July 22, 2002

Carolina in the News

Current National Coverage

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

Taking the Crackle and Pop Out of Snap Decisions 
The Washington Post
As a new crop of high school students learns every year, the process of getting into 
the college of their choice begins early. Between "early decision" programs, in which 
applicants commit to attending the college if they're accepted, and "early action" 
programs, which are nonbinding, a substantial portion of college admissions decisions 
get made in December of the students' senior year. At the most competitive high schools, 
a third or more of the seniors may apply early... The University of North Carolina 
at Chapel Hill this spring became the first major school to drop its early-decision 
program in favor of nonbinding early action.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A15180-2002Jul16.html

A Child Study Is a Peek. It's Not the Whole Picture.
The New York Times
For some parents, the new research finding that children of mothers who worked full-
time scored lower on school readiness tests may evoke the old story about the blind 
men who tried to describe an elephant... "I think everyone in the field worries 
that these studies will be interpreted simplistically," said Martha Cox, director of the 
Center for Developmental Science at the University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill, and a principal investigator on the Early Child Care Study.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/21/weekinreview/21LEWI.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

If it's Thursday, this must be UNC
The Christian Science Monitor 
It sounds like a teenager's dream: Hanging out in Harvard Square in Cambridge, 
Greenwich Village in New York, South Street in Philadelphia, and Georgetown in 
Washington - all in one week, with 20 other teens and no parents in sight.... It's a switch 
from the traditional summer tour with parents. Commercial college-tour groups whirl students 
through a number of possibilities in different regions of the country. 
http://www.csmonitor.com/search_content/0716/p17s01-lehl.html

State and Local Coverage

Back to health (Editorial)
If money-saving lessons are learned from cost overruns and delays in the UNC Women's 
and Children's Hospitals project in Chapel Hill, big savings in future projects could be
possible. Oh, those savings might not amount to the $28 million over budget that the 
hospitals project experienced, but University of North Carolina system President Molly 
Broad vows that suggestions of a consulting firm which reviewed the project will be applied 
to all construction programs.
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/editorials/story/1571343p-1600346c.html

Quran book is worth UNC students' time (Commentary)
Charlotte Observer
I could better understand the criticism if UNC Chapel Hill were making new students 
read the Quran and accept it as their gospel. Instead, the university is requiring new students 
to read a book about the Quran -- not the Quran itself, as some critics believe -- for the 
sole purpose of helping them understand a major world religion.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/living/3698248.htm

Group says UNC forcing defense of religious beliefs
A Christian-values group that protested UNC’s selection of a book on Islam for a 
summer reading program now is steamed by a university provision letting students out of 
the requirement. The Virginia-based Family Policy Network has taken issue with language 
inserted into UNC’s summer reading program Web site, which now tells incoming students 
that the controversial book "Approaching The Qur’an: The Early Revelations" is not 
required. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-248997.html

UNC alters Quran dictum 
Freshmen who are offended by reading a book about Islam won't be forced to do so, UNC-
Chapel Hill said this week, but they will be required to write a one-page paper stating their 
religious objections to the book. After the threat of a lawsuit, UNC-CH administrators 
quietly added the disclaimer Wednesday to their Web site about the mandatory reading 
selection, "Approaching the Qur'án: The Early Revelations." Critics say the new option makes 
the situation worse by requiring objectors to defend their religious beliefs in class.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/1568558p-1597712c.html

UNC changes freshman reading rule
Winston-Salem Journal
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill won't force incoming freshmen to read a 
book about Islam, but those who don't will have to write a one-page paper about their 
religious objections to the book.
http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/news/regional/MGBAM7SIW3D.html

Call back when you can chat longer
Fox News called the other day in a hurry to ask about the Quran book controversy -- 
specifically, the flap over the university's assignment of Michael Sells' "Approaching the Qur'an: 
The Early Revelations" for the summer reading program for the incoming freshman class. 
Fox commentators have blasted the university over the pick. A Christian rights group now 
says it is interested in suing the university over the assignment. 
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/07/21/news08.html
(Note: To view this story, please scroll down the web page.)

Ventures and adventures in education
At a recent UNC Board of Governors meeting, a number of concerns were raised about 
some of the bills still floating around in the legislature. One that for now doesn't seem likely to 
pass is an effort by Rep. Martin Nesbitt to rein in the university system and its constituent 
institutions. 
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/07/21/news08.html

UNC says sites to be cleaned up
In response to town requests for more information on two hazardous waste sites adjacent to 
the town's Public Works facility off Airport Road, UNC-Chapel Hill officials have forwarded 
a series of reports and analyses on the site. In an accompanying letter, Chancellor James Moeser 
said the university intends to "remediate the sites in conjunction with Carolina North (the Horace 
Williams tract)."
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/Issues/2002/07/21/news01.html

NIH hands out proper ways to kill lab animals 
Responding to conditions alleged at a UNC-Chapel Hill research building last spring, federal 
officials took pains this week to widely broadcast policies on the right way to gas small lab 
animals, including mice, a federal official said.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1568648p-1597738c.html

UNC, Duke law school applications show large increases 
Applications to UNC and other area law schools rolled in at a higher rate than usual this year, 
as more and more college graduates are seeking additional schooling rather than battling a tough 
job market. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-249387.html
(Note: Other coverage known to date includes a related Associated Press story in the Winston-
Salem Journal http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/MGBWGIVRX3D.html and Charlotte Observer
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/3709801.htm.)

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Layoffs will be few 
Gov. Mike Easley's decision this week to stop waiting for the General Assembly to pass a 
budget has put hundreds of state workers on notice that their jobs will be eliminated. But 
agency officials say that only a fraction of the 2,600 positions Easley has ordered cut -- perhaps 
as few as 200 -- will result in layoffs... As of Friday afternoon, the UNC system's 16 campuses 
had not received any orders from the Governor's Office to begin eliminating the 1,075 university 
positions he identified in his May proposal.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1568645p-1597740c.html

Assembly wants to keep AHEC healthy 
A move is afoot in the N.C. General Assembly to limit UNC Chancellor James Moeser’s 
authority to close the Horace Williams Airport until the Area Health Education Centers air fleet 
finds a new home
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-249394.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