April 11, 2007

Carolina in the News

Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:

National Coverage

Anti-drunken-driving efforts aimed at Latinos
USA Today
North Carolina is trying to combat a major problem among young Hispanic men drawn to the state by plentiful jobs: drunken-driving rates two to three times as high as those of other groups. According to the University of North Carolina's Highway Safety Research Center, 7.04% of Hispanic drivers involved in crashes in the state in 2005 were suspected of driving while intoxicated.

Back Pain -- Reason for Compensation or Cash Cow
ABC News
In the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, Dr. Nortin Hadler, a rheumatologist, and his co-authors present a scathing attack on the use of regional back pain as a way to collect workers' compensation. Hadler, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of "The Last Well Person," says backaches are as widespread as the common cold and part of the normal aging process. But while backaches or colds can appear on the job, he says neither is caused by working.

Dorrance case could reshape Title IX enforcement
The Associated Press (National)
The sexual harassment lawsuit against North Carolina women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance doesn't just accuse Dorrance of making improper remarks. It brings up the issue of how harassment and the culture of college athletics could violate Title IX.
UNC Statement: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/appealsruling041007.html

Regional Coverage

MUW, MSU among nation's top values
The Commercial Dispatch (Columbus, Mo.)
Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi State University are among the top 100 “best values” in the country to get a college degree, according to Kiplinger magazine. ...The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was rated the number-one best value of U.S. public colleges.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan07/kiplinger010807.htm

State and Local Coverage

UNC to dedicate war memorial
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
"I found a wounded Federal sitting on the field -- a broken thigh, a rifle ball through his arm and a bruised shoulder made him right helpless. ... He asked me if I thought our surgeons would care for him. I assured him they would. He said he had a wife and two little children." That quote from Alexander Davis Betts, a soldier in the Civil War, is one of 16 from or about UNC-Chapel Hill alumni that are part of a new memorial being dedicated Thursday from 2 to 3 p.m. in a free public ceremony.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/memorial041007.html

Robertson Scholars chosen; 4 from N.C.
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Fifty top high school seniors, including students from China, St. Kitts and the Philippines, have been chosen for the Robertson Scholars Class of 2011. The Robertson Scholars Program is an innovative merit scholarship program at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke. About half of the scholars enroll at Duke and about half at UNC.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/robertsonscholars041007.html

UNC honors Ray's 'great gift'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Jason Ray wanted to leave his mark on the world. He wanted to share his faith. And he wanted to help people. Those who knew Ray, a senior at UNC Chapel Hill who performed as school mascot Rameses, say that he would have been pleased by the memories shared and events after his death.

Upbeat memorial service honors Ray
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
"Keep it upbeat." That was the ground rule the family of Jason Kendall Ray gave UNC Chapel Hill officials about a memorial service on campus for the late Carolina senior, said John Blanchard, senior associate athletics director at the university.
Related link: http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=3391

Casting a spell
The Chapel Hill News
Magicians perform feats that range from naming which playing card you picked to making the Statue of Liberty disappear, but in essence almost all magic accomplishes one simple thing. ...The PlayMakers production opens tonight and runs through May 6 in Paul Green Theatre on the UNC campus.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar07/tempest032007.html

Roses & raspberries
The Chapel Hill News
Roses to those local students who spent their spring breaks not catching a savage tan but pitching in to help other folks. ...Eight UNC students, for example -- Kyle Kleder, Don Campbell, Sarah Schaller, Nellie O'Connor, Kristen Peet, Anne Kinsella, Stephanie Maxwell and Beata Debinski -- signed on for something called WorkFest 2007, sponsored by the Christian Appalachian Project, over their spring break.

Which cereals are the real deal? Read the ingredients (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Supermarkets stock a bewildering supply of breakfast cereals. Which ones are best? Many good choices exist if you know what to look for. It's worth seeking them out. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.

Wrongly convicted man urges end to death penalty
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Darryl Hunt didn't think about the death penalty much before he was convicted of murder and rape, not even wishing for the death of the woman who killed his own mother when he was 9 years old, he said. ...Hunt, 42, spoke to about three dozen people in UNC-Chapel Hill's Pit on Tuesday, encouraging them to organize opposition to the death penalty in North Carolina.

Films at Full Frame Festival Investigate Legacy of Injustices
The Associated Press (N.C.)
When Marco Williams traveled to a small Arkansas town where black residents were banished a century ago, the documentary filmmaker discovered that for some, that history was still a selling point. ...As one of the final events of the four-day festival, "Greensboro" will be shown Sunday at a free screening, followed by a panel discussion moderated by Hodding Carter III, a professor of leadership and public policy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a spokesman during the Carter administration.

Two-time Pulitzer winner speaks
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof speaks today at UNC-Chapel Hill. Kristof has traveled the globe since joining the Times in 1984.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar07/kristoff032107.html

Issues and Trends

UNC-Politics (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
The 32 men and women on the UNC system Board of Governors oversee a $6.5 billion public budget, 64 million square feet of building space, 40,000 employees and 53,000 beds -- a good portion of which is funded with tax dollars or student tuition.

Legislator tries to help college students
The Winston-Salem Journal
Ronnie James added up the total. ...Peter Hans, the chairman of the University of North Carolina board of governors’ subcommittee on textbooks, said he appreciates Brown’s attention to the cost of books.

One smart incentive (Opinion column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Legislative opponents of the law that grants free tuition at UNC campuses for graduates of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics demonstrate a dangerous lack of insight not only into the Durham school but into North Carolina's entire public school system.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/720/story/562709.html

Getting beyond apologies (Opinion column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It seems everyone is apologizing about something related to race these days. In North Carolina, the General Assembly is crafting an apology for slavery. Nationally, syndicated radio host Don Imus is apologizing for his nasty, racist depiction of the Rutgers University women's basketball team.

Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.