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
March 3, 2019 by
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
January 24, 2019 by
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
December 18, 2017 by
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 […]
Catamount post-mortem: What does it actually take to engage students?
October 13, 2017 by
This story/opinion was published in ForbesBrandVoice on Oct. 12, 2017. Western Carolina University (WCU), my beautiful campus tucked away in a Blue Ridge valley, had high expectations for the 2016 election. The civic engagement team I led as a student coordinator hoped for a 10-24% increase in student voter turnout; and, until recently, we believed […]
Is Black History Month still necessary?
March 1, 2017 by
My senior year of high school, I was with my dad when he was pulled over for running a stop sign. Instead of being met with the face of an officer as he rolled the window down he was met with two guns telling him to pull out his license and registration. Fear was evident […]
