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Our weekly roundup of happy news in NC goes to the White House. Plus: Pumpkin patches are finally opening, and social media reunites a woman with her “guardian angel.”

If it’s Friday, it’s time for our Good News Friday roundup. Today, we have a few NC college students who took their case for gun reform to the very top. And it’s fall now, so pumpkin patches around the state are showing out. Check it out below.

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NC College Students Meet President Biden

Six NC college students took their message for gun reform all the way to the White House and met President Biden. (Image via Sen. Natalie Murdock’s Twitter account)

Six college students from UNC-Chapel Hill met with President Biden as he announced the implementation of a gun violence prevention office. 

The students, including Amie Boakye and Samuel Scarborough, organized rallies and spoke at a press event outside of the NC General Assembly to advocate for gun reform. 

@cardinalandpine

A youth-led rally was held outside the North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday in protest of the state’s gun violence crisis. Samuel Scarborough, a UNC student and member of March for Our Lives UNC Chapel Hill, says gun violence in communities of color has been ignored by the media and lawmakers. Scarborough highlighted the disparity between coverage the shooting on August 28th at UNC received compared to a shooting at NC A&T, an HBCU, just days prior. “One of our stories made CNN, and the other didn’t.” Scarborough said. #universityofnorthcarolinaatchapelhill #universityofnorthcarolina #breakingnews #ncnews #nc #northcarolina #uncchapelhill #activeshooter #activeshootertoday #carrboro

♬ original sound – Cardinal & Pine – Cardinal & Pine

Pumpkin Patches Open This Weekend

North Carolina has finally welcomed autumn weather and what better way to celebrate than with a trip to the pumpkin patch? 

Many pumpkin patches in North Carolina, including these 10 locally-owned farms we picked out, open on Oct. 1 so families can pick out the perfect gourd for fall decorations and jack o’lantern carving. 

NC Top Gaming Cities 

According to Privacy Journal, Raleigh is one of the best gaming cities in the nation! So what does that mean?

The VPN service provider analyzed factors like internet infrastructure, livability, number of gaming stores, and career potential before declaring Raleigh the second best U.S. city for gamers. 

Out of the top 100 cities for gamers, Charlotte came in at 34, Durham at 54, Winston-Salem at 73, and Greensboro at 83. 

Mom and ‘Guardian Angel’ Reunited 

Three weeks ago, WRAL reported that NC military spouse Summer Erdel was looking for the “guardian angel” who stepped in to help her with her young children at the airport.  

The stranger helped Erdel with the stroller, an unhappy baby, and took her to baggage claim, but in all the commotion she was unable to catch the woman’s number. 

In a feel-good follow up, WRAL confirmed that Erdel was able to find the kind woman through the power of social media, and the two reconnected on Zoom.