By Pruett Norris
In campus news, mountaineers took to Sanford Mall to kick off Homecoming Week with the Neerly Naked Mile, reports the Appalachian. Students who run the event are encouraged to bring one winter clothing item to donate to the Hospitality House, a local charity that provides aide with hunger, housing, and other crises, and then run the race “NEER”-ly naked, with body paint, silly bands, and other adornment available nearby. This year, the race collected 295 different clothing items. 90.5 WASU was present on the Mall, playing the Y2K music you can hear all day on the station today, as well as sending a few runner–including yours truly–into the fray.
In Boone news, the Appalachian Theatre of the High Country will be putting on a special event this Thursday, the 27th, according to their website. **They’re hosting a show of banjo ballads, banjo MURDER ballads that is, to celebrate the oldest of Appalachian traditions, murder ballad singing that is.** Thank you! The event will begin at 7:30pm, with tickets at $17.50 to the public on the theatre’s website, $12.50 for students, and $20.50 the day of. I’ll hope to see y’all there!
Finally, in national tidings, NPR reports that the end of the federal free school lunch program has left some states in a dire situation. During the pandemic, the federal government made school lunch completely free to all 50.6 million public school students across the nation. That legislation expired on September 30th, leading to a national debate about whether or not school lunch should be made permanently free and causing many families and school districts to rethink their budgets. Regardless of the discourse, 76% of families with children who were polled in June 2022 support the idea of a permanent school lunch for all.
Finally, the weather as ever from Boone Weather DOT COM. We’re looking at a chillier high of 57 degrees and a low of 38, with a whole lot of cloudiness on the forecast. Let’s hope for some sunshine soon!