Appalachia 

                                               By:Angel Cancel

The best way to describe the term Appalachia is that it is a region of the eastern United States.  The Appalachian Mountains stretch across the whole world and the states/cities that are affected by the mountains are called the Appalachian region. This cultural region is mountainous that has many hills.

The first person I interviewed was my roommate. His name is James Shaughnessy and he is a freshman at Ohio University. Right of the bat he said he loved this place…“It’s not the warmest place but it makes up for its beauty and its fresh air”. When I asked the question of how he would define it, he said “pure happiness that is covered in mountains and hills”.  He doesn’t consider himself an Appalachian because he wasn’t born here and hasn’t experienced everything this place can offer.

Kevin Chorney was the next person I interviewed. He has been in Athens, Ohio for quite a bit and has a lot to say about it.  He started off saying that “This is a very mountainous place that has a lot of beauty”. Then he went into why it’s the best place every. He doesn’t consider himself an Appalachian because of the same reason of James Shaughnessy. He said near the end of the interview that hopefully one day I can live here and experience more.

Joe Tysko was actually born here in Athens, Ohio. He has lived in Athens for 20 years.  Joe said during the interview that “there is no place like this” and that living in Appalachia has been the best thing ever. He said that “this place is not to hot or cold…this place is just perfect”.  He does consider himself an Appalachian because he was born here. But he usually refers himself to an Athenian.

Ohio University can do many things to help the relationship between themselves and the county. The school can have like a street cookout for everyone, even the townies. OU can make a fundraiser for the county. Maybe the school should put a fundraiser for the repairment of a building that’s been in Athens for a long time. Ohio University could have like a huge party that collects money and all that money could go to the county to help poverty. There are countless things the school can do to bring the students/faculty of OU to bring us closer to the county...hopefully they do something sooner then later.