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April 29, 2004
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International News Coverage
Migrating turtles use earth's magnetic field as map and compass
The Independent, UK
The mystery of the migrating sea turtle may have been solved. Scientists have shown that the marine reptile can use the earth's magnetic field as both a compass and a map....The scientists, led by Kenneth and Catherine Lohmann, a husband and wife team at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, investigated the green turtle's homing instincts using a giant, two-storey magnetic coil they built around an aquarium in which the field could be artificially controlled.
UNC release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr04/lohmann042804.htmlNational Coverage
The Trouble With Tall People (Commentary)
CBS News
Tall people have a special status in our culture....However, my attitude towards heightism changed recently when I read a University of North Carolina study.
Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 19 Universities
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The 19 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected a total of $241.5-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which they had data available....The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, $1.2-billion as of March 29 (increase of $20-million in the last month); the goal is $1.8-billion by 2007.
Subscription required.Regional Coverage
No plans to pump inflation policy
The Red & Black, University of Georgia
Princeton University faculty voted Monday to institute an expectation that departments award no more than 35 percent A's to fight the inflated percentage of A's awarded at the school....Robert Shelton, executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, said grade inflation has always been a topic of interest at the university.
Study: Number of high-income freshmen rising
The Daily Texan
The percentage of freshmen who come from wealthy families entering top colleges has increased by nearly 10 percent in the past 15 years, according to a study by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles....Seeing the number of wealthy students rise, some top universities have increased aid available for lower-income students....The University of Virginia, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Harvard University have launched similar programs.
More high-income students push out middle class
The Badger Herald, University of Wisconsin
An increase in the number of students from upper-income families attending top universities is raising concerns for higher education as the student population from middle-income brackets declines....Harvard, the University of North Carolina and the University of Virginia all are following suit with such policies.
State & Local Coverage
Water tap-on fee will rise in the northwest
The Charlotte Observer
Kannapolis plans to charge residential property owners in part of northwest Cabarrus County $450 more than it charges in the existing city limits to connect to water lines, even as the county re-examines whether its similar fee is fair....David Lawrence, professor at UNC Chapel Hill's Institute of Government, said state law forbids cities to charge different fees to residents in different parts of the city for the same service.
Step lively lively
The News & Observer
Lisa Morgan has been wearing her pedometer for two months, and she's hooked...."As long as you have an environment that makes it difficult to accumulate daily steps and make good food decisions, all of these other treatments -- handing people pedometers, eliminating supersizing -- are Band-Aids," said [Mark] Fenton, who lives in Boston but spends part of his time working for UNC-Chapel Hill's Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center.
Issues & Trends
N.C.A.A. Set to Put Teeth in Academic Guidelines
The New York Times
The history of academic reform in college athletics is more than a century old, with some tracing it to 1869, the year of the first college football game. So when a new reform package is labeled as historic by the National Collegiate Athletic Association, people take notice, some with pride and some with disdain.
A Short-Lived Scholarship
The Wall Street Journal
A few weeks after Max Alexander sent in his college application, he logged on to a password-protected Web site designed to let him see whether Duke University had accepted him as an early-admissions candidate....This year's college-admission process is shaping up to be not just intensely competitive but also remarkably error-filled.
Stormwater utility worth paying for (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
If you live in Chapel Hill, hold on to your wallet. The cost of living in the Southern Part of Heaven is about to go up.
Engineering club to widen
The News & Observer
One university wants a new toy -- a degree program for budding engineers. Another says it's not fair because there isn't enough money to go around.
Mold costs keep rising at NCCU
The News & Observer
N.C. Central University will spend $1.8 million more than projected to house and transport hundreds of students off campus while contractors work to eradicate mold from some dormitories and complete routine renovations on others.
Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu
Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.