简体中文
EnglishWhat Can Readers Find on The Blue Banner's Homepage?
Updated
The Blue Banner (thebluebanner.net) is the student-run news site of UNC Asheville, and its homepage is organized as a browsable news feed rather than a single article. A visitor lands on a lead story, a numbered "Trending Stories" list, and then section-based coverage under headings such as News and Arts & Features. Each item shows a headline, a byline, a date, and a short excerpt, so you can decide what to open without clicking through everything.
The lead story at the top
The homepage opens with a featured piece given the most visual weight. In the captured version, that slot is held by "Sports Captains in Command: What it really means to lead," written by staff writer Lilia Bannister and dated September 22, 2026. This is the editors' pick for the moment, so it's the fastest way to see what the publication considers its strongest current work.
Trending Stories
Directly below the lead item is a numbered "Trending Stories" list — a ranked snapshot of what readers are clicking. The five entries shown are:
- The 'random' magnets making their way around Asheville
- 'Coyote vs. Acme' pushes the boulder of progress
- Fashion highlight: UNC Asheville students talk outfit inspiration and elevation
- Big Kid Table
- Rocky's Bulldog Bundle bewilders students at UNC Asheville
Because this list is reader-driven, it mixes hard news with features and campus-life pieces rather than following a strict section order.
Section coverage
Below the trending list, stories are grouped under standing headings. The two visible on the homepage are:
| Section | What it carries | Example from the page |
|---|---|---|
| News | Campus and institutional reporting | "Rocky's Bulldog Bundle bewilders students at UNC Asheville" (Savannah Hatfield, September 14, 2026) |
| Arts & Features | Longer features, culture, and profiles | "How the stories and science of floods shape Appalachia" (Victoria Estes, September 22, 2026) |
Other News items in the same block cover the Bird Club's window-safety campaign, residential concerns about tennis courts replacing a first-year parking lot, the Student Government Association's first meeting of the academic year, and a student who found a messy dorm during move-in. The Arts & Features block includes a drama club story following department cuts, "Big Kid Table," and a piece on two local writers' paths to publication.
How each entry is formatted
Every story on the homepage follows the same pattern: headline, author name, author email, publication date, and a one- to two-sentence excerpt. For example, the Rocky's Bulldog Bundle item credits Savannah Hatfield, gives her email, dates the piece September 14, 2026, and previews the story with a quote from a student. This consistency is what makes the homepage scannable — you can judge relevance from the excerpt before committing to a full read.
What this tells you about the site's scope
The homepage mixes UNC Asheville campus news (dorm conditions, parking, student government, a textbook rental program) with Asheville and Western North Carolina regional features (flood recovery in Appalachia, local writers, a magnets story). One Arts & Features piece carries an editor's note that some names were changed to protect privacy, which signals the site does original reporting rather than aggregation. If you want campus-focused coverage, the News section is the place to start; if you want regional and cultural features, go to Arts & Features.