Becoming a mentor – a survivor’s tale of childhood rape

Meet Christina Lynn Parker, a student at Western Carolina University and a rape survivor.  This is her story of how she overcame the trauma of being violated and how she makes a difference by helping those who have experienced similar violence. Parker was raped when she was 13 years old by a 16-year-old. It was […]

The never-ending game of telephone – what happens when we do not talk about sexual assault

Story is co-written and edited by Chelsea Komer and Lucy Jones  In recent years, there has been a tremendous and discernible lack of communication about sexual assault between all levels of the hierarchy at Western Carolina University. With this lack of communication comes the lack of awareness about this ever-growing issue while only increasing the […]

Creating a discussion about sexual assault, domestic violence and harassment

Co-written and edited with Lucy Jones , Brannon Mahaley  and Morgan Miller For our final project in our news reporting class, we agreed that it was important to talk about sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence.  While exploring this topic, we have made some unbelievable discoveries and revelations about Western Carolina University’s campus and the lack […]

Jekyll and Hyde: A survivor’s tale of domestic violence

The names of our sources were changed to protect their anonymity. She knew him before the drugs and the alcohol. She fell in love with the star basketball player with the world at his feet. All too quickly he turned into this person she had never seen before, pressuring her into partaking in hard drugs […]

Greening Up The Mountains…and the economy

Story produced in collaboration with Austin Page Greening Up the Mountains, Sylva’s main festival of the year, kicks off the spring. Holding its 21st annual celebration of the changing of the seasons while bringing recognition to local vendors. Spanning Main Street and the Bridge Park area, over 200 vendors kept the area busy, selling local artisanal […]

Pipe dream turns into NFL opportunity for two Catamounts

Making it to the pros is most of the time just a pipe dream. There is only about a two percent chance that a NCAA senior player could be drafted to the National Football League. Overcoming the odds is something Western Carolina University defensive back Keion Crossen can now attest to that after being selected […]