February 10, 2003

Carolina in the News

Current International Coverage

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

The fat crisis (Commentary)
The Hindu Business Line (India)
The US is caught in an expanding middle. It is a crisis of excess fat that has its 
roots in an environment of plenty. ... Researchers at the University of North 
Carolina estimate that between 1970 and 1990 portions of salty snacks grew by 
60 per cent, soft drink sizes expanded by 50 per cent and hamburger portions 
grew by 23 per cent. ... 
http://www.blonnet.com/bline/stories/2003021000020900.htm
(Note: A UNC news release on this study is available at 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan03/popkin011603.html)

Applying an economic concept to troop deployment 
The Bangkok Post (Thailand)
Leadership, morale, troop size and intelligence have historically been more 
significant than technology in deciding military conflicts, but does that apply to 
21st century conflicts? ... Stephen D. Biddle of the University of North Carolina 
at Chapel Hill, for example, cogently argued that technology was only a part of 
the reason for the decisive victory in the 1991 war ... 
http://www.bangkokpost.com/090203_Perspective/09Feb2003_pers05.html
(Note: This same report appeared in Thursday's issue of The New York Times.)

Current National Coverage

Baseball injuries can be reduced, study says 
The Courier-Journal (KY)
Some parents harbor a secret desire to wrap their sons in swaddling clothes when 
they head out for the baseball field. More practical considerations generally prevail.
... As part of the study, University of North Carolina researchers evaluated 4,233
injury claims compensated under Little League Baseball Inc.'s insurance policy 
from the 1997-99 seasons. Most of them were ball-related. ...
http://www.courier-journal.com/features/health/2003/02/hf-1-med-3001.html
(Note: A UNC news release on this study is available at 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jan03/marshal013003.html)

Blame game avoids real responsibility (Editorial)
Lancaster Eagle Gazette (OH)
There are plenty of quality weight-loss programs available for residents in Fairfield 
County ... Ironically, just a few days before Judge Robert Sweet dismissed the 
suit, University of North Carolina researchers quantified a fast-food problem that 
even casual gluttons should get -- the portions at restaurants such as McDonald's 
and Burger King have grown dramatically in recent years. ... 
http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/news/stories/20030208/opinion/944662.html

State and Local Coverage

Listening and lobbying 
News and Observer
They call them "listening" tours, but UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser 
and N.C. State University Chancellor Marye Anne Fox have done more talking 
than listening in North Carolina's cities and small towns. In the weeks before the 
General Assembly convened, Moeser was lunching with legislators in Charlotte,
Greensboro, Wilmington and Henderson. ...
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2186610p-2069016c.html

Hard work ahead for UNC in budget planning
Chapel Hill News
With the battle for House Speaker over, legislators and university leaders are
looking ahead to what promises to be another difficult budget year. ... 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2180186p-2064697c.html

Fresh ideas for Williams tract
Chapel Hill News
You can call it "Horace Williams" if you like, but if you're on an advisory group 
studying the infrastructure needs for the university's Carolina North project, it'll 
cost you a dollar. That's the tongue-in-cheek fine for the group's members 
established last week by Bruce Runberg, chair of one of four new advisory 
groups looking at a new plan for the renamed property. ...
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2180189p-2064864c.html

UNC sets funding plan for site cleanup
Chapel Hill News
University officials say they are ready to talk with state environmental officials 
about a cleanup at waste sites on the school's Carolina North tract -- the name 
the university has adopted for its Horace Williams property. ... 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2180189p-2064866c.html

Small world
Chapel Hill News
Small things are happening in the laboratories in the basement of UNC’s Phillips 
Hall. ... Messing around with this wondrous new substance is the latest mission 
for professor Otto Zhou and a team of 15 graduate and undergraduate 
researchers. ... 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2183114p-2067025c.html

AIDS strategy sought 
News and Observer
No one in the audience was shocked when a state epidemiologist announced at
the area's first National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day Friday that African-
Americans made up about 70 percent of the state's new HIV cases last year, yet 
22 percent of the total population. ... At the forum for historically black colleges, 
representatives from six schools, including ... UNC-Chapel Hill, discussed ways 
to spend $100,000 in state money allocated last year to expand counseling and
testing. ...
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2183115p-2067295c.html

UNC deans to study gender-salary gap 
The Herald-Sun
UNC’s Faculty Council has endorsed a resolution calling for university officials 
to collect and analyze all types of faculty compensation when addressing gender
-equity issues. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-318680.html

Local voices 
News and Observer, Q Section
Triangle residents weigh in on the relevance of the United Nations. ... 'I think it's 
relevant in that it was initially established to help us prevent rogue nations from 
simply imposing their will on their own people or other countries ... 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/2186548p-2069108c.html
(Note: Norm Hurley is assistant professor of political science at Carolina.)

Affirmative action said to benefit everyone (Question-Answer Feature)
News and Observer
Concerned that talk about war with Iraq will reduce interest in a pair of 
forthcoming U.S. Supreme Court cases involving affirmative action policies at 
the University of Michigan, U.S. Rep. David Price held a panel discussion last 
week at Duke University to discuss race-based admissions. ... Ben Vinson III, 
postdoctoral fellow for faculty diversity at UNC-CH: Affirmative action is 
about dreams -- and it's about fulfilling dreams -- not just for minorities, but for 
the entire nation. ... Leslie Winner, UNC system general counsel: When I 
think about this I always end up thinking about what the former CEO of First 
Union Corp. told me when we were getting ready for the trial in the Charlotte-
Mecklenburg school case ...
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/2189254p-2071160c.html

Study: Hormone Injections May Prevent Preterm Babies
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
In 2002, one out every eight babies was born prematurely. Doctors say many 
complications can occur when a baby arrives too early. ... Bowman decided to 
take part in a study at the University of North Carolina during her third pregnancy. 
Bowman and hundreds of other women received injections of the hormone 
progesterone every week for 16 weeks. "It's a painful injection and particularly if 
you're thin. You're going to have a sore bottom from it," Dr. John Thorp, a 
gynecologist at UNC. ... 
http://www.wral.com/health/1962049/detail.html
(Note: Other coverage includes WNCN-TV (NBC, Raleigh). A UNC news 
release on this study is available at
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb03/preterm020503.html)

Lack of transportation compromises health
Charlotte Observer
If you live in Charlotte's Southside Park and you have a car, here's how you could 
get to the supermarket: ... A recent study by the UNC Chapel Hill department of 
epidemiology found that predominantly black neighborhoods average one 
supermarket for every 23,582 people. ...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/5140765.htm
(Note: A UNC news release on this study is available at 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov02/wing110102.html)

Students gear up for dance marathon fundraiser
News 14 Carolina (Time-Warner, Raleigh)
Hundreds of students at UNC-Chapel Hill are getting ready for the largest student-
run fundraiser on campus. In just about two weeks, the UNC dance marathon will 
have Tar Heels kicking up their heels at Fetzer Gym on campus. ...
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=23142&SecID=2
(Note: A video featuring comments by student organizer Dana Gottheim is also 
available at the above url.)

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Co-speaker Morgan sees need to change ways 
News and Observer
Don't let the boyish looks fool you: Richard Morgan has spent his political career 
playing the role of a somber, hardheaded legislator who never backs down from a 
fight. ... A native of Southern Pines, Morgan got his first taste of politics serving in 
student government at UNC-Chapel Hill. After graduating in 1974, he served as 
the statewide youth coordinator for U.S. Senate candidate Bill Stevens ... 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2181587p-2065948c.html

Burr expected to explore bid for Senate
Winston-Salem Journal
Rep. Richard Burr is expected to announce Monday that he's forming a committee 
to explore a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2004 ... 
http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/news/federal/MGBX3M55XBD.html

UNC students: Uncle Sam wants you 
The Herald-Sun
For decades the recruiting pitch has been clear. Join the U.S. Army and become a 
part of the world’s most powerful and effective fighting force. ... Thus the message 
sent to students this week by Gen. Paul Kern, one of just nine four-star generals in 
the U.S. Army: The Army is hiring, and it wants you. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-318681.html

Michigan's affirmative action case could hit close to home (Commentary)
Chapel Hill News
The potential impact of the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action 
has generated much discussion. I’ve been interested recently to hear a couple of 
side effects that you may not have thought of. ...
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/opinion/story/2183117p-2067298c.html

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