So much around you is new right now. New classes, new academic buildings, new faces and new people to meet. The Appalachian student-run newspaper is also somewhat new this year, with a fresh Editorial Board and me, your new editor-in-chief. Whether you are brand new and have no idea who we are or an ardent reader of The Appalachian, our role is to serve as a place for public discourse that is important...

There is a surplus of cliche material about the college experience readily available in countless movies and TV shows. A common theme within these stories is that they rarely show students actually going to class or doing school work, and instead choose to focus solely on the social aspects. While this is important in its own right, it can also feed into party culture and normalize making poor,...

College, while an invigoratingly new experience, is a stressful time for most. There’s a lot of pressure placed on the shoulders of incoming students to have their life figured out — to have a major path already selected and to have their entire future laid out in front of them. However, this mentality is a damaging one to hold. Most students don’t have an idea of what program of study they...

During an overwhelming adjustment period, responding to the pressure of climate change and rising political tensions can feel nearly impossible for students. However, on a planet that has already hurtled past the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees Celsius benchmark, it is more important than ever for younger generations to understand their influence on the planet and work proactively to mitigate it. Below...

This article contains mentions of graphic content and spoilers for all seasons of 'Yellowjackets'. Jackie Taylor was meant to be the sacrificial lamb from the very beginning. Her unintentional cruelty and self-centeredness, desire for leadership and her emotionally codependent relationship with Shauna Shipman all led to her unfortunate demise. Throughout the series, told through Shipman’s point...

It’s not outlandish to say the current presidential administration of the United States has affected more than just stock market numbers, price hikes due to tariffs and relationships with other countries. President Donald Trump’s administration, just by the nature of its existence, has started to cause a complete shift in U.S. society and culture. A shift that began long before he stepped foot...

The mission of the Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) in the University Libraries is to collect, preserve and share original materials related to four primary collecting areas — one of those areas is the University Archives.  The purpose of the University Archives is to document and preserve the history of App State. Like other universities in North Carolina, App State is required by...

Open letter to my students and anyone else, I have struggled to find the right words to talk to my students about these chaotic times. This is my attempt to do that. It represents my personal beliefs and not those of my department or others. As a professor of sustainable development here at App State, this has been a whirlwind of a semester. In the first month, we have seen the federal government...