Fiber Folks bringing back textile arts to WCU

Want to learn how to crochet, but don’t know where to start? Or what if you just want to do something with your hands to relieve stress? Fiber Folks can help. Though this is the focus of the “club”, many different kinds of art styles are discussed and celebrated at meetings. Each attendee only needs […]

Diversity bringing people together through community engagement project

In a quiet classroom, tables are unevenly shoved together, and each table is lined with a collection of ceramic pots. No one pot looks the same, coming in a range of sizes and shapes. Each blank pot stands proudly waiting for a colorful arrangement of rainbow themed paint. “What should we paint on them?” a […]

2023 LitFest continues tradition of inspiring students and locals

The Spring Literary Festival has been a WCU tradition for 21 years, bringing established and emerging literary talent to campus and region. This year, the festival included 12 events and 15 writers sharing their stories with students and community from March 20 to 23. Notable guests included Jason Mott, author of the 2021 National Book […]

Stephanie Elizondo Griest inspires students to seek life of wanderlust, social justice, and art

Stephanie Elizondo Griest came to WCU’s campus to share with students her life’s story and the motto that has inspired her work. The motto, which she calls her trifecta, involves a life of wanderlust, social justice and art. Her life has consisted of traveling and coming to terms with her ever-changing cultural identity and using […]

Addiction epidemic in WNC

Western North Carolina doesn’t have an opioid epidemic.   “We have an addiction epidemic,” said Beth Young, coordinator of the addiction studies program at WCU. After a panel conversation about the opioid crisis in Western North Carolina, It’s clear the situation is getting worse.  The panel was part of the pre-literary festival event to promote one of the […]

Aura photography comes to WCU

Version of story originally published in print for The Western Carolinian. The UC Illusions doorway acted as a gateway into the paranormal as WCU students lined up to have their Aura photographed. Aura photography is a portrait, usually a polaroid, that shows colors around the person, or subject, representing their aura in that moment. According […]