Appalachia and OU

 Surprise! We live in Appalachia. This has been our home for about the past few months. While Ohio University is in Athens, a town most certainly in Appalachia, Athens is a lot different than most other Appalachian areas. This was something I wanted to investigate, and talk about with people.

I went to find out what people thought of Appalachia as a general term, and how that term applied to Athens and Ohio University (who are so intertwined that it is hard to have one without the other). Freshmen audio production major Mitchell Toler talked about his thoughts about Appalachia, and had this to say “(Appalachia is) a culture that is disconnected with current events outside of their little area, and generally have poorer living conditions compared to the rest of the country.”

While this is the case, (Athens is one of the poorest counties of the state of Ohio) I think the assessment that they are disconnected really depends on whom it is we’re talking about.

I have a professor who talked about his experience of being in Athens, and one time during class he pointed out that sometimes Athens can be behind when it comes to technological advancement. An example can also be found in the library on the second floor where it describes why wireless Internet is not as widespread in different areas from across campus.

Freshmen Caitlin McDaniel talked about how the students have in some ways diluted the Appalachian culture in Athens because of the four-year turnaround most students experience. She also pointed out that the culture could be enhanced since some students become involved in arts and political ideas that are reflected here. She also gave an example how one of her professors came to Athens to teach, and has assimilated into the culture, now being a member of the Athens community for over thirty years.

The most important thing to realize about Appalachian culture is that the culture doesn’t define the people who are there, but the people define the many cultures that they are parts of.