April 20, 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

Too much, too soon?
The Times of India
Are your teenagers victims of 'premature affluence'? Are you guilty of overindulging them? Then, you're part of a rising global trend. Professor Mel Levine from the University of North Carolina has recently advised parents to apply brakes on their kids' spending.

National Coverage

Cellphones are the new town crier
News.com
Universities and some cities are starting to recognize cellphones as efficient tools for protecting and connecting students and citizens. ...Of the 3,000 universities and colleges in the United States, 70 of them are already using Rave's solution, including University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn., and Park University in Parkville, Mo., Desai said.

CDC: Teen‘s rabies cure failed in others
The Associated Press (National)
An unusual drug combination that helped an unvaccinated teenager survive rabies has failed to save three other infected children, federal health officials reported Thursday. ...The rarity of U.S. cases and other difficulties of constructing a proper study will make examining the Wisconsin protocol difficult, said Dr. David Weber, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of North Carolina.

Regional Coverage

Campus Mental Health
WRCB-TV (NBC, Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Cho Seung-Hui's professor says she knew something was wrong. "I realized that this was a student, one of the most disturbed students I've ever seen," Virginia Tech professor Lucinda Roy said. ...Professor and psychiatrist Tom Linden at the University of North Carolina advises students that they are the first line of defense.

State and Local Coverage

UNC to offer new disaster management program
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
Lessons from hurricanes and other disasters are helping teach future public officials at a new UNC graduate program. The School of Public Health’s Dr. Jim Porto will direct the disaster management curriculum.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/disastermasters041907.html

UNC to commemorate National DNA Day
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
It will be 54 years to the day next Wednesday since Watson and Crick discovered the DNA double helix, and Carolina students will commemorate the occasion by teaching.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/dnaday041907.html

UNC creates guide on diabetes management
WCHL-AM (Chapel Hill)
Making sure you’re getting proper treatment when you have a complicated medical condition isn’t easy. That’s why UNC school of medicine professor Darren DeWalt has written a new, easy-to-read guide on diabetes management.

Decker could face long term
The Charlotte Observer
Michael Decker, who cooperated with federal investigators to help bring down former House Speaker Jim Black, might not get as much leniency as he had hoped. ...UNC Chapel Hill law professor Richard Myers agreed. "I'd be very concerned if I were his defense attorney," said Myers, a former federal prosecutor.

Suit says Duke hospital's blood error led to death
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Duke University Health System -- which made national news after it transplanted a heart and lungs of the wrong blood type into a 17-year-old Jesica Santillan four year ago -- has been sued over another blood-type mismatch. ..."Errors happen because people are involved and people are not perfect," said Laura McClannan, assistant administrative director of transfusion medicine at UNC Hospitals, which administers about 3,500 blood products to patients each month.

Critic's picks - Bluegrass and country
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
This week marks the beginning of the outdoor festival season, and area clubs also offer a rich slate of acts. ...The UNC Curriculum in Folklore, with WXYC and the ArtsCenter, will present Carolina Breakdown on Saturday at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro, featuring traditional acts from North Carolina.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/folklore041707.html

Critic's picks - Classical
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Vocal music fans have a week packed with choral and operatic performances. ...Tonight, frequent Triangle visitor Andre Watts plays a solo piano recital in UNC's Memorial Hall, featuring a Haydn sonata, Mozart rondos, and works by Berio, Debussy, Schubert, Liszt and Chopin.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr07/andrewatts041707.html

Best bets
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Good poetry usually has a beat, but it's not always a beat you can dance to. Universes Poetic Theater Company, a touring group coming to UNC-Chapel Hill next week, sets its verses about urban life to a hip-hop beat.

Issues and Trends

Teacher lives with consequences of a gun incident
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The images from Virginia Tech's campus brought a flood of memories this week to an East Chapel Hill High School civics teacher who was held hostage by an armed student a year ago. ...Her struggle highlights the lasting injuries the Virginia Tech rampage may cause, even if there are no physical wounds, said psychiatrist Denisse Ambler, an assistant professor at the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine.

Character shines (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
At the convocation Tuesday, the students of Virginia Tech gave their university president a standing ovation despite the criticism he has received from a press, using its uncanny hindsight, trying to create a story rather than just report one. ...James Kurz, M.D., UNC School of Medicine

Virginia Tech horror warns all universities (Editorial)
The Greensboro News & Record
The UNCG Police Department Wednesday banned a 21-year-old student from campus "for communicating threats against several students." ..."Detection and early warning -- that's one of the areas we really need to focus on," said Kemal Atkins, director for academic and student affairs for the University of North Carolina system.

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.