Brian Boyer: NASCAR fan, student friend, and student advocate

Nick Childs Story originally published in The Western Carolinian If you have spent any period at Western, you might have heard the name Brian Boyer tossed around on campus.  Boyer is the Residential Case Manager. His job is to connect to the students and be there to help foster student success. His position was created solely to […]

WCU incoming freshman and sophomores will live in latest and greatest dorms on campus

Story co-produced with Kaitlyn Akers Western Carolina University is returning to mandatory campus living for first and second-year students after allowing them to live off-campus for the past few years. The university has decided to crack down on policy 96 for the 2022-23 academic year because “success rates are higher for students who stay on […]

Profile: WCU residential case manager Maeve Kirby

Maeve Kirby has been a Residential Case Manager for WCU Residential Living for four years and her job is to help. Before COVID-19, Kirby would regularly reach out to students and meet with them in-person to get to know them, hear about their experiences and offer support and connections to resources on campus. Because Kirby’s position […]

Housing crunch and IT issues have WCU students scrambling

Originally published in The Sylva Herald on Feb. 27, 2020.  The words chalked around the fountain in the center of the Western Carolina University campus expressed the frustration of many students: “More than 9,000 students on campus, less than 5,000 beds on campus. Do you hear us? You might want to start looking for an […]

Service animals versus emotional support animals

WCU students were in for a ruff day after finding out the puppies that they were training didn’t qualify as service dogs in training and had to be sent away. Last year, Service Dogs Warren Retrievers, an organization that trains service dogs, gave students fluffy golden retriever puppies wearing “service dog in training” vests. The […]

Students show growing concern about on campus housing

Do you live on campus?  Are you worried that you won’t be able to live on campus? When asked about on campus housing, sophomore Caroline Caudle said,” At the rate that we’re accepting students and freshman, I don’t think there’s enough housing to hold all of us.” Sophomore Brandy Lyda had similar sentiments and said,” […]