August 28, 2003

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

National Coverage

U.S. religious battle is building
The Miami Herald
Even as the hulking Ten Commandments monument was removed from the
public rotunda of an Alabama Judicial Building in Montgomery on Wednesday
... a contemporary battle over the separation of church and state -- was just
beginning....''The South is the most religious of all the regions. It has a larger
cultural capacity to influence people's religious practices,'' says Christian
Smith, a University of North Carolina professor who studies the
sociology of religion.

State and Local Coverage

Council decision sound, not surrender (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
It'd be easy - and unfair - for people to say the Town Council rolled over when
it voted Tuesday night to let UNC build a parking deck on Jackson Circle and
a combined parking deck and chiller plant next to Cobb dorm.

Plant, deck construction await details
The Herald-Sun
UNC cleared a major hurdle when the Town Council approved its proposal for
two new parking decks and a chilled-water plant, but it's still months away
from actually starting construction on those projects.

Limits UNC accepted on decks, chiller plant
The Herald-Sun
In seeking the town's approval for the Cobb parking deck and plant and the
Jackson deck, the university agreed to take a number of steps....UNC traffic
consultant George Alexiou states that, with the three access points, the
increase in traffic at that point would be about one percent. In effect, the
university has promised to prevent that one-percent increase, although it
hasn't spelled out exactly what it would do.

Issue tested town and gown
The News & Observer
Residents from neighborhoods throughout Chapel Hill watched and listened
this week as the Town Council considered two development proposals from
UNC-Chapel Hill, trying to figure out how much say they'll have in future
campus development.

Goals to sustain region announced
The Fayetteville Observer
Goals aimed at sustaining Fort Bragg's mission and the region's vitality were
unveiled during a conference Wednesday at the Officers' Club....Cindy
Pollock Shea, the sustainability coordinator for the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill, spoke about the changes the university is making.
Shea said through 2010, the university plans to add nearly 6 million square
feet of buildings on campus. It must figure out ways to keep the rain runoff
off the streets, however, because the university has agreed not to increase
the volume or the rate of runoff.

Mars captivates Triangle viewers
The News & Observer
As Bevin Sekora made her way through the dark on the observation deck
at Morehead Planetarium, Mars was easily visible above the trees to the
east, just a ruddy point of light. But Sekora was here for a better look and
peered into one of the telescopes set up on the deck.
(Note: Other coverage at the Morehead included The Herald-Sun and NBC-17)

The Right's books for UNC summer reading (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Charlotte Observer
Many North Carolina conservatives have been displeased by the past two
choices of books for summer reading by incoming students at UNC Chapel
Hill, and they did not suffer in silence.

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Add to college-choice list: Town quality
USA Today
And now, for a new spin on college rankings. A consulting company has
identified the top college destinations based not on the attributes of particular
campuses but on whether the surrounding metropolitan area is student friendly.
The consultant's first rankings holds no big surprises: the Boston area, Raleigh
-Durham-Chapel Hill region of North Carolina and Boulder, Colo., lead the way
in each of the population groupings.

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.