Archives for May 2013

Susan Brown-Strauss: professor, designer, leader

  Susan Brown-Strauss spends many hours of her day on the campus of Western Carolina University, tackling dozens of duties to fulfill her numerous job titles. Brown-Strauss is a professor in the School of Stage and Screen where she teaches design and technical theatre. She is also Costume Shop Director and the resident costume designer […]

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman dead at 49

Jeff Hanneman, a founding guitarist of the American thrash metal band Slayer, died Thursday morning of liver failure. He was 49. “Slayer is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning near his Southern California home,” read a statement posted on the band’s website Thursday, May […]

Fishing: a line and a lure

Every spring, the white bass converge on the rivers in North Carolina, gliding upstream to participate in spawning rituals that result in waters overflowing with the silver-bodied fish. If fishermen calculate correctly, they will find themselves ripping these fish out of the water faster than they can reel. “I’ve had days when I’ve literally caught […]

WCU students share their gun violence ‘number’

After losing a dear friend, Dr. Roger Hartley, associate professor of political science at Western Carolina University, created a Facebook group called “What is Your Number? Our Network of Gun Violence.” The group has gained national attention through MSNBC and The Washington Post. Dr. Hartley spoke with WCJ about his project. Read the full story […]

Does the media give violent stories too much attention?

In wake of the recent bombings in the city of Boston, the Citizenship and Civility Steering Committee presented a discussion on the subject of “If it bleeds, it leads. Why do the media and its viewers love violence and murder?” Criminal justice professors, Dr. Al Kopak and Dr. Cyndy Caravelis-Hughes spoke for an hour about […]

Sylva Heinzelmannchen Brewery turns nine

by Randy Conn and Kathleen Kiser Heinzelmannchen Brewery turned it’s ninth birthday on Saturday and for that occasion they provided a dry and tasty place during the rainy Greening Up the Mountains 2013 Festival in Sylva. See the video story we’ve prepared and read some more information about it’s owner and the brew he makes. […]