August 14, 2002

Carolina in the News

Current International Coverage

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

Group Challenges School Over Qu'ran 
The Guardian (UK)
When Brendan Byrne heads to college next week, he'll be carrying a copy of 
Michael Sells' ``Approaching the Qu'ran: The Early Revelations'' - required 
summer reading for new students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill. 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-1945990,00.html

(This Associated Press story originated in the Raleigh, N.C., Bureau and includes 
comments from Chancellor Moeser and Professor Carl Ernst in their interviews 
from earlier this week. The story already is appearing on Web sites of several 
major nation newspapers. A Washington Post commentary published Aug. 12 
was distributed via the Post wire service and was featured in today's edition of 
the Miami Herald.)

Current National Coverage

Quran: Christian critics say excerpts of Islam are one-sided 
The Oregonian 
Oregonian Steven Scholl is getting more buzz than he bargained for when he 
published an English translation of parts of the Quran. But the founder of White 
Cloud Press in Ashland is not exactly complaining. 
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/living/1029239765170931.xml

Teaching Islam: Is that UNC Koran class a problem? (Commentary)
National Review
The question of whether or not Michael Sells's book, Approaching the Qur'an: 
The Early Revelations, should be required reading for the incoming freshmen at 
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has already become one for the 
"culture wars." Pavlovian responses on both sides suggest that no one really wants 
a "debate," as such affairs are routinely but erroneously called.
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-bowman081402.asp

Girls Link Their Use of Family Planning Clinics to Keeping Parents in the Dark
The New York Times
Most girls under 18 would stop or limit their use of sexual health services at family 
planning clinics if their parents had to be told they were seeking prescribed 
contraceptives, a new survey shows... Dr. Carol A. Ford, who runs the adolescent 
medicine program at the University of North Carolina, said teenagers often put off 
getting medical attention for sexual concerns, as well as mental health and drug or
alcohol abuse, because of "not wanting to tell their parents."
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/14/health/14TEEN.html
(Note: The New York Times requires a subscription to access articles. Ford also 
appeared this morning on the National Public Radio program, "Morning 
Edition." To listen to the program, please go to 
http://search.npr.org/cf/cmn/cmnpd01fm.cfm?PrgDate=08/14/2002&PrgID=3. 
Other coverage mentioning Ford known to date includes the Milwaukee Journal 
Sentinel, and the Chapel Hill Herald.)

Eugene Odum, 88, Who Founded Modern Ecology, Dies
The New York Times
Eugene P. Odum, widely considered the father of modern ecology, who founded 
and for many years directed one of the world's largest outdoor scientific preserves, 
was found dead on Saturday at his home in Athens, Ga. He was 88... Eugene 
Pleasants Odum was born on Sept. 17, 1913 in Chapel Hill, N.C., where his father 
was a professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina. His mother was 
an urban planner. As a teenager, he had a column on bird life in a local newspaper, 
The Chapel Hill Weekly. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the 
University of North Carolina and his doctorate from the University of Illinois.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/14/obituaries/14ODUM.html
(Note: The New York Times requires a subscription to access articles. 
A related story is featured in the News and Observer
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1635772p-1662498c.html.)

Deflation Makes a Comeback As Economy Keeps Sputtering
The Wall Street Journal
The good news is that the price of everything from golf clubs to personal computers 
is falling. The bad news is that the falling prices could cost many people their jobs... 
"When education costs and hospital costs start falling -- then talk to me about 
deflation," says James Smith, professor at the Kenan-Flagler school of 
business at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,4286,SB1029181387709087875-search,00.html?collection=wsjie/30day&vql-string=%28smith%29%3Cin%3E%28article%2Dbody%29
(Note: The Wall Street Journal requires a subscription to access articles.)

Another Day, Another Math Problem
The Street.com
While smaller companies aren't required to certify their financial results with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday, recent disclosures from some 
of these firms suggest they are taking that edict and the new securities laws seriously... 
"Some of these smaller companies are still within the SEC radar screen," said
Thomas Hazen, a securities law professor at the University of North Carolina. 
"They may not be subject to certification, but the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation is 
going to cover all companies." 
http://www.thestreet.com/markets/rebeccabyrne/10037390.html

Regional Coverage

Experts help teachers with Mideast lessons
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Two metro Atlanta institutions are helping teachers handle a surging interest among 
students on developments in the Middle East since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks... 
That effort is generating little controversy in Atlanta, but a plan to teach freshmen 
about Islam at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill has drawn heated 
debate and sparked a court case. 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/wednesday/atlanta_world_d3957bd7859400a0008e.html

Tar Heels should dig in to repel the intolerant (Editorial)
San Antonio Express-News 
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill long has been one of the finest 
universities in the South, if not the nation. It's in that venerable tradition of respect 
for intellectual inquiry that the university is asking its 3,500 incoming freshmen to 
read a book about Islam as a springboard for discussion when they get to school 
this fall. 
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlb=132&xlc=782937

Traveling exhibit details homespun stories 
San Antonio Express-News 
Listening to the survival stories of low-income homeowners in Tennessee inspired 
photographer Bill Bamberger to share those heartrending tales with others. So he 
approached the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Center for the 
Study of the American South with an idea — showcasing photographs of 
homeowners and their personal stories in different areas of the United States.
http://news.mysanantonio.com/story.cfm?xla=saen&xlc=781537

Patriot Debate
Tamba Tribune
The founder and president of the National Museum of Patriotism never heard of 
Patriot Day. Neither did two professors of pop culture, both with some degree of 
expertise in patriotism... Lawrence Grossberg doesn't understand the name either. 
`'They could have named it World Trade Center Day,'' said Grossberg, a professor 
of communication and cultural studies at the University of North Carolina in 
Chapel Hill. ``One would have thought July Fourth was Patriot Day.'' 
http://tampatrib.com/nationworldnews/MGAR7NCWR4D.html

State and Local Coverage

N.C. delegation pleased to participate 
They spent hours talking health care, technology and small business, but the two 
men and two women who represented North Carolina at President Bush's economic
forum Tuesday said they left with the very theme Bush wanted to emphasize... 
Besides Eure, who represented independent eatery owners on behalf of the National 
Restaurant Association, the other North Carolina residents were Marye Anne Fox, 
chancellor of N.C. State University; Bill Roper, dean of UNC-Chapel Hill's 
School of Public Health.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/1635604p-1662436c.html
(Note: The national Associated Press distributed photos of Roper with President 
Bush at the summit that were published in newspapers including USA Today and 
the News and Observer. To view photos from the Associated Press and Rutgers 
online, go to http://search.news.yahoo.com/search/news?p=Bill+Roper&c=news_photos)

Faculty affirms academic freedom 
While attorneys prepare to fight the UNC-Chapel Hill Quran case in federal court 
Thursday, professors at the university are fuming about what they say are serious 
blows to academic freedom by legislators and the UNC Board of Governors. On 
Tuesday, the executive committee of the UNC-CH Faculty Council circulated its 
own resolution affirming the university's commitment to academic freedom -- similar 
to a measure the UNC board failed to adopt last week. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1635761p-1662492c.html

Ministries encourage discussions about Islam
Several local churches and campus ministry groups have made it a point to engage in 
interfaith dialogues with Muslims in an attempt to defuse some of the anti-Islamic 
sentiment that emerged after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. 
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/08/14/town05.html

To be a coward, UNC (Commentary)
If a snake bites you, don't blame the snake. That's what they do. By the same 
token, the UNC Board of Grovelers, er, Governors, should not blame the state 
House Appropriations Committee for pandering and pontificating. Saying what they 
hope will resonate with the home folks is what many politicians do. No one takes 
their "run-on" rants seriously, especially themselves.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1635764p-1662501c.html

Stand up for UNC (Editorial)
Charlotte Observer
The resolution Charlotte lawyer Ray Farris put before his fellow members of the 
University of North Carolina board of governors Friday should have been adopted 
easily. It wasn't. When asked to stand up for academic freedom, the board ducked.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/3859139.htm

That's the spirit! (Letter to the Editor)
I was quite pleased when I read about a state House committee's vote to ban UNC-
Chapel Hill from using public funds to make a book about the Quran required summer 
reading. As a country at war, we can no longer afford to allow this epidemic of 
"independent thought" and "tolerance" to plague our schools and universities...
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/story/1635571p-1662506c.html
(Note: Four other letters to the editor about the summer reading program appeared 
in today's News and Observer. To view these letters, please visit to 
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/letters/.)

Roses and Raspberries
Raspberries to the UNC Board of Governors for failing to uphold the Code of the 
University, which they are sworn to support when they assume office. 
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/08/14/opinion03.html

Proposed Bill Gives DUI Money To Trauma Centers
WRAL-TV (CBS)
A proposed bill could force those who drive drunk or recklessly to help 
pay for the patients they injure... Physicians, nurses, and paramedics gathered in 
front of UNC Hospitals Tuesday to support the proposal. "We have allocated an 
entire team that responds to the severely injured patients," said Arvilla Stiffler, clinical 
director of the hospital's trauma program.
http://www.wral.com/health/1610752/detail.html
(Note: This coverage stemmed from a news conference held yesterday (Aug. 13) in 
front of the North Carolina Neurosciences Hospital on the UNC campus. Other 
coverage included NBC station, WNCN-TV.)

Laparoscopy Reduces Recovery Time for Hysterectomies 
WTVD-TV (ABC) 
Doctors at UNC are refining the use of a surgical tool to help women recover from 
some major procedures faster, with fewer side effects... Dr. John Steege is performing 
what's called a supra-cervical laparoscopic hysterectomy at UNC's Women's and 
Children's Hospital.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/health/081202_NH_laparoscopy.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

House tentatively passes budget 
The state House tentatively approved a $14.3 billion budget Monday, slashing pay for 
some of the state's top officials, extending the early retirement benefit for state workers 
and arguing anew the merits of expanding a new prekindergarten program when other 
programs are being cut... Overhead receipts again became a target for some 
lawmakers. For the second year, Pope produced a list of UNC-Chapel Hill expenditures 
paid from overhead receipts that he deemed irresponsible. They included $500,000 to 
subsidize bus fares for students and the public, $657,000 to pay merchant fees on credit 
cards and about $25,000 in overseas travel for one professor.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1633206p-1660067c.html
(Note: A related story appeared in the Chapel Hill Herald.)

Micromanagement (Editorial)
Don't lawmakers have enough to do? With the state budget crisis, it would seem there 
would be little time for diversions. Apparently, they make time. A special provision in 
the budget plan that has moved through the state House directs the Board of Governors 
of the University of North Carolina system to establish "an accredited and fully staffed 
stand-alone school of pharmacy" at Elizabeth City State University by no later than 
academic year 2004-05.
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/story/1635563p-1662452c.html

OWASA will tap more restrictive water measures
As the most severe drought on record continued to hold Orange County and the rest 
of the state in its dusty grip, Orange Water and Sewer Authority on Tuesday announced 
that it will implement tighter water conservation restrictions. 
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/08/14/news01.html
(Note: Related stories also appeared in the News and Observer and the Chapel Hill 
Herald.)

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, 
please call Cathleen Keyser or Mike McFarland at News Services, 
(919) 962-2091 or news@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu