August 13, 2004

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Web site helps kids shape up
The Dallas Morning News
Yep, we know the statistics: Obesity is a big and growing problem for kids. So enough of the negative. Log on to www.getkids inaction.org and learn something without being lectured. It's sponsored by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and The Gatorade Co.

Regional Coverage

Amid pigs and cockfighting, state spins its wheels (Guest Commentary)
The State (South Carolina)
I am a South Carolinian. I live in Raleigh. I am 22. These are the facts....After graduating high school in Greenville, I made the conscious decision to go to school out of state, to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill....Chancellor James Moeser at UNC noted that he discovered, while provost of USC, that "South Carolina has a streak of anti-intellectualism that is regrettable." Agreed.

State & Local Coverage

UNC responds to FIRE allegations about Christian fraternity

The University has responded to allegations by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) that Carolina discriminated against a student religious group - Alpha Iota Omega, a seven-member Christian fraternity. The University's full response and FIRE's allegations are posted at http://www.unc.edu/news/FIRE.html, along with some related links.

FIRE and Alpha Iota Omega object to the University's requirement that, in order for a student organization to be recognized - and eligible for priority access to University facilities and the right to seek student activity funding - membership in the organization must be open to all students on a nondiscriminatory basis. Alpha Iota Omega requires its members to be male Christians. (The University has 595 recognized student organizations, including 42 student religious organizations with nearly 5,000 members. All but Alpha Iota Omega abide by the policy.)

The University engaged in a series of negotiations with Alpha Iota Omega during fall 2003. The University affirmed its position that, while membership and participation in the fraternity had to be open to all students, the fraternity could restrict its officer positions to students who subscribed to the tenets of the fraternity. The University also noted that membership and participation in student organizations can be limited to students willing to affirm an interest in the organization and a desire to support its objectives and activities. The University's efforts to be flexible and to find a win-win solution were not successful. Because Alpha Iota Omega refused to comply with the University's nondiscrimination policy, the fraternity was not recognized by the University for the 2003-2004 academic year.

As a state institution, the University must balance the constitutionally mandated First Amendment rights of its students to freedom of association against the constitutionally mandated Fourteenth Amendment rights of its students to equal protection of the laws. In addition, the North Carolina Constitution states that, "No person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws; nor shall any person be subjected to discrimination by the State because of race, color, religion, or national origin."

The University believes that it has taken an appropriate position on this issue, striking the right balance between the interests of free association, on the one hand, and nondiscrimination, on the other.

Related coverage:

Student group refuses to sign policy
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
UNC has declined to officially recognize a Christian student organization because the group has refused to sign a nondiscrimination policy....In a three-page response to the rights organization's inquiry, (Chancellor James) Moeser said the university has acted appropriately. Even if the student group complied with the university policy, its members would still be able to honor "their mission of providing leadership and outreach to the campus Greek community through evangelism and mentorship," Moeser wrote....William Marshall, a UNC law professor and constitutional scholar, said Thursday he doesn't believe the university has violated the rights of the students in the fraternity...."It doesn't mean that any of these organizations have to change their basic tenets," Marshall said. "It just means the group has to be open to the entire campus community. There's no interference with faith or religious beliefs in any way."

Religion again issue at UNC-CH
The News & Observer
UNC-Chapel Hill is once again facing criticism about students' religious freedom on campus.

Aspirin Therapy Not For Everyone
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
Aspirin is a type of blood thinner and reduces the risk of heart attacks and stroke...."People wouldn't know that they were resistant to aspirin just from taking it. They're not going to feel any different," said Dr. Gilbert White, a hematologist at University of North Carolina Hospitals.

Courthouse site remains hidden
Greensboro News & Record
Americans lost the Battle of Guilford Courthouse in 1781, and then later lost the courthouse that gave the battle its name....That's when UNC-Chapel Hill archaeologist Joffre Coe and others unearthed what was believed the courthouse foundations near a big tree.

Committee discusses future for flood buyout area
The Free Press (Kinston)
A special steering committee met at City Hall Thursday to take the first steps in deciding how to handle land in the flood buyout area....The committee's goal is to come up with a plan similar to the Green Infrastructure plan, a project by University of North Carolina students outlining suggestions for the flood plain.

Issues & Trends

Why Colleges Should Favor the Kids of Alumni (Commentary)
Los Angeles Times
President Bush has denounced his own pedigree. Speaking to a conference of minority journalists in Washington, he lambasted the legacy preference in college admissions, arguing that schools like Yale (his alma mater and that of his father, grandfather and daughter) should consider applicants strictly on their merits, not on whether they are related to alumni.

Let residents vote on state's big borrowing (Editorial)
The Fayetteville Observer
While moms and dads experience mixed feelings about sending their sons and daughters off to college, we're having mixed feelings about money headed to University of North Carolina schools through the university bonds bill, signed into law by Gov. Mike Easley on Aug. 5.

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/newsserv/clipsindex.htm. 

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.