By: Lex Menz

Rumors are a constant resource of news, whether true or false. They can be slanderous, they can have no meaning at all, and some can ruin reputations. Two particular rumors I heard dealt with university policies regarding recreational activities in the sn...

By: Justin Caudell

Almost 40,000 customers were without power after a storm that dumped more than a half of foot of snow across Western North Carolina last Saturday, Jan. 30 for the second time this winter. According to Cullowhee Weather Service, Western Carolina University...

By: Justin Caudell

 About 55 residents from Jackson County peacefully assembled last night (Sept. 2) at the county’s historic courthouse on main street Sylva to urge Congress to reform the nation’s current healthcare system. The residents held a vigil to ho...

By: Justin Caudell

Two weeks after classes began at Western Carolina University, cases of the flu are still spreading rapidly across campus. Classes started on Monday, Aug. 24 and WCU’s Health Center had already seen 20 suspected cases of the flu  and more than 6...

By: Justin Caudell

Back-to-back discoveries, one involving a death and the other an injury, opened two investigations for area police departments on Saturday, Aug. 8 and Sunday, Aug. 9. The first investigation involves a Cherokee woman who was charged on Aug. 8 with assault...

By: Justin Caudell

North Carolina lawmakers may repeal the state’s required annual motor vehicle safety inspections. The Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday, July 28 debated a measure its sponsor said would save owners more than $12 a year on each vehicle. Sen. Charl...

By: Justin Caudell

A near- to below-normal Atlantic hurricane season is now expected as the calming effects of El Niño, a periodic warming of central and eastern tropical Pacific waters, continues to develop. But scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ass...

By: Staff Reports

One of the nation’s top experts in the area of adult neurological communication disorders, Nancy Helm-Estabrooks, has been appointed the first Catherine Brewer Smith Distinguished Professor of Communication Disorders at Western Carolina University. ...

By: Shelby Harrell

The General Assembly has approved a milestone bill that will now allow death-row inmates to oppose the death penalty by arguing that there is particular racial bias in the way that capital punishment has been applied. Under the bill, a prisoner will be ab...

By: Brandon Schafer

Energy Secretary Steven Chu has a revolutionary plan to fight global warming. If it works, Chu claims it will have the same effect as removing the world’s vehicles for 11 years. The plan? Whitewash roofs and roads. Chu’s proposal to paint all ...

By: Brandon Schafer

Western Carolina University has a rather small claim to fame to the Urspelerpes brucei, a recently discovered species of salamander. Named for WCU professor Emeritus Richard Bruce, the amphibian is only 2 inches long—and the second smallest known sp...

By: Catherine Butterfield

In April, NC House Bill 1380, titled the North Carolina Medical Marijuana Act, was introduced. This legislation, aimed at decriminalizing marijuana for medical purposes and exempts patients from prosecution, has been sitting at a standstill since April 13...

By: Brandon Schafer

On July 10, the university announced that Craig A. Fowler will be joining Western as the new Chief Information Officer (CIO). As of July 27, Fowler will be in charge of continuing to keep all television and Internet systems running smoothly.   As CIO...

By: Tiffany Barnwell

President Obama, determined as ever on his top domestic priority, has been using every opportunity and tool available to pressure Congress for legislative approval. “We’ve made a lot of progress over the last few months. We’re now closer...

By: Catherine Butterfield

As a means to create jobs and revitalize communities, Congress began The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Earlier this year, $900 billion was dispensed in stimulus money in order to boost local Economies. Among the $900 billion, The Great Smoky Mou...

By: Adam Crisp

Even as signs that the recession may be slowing, the North Carolina General Assembly has gone past their July 1 deadline to pass a funding bill. Staff and students alike are waiting for the General Assembly to pass the State Senate Bill 202, which will se...

By: Jada Bratton

Western Carolina University recently switched from Coca-Cola products to providing Pepsi products exclusively. This contract was entered on May 11, after state regulations required WCU to allow new bids for its next beverage provider contract. WCU had a p...

By: Justin Caudell

A Western Carolina University senior was injured Sunday after falling off a Macon County waterfall. Gioia Holland was hiking with friends at Glen Falls two-miles outside of Highlands when she slipped. According to Highlands EMS reports, the...

By: Shelby Harrell

All Boy Scouts attending Camp Daniel Boone in Haywood County are being continuously checked for swine flu after 19 scouts were sent home early last month after showing its symptoms, ten of which tested positive for the swine flu virus. Recently, there has...

By: Shelby Harrell

Jackson Country commissioners are currently supporting the idea of safer, wider bike lanes along N.C. 107, which runs just south of the Western Carolina University campus. Commissioners were convinced to support the idea after a troop of bicyclists rode t...