Current students, alumni and faculty gathered on Nov. 1 during Homecoming Weekend to toast five decades of informing Elon’s campus community.
During Homecoming Weekend, a few minutes past 6 p.m. Friday, The Pendulum’s past met its present.
Surrounded by a group of alumni, current students and faculty gathered to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Elon’s student-run newspaper, Debbie Cochran ’75, the paper’s first editor, found a corner to talk with Avery Sloan ’25, ENN’s executive editor and managing editor of The Pendulum. Alongside Sloan stood Erin Martin ’25, ENN’s design chief and another constant presence in the ENN newsroom and studio spaces.
It was a touching moment during the Nov. 1 gathering to see the paper’s beginning share stories while standing in the Elon News Network newsroom, a space that has been lively in recent weeks in preparation for Election Day.
And fittingly, a poster of The Pendulum’s first edition – dated Oct. 14, 1974 – hung over Cochran’s shoulder.
Intermixed with the current Pendulum staff mingled several alumni, including Tim Moore ’78, Robin Moser ’79, Joel Maness ’83, Loukia Borrell ’85, Chuck Buckley ’00, Colin Donohue ’05, Tommy Hamzik ’17, Alex Simon ’17, Erik Webb ’19 and Abby Gibbs ’21. Likewise, there were several past advisers on hand – Glenn Scott, Byung Lee and Donohue – as well as Paul Parsons, founding dean of the School of Communications.
To commemorate The Pendulum’s 50th anniversary, the news outlet’s student staff and faculty mentor, Senior Lecturer Kelly Furnas, created a robust website, Fifty years of The Pendulum. The site includes stories from past editors, reflections from advisers, numerous photos, and a short documentary featuring Pendulum staff members discussing the paper’s lengthy production process. There’s also a section highlighting the evolution of the publication’s nameplate.
Didn’t make it to the celebration? Aidan Blake ’26 compiled an expansive photo gallery highlighting the anniversary event.
