Motion denied: 3 NC college campuses lose access to early voting

A version of this story was published in the Sylva Herald Students at Western Carolina University, North Carolina A&T State University and University of North Carolina at Greensboro will not have early voting sites on their campuses during this year’s primary election, despite efforts by students at these three schools. In late January, students from […]

Why WCU’s civic dialogues are important

In today’s United States it seems there is a lot of disagreements being dealt with aggression instead of understanding. WCU’s Center for Community Engagement and Service Learning wants to change that by hosting a series of civic dialogues throughout the school year on a variety of topics. The civic dialogues are nonviolent conversations in which […]

Mountain Life Bingo invites WCU community to explore campus and culture

Western Carolina University is inviting all students, faculty and staff to step outside and reconnect with the mountains through the WNC Mountain Life Bingo game, a campus-wide program made to encourage exploration and community connection.  The bingo challenge is part of Western Carolina University’s 2026 campus theme, now in its second year, which focuses on mountain culture and community wellbeing following Hurricane Helene. The theme highlights the Appalachian environment, Cherokee traditions and […]

Making Strides of Western North Carolina walks to support breast cancer awareness

Pack Square Park in downtown Asheville turned pink on Oct. 18 for Making Strides of Western North Carolina, an annual fundraising walk that raises awareness and supports the fight against breast cancer. The event was part of the American Cancer Society’s nationwide Making Strides Against Breast Cancer campaign, which raises money for breast cancer research […]

Mountain Heritage Day expands into days of celebration

Last September, Mountain Heritage Day was gearing up for the big 50th anniversary celebration, aiming to be one of the biggest festivals yet. However, just days before the planned events, WCU canceled the event due to Hurricane Helene’s arrival. This year, Mountain Heritage Day is back and bigger than ever with a week full of […]

Burn ban lifted; you need to have a burn permit to have a controlled burn

The N.C. Forest Service has lifted a ban on all open burning effective 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 2. The statewide ban went into effect March 21. The lifting of the burn ban does not apply to fires started within 100 feet of an occupied dwelling. The local fire marshal has authority to issue or lift […]