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April 23, 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
Does drinking alcohol kill brain cells?
The Swazi Observer (Swaziland)
The idea that alcohol kills brain cells has long been promoted. The early temperance writers made this assertion and also insisted that the alcohol in their blood could cause 'drunkards' to catch fire and burn alive. ...Overcoming chronic alcohol abuse enables brains to repair themselves, according to new research from the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies at the University of North Carolina , Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov04/alcoholabstain110504.htmlNational Coverage
The Smart Transfer
The New York Times (Education Life supplement)
Reshma Tharani, 21, is part of a new breed of community college student: right out of high school, determined to save money, knowledge able about the ways of the system. ...The foundation is also doling out almost $7 million in grants — to Amherst, Mount Holyoke, Bucknell, Cornell, the University of Michigan, the University of North Carolina, the University of Southern California and the University of California, Berkeley — "to more effectively reach out to high-achieving community college students."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/jackkentcooke030606.htmA Virginia Program Helps Connect Underserved Students With College
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Bryan O. Robinson was deeply disappointed when he was rejected last fall by Old Dominion University, his top choice. ..."The students look at the guides and say, 'If they can do it, so can I,'" says Ms. Hurd. This summer she will become director of the newly formed National College Advising Corps Office, a joint venture of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the National College Access Network that will coordinate the expansion of the guides programs at other institutions and encourage more colleges to establish similar projects.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar07/jackkentcooke032107.htmlInternet Abuzz Over 'Ismail Ax' Meaning
The Associated Press (National)
It was reportedly scrawled in red ink on the arm of the Virginia Tech gunman after his shooting rampage that left him and 32 others dead.. ...But making that link is not "intellectually honest" given Cho's background, said Omid Safi, a professor of Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.Christopher James 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.
UNC Statement: http://www.unc.edu/news/statementjamiebishopcolleagues.htmlEdwards has close ties to rich folks' tax havens
The Washington Post
Two years ago, former senator John Edwards of North Carolina, gearing up for his second run at the Democratic presidential nomination, gave a speech decrying the "two different economies in this country: one for wealthy insiders and then one for everybody else." ...After he and his running mate, Sen. John Kerry, were defeated in 2004, Edwards returned to North Carolina, started a think tank on poverty at UNC-Chapel Hill, and began work at Fortress.Steinberg Labels Concussions 'Time Bomb'
The Associated Press (National)
An estimated 350,000 athletes endure head injuries while playing sports every year in the United States, and that's only counting the ones who lose consciousness after impact. ..."It goes to show that we can be fooled by what we see," said Kevin Guskiewicz, a specialist from the University of North Carolina who studies the biomechanics of sports concussions.10 Admissions Deans Who Are Shaping Their Field
The Chronicle of Higher Education
In 2005, Jerome A. Lucido taught a seminar at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill called "College Admission and the Public Interest." Then UNC's vice provost for enrollment policy and management, Mr. Lucido asked students to pretend they were admissions deans in the year 2015.Regional Coverage
Area colleges say texting tops e-mail as crisis alert
The Tennessean
Harvill Eaton was in a meeting about campus security when news broke about the shootings at Virginia Tech. ...Despite the fact that today's young people and their parents rely on cell phones, only about 35 to 40 colleges around the country have implemented mass text-messaging. Penn State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are among the recent converts.Breast cancer's toll on blacks
The Indianapolis Star
The statistics on black women and breast cancer seem contradictory: While black women are less likely to develop this disease than other women, those who do are more likely to die from it than others. ...Recent research from the University of North Carolina suggests at least one key difference exists: Younger black women who develop breast cancer are more likely to develop the most aggressive subtype of the disease that can resist most of the treatments doctors have for breast cancer.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jun06/breastcancerjama060206.htmYoung pitcher fighting back from head injury
The Boston Globe
His grin was unmistakable. So was the delight in his blue eyes. ...While the school district does use a safety screen for its pitchers during batting practice, the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, based at the University of North Carolina, also recommends that pitchers "always" wear a helmet during practice -- something the Hamilton-Wenham players do not do.
Related links: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/22/on_the_warning_track/
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070422/OPINION04/204220350State and Local Coverage
UNC kicks off 'Maymester' for undergrads
The Chapel Hill Herald
Some UNC students will be studying slavery from a campus classroom and at plantations in South Carolina next month. Others will travel to the Scottish stomping grounds of immigrants to North Carolina, and still others will learn about the anthropology of food.UNC turns to cell phones to enhance student security
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC is turning to cell phones to beef up campus security. ... UNC officials have been working to launch the system -- called Rave Guardian -- for about six months and had been planning to start the service this fall.
The Virginia Tech shootings didn't affect the decision but did increase its visibility, said Brian Payst, director of technology and systems support at UNC's student affairs office.
Note: No link available.Best choice is diversity in schools (Opinion-editorial column)
The Winston-Salem Journal
Recently the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Board of Education heard a presentation on school choice and student achievement (“Race didn’t affect tests,” March 28). The presentation, by Dennis Orthner, a professor of public policy and social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, consisted largely of Hinckley A. Jones-Sanpei’s dissertation, “School Choice, Segregation, and Academic Outcomes: Educational Trajectories Under a Controlled Choice Student Assignment Policy.”Class to dedicate Habitat house
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Class of 2007 at UNC-Chapel Hill will dedicate a Habitat for Humanity house at 2:30 p.m. today. Groups that helped build the house include the Office of Student Affairs and the Asian Students Association. Donors include the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, UNC system President Erskine Bowles, the UNC-CH board of trustees, former UNC system President William Friday, Lowe's Home Improvement, parents of senior marshals and others. GlaxoSmithKline provided additional funding.Man gets liver of UNC mascot
The Charlotte Observer
A New Jersey man says he's alive today thanks to Jason Ray, the UNC Chapel Hill senior and Tar Heels mascot who died last month after he was struck by a vehicle.Mourn, but don't rush for 'cure,' scholars say
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The shots that rang out at Virginia Tech hit not only a campus, but the idea of academia as the quiet refuge from society's troubles. ...C.D.C. Reeve, a philosophy professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, tries to resist the urge to make rash, systemic changes after such events.'You can start work today'
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Research Triangle Park is one of the biggest economic engines in the state, but getting it to that point wasn't easy. ...George Simpson, a sociology professor at UNC-Chapel Hill, agreed to take a leave of absence and become director of the committee. Hanes hosted 45 prominent business leaders at the Carolina Hotel in Raleigh to seek donations.Why baby care needs gentle men
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The 6-foot, 210-pound linebacker held a baby doll in the crook of his bulging arm and gently rocked her. ...That's why local Orange County agencies and UNC Hospitals' Beacon Child and Family program invited men to rock the dolls.Legal-aid move in question
The Winston-Salem Journal
The state agency that oversees legal representation for the poor, called the N.C. Office of Indigent Defense Services, wants more authority over its lawyers. ...“These are policy choices, and policy choices always involve trade-offs,” said Jim Drennan, an expert on the state’s judicial system at the University of North Carolina’s School of Government.Edgecombe County students learn Japanese
Rocky Mount Telegram
Japan's culture and businesses have had a growing influence on American society. ...Japan's graphic novels and anime have played a significant role in American youths' interest in the Japanese culture, said Jan Bardsley, an associate professor of Japanese humanities at the University of North Carolina-Chapel HillDo tickets deter speeders?
The Burlington Times-News
We are all guilty of speeding at some time or another. ...According to UNC-Chapel Hill’s Highway Safety Research Center, speeding is a factor in one-fourth of all car accidents. People who have speeded before are more likely to speed again and increase vehicle crashes, the study reported.Teacher career fair reflects a changing market
The Burlington Times-News
The local school system has needed to hire more teachers every year. So not surprisingly, the teacher career fair has outgrown its traditional spot. ...UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Chapel Hill will be coming to the fair for the first time to talk about educational programs for lateral-entry teachers. A licensing representative from the state Department of Public Instruction will also be there.City looks to get Human Relations panel active again
The Courier Times (Roxboro)
In hopes of bringing diversity to its strategic plan, Roxboro City Council plans to select city-appointed members to the Person County Human Relations Commission and get that commission active once again. ...Altman-Sauer and Henderson are with the University of North Carolina School of Government’s Public Intersection Project.From firetrap to historic restoration project (Column)
The Greensboro News & Record
The school faced a decision, save history or forsake it. ...Hold on! Aren't the oldest buildings on a campus in the state at UNC-Chapel Hill, America's oldest state university?Issues and Trends
U. of North Carolina Chooses Slow and Steady Approach
The Chronicle of Higher Education
After watching the University of Phoenix become a national leader in online education, officials of the University of North Carolina system thought: We can do that, too. ...Called the University of North Carolina Online, or UNC Online, the project takes the current online-education offerings from the system's 16 campuses and centralizes them, with plans to expand the operation into a national program.
Related link: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v53/i34/34a04901.htmNC governor wants low-income students to go to college debt-free
The Associated Press (N.C.)
College freshman Reggie Dawson wants to design jumbo jets or Air Force fighters. But big plans carry hefty tuition bills, and he doesn't want his mother working two jobs to help him through school. ...The average annual tuition reached nearly $13,400 at campuses in the University of North Carolina system this school year, according to system data.Public records fight is balancing act for lawmakers
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Learning how much money public officials earn could get easier with a bill sponsored by state Sen. David Hoyle. ...A House committee has yet to act on another bill, passed by the full Senate, to exempt from public records laws some personal information about University of North Carolina applicants who aren't admitted or who don't enroll.
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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