A hike into ‘Paradise’

With only one year left in college, I thought I had hiked all around western North Carolina. But there was one view I hadn’t seen: the aptly named Paradise Falls. Located in the Nantahala National Forest, Paradise Falls is a natural wonder. Three tiers tall, this waterfall is tucked into a tight chasm of massive […]

Mountains inspiration for artistic soul

Around this time last year, Abigail Taylor was celebrating graduating from Western Carolina University with Motion Picture degree and a ton of memories. She returned to her hometown of Hickory and realized that something had changed since she left for college for the first time. What had once been a boring town to her had […]

Kayaking Catamount makes a statement

Base Camp Cullowhee is a popular destination for students who enjoy spending time outdoors. The camp offers a variety of rentals, clinics, camps and events for different kinds of outdoor activities. BCC also offers kayak rentals by appointment. White water kayak rentals for students are $25 and for non-students $35, including gear. They also offer […]

Mass incarceration from a federal and state perspective

The United States imprisons more people at a higher rate and for longer periods than any other country in the world. According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics, there are over 225,000 state prisoners that are currently incarcerated for drug-related offenses – a costly result of policies created during the drug war that began […]

Congratulations to the new WCU graduates!

Western Carolina University had its commencement ceremony on Friday and Saturday, May 9-10, recognizing the academic achievements of about 1300 WCU graduates, as the University said a record-breaking spring class. WCU Office of Communication and Public Relations reported that: After all the scores from final exams are tallied and academic records are finalized, WCU’s spring […]

Sexual assaults at WCU

In 2013, I co-wrote a story for the WCJ on campus safety. While most students interviewed for that story said they feel safe at WCU, one thing we noted was that according to the most recent annual safety report, between 2010 and 2012, there have been 12 ‘forcible sex violations’ on campus. According to documents […]