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HB926 9/22/25 1:30 PM; Benefit Concert 9/22/25; General Meeting 9/25/25
Our Story:
The students, faculty, and staff at UNC Asheville are facing a crisis. In response to this, student leaders representing over 10 campus groups came together last semester.
We elected Luis Reyes as president of our Student Action Coalition (SAC) because they've been a tireless advocate for students. Luis fights for trans housing rights, protecting our campus woods from destruction, and holding administration accountable to the voices of students.
Now Luis is at risk of losing their student aid, and I have been unjustly EXPELLED for speaking up. The administration is trying to silence us, but we will not give up!
The list of discretions from UNCA administration against the student population is seemingly endless.
Upon returning to school our Trans students faced discriminatory housing changes, so we organized to defend their right to safe and stable housing. UNCA administration also forced many of them to obtain doctor's notes to confirm their gender identity, which was an embarrassing and costly endeavor for those students.
Not four days prior (all during the summer while the students were not on campus to react) they fired our beloved Dean of Students, Megan Pugh, after being secretly recorded by a right-wing activist group. We stand in solidarity with Megan and demand accountability and clear communication from UNCA administration.
These actions are not isolated, they reveal a deeper problem with UNCA’s leadership: a lack of transparency, disregard for student welfare, and willingness to sacrifice our community values for political expedience. We are raising funds to continue resisting these harmful decisions and to build a stronger, more just campus for students at UNCA.
We need your help to:
Keep Luis in school despite losing financial aid.
Cover legal expenses to fight my expulsion and defend students’ right to organize.
Transition our Action Coalition into an independent, student-led organization outside of UNCA’s control, into a registered nonprofit entity that cannot be silenced by university politics.
Every dollar raised will go directly toward these goals. If funds remain after covering urgent student and legal needs, they will support SAC’s long-term mission: protecting students, defending free speech, fighting for LGBT+ rights, stopping ICE surveillance on campus, and saving the UNCA woods from development.
Our movement is bigger that just us. We want to ensure that student voices, especially those from marginalized communities, are never silenced. Please help us build a movement that lasts!
Thank you for standing with us.
In Solidarity,
Matthew Zimmerman
Treasurer of UNCA's Student Action Coalition
---Click here to learn more about us:
Student Action Coalition Website
Please Consider donating to our Go Fund Me!
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Meeting
Buncombe County Board of Commissioners Meeting
Tuesday, 8/19/25, 4:15 / 5 PM
Tuesday, 8/19/25, 4:15 / 5 PM
Location:
200 College St
Suite 326
Tuesday, 8/19/25, we’re heading back to the Buncombe County Commissioners meeting! Join us for this important meeting and wear your Save the Woods shirts if you have them!
Tuesday, 8/19/25, we’re heading back to the Buncombe County Commissioners meeting! Join us for this important meeting and wear your Save the Woods shirts if you have them!
One of our hopes and dreams would be to preserve the woods via a city/county land trust or swap using public bond money (and some private donations). For this to even begin to take shape, we would need the support of at least four county commissioners. We've also been asking for a resolution in support of preserving the woods and this would also require the support of at least four commissioners.
Please let us know if you can speak or attend by signing up on the using the link on the Events page of our website: https://www.saveuncawoods.org/events
(sign up to speak *before* 4:30 PM)
200 College St. Suite 326
Please coordinate on the sheet on our Events page, website link in bio, if you plan to attend or speak.
How it works: We’ll sign up with Stacey at the security desk near the entrance. Each speaker is allowed up to 3 minutes each (unless the Board votes to change the time limit). We also need people to show up who are willing to cede their minutes to Save The Woods organizers. For every 8 people who cede their time, one speaker can have 10 minutes.
Public comment is taken at the start of the meetings, so we need people to arrive by 4:15 pm to sign up to speak (the meeting officially begins at 5 pm). The opportunity to sign up to speak may be closed at 4:30 PM.
If you park in the parking garage nearby, the county clerk will validate your parking pass so you won't have to pay the fee.
Wrap the Woods Art Action Event
Wrap the Woods Art Action Event
More updates coming soon...
Saturday, September 6, 2025
9:30 PM - Meet
10-11 AM - Action
Glenns's Creek Greenway, Asheville NC
Save the UNCA Woods Benefit Show
Save the UNCA Woods Benefit Show
Featuring:
Leah Song Project (with members of Rising Appalachia)
* Wild Roots * David Earl Tomlinson
Monday, September 22, 2025, 7:00 PM
The Grey Eagle
185 Clingman Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801
Tickets: https://www.etix.com/ticket/servlet/s/38217624
See more event information on the Events page.
Young Dems with Friends!
Young Dems with Friends!
Monday, September 22, 2025
6:00 PM 8:00 PM
Wagbar
320 Merrimon AvenueWeaverville, NC, 28787United States (map)
Past events:
THURSDAY, August 14, 2025, 6:30 PM, Join us for the next Save the Woods General Meeting.
We'll provide updates, a community forum, next steps, and information on ways you can help!
Meeting will be *upstairs* in the music room at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church at 789 Merrimon Ave. Hope to see you soon!
UNCA WOODS COMMUNITY VISIONING WORKSHOP
Let’s work together to find a more suitable stadium site for the Asheville City Soccer Club (ACSC) stadium and UNCA so we can let the forest remain healthy and intact! This is not a Save the Woods sponsored event, but we encourage everyone who cares about saving the UNCA woods to attend and contribute ideas for pivoting this development away from a suburban project that hurts neighborhoods and our city into one that aligns with Asheville’s climate and environmental goals.
Tentative schedule:
Friday 8/15/25 - Welcome Night, Networking & Planning
5:00 PM - 8:00 PM - Speakers from 6:30-7pm
Saturday 8/16 - Design Charrette - Community Input Videos - Hand-Written Letter Station - 9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday 8/17 - Design Charrette - Community Input Videos - Hand-Written Letter Station
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM - Wrap up Presentations 4:00pm - 5:00pm - Hike Through The Woods at 5pm
LOCATION:
Thrive Co-Working (Just above the Grove Arcade)
1 Page Avenue, Asheville, NC 28801
WHO SHOULD ATTEND? All neighbors, creatives, designers, architects, engineers, hydrologists, contractors, finance professionals, artists, activists, public officials, environmentalists, and lovers of UNCA’s precious 45-acre urban forest.
WHAT IS IT EXACTLY? Everyone comes with an open mind and a creative spirit. You can think of it as a brainstorming session hosted by professional architects. You can also think of it like a big pot where each of us can throw in anything from a vegetable to a lamp. It’s about letting go of absolutes and breathing in possibilities.
You can even just drop-in and put your alternative option ideas on a hand-written card. Can’t make the event? Then send your constructive ideas to the organizers at the email below.
Between now and when this proposal goes up for a vote with the UNC Board of Governors to approve the lease, we have a small window to voice our community's concerns and desires. We welcome any support you can give.
https://www.thislandstudio.com/uncawoods
QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, AND VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:
Email: this.land.studio@gmail.com
This event is organized by Scott Burroughs of @thislandstudio with others
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