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Five tornados hit central North Carolina on Sunday, causing notable damage in the Neuse Crossing neighborhood in north Raleigh. Damage to houses, cars and roads in Wake, Johnston and Cumberland County was reported by WRAL.
Early voting is starting on October 15th and Pack the Polls, NC State's nonpartisan voting coalition, is providing shuttles and hosting several events to increase voting education and opportunity for NC State students.
Finaly, WKNC's Sydney Semel and Hail Zulueta highlight the increasing costs of NC State dining plans over the last few years. While the exact reasons are unknown, students are paying several hundred dollars more than previous years at the university.
Eye on the Triangle is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.
Early voting is starting on October 15th and Pack the Polls, NC State's nonpartisan voting coalition, is providing shuttles and hosting several events to increase voting education and opportunity for NC State students.
Finaly, WKNC's Sydney Semel and Hail Zulueta highlight the increasing costs of NC State dining plans over the last few years. While the exact reasons are unknown, students are paying several hundred dollars more than previous years at the university.
Eye on the Triangle is a podcast produced by WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1/HD-2, student-run radio from NC State University. Like what you hear? Consider supporting it with a gift to the WKNC Enhancement Fund. Visit our podcast page to hear more and follow us on all social media platforms @WKNC881. Thanks for listening.
Creators and Guests
What is Eye on the Triangle?
"Eye on the Triangle" is your source for local news, reviews and interviews. Roughly an hour of programming, this block is essentially the NPR of WKNC. Tune in to hear about news and events around Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill and the surrounding communities. To find out more about our program or learn how NC State students can join the team, email us at wknc-publicaffairs@ncsu.edu.
00:04
Autumn Smith
You are now listening to Eye on the Triangle, WKNC's weekly public affairs program from the campus of North Carolina State University. Any views and opinions expressed during Eye on the Triangle do not represent NC State or student media. This is WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. Hello and thank you for tuning in to Eye on the Triangle. This is Autumn Smith with WKNC. Stay tuned after today's news roundup for a segment about the rising cost of food plans at NC State. At least five tornadoes hit central North Carolina on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service, caused by storms from the aftermath of Hurricane Isaias, which devastated parts of Florida and Alabama. A tornado warning was released as early as noon on Oct. 11, with Wake county receiving three separate tornadoes, according to WRAL.
00:55
Autumn Smith
One hit west towards Jordan Lake at noon, another hit northeast Raleigh at 1:20pm and a third did minimal damage before moving to Johnston County. Notable damage occurred in northeast Raleigh as residents of Neuse Crossing at the intersection of Lewisburg and Mitchell Mill Road received intense winds that caused damage to several homes and trees. The tornado caused one home's roof to cave in, causing windows to break and spreading debris and insulation. Other damage was reported near Clayton Village at the Johnston county line, as well as northwest Fayetteville in Cumberland county, causing damage to cars and roads. The tornado watch finally ended at 4:30pm 30 minutes earlier than reported. As of Monday, October 12, no injuries have been reported as a result of the tornadoes.
01:40
Autumn Smith
Now there are only three days until early voting starts and North Carolinians are still facing challenges with voting sites ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. As covered previously on Eye on the Triangle, Talley Student Union is no longer being offered as an early voting site. Instead, many NC State students are looking at a longer commute over to the Business Services office at 1220 Varsity Drive off Western Boulevard. This is a 25 minute walk from the previous location on Main Campus, which houses thousands of students, many of them voting for the first time. This site is available via Go Raleigh bus route 12 and the university's Wolf Line bus routes 30 and 43.
02:17
Autumn Smith
But with rising concerns over the new early voting site, the local Raleigh community is seeking to provide several options to ensure students and local residents have maximum opportunity to cast their ballot. Pack the Polls A nonpartisan voting coalition at NC State is offering a shuttle service that will provide rides for students from Talley Student Union and Centennial Campus to the new early voting site. The service will run from Wednesday, October 21 to Saturday, October 31, from 9am to 7:30pm on weekdays, with reduced hours over the weekend. Pack the Polls is conducting multiple events this month to provide education and resources for the upcoming election. On Tuesday, October 13, students can attend Room 4505 of James B. Hunt Library for a free panel discussing the political candidates that voters will see on their ballot this election cycle.
03:04
Autumn Smith
To promote informed decision making and research, the Coalition also hosts Civic Fridays every week to provide voting and candidate information. The next event is scheduled for Friday, October 16th from 11 to 2pm in Talley Student Union, Suite 4210. Listeners can go to packthepolls.dasa.ncsu.edu for more information on early voting and what NC State can provide for new voters. Students at NC State have been facing a notable increase in university food plan costs in recent years. To discuss these changes and answer student questions, our WKNC Public Affairs creators Sydney Semel and Hail Zulueta if you're.
03:42
Sydney Semel
A freshman living on campus at NC State, you're legally required to buy a meal plan this semester, barring some exceptions. The baseline Flex 500 plan now costs $2,930 a semester, up 35.6% from $2,160 six years ago, according to a Reddit thread we found from r/NCSU. That's an extra $770 per semester. And here's the kicker from the official contract, any unused dining dollars you paid for expire in May with zero refunds. Canceling late also costs a $250 fee. But do students know about this $770?
04:19
Student #1
That's actually crazy.
04:21
Student #2
On the one hand, I get it because the economy and everything, I feel.
04:26
Student #1
Like I really spend more here. I feel like, yeah, that's actually crazy.
04:30
Student #2
On the other hand, I'm a broke college student. That's mad irritating. Paying more money is not what I plan for. I'm not gonna hold you.
04:36
Hail Zulueta
The rise in dining food plans can be attributed to a number of reasons, such as inflation, but we don't have a clear idea yet.
04:47
Hail Zulueta
We reached out to both the Senior Director of Dining and Hospitality Services and the Director of Strategic Marketing and Communication for Campus Enterprises, but neither responded prior to publication. Here at WKNC, we use tools like the Wayback Machine to show us these rising meal plans because these past prices aren't publicly available.
05:11
Autumn Smith
This has been Eye on the triangle from WKNC 88.1 FM HD-1 Raleigh. Thank you to Sydney Semel and Hail Zulueta for the segment on meal prices for NC State students. Listeners can expect a return to interview focused Eye on the Triangle segment starting next week. Our theme song is City Lights by BerryDeep, licensed under Creative Commons. To re-listen to this or any other episode, visit wknc.org podcast or subscribe to Eye on the Triangle on your favorite podcast site or app. Thank you for listening.