July 26, 2004

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Making College Affordable
University Business
There is a common perception that the more prestigious an institution is, the more it costs to attend. But a handful of schools, including University of North Carolina, University of Michigan, University of Virginia, University of Maryland, and Harvard University are disproving this notion...."The program has two functions: to allow poor families not to incur debt, but also to pierce the veil that seems to exist in low-income families that higher education is somehow unattainable," says Chancellor James Moeser of UNC.

Gore returns, transformed
The New York Times
At this point four years ago, Al Gore was the man of the hour...."There are some Democrats who quietly appreciate him for his growl, but they don't want to embrace him for it," said Ferrel Guillory, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Missouri governor's candidates fight over who can best help Kerry
National Associated Press
Challenging an incumbent Democratic governor in a key presidential swing state, Democrat Claire McCaskill thinks she has hit upon a winning message: If Democrats dump Gov. Bob Holden, she can help them win the White House....Of the 17 challengers who knocked off same-party incumbents since 1970, 12 went on to win the governor's office, according to research by Thad Beyle, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Phony Fish At The Market
CBS Evening News
This is about as fresh as seafood gets, a first-hand look most Americans never get...."We thought we might find a few mislabeled fish, but we had no idea we would find so many mislabeled," says Peter Marko, a researcher at the University of North Carolina.

Afghanistan: 'The good but forgotten war'
The Dallas Morning News
She doesn't want people to forget the other war - the war on terror that began in Afghanistan and continues there....But Richard H. Kohn, chairman of curriculum in peace, war and defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a former Pentagon chief of Air Force history, said that the U.S. is giving about as much attention to Afghanistan as it warrants.

Repellents create buzz in W. Nile virus fight
Sacramento Bee
It's not your imagination: You really are yummier to mosquitoes than the other guy. Or maybe you're the one who's rarely bitten....That troubles Dr. Mark Fradin. A dermatologist and professor at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, Fradin began about eight years ago to scour the scientific literature on repellents to better advise his patients.

Regional Coverage

Festival's name survives scrutiny
St. Petersburg Times
As the City Council talked about property tax rates and a new telephone system for City Hall, there was an elephant in the room Tuesday night, or, more accurately, a turtle....Connie C. Eble, a University of North Carolina professor, is an authority on college slang who has written the book Slang and Sociability.

Coming to BOCA
Palm Beach Post
"Charles Burchfield: An American Visionary" is slated to appear in November, and contains more than 50 paintings, drawings and prints, accompanied by European drawings from the Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina.

State & Local Coverage

UNC to aid families of military
The Chapel Hill Herald
Federal funding for a UNC program to help families of the state's National Guard and Reserve personnel has been approved....Spearheaded by UNC Chapel Hill, the program is designed to serve the families of National Guard and Reserve personnel who are being deployed in unprecedented numbers and for lengthier terms of duty than expected.
Note: The Chapel Hill News also ran this story which is not available online.

Sun shines on UNC's book choice
The Charlotte Observer
In 2003, conservatives blasted UNC Chapel Hill for choosing "Nickel and Dimed"as the summer reading book for incoming first-year students....Jan Bardsley, an associate professor of Japanese humanities, led the committee. She heard early from Associate Vice Chancellor Cynthia Wolf Johnson.

UNC names new top librarian
The Chapel Hill Herald
A Utah librarian has been picked to head UNC's campus library system. ...Sarah C. Michalak, currently the director of the J. Willard Marriott Library at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, will begin work in Chapel Hill Sept. 20. She succeeds Joe Hewitt, who recently stepped down after a 29-year career at Carolina.

UNC may exceed campaign goal
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's ongoing capital campaign is on pace to blow past its much publicized $1.8 billion goal, but its leaders aren't quite ready yet to publicly raise the bar.

Signs, in the UNC tradition (Point of View)
The News & Observer
The decision by the UNC-Chapel Hill Board of Trustees to move forward with the possibility of including corporate signs in Kenan Stadium and the Smith Center is an important and necessary change due to the financial challenges of operating a 28-sport program.

Sell ads, and sell out (Editorial)
The Herald-Sun
Remember the old saw about the camel getting his nose into the tent? It happened last week at UNC Chapel Hill, where the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to allow "tasteful" advertising in the Dean Smith Center and at Kenan Stadium. Technically, the trustees gave the go-ahead to explore selling advertising space in the university's largest sports venues, but the effect was implied approval.

University's sign decision lamentable (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
When the UNC Board of Trustees this week cleared the way for advertising signs in the Smith Center and Kenan Stadium, board Chairman Stick Williams noted that "this is not about trying to be like everyone else."

Just do it (Viewpoint)
The Chapel Hill News
The idea of Chapel Hill as a village has long been buried beneath housing developments and traffic congestion....A few signs hanging in the Dean Dome and Kenan Stadium cannot change anything of real substance.

Rating can mask lax child care
The Charlotte Observer
North Carolina's nationally acclaimed day-care rating system has uncovered a disturbing problem: The child care offered to most infants and toddlers falls below acceptable standards, especially when it comes to health and safety practices...The experts behind the evaluations say they don't go to day cares looking for the perfect day, just a typical one. And statistical reliability tests show that's generally what they get, said Debby Cryer, a researcher at UNC Chapel Hill.
Related link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/ncwire_news/story/1464241p-7605015c.html

WISE approach to women's health
The Charlotte Observer
Sylvia Savage, 71, has always been a smart lady. She developed elementary school curricula in her native Sierra Leone, then escaped to safety when the West African nation was racked by civil war...."A lot of people, if you mention diet and exercise, they think of starvation and torture," said Alice Ammerman, a UNC Chapel Hill expert on nutritional counseling.

Change in residency leads to resignation
The Wilmington Star-News
After seven years on the Wrightsville Beach Board of Aldermen, Mayor Pro Tem Barry Mowbray resigned at Thursday night's board meeting following speculation of his recent relocation....According to state law, in order to be eligible to hold an elected office, a person must be able to vote for that office, which requires he or she to live within the jurisdiction, said Robert Joyce, assistant director of the Institute of Government at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

If you use a cell phone behind the wheel, remember, your first priority is safe driving (Editorial)
The Asheville Citizen Times
Look around you at any intersection....Another study, this one conducted at the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center, found that while cell phones are a distraction, they're only one among a list of things that keep drivers from paying adequate attention to the task of driving.

William Davie's Tivoli unearthed
The News & Observer
Historians know plenty about William R. Davie, the Revolutionary War officer and early North Carolina governor who helped found UNC-Chapel Hill.
UNC news release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/jul04/stepon072304.html

More logging roads -- or forest values? (Point of View)
The News & Observer
On a snowy day last March, my wife and I set out for a three-day hike into the Lost Cove and Harper Creek watersheds in North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest....David Havlick is a Ph.D. candidate in geography at UNC-Chapel Hill and author of "No Place Distant: Roads and Motorized Recreation on America's Public Lands.")

Too much cash? How is that a problem?
The News & Observer
Bolstered by cost cuts and rising earnings, U.S. companies have amassed record cash reserves on their balance sheets. They're now searching for ways to get rid of it...."They spent so much time thinking cutting back and efficiency," said Mark Lang, an accounting professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Senioritis: In advanced stages, it may be fatal
The Chapel Hill Herald
Seniors at Northwest High School in Greensboro had a simple rule to follow this past school year....In those cases, the students had a chance to explain why the grades slipped. Just a few ultimately had their admission revoked, said Jerry Lucido, UNC's director of undergraduate admissions.

Issues and Trends

As candidate, Easley finds key tool in veto
The News & Observer
In the next 3 1/2 weeks, Gov. Mike Easley will have opportunities with the stroke of a pen -- or the thud of his veto stamp -- to win or lose votes from NASCAR dads, the tourism industry, women's advocacy groups and others.

Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/newsserv/clipsindex.htm.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.