July 10, 2003

Carolina in the News

Current National Coverage

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

Author of cell phone bill presses on despite defeat 
San Francisco Chronicle
The author of a proposal to require cell phone users to talk "hands-free" while driving said 
Wednesday that he will continue to push for the bill, despite its defeat in a state Senate committee 
Tuesday...Many cell phone manufacturers complain that they're being unfairly singled out for 
traffic problems that have a variety of causes. The companies point to a 2001 study by the 
Automobile Association of America and the University of North Carolina that puts cell phone 
use eighth on a list of contributing factors to accidents, ranking below radios, air conditioners, 
food and passengers. 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/10/BA133066.DTL

Report: Illegal bookmaking rings resemble corporations
Las Vegas Sun
They have a corporate structure, incentive programs and a systematic way of setting 
prices for their customers. But they're not Fortune 500 companies or even regular businesses.
Instead, they're illegal sports bookmaking rings, according to an economics professor 
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill who wrote a paper analyzing the rings.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2003/jul/09/515318243.html

Work on new high school, community center begins
Duluth News Tribune (MN)
In 1939, when this North Shore port town built its last high school, educators didn't 
think much about things such as computer labs or the Internet -- or even locker rooms for girls...
"In other places I've been, like at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, buildings 
have been around since the 1700s. It's a matter of maintenance," Maxwell said. "Our schools 
should be maintained better so they last longer. The kids should be taught to respect property more."
http://www.duluthsuperior.com/mld/duluthsuperior/news/6267826.htm

National News Note

Coverage of the recent UNC study about food portion sizes appeared in the 
July 6, 2003 edition of the Florida Times-Union.

State and Local Coverage

Lawmakers bash book choice 
News and Observer
Republican legislators attacked UNC-Chapel Hill on Wednesday for its choice of a
summer reading book about the struggles of minimum-wage workers, calling it 
"intellectual pornography" and "indoctrination." 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/2682599p-2487126c.html

Legislators, UNC students complain about latest book selection
Wilmington Star-News 
State legislators joined college conservatives Wednesday to criticize the summer 
reading selection at UNC-Chapel Hill, saying the book is liberally biased and 
doesn't serve incoming freshmen well.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030709/APN/307091041&cachetime=5

UNC mum on books rejected in program 
Durham Herald-Sun
A group of UNC students upset with this year's summer reading selection complained 
Wednesday that the university refused to provide a list of all the books that a committee 
reviewed before making its final choice. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-370006.html

Open for discussion (Letter to the Editor)
News and Observer
Regarding the reported "controversy" over this year's Carolina Summer Reading 
Program, I'd like to comment as a faculty discussion leader who's been involved 
with the program over the past several years. 
(Judith Wegner is chair of the UNC faculty.)
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2682403p-2487190c.html

On the workers' side (Letter to the Editor)
News and Observer
The outrage expressed by conservative UNC-Chapel Hill students regarding the 
faculty's choice of "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" for 
freshman summer reading is eye-opening to me (news story, July 8). 
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2682401p-2487196c.html

A lack of diversity (Letter to the Editor)
News and Observer
I was distressed to learn of UNC-Chapel Hill's summer freshmen reading 
assignment, "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara 
Ehrenreich. Her collectivist world view and hatred of capitalism and free 
enterprise are well known. 
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2682402p-2487135c.html

UNC seeks campus support for parking decks, chiller plant 
Durham Herald-Sun
UNC is looking for support on campus for its plan to build new parking decks and a 
chiller plant on central campus -- and would prefer the backing be vocal. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-369938.html

UNC Alumni Association gets new chair
Triangle Business Journal
Carl Matheson, the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Southwood Furniture 
Corp., has been installed as chair of the Board of Directors for the General Alumni 
Association of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2003/07/07/daily24.html

6 children killed in fire 
News and Observer
A boy lit a candle in a crowded mobile home, causing a fire early Wednesday that 
killed six young relatives, two of them infants, authorities said. Four children were 
listed in critical but stable condition at the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC 
Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2682440p-2487211c.html

What business is UNC in? (Opinion Column)
News and Observer
In the face of dwindling state budgets, university officials see the fostering of 
business relations as the source of increased funding from the private sector. 
With UNC-Chapel Hill pursuing the rapid development of its Carolina North 
satellite campus, it is past time for citizens to have a serious debate about their 
vision for the future of the university system. We must not let the momentum toward 
privatization swallow up our public educational resources. To do so would be a 
disservice to the state and ultimately bad for business as well. 
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2682404p-2487146c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

College Rating by U.S. News Will Now Skip a Key Factor
New York Times
Perhaps the most influential survey of American higher education is changing 
the way it ranks the nation's top colleges and universities, dropping from its ratings 
a statistic that many institutions had sought to manipulate in hopes of raising their 
ranking in the survey. 
As it prepares to release its annual rankings, U.S. News & World Report, which 
conducts the survey, has dropped from its formula a statistic known as the yield 
rate. That figure is the percentage of applicants accepted by a university who 
later enroll at that institution.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/07/10/national/10ADMI.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