Back to school or COVID-19?

Western Carolina University is preparing for an in-person fall semester. Events, concerts and more await students for the coming semester. “We are hopeful for the oncoming semester and ready to see students return,” said Sam Miller, vice chancellor for Student Affairs. The 2021 fall semester will be the third semester for WCU with COVID-19 restrictions. […]

Emergency funds available to students with many inconsistencies in distribution

First published on The Western Carolinian. With COVID-19, college students are facing financial hardships more than ever before. On a national level, according to the data from The National Student Clearinghouse, enrollment in four-year colleges is down by almost 6% and in community colleges for whopping 11%. WCU as well is seeing less student enrolment […]

WCU provides financial relief to students

First published on The Western Carolinian. COVID-19 hit college students considerably but not just with the disruption of classes and online school. The financial hardship impacted many students to drop or reconsider schools.  During the spring semester, we wanted to see what kind of assistance students had through the university. Many students were surprised on […]

JCPS tackles food insecurity in WNC

Originally published in The Western Carolinian. As another year of schooling starts, Jackson County Public Schools continues to fight its food insecurity among students. In 2019, Carolina Public Press reported that one in four children faces food insecurity in Western North Carolina. COVID-19 struck the U.S. the following year. Due to the United States Department of Agriculture’s ruling, […]

WWCU will expand its over-air reach in WNC

The story was originally published in The Sylva Herald on June 10. The small radio station that at one time could only broadcast to a few Western Carolina University buildings will soon reach more the 100,000 people in the Western North Carolina area. The student run station, WWCU, on the WCU campus is switching frequencies […]

Researching mosquitos and raising awareness in WNC

Story co-written and produced with Tessa Bradshaw Who would have thought that a vector-borne disease transmitted through the bite of a mosquito is researched at Western Carolina University? At WCU, students have engaged in undergraduate research with Dr. Brian Byrd, on mosquitos and vector borne diseases at the Health and Science facility. The primarily mission […]