February 17, 2003

Carolina in the News

Current International Coverage

Public can be taught to spot strokes
BBC News
Patients are asked to raise arms to test for stroke
Members of the public can be easily trained to spot stroke symptoms, helping 
people get medical help quicker, experts say. 
Stroke survivors, some of whom had symptoms such as face or arm weakness or 
speech deficits, and 100 unrelated visitors at a local hospital were asked to take 
part in the study by researchers at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 
School of Medicine in North Carolina. 
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/2758249.stm
(Additional coverage includes The Los Angeles Times)

Current National Coverage

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

Electronic Tracking System Monitors Foreign Students
New York Times
Mandated after terrorists first bombed the World Trade Center a decade ago and 
financed after they destroyed it, a vast new electronic tracking system became the 
central element on Saturday in the government's effort to keep tabs on nearly a 
million foreign students and scholars in this country...Given Sevis's instant nature, 
"there's no room to correct the record for errors," said Robert J. Locke of the 
University of North Carolina. "That's our biggest fear in the implementation of this, 
that students and scholars may unwittingly fall between the cracks and become illegal."
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/17/national/17STUD.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

Body's First Defense May Be Root of Diseases 
Washington Post
Medical researchers are becoming increasingly convinced that the most primitive 
part of the immune system, usually the body's first defense against infection and 
injury, may play a crucial role in some of the most devastating afflictions of modern 
humans , including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and possibly Alzheimer's... 
A study led by Robert Sandler of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
is expected to be published soon in the New England Journal of Medicine with 
promising results about the power of aspirin to slash the risk of precancerous 
growths called polyps in people who have had colon cancer. ...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13755-2003Feb15.html

Study changes attitude about altitude
San Francisco Chronicle
High altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) is a serious, scary disease -- and one that 
doctors generally believed wasn't much of a problem for healthy people traveling 
to elevations below about 9,000 feet..."I hate to overdramatize, because this is the 
first time it's been reported at so relatively shallow an altitude," said Dr. Lawrence 
Raymond, a pulmonologist and professor of family medicine at the University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill ...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/02/16/TR221535.DTL

UGA gets 40% fewer black applicants
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Applications from African-American students to the University of Georgia fell 
by 40 percent for the fall 2003 semester, even though the school said it had 
increased efforts to recruit black students..."Duke is a very active recruiter in 
the Atlanta area, as well as the University of North Carolina," said James 
Watkins, assistant director of admissions and metro Atlanta outreach officer.  ...
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/saturday/news_e3d46e63339721850094.html

Slogan is the message 
Cincinnati Enquirer
Michigan: "Great Lakes. Great location."
New York: "New Attitudes, New Opportunities."
Pennsylvania: "Come Invent the Future."
Ohio: "The eCorridor"?..Johnson is heartened by precedents in other states. Texas 
was an oil and cattle state before commitments in research funding put the state 
near the top of the high-tech game. And North Carolina was a tobacco and textiles 
center before the Research Triangle, sandwiched between North Carolina State 
University, the University of North Carolina and Duke University, made it a 
technology contender. ...
http://enquirer.com/editions/2003/02/16/biz_johnson16.html

State and Local Coverage

Law school backs Mich. 
News and Observer 
Arguing that a diverse student body is essential to a public law school's mission to 
educate future leaders, UNC-Chapel Hill's law school has joined the national debate 
on affirmative action that will culminate this spring in arguments before the U.S. 
Supreme Court ...
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2206786p-2085309c.html

Senator needs to buckle down for a fight (Editorial)
Chapel Hill Herald
No issue coming up in the General Assembly this year is more important locally than 
the fate of the millions of dollars in “overhead receipts” that flow to the UNC system’s 
biggest campus. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/chhedits/57-321031.html

Students at N.C. Central, UNC to pay more 
Chapel Hill Herald
The total cost of attendance for an in-state undergraduate student at UNC Chapel 
Hill next year will top $9,400 following a series of fee increases. 
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-321340.html

UNC's athlete-graduation rates decline
Chapel Hill News
Drop is sharpest in revenue sports, with rate for football players plunging 
by almost 7 percentage points. A report presented last week to the UNC Board 
of Governors indicates a slight drop in six-year graduation rates for UNC-Chapel 
Hill student athletes -- and a more significant decline for UNC-CH football players.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2205074p-2083984c.html

Newspaper: Sterilizations killed at least three women
Charlotte Observer
At least three women died from sterilization operations performed under a 
state-sponsored program that ended in the 1970s, a newspaper reported Sunday...
The deaths are reported in a study conducted in 1940 by Eleanor Welborn, a 
graduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and other 
documents.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5196811.htm

Towns, DOT take different paths
Chapel Hill News
This time of year, there's plenty of mud along the sides of South Columbia Street, 
Smith Level Road and Weaver Dairy Road. Mud that planners from Chapel Hill, 
Carrboro and the state are anxious to quickly replace with sidewalks, bike lanes 
and wider roadways ...
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2205209p-2084121c.html

Medical students get life lessons 
News and Observer
Folding sheets and baking brownies are far from the life's work Amy Curtis envisions 
for herself as a radiation oncologist, but the chores have done wonders for her life's 
education. Curtis, a fourth-year medical student at UNC-Chapel Hill, volunteers 
regularly at the Ronald McDonald House, where families of patients stay inexpensively 
while their loved ones receive treatment at nearby UNC Hospitals. ...
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2206781p-2085274c.html

Big steps for dance marathon 
The Herald-Sun
In its first year, with what must now seem a skeleton crew, UNC’s Dance Marathon 
raised $40,000 and planted the seed for future endeavors. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-321301.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Why no 'exceptions' (Letter to the Editor)
News and Observer
Regarding references in your Feb. 14 story "Players' struggle in class masked" to 
the admissions process for student-athletes at UNC-Chapel Hill: Our university 
community takes the undergraduate admissions process for all students, including 
student-athletes, very seriously. Our faculty guide us in our decision-making. ...
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/letters/story/2206798p-2085333c.html
(Note: Fox's statement, alluded to in the news story above, also was excerpted on 
Saturday's op-ed page of The News and Observer. No online link is available, but 
the statement is posted at http://www.ncsu.edu/news/feb14_statement.htm) 

More data sought on 'exceptions' 
News and Observer
The chairman of the UNC Board of Governors asked Friday for a fuller explanation 
of how the UNC campuses report their "academic exceptions" -- students who may 
fall short of the usual admission standards but are accepted anyway ... At UNC-Chapel 
Hill, Admissions Director Jerry Lucido said none of those students is an exception ...
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2206780p-2085307c.html

It's no game (Editorial)
News and Observer
The state university system needs to be clear and accountable regarding standards 
for athletes admitted as "exceptions." ...
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2211706p-2088586c.html

Tuition policy shows a weak BOG (Editorial)
Chapel Hill Herald
To hear some members of the UNC Board of Governors describe the majority view,
a simple pledge not to raise tuition in response to an increase in enrollment in the 
university system would unduly restrict them. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/chhedits/57-321442.html

Students at N.C. Central, UNC to pay more 
The Herald-Sun
The total cost of attendance for an in-state undergraduate student at UNC Chapel 
Hill next year will top $9,400 following a series of fee increases. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-321340.html

Fresh faces greet UNC lobbyists 
Chapel Hill Herald
As they prepare to make their case for funding to the state legislature, UNC system 
lobbyists are facing a daunting challenge: getting to know the largest number of new 
lawmakers in recent memory. ...
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-321484.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