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August 18, 2003
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:
Current International Coverage
Potential baby bonanza is urban myth, expert says
The Ottawa (Canada) Citizen
The fantasy is repeated with every major power failure: When the lights go out,
amorous couples hit the sheets and nine months later -- poof! -- the maternity
wards are jammed to the rafters in a mini-baby boom.... Mr. Udry, a professor
at the Carolina Population Center at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, was dubious about the claim. He wrote to the New York City health
department and asked for birth data for the five years before and after the
blackout.
(Note: Udry's research was among the UNC expertise highlighted in a News
Services tip sheet.)
Current National Coverage
Patient Privacy Rules Bring Wide Confusion
The Washington Post
The transplant patient was recovering well when doctors discovered that his new
heart might have been infected with bacteria before the operation. When the doctors
sought more information so they could give the man the right antibiotics, the hospital
where the donor had died refused, citing new federal patient privacy rules.... But
Judith E. Tintinalli, chairwoman of emergency medicine at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, said it remains far from clear where to draw the line.... "What
people are getting skittish about is, 'What are the limits? What are the boundaries of
information exchange?' " she said. "Everybody is very skittish about exchanging patient
information. There used to be a lot of off-the-cuff exchanging of information. All that
has come to a screeching halt."
Illegal Immigrants Buy Into Homeowning Dream
The Washington Post
Gerardo Cabrera fell in love with the house immediately. There was the bay window in
the living room, the fireplace in the den, and -- most enchanting to a man raised amid the
concrete of Mexico City -- the woods in the back yard. ..."They are undocumented, but
they are also working, paying taxes and planting roots," said Michael A. Stegman, a pro-
fessor at the University of North Carolina who studies housing and immigration. Though
statistics are not available to pinpoint the numbers, it stands to reason, he said, that "un-
documented immigrants are potentially a very significant portion of the homeownership
market."
Blackout Babies: An Urban Legend?
Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)
The theory goes like this: The lights are out, the stars seem brighter and perhaps there
are candles. The TV is black, the restaurants are closed. It's hot, and, happily, there'll
be no work tomorrow....In a 1970 study of birth rates after that 1965 blackout, Uni-
versity of North Carolina sociologist J. Richard Udry, seemed to concede his best efforts
to put down the myth would fail. "Let us not imagine that a simple statistical analysis such
as this will lay to rest the myth of blackout babies.
N.C. speaks migrants' language
San Antonio Express-News
As she quietly made her way through her first day of school in the United States,
14-year-old Maria Guadalupe Sanchez Gonzalez eyed her surroundings with fear
and dread...."There's no city (in North Carolina) that's untouched by Hispanic
immigration," said Jim Johnson, a demographer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Lessons of change
San Antonio Express-News
The United States is undergoing the largest influx of immigrants since Germans,
Russians, Poles, Italians and the Irish crossed the Atlantic a century ago. And
like their European predecessors, today's mostly Latin American immigrants
are altering the U.S. landscape...."They're at ground zero with it," said Jim
Johnson, a demographer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
"They have to respond to the challenge."
State and Local Coverage
Conservative students, UNC chancellor discuss issues
The Herald-Sun
A group of conservative UNC students met with UNC Chancellor James Moeser
Friday afternoon to ask that the university be more open-minded about their
political beliefs.
Students claim political bias at UNC-CH
News 14 Carolina (Time Warner, Raleigh)
Some UNC-Chapel Hill students say they believe the university has an "anti-
conservative" bias. The group "Committee for a Better Carolina" says some students
feel intimidated on campus because of their political beliefs and they want the university
to put a stop to it. They met with Chancellor James Moeser on Friday afternoon to
share those concerns.
Concerns of campus conservatives reasonable (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
College campuses should be open and welcoming places for all -- even for those
who don't believe in the idea of a liberal campus. The handful of conservative
students who met this past week with UNC Chancellor James Moeser said they
haven't always felt welcomed in Chapel Hill and the campus has not been open
for them.
UNC budges on plans
News and Observer
University leaders told town representatives Friday that they would scale down
the parking deck and chiller plant proposed to be built within 20 yards of the
Old Chapel Hill Cemetery, a historic graveyard that dates back more than 200
years.
Columbia Street widening in mix
The Herald Sun
The current round of town-gown development talks is about more than just
parking decks and chilled water now, as town officials brought the dispute
about widening South Columbia Street directly into the mix on Friday.... The
Town Council might find UNC's proposal for two parking decks and a
chilled-water plant more palatable if the university would stop blocking planned
improvements to South Columbia, town officials said.
Town airs complaint against university
The Chapel Hill News
Town representatives on a joint town and university committee pressed for a
conclusion to the ongoing battle over South Columbia Street as a way of
building trust between the two sides.
Transportation goals still the same (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Carolina remains committed to the transportation philosophy we adopted in our
three-year campus master planning process. We aim to reduce travel to campus
in cars driven by one person through an aggressive campaign advocating alternative
transportation....
Derek Poarch is director of the UNC Department of Public Safety and chairman of
the university's Advisory Transportation Committee.
(Note: The Chapel Hill Herald requires free user registration to access articles.)
Test checks blood supply for West Nile
News and Observer
Blood banks throughout North Carolina are screening donations for evidence of
West Nile virus infection and so far have turned up no instances in which blood
has tested positive for the mosquito-borne disease...."The blood supply is safe,"
said Dr. Mark Brecher, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the
UNC-Chapel Hill School of Medicine and chairman of the Advisory Committee
on Blood Safety and Availability, a scientific panel that guides policies over the
nation's blood supply.
Benefactor is superhero to UNC
News and Observer
Dan Breen can look at the first five panels of most Donald Duck comic books
and pretty much tell you how the rest of the story will unfold....In July, he donated
about 26,000 comics to the University of North Carolina Rare Book Collection,
a gift that curators describe as one that will add heft -- nearly 2 tons -- to the popular
culture genre being saved for future generations.
The introduction of a new species always carries risks
The Daily News (Jacksonville)
A few years ago, a shellfish hatchery on the West Coast wanted to work with
North Carolina scallops....Introducing a non-native species into an environment
is not easy, even if you try, said Charles Peterson, professor of marine sciences
at the University of North Carolina Institute of Marine Sciences.
Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina
NCAA's Brand: Fiscal fitness up to schools
USA Today
As the NCAA unveiled a cautionary study of college athletics finances Thursday,
President Myles Brand indicated the association will continue to explore the
pros and cons of further spending -- but not dictate them.
Increased Spending on College Sports Does Not Increase Net
Profits, NCAA Report Says
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Spending money on sports won't guarantee a college winning teams, more revenue,
or a better reputation, according to a report released on Thursday by the National
Collegiate Athletic Association.
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access articles.)
UNC budget cuts called 'a formula for disaster' (Question-Answer)
News and Observer
Earlier this month, Brad Wilson, chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, set out a full
agenda for the panel, which oversees the 16-campus public university system. In the next
year, Wilson said, the board will take on some major policy questions, including a look at
the 18 percent cap on out-of-state freshmen and the question of contracts for university
chancellors and the UNC president. Wilson said that the university system cannot continue
to weather the kind of budget cuts it has seen in the past few years.
Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell or Mike McFarland at News Services, (919) 962-2091 or russell_campbell@unc.edu or mike_mcfarland@unc.edu
Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.
