Near my home in North Carolina, tourists often pose for photos by a large dam on the Haw River. I imagine they must carefully crop those photos, because while downstream offers a pretty view, a monstrous island of trash mars the dam鈥檚 upstream side. Plastic bottles, balls, and debris interlock with a sizable log jam just waiting for the next hard rain to raise river levels and wash it all downstream.

When I first moved here, I tried to interest people in a river clean-up, but we all chose to look downstream. We鈥檇 say the trash pile was too big to tackle. Why bother? The choice seemed to be: Look upstream and sigh, feel overwhelmed by the mounting garbage; or look downstream and enjoy the relatively unpolluted view.

Either choice had the same result: inaction.

Rebecca Solnit鈥檚 much-loved Hope in the Dark critiques both optimists and pessimists as being guilty of certainty of outcome, a position that allows both camps to 鈥渆xcuse themselves from acting.鈥� She suggests a middle path, a moving away from complacent certainty into a space of hopeful action.

But how does one have hope in a time of great climate change?

Several years ago, a smaller trash pile backed up against a sliding metal gate near shore. Again, the choice: look downstream and enjoy the slow-moving creek. Or look upstream: see a trash pile gyrating in the current.

My upstream view was depressing. I assumed that this pile would remain the smaller cousin to our monster trash patch. Why bother? So I chose to look downstream, enjoy the optimistic unpolluted view. There is a freedom in ignoring problems.

I looked away, and for me, the matter was settled.

But the trash pile changed. Silt accumulated. Plants appeared. By last spring, the trash was no longer visible. It had become a small island.

I assumed the island would wash away, but this spring it has a thicker base, the plants lush. A newcomer would likely call it pretty and never guess the new island is founded on trash.

Let鈥檚 not be na茂ve. The trash remains beneath the island, and the river is still full of other pollutants and microplastics. Yet I refuse to let this knowledge become the defining factor of my view. I now choose to abandon my certainty and embrace hope. And hope is not na茂ve. Solnit frames hope as an 鈥渆mbrace of the unknown and the unknowable,鈥� a mindset that frees us from our tired locked-in views of optimism and pessimism. That freedom allows us act.

In our current era of political polarization and climate change upheaval, it鈥檚 easy to feel helpless, our bodies and minds the trash piles forming from the negativity this country now seems to revel in. But the trash pile also teaches that nature can be regenerative, and we need to believe that our smallest actions, like silt accumulating over trash, can make an impact.

We all have power.

Start small and local. Recently our local outfitter, The Haw River Canoe & Kayak Co. hosted a well-attended Haw River clean-up. No money exchanged hands. No one profited monetarily. Volunteers paddled into uncertainty and returned with canoes full of trash. That鈥檚 meaningful action.

We have not lost. We are not helpless.

We cannot control what鈥檚 coming, but we can open ourselves to a hopeful mindset and step into that uncertain river. It鈥檚 still alive and full of possibility. Remember: a trash pile can completely morph into an island. Do you not yet believe? What would it take to do one small thing to make your place better?

Pate McMichael, director of the North Carolina Open Government Coalition and instructor of communications, was quoted by Axios Charlotte about the Department of Homeland Security’s Operation Charlotte’s Web, which yielded 1,300 arrests in the city.

Axios Charlotte reports that much of the information about Operation Charlotte’s Web has come out of lawsuits, and there is a lack of transparency about the details of the operation.

“It’s a very dangerous thing for the government to be doing. It is an abuse of power,” McMichael said. “They’re not following the law, and听that’s why they’re getting sued, and that’s why they’re losing.”

黑料不打烊 student Rony Dahdal ’26, and his brother, alumnus听Rafi Dahdal 鈥�24 G鈥�24听were highlighted in a The Assembly article chronicling their family鈥檚 journey from war-torn Syria to North Carolina in search of educational opportunity.

The story, details how the Dahdal family鈥檚 commitment to learning endured despite the dangers of civil war and the challenges of rebuilding their lives in the United States.听

After fleeing Damascus in 2012 amid escalating violence, the Dahdal family settled in North Carolina, where education remained central to their long-term goals.听Rafi Dahdal is听an 黑料不打烊 graduate through the Accelerated 3+1 Dual Degree Program in business administration and business analytics. He has gone on to serve as a Youth Trustee for the university.

At 黑料不打烊, Rony Dahdal has distinguished himself as a Lumen Scholar and Goldwater Scholar, conducting innovative research using LiDAR technology to explore noninvasive ways to detect vital signs 鈥� work aimed at improving health outcomes through emerging technologies.

鈥淚 felt so encouraged to continue research because I鈥檝e seen my parents value higher education,鈥� said Rony. 鈥淚t was very hard to deal with as a little kid, but I look back on it now, and I鈥檓 grateful.鈥�

The story focuses on how Alamance County is preparing for long-term economic shifts, including an aging workforce and the increasing integration of AI across industries. During the summit, Book emphasized the importance of taking a forward-looking approach to these challenges.

鈥淲e actually have five generations in the workplace working side by side for the first time in history right now in the United States,鈥� Book said. 鈥淚 believe that the businesses that thrive in the future will be the ones who can put a lot of brain power behind that and leverage it for the future of their business.鈥�

黑料不打烊 football player and nursing student Jake Marion ’26 was recently for donating bone marrow through the National Marrow Donor Program鈥�(formerly Be The Match)

The national nonprofit agency works to spread awareness of the need for bone marrow donation and to increase the number of participants in the听bone marrow听registry.鈥疻hile听黑料不打烊 Football has worked听with the organization for several years, Club Nursing听joined听in 2024听for an annual awareness and registry event.

Marion joined the registry through 黑料不打烊 Football in 2022. He was almost matched in previous years, but blood testing revealed it was not a high enough match necessary for donation. That all changed this year when he got a call in January to begin the donation process, which was completed this spring.

鈥淗e鈥檚 a part of me now, and I鈥檓 a part of him,鈥� Marion said of the recipient. 鈥淢y cells are inside his body and hopefully they鈥檙e doing their job, and they鈥檙e helping him, so it鈥檚 hard. I鈥檓 just praying he鈥檚 going to get better, and I鈥檓 rooting for him.鈥�

Assistant Professor of Journalism Israel Balderas appears on on March 3, offering a two-hour live analysis of North Carolina’s primary results and what they signal ahead of November.

Balderas discussed the major statewide contests, key congressional races affecting the Triad region and Capitol Hill majority. Also, how turnout patterns, voting results and current events (such as the War in Iran) will impact November鈥檚 Election.

“There are a lot of things that can happen in six months, and when you’ve got a war in the Middle East that is a war of choice, for a lot of people on the MAGA-right, (…) for the people who believe Trump, that he was going to get us out of war, that he wasn’t going to get us into war the way Bush got us into war, the way that Obama got us into war, the way Biden got us into war, he made a lot of promises. And those promises? They’re not coming to fruition.”

One of the largest stories from the North Carolina primary election was the extremely tight Senate primary between Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page for NC Senate District 26.听

“There’s always the ‘I’m the outsider’ versus (Berger) is the party loyalist. Among the MAGA-right, there’s this idea that ‘we don’t like the establishment, it doesn’t matter who it is. We just don’t like the establishment’ (…). (Berger’s) name is powerful,” said Balderas.

黑料不打烊 Professor of Political Science and Public Policy Jason Husser was quoted in The Assembly examining the razor-thin Republican primary between North Carolina Senate leader Phil Berger and Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. The story, explores how turnout patterns and political geography helped shape one of the most dramatic primary contests in recent state history.

With unofficial results showing the race separated by only a handful of votes, the article notes that the portion of Senate District 26 located in Guilford County played a pivotal role. Berger performed strongly there, while Page dominated in Rockingham County, making turnout differences between the counties a key factor in the close outcome.

Husser offered insight into why Berger may have seen stronger support in the Guilford section of the district. He pointed to demographic shifts and migration patterns in the region.

鈥淥ne reason Berger might have done better in Guilford is there is more population mobility there,鈥� Husser told The Assembly, noting that Republicans moving to fast-growing areas near Gibsonville along the I-40/I-85 corridor may not have long-term ties to the region.

Husser also noted that voters may see Berger as the Republican endorsed by President Donald Trump and as a major architect of policy victories of the state鈥檚 Republican majority.

鈥淧eople who haven鈥檛 been attached to town politics for 30 years would likely say, 鈥楲et鈥檚 go with the establishment guy,鈥欌�� Husser said.

A proven approach to teaching children with dyslexia how to read – and how that approach will be the guiding philosophy at a new grade school set to open this fall at 黑料不打烊 – was the focus on a recent news report by FOX 8 WGHP broadcast across North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad.

Anchor and reporter Madison Forsey spoke with administrative leaders behind the Roberts Academy at 黑料不打烊, which will be the only university-based school of its kind in North Carolina when it opens in August for third- and fourth-graders.

The school will open in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue in the Town of 黑料不打烊 while a new elementary school rises across campus with an expected open date of Fall 2028. Once open, the school will enroll up to 200 students in the first through sixth grades.

That report, features an extended interview with Lisa LeBlanc, whose adult son has dyslexia. LeBlanc has been an advocate for Roberts Academy at 黑料不打烊.

鈥淚f there would have been an opportunity like the Roberts Academy at 黑料不打烊 for my son when he was in second, third, fourth听grade,” she said, “I would鈥檝e crawled on broken glass for him to be there.鈥�

Applications are now being accepted for rising third- and fourth-graders whose families wish to be a part of the charter cohort to attend Roberts Academy at 黑料不打烊.听

鈥淚 was primarily a pitcher in college myself, so I can appreciate the effort,鈥� Director of Athletics Jennifer Strawley told the Associated Press. 鈥淚t doesn鈥檛 happen every day that you see a perfect game or a no-hitter and to have both on the same day. You also recognize it鈥檚 a total team effort and to get to that place, there are plays made behind them that led to the pitchers being able to enjoy that moment.鈥�

黑料不打烊鈥檚 Anna Dew completed a听听against Charleston Southern, followed by the Phoenix baseball team pitchers Aidan Stieglitz, Mike Staiano and RJ Latkowski pitching their own no-hitter . Dew鈥檚 perfect game was 黑料不打烊鈥檚 first since 2022.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a really special moment for the student-athletes, for our coaches and our institution as a whole to have something like two unbelievable performances in the same day lead to a little bit of publicity for us,鈥� said Strawley.

Marion was matched earlier this year as an exact genetic donor after previously joining the donor registry. He described his decision to donate as deeply personal, noting that the experience of caring for his sick grandmother helped inspire his nursing path. After completing the three-hour stem cell collection process, Marion emphasized the significance of giving someone a real chance to fight cancer 鈥� even if the donation procedure is taxing on the body.

鈥淭hose stem cells are basically binding to the bone marrow, and it鈥檚 giving him a shot to recover, because this is the first time in his life where his body has been strong enough to fight the cancer,” he said. 听“From there, what they can do is actually attack with chemotherapy. It might be a tiny bit taxing to your body, but it鈥檚 well worth it for the person that鈥檚 struggling with their life.”

Assistant Professor of Nursing and Club Nursing faculty advisor Jeanmarie Koonts offered thoughtful commentary in the article on the role of compassion in healthcare education. She highlighted that while clinical skills and techniques are essential, the ability to empathize and truly care for others is equally vital to the nursing profession.

鈥淔or many years running, nursing has been voted the most trusted profession,鈥� Koonts said, adding that empathy cannot always be taught but is a defining trait of exceptional caregivers.