Elon, Queens student leaders begin talks on merger and campus traditions

Student leaders at Elon University and Queens University of Charlotte met virtually for the first time to start hashing out what a merger could mean for campus life, student voice and the traditions that give each school its identity.

The April 24 session brought together the Elon University Student Government Association and the Queens University of Charlotte Student Government Association as both schools move through a planned merger that was first announced Sept. 16, 2025. The institutions said then that the goal was to expand access, opportunity and educational impact in Charlotte and the region. For students, the immediate questions are less about legal structure than about what survives intact, what gets blended and who gets a say.

Michael Swartz, Elon’s student body president, and Jessica Paredes, Queens’ student body president, were expected to start with the basics: how each SGA is structured, how often it meets and how it represents student interests. That kind of groundwork matters because student governments do not control the merger itself, but they can carry student concerns to administrators and faculty while shaping how the transition feels on the ground.

Swartz described SGA as a bridge between high-level decisions and students who may otherwise feel uninformed, and as a channel for student feedback to administrators and faculty. In a merger this consequential, that role can influence how students learn about changes to campus traditions, student activities and the daily rhythms of college life, even as final decisions remain with trustees and, ultimately, regulators.

The two universities have already moved well beyond an announcement. On Oct. 24, 2025, the boards of trustees and dozens of faculty and senior leaders met at Elon for a daylong collaborative planning session. On Feb. 13, 2026, faculty and staff integration teams from both institutions met in person at Elon’s campus in Alamance County. Queens later said on Dec. 18, 2025, that the definitive merger agreement had been signed, though closing still depends on required regulatory approvals.

For Alamance County, the merger reaches beyond campus politics. Elon has long tied its identity to the county through academic support, medical care, internships, professional development and cultural events. The university’s Kernodle Center for Civic Life serves as a hub for community-based and experiential student learning, and the Elon Year of Service Fellows Program places graduates in a 12-month effort focused on health, education and economic development challenges in Alamance County.

That local relationship also carries history. Elon has pointed to the community support that followed the devastating 1923 fire that destroyed the college’s main building as part of its story in the county. As student leaders begin talking through the merger, the bigger question is how that shared history, and the campus cultures built around it, will be carried into the next chapter.