"This is Appalachia?"

INTERVIEW ONE
Q: What does living in Appalachia mean to you?
A: "This is Appalachia? I went on a service trip during senior year and that was Appalachia, they were very poor."

Q: Do you consider yourself Appalachia?
A: "No, because I don't consider OU my true home. I don't think I would ever consider myself Appalachian because I'm not from here."

Q: What do you consider a stereotypical Appalachian to act/dress/be like?
A: "I think of the 'Mountain Dew Mouth'...They drink a lot of Mountain Dew and not milk or water. They live in trailers and are hick like. That's what I saw when I went on my service trip. They wore like jeans and plaid shirts"

• This interviewee had a bit of understanding about Appalachia but thought it was part of Tennessee and Kentucky, not Ohio. The area where she is from is not considered Appalachia. She knew Athens County was poor but her view of Appalachia was extreme poverty because that was what she saw on her service learning trip.

INTERVIEW TWO
Q: What does living in Appalachia mean to you?
A: "Living in the Western part of the United States"

Q:Do you consider yourself Appalachian?
A: "No because I've never lived in Western United States"

Q: Should there be more interaction between the university and surrounding areas?
A: "Yes because a lot of the businesses are local and we do a lot to help the Athens community but there is always room for more and to increase interaction."

• This interviewee has very limited knowledge that she currently lives in Appalachia. Although she agrees the university and surrounding areas should increase interaction, she doesn't seem to know much about those areas that surround it.
  

INTERVIEW 3
Q: Do you consider yourself the be Appalachian?
A: "No, why?"

Q: What does living in Appalachia mean to you?
A: "It's the region where you grow up, where we grew up from the north to south. But I infer it as a way of being like you're a hick even though thats not what it means"

Q: Do you think there should be more interaction between the university and the surrounding area?
A: "I think there should be as much interaction between universitys and surronding areas so that both are respectful of one another but it can also econmically benefit one another by tourism brought by students and familys, and vice verse from the residents of surrond areas"

• This interviewee feels like Appalachia needs more communication and interaction because of the poverty associated with Appalachia. She knows it could greatly impact the poorer regions around OU if there was more communication between the two.

From these three interviews of Ohio University students, its safe to assume many students living in this area do not realize they are in Appalachia. Most probably know that Athens is the poorest county in Ohio, but they don't see any relation between the two. It would be more beneficial to help the economic status of Appalachia if people were more aware of where and what it is.