Source: N.C. General Assembly

Here's how N.C. A&T students are responding to their divided congressional district

By Sofia Lesnewski

While traveling through campus, students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University commonly cross between North Carolina’s 6th Congressional District to its 13th district. A Republican lawmaker acknowledges that the strange division was a result of partisan gerrymandering. In the wake of a 2016 decision, students are fighting for proper representation.

Students at North Carolina A&T demand representation that they can identify with, especially as Black voters represent a significant portion of the state's population. But gerrymandering goes even beyond misrepresentation; it can lead to extreme policy making that doesn't involve cooperation between parties. 

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The General Assembly, Cooper haven't budged on N.C.'s budget

By Michael Taffe

With the last fiscal year having come to a close in June, changes were expected to be made to the state budget, especially where Medicaid, teacher pay and corporate tax cuts were concerned.  But, Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed the Republican budget proposal just three days before. A consensus needs to be made, but discussion is slowed with differing ideas about what to do with an $800 million revenue surplus. Republican senators have expressed their displeasure over Cooper’s “Medicare expansion ultimatum,” and are blaming Cooper for the breakdown in negotiations.  Because this is on the state level, a government shutdown isn't imminent, but that doesn't mean the pressure is off. Without a budget, there cannot be any proper funding for crucial state departments that feed into and serve North Carolina communities and provide vital wage raises, public school funding and more.