February 18, 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:

A nation divided, with no bridges left to build
The Independent (United Kingdom)
In Austin, Texas, Robert Fisk sees at first hand the vast gulf between the 
pro- and anti-war movements in the United States...At a seminar at the 
University of North Carolina, I listened to a group of professors and senior 
lecturers and "activists" debating how to influence the "path to war." 
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=378724

Current National Coverage

Gephardt backs race-based admissions 
United Press International
Democratic presidential candidate Dick Gephardt is backing the University 
of Michigan's affirmative action policies, the school said Monday. ... Others 
filing "amicus curiae," or friend-of-the-court briefs in support of the university
this week include ... the University of North Carolina School of Law ... 
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030217-040334-4839r

Questions Outnumber Answers on P.S.A. Test
The New York Times
Many women have hesitated to get mammograms because they know the 
unpleasant realities they face if anything suspicious appears, especially since 
there are no guarantees that treatments will be lifesaving or even necessary.
... In an article published in December in The American Journal of Medicine, 
researchers from the University of North Carolina and the University of 
Massachusetts in Boston noted that screening men for prostate cancer had
become popular even though it had not been shown to be lifesaving in a 
randomized clinical trial. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/18/health/menshealth/18BROD.html
(Note: The New York Times requires a subscription to access articles.)

Screening: 3 Easy Steps to Diagnose Strokes
The New York Times
People who are coached to give a three-step test can accurately tell if 
someone is having a stroke, a new study has found. ... The study was 
presented last week at a conference of the American Stroke Association in 
Phoenix. Researchers from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill 
School of Medicine enlisted six stroke survivors who still had some
symptoms to test how well 100 volunteers could use the test. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/18/health/18SCRE.html
(Note: The New York Times requires a subscription to access articles.)

Vitamin C May Guard Against Labor Complication 
Reuters (international wire service)
Women who add extra vitamin C to their diet during pregnancy may lower
their risk of premature delivery, a team of Mexican researchers reports. ... 
Commenting on the study, Dr. Anna Siega-Riz of the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill said it "contributes another piece of evidence that 
vitamin C is important in the events that lead to premature rupture of the
membranes." ... 
http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=2241508

Heatstroke unusual for baseball player 
The Washington Times
Heatstroke, which claimed the life of Baltimore Orioles pitcher Steve Bechler 
yesterday, has been responsible for the deaths of 20 football players in the last 
eight years. According to a University of North Carolina study released last 
year, 19 high school and college football players have died from heatstroke 
since 1995 ... "Heatstroke has really been confined to football," said Dr. 
Frederick Mueller, chairman of the department of physical education, 
exercise and sports science at North Carolina ...
http://washingtontimes.com/sports/20030218-19467964.htm

Gina's Story part two
WIVB-TV (CBS, NY)
As Hunter Kelly continues his fight against the deadly Krabbe's disease, other 
children are beating it. ... Developmental Pediatrician Dr. Maria Louisa 
Escolar said, "It's not only prolonging their lives, they are functionally doing a 
lot better." ... 
http://www.wivb.com/Global/story.asp?s=%20%201130915
(Note: Escolar is a faculty member in the Center for the Study 
of Development and Learning.)

State and Local Coverage

Study: Diets are better when market is handy
Winston-Salem Journal
A recent study has found that people eat more fruits and vegetables when they 
have a supermarket in their neighborhood. ... The analysis was based on a study 
of more than 10,000 participants as part of the Atherosclerosis Risk in 
Communities Study, a continuing heart-disease project at the University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ... 
http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/MGB34SM0BCD.html
(Note: A UNC news release about this study is available at 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/nov02/wing110102.html)

Researchers call for payday lending reforms
Charlotte Observer
A new study of payday lending in North Carolina raises more concerns about 
an industry increasingly under fire from state and federal regulators. Payday 
lending has exploded into a $14 billion industry nationwide by creating a group 
of chronic borrowers, according to a report by two UNC Chapel Hill researchers. 
Industry practices can prey on financially vulnerable families, leading to a cycle 
of repeat borrowing of small amounts of money under high fees, reports 
Michael Stegman, chairman of the public policy department, and Robert 
Faris, a research associate at the Center for Community Capitalism. ... 
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/5198784.htm

What's disrupting classrooms? (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer
A news report earlier this year on North Carolina's "high rate of ADHD" 
highlighted an important issue. But the use of the Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity 
Disorder label and discussion of the relative prevalence of this "disorder" in 
various parts of the state suggest that ADHD is something discrete, like 
diabetes. ...
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2217070p-2092984c.html
(Note: Paul M. Brinich, Ph.D., is clinical professor in the departments 
of psychology and psychiatry at UNC-Chapel Hill and the UNC/Duke
University Psychoanalytic Education Program.)

Wolf award comes knocking at UNC researcher’s door 
The Herald-Sun
Internationally renowned UNC pathology professor Oliver Smithies, winner
of the 2001 "American Nobel" -- the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical 
Research -- is adding another research trophy to his collection. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-321836.html
(Note: A UNC news release on Smithies' latest award is available at
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb03/smithies021403.html)

All that's jazz
Chapel Hill News
Carolina's annual jazz festival showcases students, faculty and visiting artists. 
Jazz rules at Carolina for the next two weeks as the 25th annual Carolina Jazz 
Festival returns to campus.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2204845p-2083719c.html

UNC students hear advice on minding their manners 
Chapel Hill Herald
In a tight economy and a competitive employment market, today’s graduates 
need every possible tip, including knowing how to tip. ...
http://www.heraldsun.com/orange/10-321295.html

Review: Arrgh, matey! Tragedy is easy, comedy harder 
The Herald-Sun
Although most will find this hard to believe, staged comedy is infinitely more 
difficult to "sell" than its companion mask, tragedy. ... Not so the goings-on in 
Chapel Hill, where Albert Bergeret and his New York Gilbert and Sullivan 
Players recently performed. Bergeret’s marvelous troupe has just finished up 
its return engagement to the UNC campus, this year — while Memorial Hall’s 
final renovations are put into place — delighting Hill Hall’s audience with 
another of its side-splitting looks at the G&S operettas. ..
http://www.herald-sun.com/features/54-321341.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Groups Support University of Michigan Affirmative Action Case
The New York Times
A month after the Bush administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court 
opposing affirmative action policies at the University of Michigan, more than 
300 organizations representing academia, major corporations, labor unions 
and nearly 30 of the nation's top former military and civilian defense officials, 
announced that they would file briefs supporting the university by Tuesday's 
deadline ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/18/education/18AFFI.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

Jump start 
News and Observer, Q Section
Arthur P. Bode never saw himself as a businessman. The East Carolina University 
pathology professor, whose name is chased by a string of scientific titles, built his 
career inside laboratories surrounded by lab coats and test tubes, not pinstriped suits 
and financial figures. So it took him months to feel at ease launching a company that 
could eventually employ as many as 300 and generate $500 million in annual revenue 
to manufacture a medical product that he and a UNC-Chapel Hill researcher 
discovered ... Take Hemocellular Therapeutics, the company that ECU's Bode and 
Tom Fischer, research associate pathology professor at UNC-CH, are creating to 
stop bleeding ... "Two years ago, I was bold enough to say if an idea is good enough, 
money is not an issue," said Mark Crowell, associate vice chancellor for economic 
development at UNC-CH ... 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/2211720p-2088507c.html

Work on the front end (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer, Q Section
Angus Kingon is professor of materials science and engineering in the College of 
Engineering at N.C. State University and executive director of Technology 
Commercialization Programs in the College of Management ...
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/2211721p-2088442c.html

Don't kill the goose (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer, Q Section
Jennifer Washburn is a fellow of the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan think
tank in Washington, D.C. In asking the university to become more commercial in its 
orientation, we must not kill the goose that lays the golden egg. ...
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/2211722p-2088385c.html

Accept responsibility (Question and Answer)
News and Observer, Q Section
Kristina Johnson is dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. THE 
N&O: As states and communities press universities to become "engines" of economic 
growth, should their expectations differ for public and private universities? ...
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/q/story/2211723p-2088412c.html

The University as Parent
Winston-Salem Journal
In Philadelphia, the University City Science Center occupies 2 million square 
feet on 17 acres....Other universities aren't comfortable with that level of involvement.
"I think Wake is very aggressive and really doing a great job to help get them set up," 
said Mark Crowell, the head of the technology transfer office at the University 
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "We don't go as far as Wake - Wake takes board 
seats - a lot of universities won't go near that far."
http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/MGBRCB6B8CD.html

Athletics admissions (Editorial)
Charlotte Observer
UNC Board of Governors Chairman Brad Wilson spoke for a lot of North 
Carolinians last week when he asked this question about campus admission 
policies involving athletic exceptions: Huh? ...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/5204572.htm

We lose grads to China, too 
News and Observer
ASU trains students to work in nation that seized N.C. jobs 
Preston Powell grew up close enough to Greensboro's textile factories to know 
firsthand the urgency of "Buy American." ...The University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill encourages business students to visit other countries through its Office 
of International Programs, .. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2211784p-2088548c.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