US, North Carolina Must Prioritize and Address Vaccine Hesitancy

With an average daily death toll of over 3,000 Americans and 25,000 daily new infections, the COVID-19 pandemic has entered a new phase of accelerated spread since this holiday season. In North Carolina, there has been an average of 8,032 cases per day and a daily average of 90 deaths. To date at least 659,840 […]

Op-Ed: Native American Culture is Not a Costume

As enrolled members of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the officers of Digali’i, Western Carolina University’s Native American student organization, we take great pride in the culture and history that make us Cherokee. Every year around Halloween, however, it seems that our social media feeds light up with images of individuals dressed up […]

Women still need a stronger voice

The commentary was originally published in The Sylva Herald on March 8, 2019. In January, the historic 116th U.S. Congress was sworn in, leading to more women, and more women of color, holding congressional offices than ever before. According to the Pew Research Center, women now account for 24 percent of the House of Representatives […]

Shinedown returns to Knoxville

Over 6,000 people rocked the Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Feb. 23 when Jacksonville, Florida rock band, Shinedown, returned to the hometown of lead singer Brent Smith. Shinedown currently consists of Brent Smith on lead vocals, Zach Myers on lead guitar, Eric Bass on bass, and Barry Kerch on drums. They are best known for their […]

Skid Row’s self-titled debut album turns 30

For 30 years, music fans have heard the music of Skid Row through the radio or other forms of media whether it be a power ballad like “I Remember You” or heavy hitters like “18 and Life,” which proved to be their biggest hit by reaching No. 4 on the US Billboard Hot 100. On […]

The futures of WCU and WNC – the region it was founded to serve – will forever be inextricably linked

Op-Ed By DAVID O. BELCHER I had the privilege of presiding over Western Carolina University’s Dec. 16 commencement ceremonies and witnessing the great emotion and sense of accomplishment among the graduates. A point of pride at this December’s commencement was that nearly half of the fall graduating class hails from the 18 westernmost counties of […]