August 19, 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

Anti-Christian charges probed
The Washington Times (Washington, D.C.)
The Education Department's civil rights office has opened a second discrimination investigation of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which is accused by a congressman of "abusive policies" against Christian students.

Play Is The Thing
Bicycling
Coopertown Elementary School was the perfect place to play when I was a kid, in the '60s....The average teenager is 13 percent less physically active today than in 1980, according to Lisa Sutherland of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Regional Coverage

Officials: Prayer will continue at meetings
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, SC)
Local officials continue to defy a federal court - and their own attorneys - by continuing to say Christian prayers at meetings...."By the end of the 19th century, evangelical protestantism was basically a state church in most Southern states," said Harry Watson, Southern history professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

State & Local Coverage

The essence of Stone
The Chapel Hill News
Sonja Haynes Stone lay dying....Her friends, students and supporters - shocked and grieving after Stone was struck suddenly with an aneurysm - soon turned their thoughts to making her immortal....Saturday, 13 years of birth pangs will end, and the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History will officially emerge as a place to celebrate black art, intellectualism and public service.

Raising the Roof
The Independent Weekly
It's been a long time coming and the wait is finally over. After more than 10 years of struggling to raise funds and keep up the momentum, UNC-Chapel Hill and the surrounding community finally has a free-standing building in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History.

Stone center opens with exhibit
The News & Observer
This weekend marks the long-awaited opening of the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History at UNC-Chapel Hill.

UNC-CH professor wins $622,000 grant
Triangle Business Journal
A University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor has won a three-year, $622,000 grant to create software that will benefit engineered geothermal systems development.

County's level of debt could grow as an issue
The Charlotte Observer
Cabarrus County risks not being able to borrow enough money to build new schools and a planned jail because of a heavy debt load, according to an analysis released this week....The N.C. Local Government Commission, which approves local governments' borrowing of money, believes most governments should keep their debt to 15 percent, said Jack Vogt, a professor of public finance at UNC Chapel Hill's School of Government.

Cooper orders drug use inquiry
The News & Observer
State authorities are investigating former top courts administrator John Kennedy's suspected cocaine use in his office...."A measurable trace amount -- residue -- is enough," said Bob Farb, an expert on criminal law at UNC-Chapel Hill's Institute of Government.

Triangle Universities Get Mixed Results In Princeton Review
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
The Princeton Review is out with its annual ranking of colleges and universities, which ranks schools in categories like best professors, biggest party school, or most religious students....Triangle universities Duke, North Carolina State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill all were included in the rankings.

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.