April 18, 2007

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

Researchers link gene mutation to Erbitux response
Reuters
Identifying a gene mutation could reveal which colon cancer patients are likely to benefit from ImClone Systems Inc.'s Erbitux, researchers said on Tuesday. ...Dr. Richard Goldberg, chief of hematology, oncology at the University of North Carolina said some patients have a good response to these drugs. "I would rather have a marker that tells me I don't need to treat someone with a drug they are not going to respond to," said Goldberg, who was not involved in the trial.

National Coverage

Unsettled Day on Campuses Around U.S.
The New York Times
Universities in Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas canceled classes yesterday, searched campuses or evacuated buildings in response to threats, and a Louisiana public school district locked down its middle school and high school. ...“Since right after Columbine, all our people are trained in active shooter response,” said Jeff McCracken, interim director of public safety at the University of North Carolina.

Could cell text alert have helped at Va. Tech?
USA Today
Questions over Virginia Tech's response to the deadly shooting spree on its campus have reignited debate there and at other campuses about the value of high-tech emergency warning. ...Rave's approximately 70 customers include the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn. School officials say students are more likely to pay attention to short text messages sent to cellphones.

Universities consult safety experts after massacre
The Los Angeles Times
Colleges nationwide are reassessing how to alert students during emergencies, with hundreds of schools seeking advice from campus safety experts Tuesday, the day after the Virginia Tech shootings. ...About 70 universities plan to start using Rave Wireless products next year, the company said, including the University of North Carolina and the University of Maryland.

Christopher James (Jamie) Bishop
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Christopher James (Jamie) Bishop, 35, the bespectacled German-language instructor at Virginia Tech who rode his bike to campus and often met with students outside of class for further practice, was a “born teacher.” ...Before teaching at Virginia Tech, Mr. Bishop worked as an academic-technology liaison at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he provided technical support for faculty and staff members and graduate students. “He was everybody’s friend, which is unusual in academia,” says Valeria X. D’Alcantara, an educational-technology specialist and a former colleague at Chapel Hill.
UNC Statement: http://www.unc.edu/news/statementjamiebishopcolleagues.html

Friends Pay Tribute to Those Who Were Lost
"Morning Edition," National Public Radio
Among the dead at Virginia Tech are students and professors who made deep and lasting impressions on the Blacksburg community and beyond. Friends and colleagues pay tribute. ...Christopher James Bishop: Bishop, 35, was a German instructor teaching in a classroom in Norris Hall before he was killed. He moved to Virginia Tech in 2005 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State and Local Coverage

UNC Chancellor: 'We Are Not Immune'
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
James Moeser, chancellor of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Tuesday that it is unrealistic to think that college campuses are immune to violence such as the fatal shooting rampage that has shaken the Virginia Tech campus and the nation.

Firing wide on campus security (Opinion-editorial column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The devastation on Monday at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg is a tragedy that will have long repercussions, especially on every college and university campus in the country. It would be a mistake to compound that tragedy by second-guessing every action of the Virginia Tech administration. ...Jean Folkerts is dean of UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Fear touches N.C. campuses
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
If there is any place where the future is palpable, it's a college campus, especially in the spring. ...At UNC-Chapel Hill, conversations were peppered with talk of the attack as students walked to class, sat on the lawn or gathered around the Pit.
Related link: http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-840131.cfm
http://www.wchl1360.com/details.html?id=3449

Former UNC worker among 33 dead at VT
The Chapel Hill Herald
A former UNC employee was among the 33 people who died in the shootings at Virginia Tech on Monday. Christopher James "Jamie" Bishop worked as an academic technology liaison at UNC from 2000 to 2005. He was an instructor in the German department at Virginia Tech.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/1540/story/565174.html

Security suddenly a priority
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Even before the basic details of the massacre at Virginia Tech were clear, universities and small colleges across the Triangle pondered their own security plans. ...UNC-Chapel Hill is planning a major satellite campus on the north side of town and has office space all over Chapel Hill.

UNC Hospitals wants up to $350M for growth
The Triangle Business Journal
UNC Hospitals is laying the groundwork for an expansion that could add as many as 200 beds and replace up to 39 operating rooms in coming years at a cost of as much as $350 million. Bill Roper, CEO of UNC Health Care, which oversees UNC Hospitals, says the hospital is exploring options for building another inpatient tower either on its existing Chapel Hill campus or at a satellite location.

Modern Day Slavery
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Donna Bickford, the director of the Carolina Women's Center, was featured on today's (April 18) edition of "The State of Things." The sordid world of modern-day slavery hit home recently when 22 Thai workers alleged that they were held against their will in Mount Olive, N.C. So how prevalent is the problem here in the Tar Heel state? Host Frank Stasio explores the topic with Kate Woomer-Deters, an attorney with Legal Aid representing the Thai workers.

Meet Joseph Haj
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Haj took over as producing artistic director of Playmakers Repertory Company of Chapel Hill last summer and makes his directorial debut in his new role this month with Tony Kushner's adaptation of Corneille's classic "The Illusion." Joe Haj grew up in Miami as the son of Palestinian immigrants and went to graduate school in acting at UNC-Chapel Hill. He's worked in nearly every capacity in theater, television and movies. He talks to host Frank Stasio about moving his young family to Chapel Hill and running a theater.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar07/illusion032707.html

Aretha Franklin headlines campus season
The Chapel Hill News
Aretha Franklin, Yo-Yo Ma, k.d. lang and Brazilian vocalist Caetano Veloso will be among artists presented in the 2007-2008 Carolina Performing Arts season at UNC. Three major international orchestras also will perform during the organization's third season in Memorial Hall -- including the legendary Saint Petersburg Philharmonic with chief conductor Yuri Temirkanov in a rare North Carolina appearance for both.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/cpa041007.html

Dance theater visits city schools
The Chapel Hill News
Middle schoolers giggled as they knocked their knees together for a West African dance move Friday morning in the Lincoln Center gym. ...On Thursday, they were among the 1,400 students who attended a special matinee performance by the company at UNC's Memorial Hall.
UNC Media Advisory: http://www.unc.edu/news/media/2007/ailey041207.html

Woman power
The Chapel Hill News
Conductor Sue Klausmeyer's two worlds will harmoniously collide Sunday. She's bringing together two of the singing groups she leads -- the UNC Women's Glee Club and the Women's Voices Chorus -- for a first-time collaboration that will combine the voices of 100 women whose ages range from 18 to 81.

How to eat healthy when dining out for breakfast (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Eating breakfast out can be hazardous to your health. Most Americans eat breakfast, and one-fourth eat that meal away from home. What we choose is the subject of a new report, "Breakfast in America, 2001-2002," part of "What We Eat in America," a segment of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, an ongoing government study that monitors what we eat. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.

Scandal gets aid officers thinking
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Responding to a scandal that is threatening to change their industry, some financial aid officials want to take a closer look at how student loan consolidations are handled in North Carolina. ...But affiliates of other universities, including the UNC-Chapel Hill alumni association and the UNC-Greensboro athletics department decided that similar offers weren't worth it.

Judge in year-round case has been schooled
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Wake County school system is no stranger to Superior Court Judge Howard Manning Jr.'s courtroom. ..."He's not an enigmatic judge," said Jack Boger, dean of UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Law.

Lawyer testifies before panel in Congress
The Greensboro News & Record
In September, Greensboro lawyer Craig Kabatchnick was laboring in obscurity on veterans' issues. On Tuesday , he testified about them to Congress. ...Law students from Central and nearby UNC-Chapel Hill work on cases involving veterans benefits under Kabatchnick's supervision.

City talks trash - universal increase may be on the way
The Daily News (Eden)
Discounted refuse collection rates for Eden seniors have been trashed, and City Manager Brad Corcoran hinted that across-the-board increases could come in several months. ...During discussions for the upcoming budget, Tammie McMichael, Eden's director of Finance and Personnel, contacted a law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government for her opinion on the city's refuse collection rates.

Illegals encouraged to file tax returns
News 14 Carolina
The deadline to file taxes is midnight Tuesday and many illegal immigrants are making sure their tax forms are completed. Though they may not have a valid Social Security number, illegal immigrants are able and encouraged to file their federal taxes. ...According to the N.C. Justice Center, a UNC Chapel Hill study estimated that in 2004, Hispanic immigrants paid about $145 million in North Carolina income taxes.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan06/economicimpact010306.htm

Issues and Trends

Not So Far Away: Shootings give pause to West Forsyth seniors accepted to Virginia Tech
The Winston-Salem Journal
It’s not clear how or whether Monday’s shootings at Virginia Tech will affect enrollment at the university in coming years. ...“We would be prepared to work with any student who wishes to transfer to one of our campuses,” Harold Martin wrote in an e-mail yesterday. Martin is senior vice president for academic affairs for the University of North Carolina system.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/1540/story/565165.html

N.C. Campuses Evaluate Security Measures
WGHP-TV (Fox, Greensboro)
The massacre at Virginia Tech has caused campus police departments nationwide to re-evaluate the security measures they have in place to deal with a similar crisis. Police chiefs at all 16 campuses in the University of North Carolina system met and compared ideas.

Talks focus on biotech campus
The Charlotte Observer
The North Carolina Research Campus, under construction in Kannapolis, took center stage at a scientific conference Tuesday at UNC Charlotte. ...Panel moderator Steven Zeisel, director of UNC Chapel Hill's Nutrition Research Institute at the research campus, said he's excited about the effect scientists will have in the next few years focusing on health and nutrition.
Related link: http://www.newsobserver.com/128/story/565400.html

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.

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