workshops.
School visits cost $1.75 per child.

Woodward came to Elon years ago to lead a professional development course with students training to be teachers. She brought materials and gave an introduction about where they came from.

Woodward said her goal in leading workshops like these is to explain how the process of reuse centers work so the participants know there are resources out there.

"It's like teaching people how to farm," Woodward said. "If they know how to find the materials, they can use that for the rest of their life."

Woodward said her favorite materials in the center are the fire extinguishers and the construction and demolition waste, especially the metal.

"People bring in their collections of fabric, which I think is one of my favorite things that happens," Woodward said.

One woman was making saris with fabric she collected from the 1960s and 1970s and brought in her leftovers. The Scrap Exchange is well known for its fabric and for what it sells from the blue barrels. The barrels are filled with random items with which patrons can fill a bag for a set price.

The Scrap Exchange also has a "Green Gallery," where it exhibits more than 100 artists per year.

"The gallery promotes artists who are using reuse materials in their artwork," Woodward said.

Woodward said the center has a no-glue policy. When people don't use glue, they begin to think about the properties of the materials, Woodward said.

"You're not sitting around waiting for the glue to dry,"  Woodward said. "You're actually having this vibrant, active conversation about what you're doing with the materials.And you're creating community. You're talking to the person next to you."

The education students Woodward works with have to make something and do a critique at the end of the workshop to talk about what they made and why.

"I like function," Woodward said. "I'm a big form and function person. I want things to be beautiful that you can use on a daily basis."

Exhibit A was the orange flower pinned to her chest. It was made out of a smashed aerosol can top.

"I just think collecting and disseminating used materials should really be a part of the future because we really need to conserve resources," Woodward said. "We can't keep cutting down trees. We need to keep what is valuable out of the landfill and put it in the hands of people who can use the materials."

Rubber Ducky, you're the one...of 7,000

This past Sunday, I got to cover a Meals on Wheels event that raised money for food for the elderly. It was a race that consisted of 7,000 yellow rubber ducks. Yes, it is true. And yes, it was amazing. Before I set out on this story, I was picturing a few people sticking their ducks of various shapes, sizes and colors (though predominantly yellow), into a pool to push or blow along to the finish line. But I was very, very wrong. I arrived at the YMCA in Burlington with Melissa, a freshman reporter who came with me to write the story and learn how to shoot video. And when we got into the pool area, we were faced with at least a dozen tubs filled to the brim with what we soon found out were 7,000 rubber ducks.

The tubs were dumped into the pool on the count of three and sprayed to the finish line with hoses. It was an awesome sight, and rightfully so for such an awesome cause. I was blessed to be a part of it, and to be working with Melissa - it's always a joy to teach someone about something I love, especially when they are so enthusiastic about it.

Here is Melissa's story, and here is the video I shot and edited with Melissa:

New Student Convocation: Class of 2013 charged with years of discovery, self-reflection, growth

This morning was the first of many hard mornings to come this year - I'm a senior and people keep reminding me of it. I went to convocation this morning and covered it for the Pendulum...and I definitely cried several times. There's nothing like a Leo Lambert speech to bring on my waterworks. Everything about the morning, down to the overcast sky, was bittersweet for me.

Here's my story (photo courtesy of the lovely Lindsay Fendt):

As the triumphal procession music began, the cloth backdrop of the podium in front of West dormitory was parted. From there emerged George Troxler with the Elon mace. Following him were the robed and rainbow regalia-clad faculty members. Under the Oaks sat the members of the class of 2013, transfer students, family and guests. Thus was the scene of New Student Convocation the cloudy and cool morning of Aug. 29.

Troxler, rather than having to organize this year's convocation – as was his usual job – was bestowed with the honor of bearing the mace. Troxler passed his torch as dean of cultural and special programs when he retired last spring.

In another new position was Phil Smith, who gave his first invocation as associate chaplain and director of religious life, a task usually set to Chaplain Emeritus Richard McBride.

The ceremony begins with a minister, Smith said, because when Elon's founders stood beneath the grove of oaks where the class of 2013 now sits, they envisioned an institution where mind, body and spirit would be enhanced and transformed. The spiritual dimension of life is celebrated and honored at Elon, as is the quest for finding a purpose and meaning in life.

To the "God of new beginnings," Smith led a prayer for the students to discover and develop their true selves during their time at Elon, and for the parents and loved ones to "find a deep sense of comfort."

"May the years ahead be filled with the joy of discovery for each and every one of us," Smith said.

Justin Peterson, Student Government Association president, welcomed the class and took a quick photo of everyone from his podium view. He told the students to create a mindset to "enjoy your time because it goes faster than I can explain."

Peterson had student athletes raise their hands and pointed out that one of them would score a winning point. The scholarship recipients were asked to raise their hands. And then the students who thought they might not make it into Elon received the same request. To that group, Peterson said one of them may become the next student body president, because he belongs to that group.

"You are now a voice on campus," Peterson said. "And as the freshman class, you are usually the loudest."

Vice President and Dean of Student Life Smith Jackson presented the class of 2013 to Steven House, provost and vice president for academic affairs. The students come from 39 states, the District of Columbia and 28 countries.

"This class will enrich Elon University," Jackson said.

House welcomed the dynamic new class and introduced them to the 340 faculty members sitting with them Under the Oaks.

"The Elon faculty are truly remarkable and devoted teachers, mentors and scholars," House said. "They will stretch you and challenge you more than you can even imagine."

In what President Leo Lambert called "one of the most meaningful occasions of the academic year," he announced it would be "the first of many goodbyes parents will say to their college-age children."

"In a parent's mind, remembrances both big and small come into clear focus on mornings like this one," Lambert said. "I can identify with the tear in mom's eye and the lump in dad's throat. ...I know how proud they are and what a privilege it's been to help you reach this day."

Compared with the billions of people on Earth who live in poverty, suffer from HIV/AIDS and are illiterate, Elon students are among the most privileged people on the face of the Earth, Lambert pointed out. And as such, students must ask themselves, "What am I going to do with the gift of an Elon education?"

In the middle of one Elon tradition, Lambert announced another that the class would now witness.

"You're going to hear a train go by," he said, "and I'm going to grab a drink of water. Justin, you want to grab some more photos?"

The moment of hilarity was a jolt and break in the tenderness of his message that members of the Elon community are caring above all else.

"You will be changed in ways you can now not imagine," he said.

Donna Van Bodegraven, associate professor of foreign languages, explained Elon's four pillars of honesty, integrity, responsibility and respect, and Chuck Griffith, father of 2010 graduate, Katie Griffith, reflected on his time as an Elon parent. Everyone he has come in contact with simply loves Elon University, he said. And it's an institution where everyone has the ability to make a difference.

In his traditional message to the new class, Lambert said, "You will leave Elon some day, but Elon will never leave you."

In this season of his life, it is time to move on

After 25 years at Elon, Chaplain McBride celebrates his retirement

The tears inside Whitley Auditorium matched the drizzling rain outside Sunday afternoon. The celebration of Chaplain Richard McBride's retirement brought an entirely different feeling to the auditorium usually marked with the divine sounds of the organ at its forefront. It was one of sorrow, celebration, reflection and commemoration.

McBride came to Elon in August 1984 as chaplain and coordinator of personal counseling. But 25 years later, he is surrendering the name "Chaplain McBride."

President Leo Lambert said it was a ceremony to fully release McBride from his duties.

"While another man or woman will take up your mantle of responsibility," Lambert said, "you and Wendy (McBride's wife) will certainly remain cherished friends, keepers of Elon's values and present in the life of the university."

As Lambert tells each new class of freshmen at New Student Convocation in the fall, they may leave Elon, but Elon never leaves them. The case is the same with McBride and his wife.

"To begin your new role, it seems to me that you need a new title," Lambert said. "And so, I confer upon you this afternoon, the title ‘chaplain emeritus.'"

In this role, McBride is "to love and to support your successor, to continue to love the university unfailingly, to continue to experience university life, to keep our institutional memory and to remain a strong link in the chain."

Susan Klopman, vice president of admissions and financial planning, calls McBride "one of the most relevant, historically significant leaders at Elon."

He is the creator of many traditions and programs that remain at Elon today including Habitat for Humanity, Elon Volunteers!, the Turning 21 Dinner, the Life Stories class and Hometown Heroes.

He has dedicated a number of buildings on campus such as McMichael, Belk, Rhodes Stadium, the Academic Pavilions, Moseley and others. When he finally got to dedicate his own home, the Truitt Center for Religious and Spiritual Life, his wife told him that he always prays for others, but now it was finally time to pray for himself.

Junior Shane Morris works with McBride in the Truitt Center and has benefitted from several of the programs he has set up, especially EV! and Habitat.

"Chaplain McBride brings a sense of calmness and serenity to the office," Morris said. "It's unique in a way that I don't know if anybody else can bring that in the way he does."

Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven."

In the Service of Celebration, which honored McBride on his retirement as university chaplain, the seasons of his life as chaplain were celebrated before he was officially released through the litany of transition and vows of release.

Spring

"The alert ones in the audience are already wondering: ‘That guy can hardly get out of his chair, what could he possibly say or remember what Richard McBride saw?'"

Ed Christman began his dedication by making everyone laugh, just as he said McBride taught him.

Something that no one will ever forget about McBride is that "he taught us how to laugh, he can laugh at himself," Christman said. "What he brought to the table was a freedom to be who he was: to laugh, to cry, to raise questions, to say to his colleagues and to me, we gotta have a coffee house."

When no one else had the imagination to create something out of nothing, McBride found a place to fit a much-needed social and reflective space, a coffee house.

Christman was a mentor to McBride during his time at Wake Forest and someone who named McBride in his role when he would ask every evening, "Well, chaplain, how was your day?"

"Whether his heart was hurting or whether his brain was over-filled, or whatever, you could always count on him to see things as they really were and speak the truth to you softly," Christman said. "That's a gift that not very many people have."

Summer

"During the summer of his life, Richard McBride defined the soul of Elon University," said President Emeritus Fred Young.

McBride was the right person to lead Elon in the right direction. His service learning projects and programs are crucial to the institutional flagship program, Elon Experiences.

"Richard is able to counsel without being confrontational or judgmental," Young said. "His intellectual orientation is evident and greatly appreciated in an academic community. His ecumenical approach encourages staff and students. We can and do depend on him in times of joy and tragedy, both personal and institutional."

His concise and profound words before, during and after public gatherings at Elon have the ability to reach and enrich lives.

"Richard, your legacy is already in the hearts and minds of those who have passed through Elon for the past 25 years," Young said.

"The spirit, atmosphere and programs that were created through your leadership will enrich the lives of tens of thousands of future Elon students, faculty and staff.

"In the summer of your life, you defined the soul of Elon University and you defined it exceedingly well."

Fall

"Only for Richard" would Carolyn Nelson, director of design, stand up on stage to speak.

Every fall, Nelson packs up her dog and camera, and heads to Cedarock Park. She spends an afternoon at the park seeking new inspiration for her art, but she always ends up by the same little creek with big boulders and pools of still waters.

It is there that she finds "layers upon layers to watch and absorb" that leave her with a sense of all the same things McBride leaves upon those he meets: inspiration, insight, reflection and enlightenment.

"I don't know if it's sacrilegious to call a prayer art or poetry, but they are," Nelson said. "His eloquent words and plain truths speak to the heart, soul and intellect in equal measure. Prayers are spoken to God, of course, but I always feel like they're spoken just for me."

During convocations, Nelson said she looks forward to McBride's prayers just as much as the speakers themselves. But she remembers the prayers longer.

"He does, in fact, lead us to still waters," she said. "And just when you think you have found a clear reflection, there is a ripple and he rearranges the colors in a whole new light, and so it is with Richard. Still water. Steady light, bright light. A blessing to this university and a blessing to each of us."

Winter

"In springtime, learn. In harvest, teach. In winter, enjoy. Richard is entering the winter season of his life," said Smith Jackson, vice president and dean of student life.

Winter is a time for McBride to finally reflect, restore and become very busy doing those things he most enjoys.

McBride is building a room behind his house that will be a kind of secret sanctuary, Jackson said.

"Surprise, Wendy. It's not a secret anymore," he said.

The room will be a place for McBride to read, write and pursue photography. Jackson said McBride and his wife would now have time to travel the world.

Jackson only requests that McBride jots down some notes so we can still listen in on his journey.

Winter is also a time for McBride to "prepare for yet another spring," this time to travel the world and visit his grandchildren.

"Richard, you will always be a part of Elon," Jackson said. "Your role is just changing a bit. Wherever you are, with us will be your gentle and inquisitive spirit, your warmth and openness to others and your constant reminder that the real gorge of discovery exists not in seeking new lands but in seeing with new eyes in the present."

One of the greatest lessons McBride has taught members of the Elon community is to "be greater than ourselves," Jackson said.

The standing ovation McBride received at the end of his Service of Celebration was not the kind where a few initiate the rise and others slowly trickle upward. This was the rare kind that seems initiated by an outside force, one where every member of the audience rises simultaneously with a tear in the corner of his eye and a smile on his face.

Klopman summed up McBride's 25 years at Elon in four words:
"Richard, you are Elon."

Lake Mary Nell is Home to Six Cygnets and Friends

Despite how deserted campus is of its students, there is still so much life and so many new members of the Elon family.

I went down to Lake Mary Nell today to see the baby cygnets and their mother at their new home, and I found far more than I imagined I would.

First I came across, not the cygnets and their mother, but a whole family of baby geese with their mother. Who knew that so many birthdays would happen at once!

One of the most precious moments was when a squirrel sat right next to one of the baby geese and munched on its own piece of food as the baby goose picked at the grass. It was so typically Elon - a squirrel just making new friends with baby geese.

Across the lake, near the fine arts center, I saw a whole gaggle of geese. And just to the left of them was my favorite family of swans.


When I approached the edge of the lake, I couldn't help but think the mother swan kept looking at me from the corner of her eye.

She and her six baby swans moved from their nest to Lake Mary Nell. Sadly, the seventh egg remains behind in the nest, unhatched.

Mother and babies spent their afternoon near a feeding box. Mommy would reach her neck into the box, grab some bits of food and drop them into the water for her babies to eat.

They scramble around her to grab them as she dunks her head underwater to rescue the food that's sunk.

As she moves toward the little ramp leading up to the box, her babies inch behind her and try to get up but are still too small to make it just yet.

Each cygnet never strayed too far from its siblings, and they all stayed very close to their loving mother.

Reporting on a Historic Evening

The final two primary elections were held in Montana and South Dakota today. The evening ended with Sen. John McCain taking shots at Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton announcing that she would not concede and Obama declaring that he had won the Democratic presidential nomination after securing more than the number of necessary delegate votes.

I kept The Pendulum Web site updated throughout the evening as more news came in and as speeches were being made. You can find all of The Pendulum's Election 2008 Coverage here.

For now, here are stories on speeches delivered by Obama, Clinton and McCain, minute-by-minute updates on the primary results and Clinton's announcement early Tuesday that she would not condede after tonight's election results.

Obama says 'This is the moment'
Illinois senator claims presidential nomination

With some 15,000 people outside and 20,000 gathered inside an auditorium in St. Paul, Minn., Sen. Barack Obama announced that he has won the Democratic presidential nomination.

He now has 2,154 delegate votes and won Montana with 56 percent of the popular vote.

“Tonight, Minnesota, after 54 hard-fought contests, our primary season has finally come to an end,” Obama said.

Obama said he was able to clinch the nomination because of what people have said, “because they decided that this is the year that must be different than all the rest” and because they chose not to listen to their doubts and fears.

“Tonight we mark the end of one historic journey with the beginning of another,” he said, “A journey that will bring a new and better day to America. Because of you, tonight I can stand here and say that I will be the Democratic nominee for the United States of America.”

His announcement received uproarious applause.

Obama thanked all the people in Montana and South Dakota who stood up for change in today’s primaries.

At this defining moment for our nation, Obama said America should be proud that the Democratic Party put forth such a talented field of people to run for the title he now holds. He said he not only competed with them as rivals, but worked with them as friends. They have all worked tirelessly to make this country better.

“Sen. Hillary Clinton has made history in this campaign,” Obama said. “She has made history not just because she’s a woman who’s done what no woman has done before,” but because she inspires people with her strength and courage.

Obama congratulates her “for the race she has run throughout this contest.”

Despite the differences he and Clinton have had over the last 16 months, he recognizes Clinton’s passion for the American people.

“I can tell you what gets Hillary Clinton up in the morning,” he said. “An unyielding desire to improve the lives of ordinary Americans.”

Obama said he and Clinton will win the fight for universal health care. And Clinton “will be central to that victory.”

“I’m a better candidate for having had to compete with Hillary Rodham Clinton,” he said.

Because of this primary, there are millions of young people, African Americans, Hispanic Americans and women “who have voted in records that have inspired a nation,” Obama said.

“We [the Democratic Party] aren’t the reason you came out – you didn’t do that because of me or Sen. Clinton or anyone else. You did that because in your hearts, you know…we cannot afford to keep doing what we’ve been doing,” Obama said.

It’s time to chart a course for a new America, he said, and we owe our children and our country a better future.

Obama then took time to comment on Sen. John McCain, the Republican nominee who focused much of his speech earlier in the evening on Obama’s policies and qualifications.

“[McCain is a] man who has served our country heroically,” Obama said. “We honor the service of John McCain.”

“I respect his many accomplishments,” he said, “even if he chooses to deny mine.”

The differences Obama has with McCain are not personal, he said, but based on what McCain has proposed in his campaign for president.

Debunking McCain’s mockery of Obama’s campaign slogan, Obama said that change is not one of the words that can be used to describe his opponent’s politics.

“What’s not an option is leaving our troops in Iraq for the next hundred years,” Obama said. “We must be as careful getting out of Iraq as we were careless getting in.”

Obama said his definition of change is vastly different from McCain’s.

“We must once again have the courage and the conviction to lead the free world,” he said. “That’s what the American people demand. That’s what change is.”

Some changes Obama said he will make:

• Give a middle-class tax break to those who need it
• Invest in the crumbling infrastructure
• Renew commitment to science and innovation
• Make an energy policy that creates new jobs
• Work to improve schools
• Invest in early childhood education and invest in new teachers

“[McCain] doesn’t understand the kind of change that people are looking for,” he said.

The choice of arena where Obama delivered his speech is ironic because it’s the same arena where the Republican National Convention will be held later this year.

“The other side will come here in September and offer a very different set of policies and positions,” Obama said. “And that is a good thing. That is something that I look forward to.”

He said that Americans are a decent, generous and compassionate people untied by a common hope.

“America, this is our moment,” he said. “This is our time. Our time to turn the page of the policies of the past. Our time to bring new energy and new ideas to the challenges we face. Our time to offer a new direction for this country that we love. This journey will be difficult and our road will be long.”

Obama will face this challenge with “limitless faith in the capacity of the American people because if we are willing to fight for it, then generations from now, we will be able to look back and say…. This was the moment. This was the time when we came together.”



Clinton does not give up, does not make decision

Sen. Hillary Clinton said that she will make no decisions tonight. After the long campaign, she will now consult with some people and determine “how to move forward with the best interests of the party and the country.”

She is most interested in hearing from the American people and urges them to share their thoughts with her on her Web site, http://www.hillaryclinton.com/splash/sdmt/.

Clinton was welcomed in New York on Tuesday night by a cheering crowd and the song “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” Signs of defeat were nowhere to be found.

Clinton began by thanking South Dakota for its votes.

“You had the last word in this primary season and it was worth the wait,” she said of her 56 percent win in the state.

Clinton congratulated Sen. Barack Obama and his supporters on their achievement of the Democratic presidential nomination. She credited him for inspiring so many Americans to get involved in politics.

“Our party and our democracy are stronger and more vibrant as a result,” Clinton said.

She considers it an honor to call Obama her friend and to have contested these primaries with him. She asked the gathered crowd to congratulate him as well.

“We saw millions of Americans registering to vote for the first time,” Clinton said. Americans were knocking on doors, talking to neighbors and giving money for the first time.

A most stunning product of this election occurs when children sit on moms’ and dads’ shoulders, and parents whisper in their child’s ear, “See, you can be anything you want to be.”

Clinton said she also thinks of “all those wonderful women in their 90s who came out to see me because they were born before women could vote and they wanted to be a part of making history.”

“On election day after election day, you came out in record numbers,” she said. She addressed the “hard working men and women who don’t always make headlines, but have written America’s story.”

“In all of the states, you voted because you wanted a leader who stands up for the deepest values of our party,” Clinton said. A party that believes everyone should have a chance at the American dream, a party that counts every single vote and a party that cherishes every child and family in America.

Clinton said she often felt that each person’s vote was “a prayer for our nation” and a “declaration of dreams for your future.”

During the 16-month journey, Clinton said she was proud that she and her supporters “stayed the course together.”

Clinton is also proud of the record 35 million people who voted in this primary and the number of people she and her supporters have brought into the Democratic Party.

“I am committed to the Democratic Party,” she said. And to making it “stronger and more committed than ever to take back the White House.”

Clinton professed her faith in her supporters.

“None of you is invisible to me,” she said. “I see you and I know how hardworking you are. I have been fighting for you my whole adult life and I will keep standing for you and working for you.”

The big question of the evening and one that has been speculated throughout the day has been, “What does Hillary want?” Clinton asked, “What do I want? I want what I have always fought for in this whole campaign.”

She said she wants to:

• End the war in Iraq
• Turn the economy around
• Provide health care for everyone
• Allow children to live up to their potential
• Respect all Americans, let them be heard and no longer invisible

“I have an old fashioned notion,” Clinton said, “that public service is about helping people solve problems and live their own dreams.”

She said she wants to restore faith in the leadership of the country. The issues she has discussed for so long and so passionately are the “lifeblood of my campaign.”

“And your spirit has inspired me every day in this race,” Clinton said. “You reached out to help me: To grab my hand or grip my arm. To look into my eyes to tell me, ‘Don’t quit. Keep fighting in this race.’”

When so many people thought her race was done five months ago after the Iowa primary, she thanks the supporters who brought her back.

“I will carry your stories and your dreams with me,” Clinton said.

She said she is honored and humbled by the support and trust of voters, and thanked all those who had the courage to share their stories with her on the campaign trail.

“Tonight, we stand just a few miles from the Statue of Liberty and from the site where the towers fell,” she said. “Lady Liberty’s presence and the towers’ absence show our resilience…and that we’re courageous.”

McCain talks about change Americans cannot believe in
Republican nominee starts campaigning for general election

“And that’s not change we can believe in.”

That was Sen. John McCain’s line of the evening as addressed supporters in Kenner, La., on Tuesday. He was referring to Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign slogan – “Change we can believe in” – each time he discussed some aspect of Obama’s policies that differed from his.

He announced that, “Tonight we can say with confidence that the primary season is over the general election campaign can begin.”

He applauded the two Democratic candidates for the individual qualities that made them worthy opponents. McCain complimented Sen. Hillary Clinton for her tenacity and courage. He said the media overlooked how passionate she spoke to her supporters throughout the campaign.

As a father of three daughters, McCain said he is inspired by Clinton and proud to call her his friend.

Putting Clinton in the past, McCain turned to discuss Obama, whom he calls a formidable opponent. At the time of McCain’s speech, though, it was still undeclared that Obama had secured the nomination.

“This is, indeed, a change election,” McCain said. No matter who wins this election, the country will change dramatically.

The next president must, “change what must be changed and make the future better than the past.”

Disaster relief, education, diplomacy, military and intelligent services are some of the things that must undergo widespread reform, McCain said. And this can be done with “the right kind of change.”

McCain said he has not seen eye to eye with President Bush even though they have worked closely together. McCain said he strongly disagrees with the Bush administration’s “mismanagement of the war in Iraq.”

“I know Americans are tired of this war,” he said, but he does not want to “recklessly” pull soldiers out. He said that he hates war because he personally knows its costs.

“No problem is more urgent today than Americans’ dependence on foreign oil,” McCain said. “We need to lead a great national campaign to lead us on a course to energy independence.”

McCain said that we also need to:

• Rebuild the structure of our military in order to keep Americans safe
• Strengthen our alliances
• Preserve moral credibility
• Prepare to respond better to a natural calamity

Remarking on Obama’s youth, McCain said, “The American people didn’t get to know me yesterday as they’re just getting to know Sen. Obama.”

“I have a few years on my opponent,” McCain said, presuming Obama’s nomination. “So I’m surprised that such a young man has bought into so many failed ideas…. He seems to think government is the answer to every problem.”



Full coverage of the final two primaries in Montana, South Dakota

9:24 p.m.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has been projected to win the South Dakota presidential primary. She has earned 57 percent of the votes so far.

9:00 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama has earned the necessary 2,118 delegate votes to gain the Democratic nomination. The delegates in South Dakota have pushed him over the critical delegate mark to 2,119 votes.

8:08 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama is only four delegates away from securing the nomination. Polls in South Dakota are now closed. The polls in Montana will close in about one hour.

Sen. Barack Obama chose to meet with supporters in St. Paul, Minn., because he wants to stake his claim on the state where the Republican National Convention will be held in early September. The center he will speak in seats 18,000 people. Some Clinton supporters have showed up as well to hear Obama’s message.

The Clinton campaign continues to assert that she will not concede after tonight's results are finalized.

7:56 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama has won another delegate vote - he only needs six more to clinch the nomination.

7:29 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama has just earned three more delegate votes, putting him at only seven more votes needed to earn the nomination.

7:06 p.m.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is 205 delegates short of the nomination.

Nearly 180 superdelegates have yet to endorse a candidate.

Sen. John McCain is in Kenner, La., this evening and is expected to launch his general election campaign. He is ready to announce the contrasts between him and Sen. Barack Obama.

6:52 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama needs only 10 delegate votes to clinch the Democratic nomination. Obama has won 1,748 delegates and 360 superdelegates.

Sen. Hillary Clinton is more than 100 delegates behind at 1,624 delegates. She has 289 superdelegate votes.

In order to win, 2,118 delegate votes are needed.

6:41 p.m.

Sen. Barack Obama needs only 11 delegate votes to clinch the Democratic nomination.

6:20 p.m.

With less than two and a half hours until the South Dakota polls close, Sen. Barack Obama needs only 12 delegates to clinch the Democratic nomination.


Clinton announces she could accept being Obama's running mate

Sen. Hillary Clinton told New York lawmakers on Tuesday that she wouldn’t mind being Sen. Barack Obama’s vice president. Her main goal is to get a Democrat into the White House.

For several weeks, former President Bill Clinton has been suggesting that his wife accept the position should Obama win the Democratic nomination.

Clinton’s campaign chairman said she will not concede the race after tonight’s polls in Montana and South Dakota. She will continue to fight for the Democratic spot on the ballot.

The spot she may fill has yet to be announced. As Obama’s potential running mate, Clinton could attract those voters who might otherwise be pulled in by presumptive Republican nominee, Sen. John McCain. This would give the Democrats a stronger chance at a seat in the Oval Office.

As of Tuesday, Obama holds 2,083 delegates. He only needs 35 more delegates, while Clinton needs 201 to achieve the nomination. A number of superdelegates have already announced their support for Obama, but 193 superdelegates have still not endorsed either candidate.

The superdelegates consist of nearly 825 Democratic governors, members of Congress and party officials. Each superdelegate’s vote counts in the delegate nominating process.

Obama will spend Tuesday night in Saint Paul, Minn., while Clinton will attend a campaign event in New York City.

In Montana, Obama is ahead in most recent polls. He campaigned in the state last week before spending the weekend in South Dakota. Clinton spent Monday in South Dakota and recent polls favor her over Obama.

Tonight’s primaries are expected to determine more than just who won each state.

The "Ugly Duckling" myth has been busted

I don't know how many people knew about it, but I can say with near certainty that any student who takes classes in the fine arts building probably got to see the mother swan sitting on her nest of pine needles.

She made her home cozied up to the window near the ticket booth at the main entrance of the Center for the Arts. Swans can usually have three to eight eggs, and our Elon swan hatched six last night. The seventh is still sitting inside its gray home waiting to hatch.

The six baby swans, or cygnets, were admired this morning as Elon staff members attended an appreciation event in the center. As a recital was being held in the theater tonight, some local families and were able to enjoy the sight as well.

As a mother was holding her little daughter's hand to walk into the center, another mother (this one with crisp white feathers and an orange beak) would squawk in a soft but intense way to show that she means business.

The babies waddled around the nest, rested on the brick window ledge and tried to venture beyond their nest. The latter attempt was to no avail as mom would stretch her elegant neck to steer her baby back inside.

Check back for a seventh birth announcement soon!

The mother swan sitting on her nest on April 21