App State announced it plans to start classes again on Aug. 17 and end Nov. 24. While this will help protect students from a second outbreak that may happen this fall and winter, it won’t protect students from the surge in new cases North Carolina is seeing from the current wave of COVID-19. According to the North Carolina Department of Human Health Services’ COVID-19 page, Watauga County currently...

The president has been in a legal dance over the last week attempting to block a book from being sold to the general public. It’s John Bolton, the previous national security adviser’s book, and is an exposé on the heart of Donald Trump’s oval office.  The book claims that Trump was often outplayed by forgien dictators, responsible for holding aid to Ukraine, and created a toxic environment...

The ideological, geopolitical, and economic conflict between the United States and USSR during the Cold War reformed global politics. Today, an underlying tension has the potential to spark a new type of Cold War with regional ramifications. A Cold War between the Town of Boone and App State may soon be on the horizon.  The town’s 2006 Comprehensive Plan outlines local concerns as the university...

The Appalachian Consejo Editorial envía sus condolencias a los afectados por la brutalidad policial y el racismo sistémico dirigido hacia los afroamericanos. Estos problemas se han perpetuado en los Estados Unidos y más recientemente tomaron la vida de George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. Estamos con Black Lives Matter y otros grupos antirracistas que luchan por la justicia. App State...

The Appalachian Editorial Board sends its condolences to those affected by police brutality and systemic racism directed toward black people. These issues have perpetuated in the U.S. for generations and most recently took the lives of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor. We stand with Black Lives Matter and other anti-racism groups fighting for justice.  App State is a predominantly...

On May 30 at 3:22 p.m., two astronauts launched off the Florida coast, ushering in a new generation of human space travel for the U.S.  Tightly stowed atop SpaceX’s revolutionary Falcon 9 rocket were Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley, amicably referred to as “the dads,” by their NASA Commercial Crew Program colleagues.  As T-0 approached and billows of steam erupted on the launch pad, I...

Colleagues: My top priority as Faculty Senate Chair has been to work with Senate to get you the raise you deserve. For most of the year, I believed a raise would happen. This no longer seems likely. At yesterday’s Faculty Senate meeting (March 23), the administration made it clear that, at least for now, we cannot expect a raise—be it a merit raise, a market-adjustment raise, or a bonus. In...

Dear Chancellor Everts, I think back from time to time to my own two college commencement ceremonies, as I am sure you have done as well. I remember that exciting feeling of donning my cap and gown; the waiting to march into an arena with classmates, some familiar and some not; the feeling of anticipation; hearing the music; and finally walking across that stage. It was a culminating event to years...