What Kind of Stories Does The Blue Banner Cover?

The Blue Banner (thebluebanner.net) is the student-run news outlet of UNC Asheville, and its coverage splits into four main areas: campus news, sports, arts and features, and lifestyle/campus culture. If you want student-reported coverage of UNC Asheville campus affairs, local Asheville culture, and Western North Carolina stories, it's worth reading. If you're looking for national news or deep investigative journalism, it isn't that kind of publication.

Campus news

This is the site's core beat — institutional decisions and student life at UNC Asheville. From the current front page, examples include:

• Rocky's Bulldog Bundle — a fall program that automatically charges students each semester for textbook and course material rentals, covered through student concerns
• Parking and facilities — residential students raising concerns when tennis courts replaced one of UNCA's largest first-year parking lots
• Dorm maintenance — a student finding a messy dorm during move-in, and university officials responding
• Student Government Association — coverage of its first meeting addressing concerns for the upcoming academic year
• Campus initiatives — the Bird Club's effort to reduce bird mortality by making campus windows more visible

The pattern: a specific campus change or problem, student voices reacting to it, and the university's response. Stories are written by named staff writers with contact emails.

Sports

Sports coverage exists but appears lighter in volume. The current front page features "Sports Captains in Command: What it really means to lead," a piece on team leadership rather than game recaps. Expect athlete and team profiles over box scores.

Arts & Features

Longer-form and regional reporting, often with a Western North Carolina angle:

• "How the stories and science of floods shape Appalachia" — a feature on Hurricane Helene's impact, told through individual experiences
• "Drama club looks forward in the wake of the department cuts" — coverage of the drama club producing its first club-led show as the last drama majors finish their credits
• "From bestsellers to chapbooks, two local writers share their routes to publication" — profiles of local writers and their paths to publishing

Lifestyle and campus culture

Shorter, more observational pieces on student life:

• "The 'random' magnets making their way around Asheville"
• "Fashion highlight: UNC Asheville students talk outfit inspiration and elevation"
• "Big Kid Table" — a personal essay-style piece (with an editor's note that some names were changed)
• "Coyote vs. Acme pushes the boulder of progress" — cultural commentary

How to decide if it's for you

One practical note: the front page mixes dated stories (September 2026 items appear alongside each other) and labels sections as News, Arts & Features, and Trending Stories, so browsing by section is more reliable than reading top to bottom.