February 24, 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:

It's time to treat overeating seriously (Commentary) 
The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Almost 30 years ago, when I arrived in Canada, the first thing I noticed after 
the spectacular scenery was the fast-food joints, "all you can eat" buffets and 
gas-guzzling cars moving people from home to corner store. ... In many places, 
it's impossible to get a normal-size meal. Barry Popkin, lead author of the JAMA 
study and nutrition professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill, says people no longer have any concept of how much food is enough. ... 
http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20030224/COOBESE/TPComment/TopStories

Current National Coverage

Updates on Billion-Dollar Campaigns at 20 Universities
The Chronicle of Higher Education
The 20 American universities that are seeking to raise at least $1-billion collected 
a total of nearly $240-million in gifts and pledges during the last month for which
they had data available. ... The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 
$918.7-million as of January 31 (increase of $23.3-million in the last month); the
goal is $1.8-billion by 2007. ... 
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/02/2003022403n.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access 
articles.)

The Disappearing State in Public Higher Education
The Chronicle of Higher Education
These are the turbulent fiscal times in the states. Just ask public college presidents 
who are seeking to minimize vast spending cuts by cash-strapped legislators. ... 
Those reductions have hastened a rapid decline in the proportion of taxpayer 
dollars going to the UNC system, whose campus at Chapel Hill was the nation's
first public university. ...
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i25/25a02201.htm
(Note: This story also quotes UNC President Molly Broad and includes a 
photograph of the current science complex construction site that was arranged 
by News Services with this caption, "Decades ago buildings at the University 
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill were constructed entirely at state expense. 
Nowadays, new facilities are financed with mix of private donations and public 
bonds." The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access 
articles.)

In Annapolis, the Perfect Fiscal Storm (Commentary)
The Washington Post
They called it the perfect snowstorm: Warm air from the south collided with 
intensely cold air from Canada as a second blast of low-pressure air blew in from 
the west. .. Even before the recent cuts, funding per full-time student at College 
Park was $3,000 less than funding at the University of Michigan, the University of 
North Carolina, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of 
California at Los Angeles. ... 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42590-2003Feb21.html

FCC member not afraid of dissent
USA Today
As racial issues shook the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill campus in the
late 1980s, Kevin Martin ran for student body president on such run-of-the-mill 
concerns as cafeteria and parking problems. He won. Last week, Martin, a 
Republican Federal Communications Commission member, rattled the 
telecommunications world by similarly playing to pocketbook issues in a rancorous 
debate over phone competition rules ... 
http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/regulation/2003-02-23-martin_x.htm

'Soft skills' give Hispanics edge in job market 
The Washington Times
James H. Johnson doesn't know exactly who cuts his lawn and manicures his 
hedges, but he knows one thing. "They are Hispanic," the business professor at 
the University of North Carolina says. Mr. Johnson looks out the window of the 
Kenan Center, where he heads the Urban Investment Strategies program. ... 
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20030224-91349204.htm

Inflammation's role in illnesses studied
Contra Costa Times (CA)
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.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/living/health/5239267.htm

Family life classes get earlier start
The Sacramento Bee (CA)
The first signs of puberty arrived in the third grade for Rosalyn Clement's daughter
... The medical community is debating research that indicates girls today are 
reaching maturity at a younger age than previous generations. Some researchers 
have questioned the scientific validity of a landmark 1997 study by Marcia Herman-
Giddens of the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina, 
which determined that by age 8, 25 percent of African American girls and 8 percent 
of white girls are beginning to mature physically. ...
http://www.sacbee.com/content/news/story/6164899p-7120093c.html

Walking a 'thin line'
The Stockton Record (CA)
In one fell swoop, the federal government this month told public schools that they 
must accommodate religious speech -- and warned school districts that they would 
risk losing federal funds if they did not allow ''constitutionally protected prayer.''
... William P. Marshall, a school-prayer scholar at the University of North 
Carolina law school, said the directive was ''not constitutionally suspect.'' ...
http://www.recordnet.com/articlelink/022203/lifestyle/articles/022203-l-1.php
(Note: This story also appeared in The Grand Forks Herald (N.D.) and The 
Columbus Ledger-Enquirer (GA))

State and Local Coverage

UNC grad students strain to pay bills 
News and Observer
Melissa Bostrom's car is 11 years old, she doesn't have cable TV, and she works 
12 hours a week in her second job as a computer trainer -- all so that she can 
afford her passion, teaching English at UNC-Chapel Hill ... 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2238371p-2109678c.html

UNC law school atones for its past (Commentary)
Chapel Hill News
More than 60 years after Pauli Murray was denied admission to UNC's School 
of Law solely because she was an African American, much has changed. But as 
the debate over race's role in college admissions is re-ignited, we are reminded 
also of what has remained the same. ... 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/opinion/story/2228442p-2102800c.html

N.C. universities win $949,380 in grants
Triangle Business Journal 
North Carolina universities - including schools in the Triangle - have won $949,380
for research projects, according to U.S. Sen. John Edwards' office. The first three 
grants are from the National Institutes of Health. They include the following ... 
Shannon Kenney, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill ... 
http://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2003/02/17/daily46.html?f=et85

What if there were more exceptions? (Editorial)
Charlotte Observer
While officials at N.C. State University at Raleigh and the UNC Chapel Hill 
were busy recently explaining that they either didn't have any athletic admissions 
exceptions, or not as many as they used to after redefining the terms, another 
report was circulating that raised more eyebrows. ...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/editorial/5243401.htm

Botanist's legacy
Chapel Hill News
Among UNC’s property holdings at first light of the 20th century was a 5-acre 
tract on the eastern fringe of the UNC campus that wasn’t considered good for 
much of anything. ... In conjunction with the arboretum’s centennial, four separate 
exhibits reflecting Coker’s influence will be on display through spring at sites 
throughout campus. ... 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2228270p-2102631c.html
(Note: A UNC news release on the exhibits is available by clicking here.)

Tax laws an assortment of carrots and sticks 
News and Observer
Are you the person your government wants you to be? Are you married? Do you 
have children? ... "As I tell my students," said William Ternier, a law professor at 
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "if you shot our tax code into 
space, and it was found and read by aliens who knew nothing more about us, they 
would be able to learn a great deal about what it means to be a modern American."
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2235565p-2107336c.html
Was open-meeting law violated? 
Charlotte Observer
The decision about a location for a new Cabarrus County courthouse and jail has 
received heavy public attention, but the Concord City Council recently talked about 
the issue behind closed doors -- possibly a violation of state law. ... "The Court of 
Appeals has said, once you move away from strictly legal things and into policy 
questions, then you're supposed to get out of a closed session," said David 
Lawrence, a professor at UNC Chapel Hill's Institute of Government. ...
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/north_carolina/counties/cabarrus/5243353.htm

Students dance for a good cause
News 14 Carolina 
Some UNC-Chapel Hill students put their dancing shoes away after boogying up a 
storm for 24 hours. ... The UNC Dance Marathon kicked off at 7 p.m. Friday and
lasted until 7 p.m. Saturday ... 
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=24048&SecID=2

Tool Time
Daily Tar Heel
Chancellor James Moeser joined students and members of the community in 
working on the construction of a Habitat for Humanity house Friay. ...
http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/02/24/3e5a36d4d0e7f
(Note: Others covering the volunteer work of the Moesers over the weekend
with prominently placed photographs were The Chapel Hill News and The 
Chapel Hill Herald.)

Mileage seen as least of troubles in an SUV (Commentary)
Charlotte Observer
You know the squabbles about SUVs are getting dirty when a TV commercial 
shows a terrorist and says: "Oil money supports some terrible things. What kind 
of mileage does your SUV get?" Last week, Dr. Traffic gave her soapbox to an 
SUV driver. Today an opponent takes his turn. ... Here's Sidney King of Hickory, 
a graduate student at UNC Chapel Hill ... 
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/5243275.htm

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Doctors, Soldiers and Others Weigh In on Campus Diversity
The New York Times
In a broad show of support for affirmative action in higher education, more than 
300 organizations submitted 64 briefs to the Supreme Court last week backing 
admissions practices at the University of Michigan's undergraduate and law 
schools. ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/02/23/weekinreview/23WORD.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

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