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PHOTO BY LANCE HICKEYi
Darcy Davis believes the environmentally sensitive community around Asheville draws stddents to the .area.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3
most biodiverse areas in the world,”
North Carolina Arboretum Marketing
and Public Relations Manager Whitney
Smith said. “There’s just an abundance
of plant species, tree species, an)rthing
natural in the world here.”
Students have the oppormnity to ex
perience this diversity by just stepping
outside. Smith said.
“In terms of just overall mental
health, hiking and exercise and even just
walking is just one of the great benefits
to mental health,” said Smith, a graduate
of Appalachian State University, another
state institution in the mountains. “They
(students) have that oppormnity here.”
Established in 1986, the North Car
olina Arboretum is currendy governed
by a board of directors appointed by the
UNC Board of Governors, the UNC
President, the North Carolina Gover
nor, the Speaker of the North Carolina
House of Representatives and the Pres
ident Pro-Tempore of the North Caro
lina Senate, according to public records.
“We have a lot of recreational oppor
tunities here (at the Arboretum),” Smith
said. “We have 10 miles of hiking and
biking trails. We have over 65 acres of
cultivated garden areas for people thSt
are specifically interested in horticulture
and landscape and with that we also of
fer educational oppormnities for both
adults and youth to learn more about the
world around us. We offer 70 classes for
our adult education program per semes
ter.”
The North Carolina Arboremm cur
rendy serves more than 26,000 smdents
annually.
“In order to live an active life you
have to, you know, be active and be in
a place that’s active,” said 24-year-old
Tyler McCart, a senior mathematics sm-
dent at UNC AsheviUe. “I believe that
the mountains provide that for you with
being able to go on hikes, being able to
go on long walks, wherever that may be.”
The resources available to smdents on
college campuses across the mountains
also give smdents another incentive to
attend college in the mountains, McCart
said.
“I can honestiy say before attend
ing UNC A I never once went on hikes,
never once went camping, never once
did anything (outdoors),” McCart said.
“Going to UNC Asheville definitely in
fluenced my different hobbies.”
According to university records, out-
of-state smdents make up 10 percent
of UNCA student enrollment for the
spring 2017 semester.
“I think with being a student, you can’t
always be a smdent,” said Darcy Davis,
a sophomore biology smdent at UNCA
from Toledo, Ohio. “First of aU, you
have to have outlets. Being so close to
the mountains and, specifically the Blue
Ridge Mountains, it really allows you for
an outlet just to connect with namre and
be more rounded, be environmentally
cautious and appreciate what’s around
you.”
The idea of living in an area warmer
than Ohio largely convinced Davis to at
tend college in WNC.
Davis said she would recommend
out-of-state smdents to attend college in
WNC because of its diverse ecosystems.
In 1986, the UNC Board of Gover
nors instimted a new policy requiring a
cap of out-of-state freshman enrollment
at 18 percent of total enrollment, ex
cluding the North Carolina School of
the Arts, according to records.
The policy, though, does not apply to
transfer or exchange smdents.
Smdents are not limited or confined
to the area, but proximate to other im
pactful cities, enhancing the smdent ex
perience, Davis said.
“With the mountain environment you
get a lot of diverse ecology,” Davis said.
“We can appeal to many different sm
dents and climates.”
Eclipse
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5
off the coast of North Carolina.
During the eclipse the mainland was
visible from the island just off the
coast until darkness blocked it from
view.
“The eclipse was coming from the
Southwest, so we could see the main
land go dark right before we went
dark,” Dennison said.
To see his second total solar
eclipse, Dennison and his son trav
eled to Schorndorf, Germany, in
1999.
“It was cloudy and we had to
drive because we weren’t sure where
the clear weather was going to be,”
Dennison said. “We got on the Ger
man highway, called the Autobahn,
and drove like mad to get to a place
where we would have a chance of
seeing it.”
IT IS SO UN
USUAL TO HAVE
IT 00 DARK IN
THE MIDDLE OF
THE DAY. IT IS AN
EXCEPTIONAL
CIRCUMSTANCE
iHEN EVERYTHING
IS THROWN INTO
DARKNESS FOR
ABOUT TWO
MINUTES.”
— Brian Dennison
They drove to a field near the bor
der of Germany and France to view
the eclipse. The clouds dispersed
right before the ecUpse took place,
giving them the oppormnity to see
the full event as well as take picmres.
“It is so unusual to have it go dark
in the middle of the day. It is an ex
ceptional circumstance when every
thing is thrown into darkness for
about two minutes,” Dennison said.