June 24, 2003

Carolina in the News

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

Special Affirmative Action/Supreme Court decision coverage

Chancellor Moeser, Undergraduate Admissions Director Jerry Lucido, 
Special Assistant to the Chancellor Archie Ervin and Law Professor Jack 
Boger granted numerous broadcast and print interviews with national and state 
media outlets Monday about the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions. A recent News 
Services tip sheet distributed in anticipation of the court's rulings Monday helped 
position these and other key university sources, as well as the amicus brief filed 
in the case by School of Law faculty earlier this spring. A sampling of the results 
to date appears below:

Leaders at UNC delighted by ruling
Charlotte Observer
Leaders of Carolinas colleges and universities applauded the U.S. Supreme Court 
for two rulings released Monday that allow them to continue to take race into 
account in deciding who can enroll -- and predicted the decisions will bring few 
changes to college admissions here. "We're thrilled with the decision," UNC 
Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser said Monday afternoon. "It's a wonderful 
day for higher education in America." Gene Nichol, dean of the law school 
there, went one step further.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6156100.htm

Some colleges must adjust procedures
The Boston Globe
For years, as lawsuits against affirmative action hit public colleges across America, 
officials at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst worried whether they could 
legally continue to consider their applicants' race. ... At Chapel Hill, meanwhile, 
admissions dean Jerry Lucido said he hoped to recruit more minorities by using
race-based scholarships that may be allowable under the new rulings. 
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/175/nation/Some_colleges_must_adjust_procedures+.shtml

Little direct local impact seen from Mich. rulings 
The Herald-Sun
In upholding the University of Michigan law school's use of race as a factor in 
admissions, the U.S. Supreme Court has given a vote of confidence to universities 
across the nation that use a similar process, local university officials said Monday.
... "This is the outcome we'd hoped for," said Jerry Lucido, UNC Chapel Hill's 
director of undergraduate admissions. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-365036.html

UNC says court backs its policy
Winston-Salem Journal
University of North Carolina leaders said that yesterday's Supreme Court decisions 
affirm the university's admissions policies. ... 'Generally, the court found that 
diversity is a compelling state interest. That is, it's important to the future,' said 
Jerry Lucido, the vice-provost and director of undergraduate admissions at 
the UNC-CH.
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031769865179&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099
UNC-Chapel Hill officials celebrate Supreme Court ruling
News 14 Carolina (Time-Warner, Raleigh)
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court said the University of Michigan 
Law School can include race among many factors considered during the admiss-
ions process. ... "This decision really vindicates the practices at the University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, both its law school and its undergraduate 
admissions program," said Jack Boger, Deputy Director of the UNC Center for 
Civil Rights.
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=31473&SecID=2

Affirmative action upheld 
News and Observer
A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected the practice of rewarding 
minority applicants in the college admissions process based solely on their race, 
but it upheld the right of college officials to give race some consideration when 
deciding who can attend the nation's most selective universities. ... "This is the 
outcome we hoped for," said Jerry Lucido, director of undergraduate 
admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/front/story/2643712p-2452085c.html

Like the court, Carolinians split over decision on race
Charlotte Observer
From college students to advocates for minority groups to corporate lawyers across 
the Carolinas, reaction to Monday's Supreme Court affirmative action rulings ranged 
from celebration to caution to frustration. Law students at UNC Chapel Hill debated 
the case. ... At UNC Chapel Hill, professors made it the topic of discussion and a 
few students lounged in the courtyard and discussed the case.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/6156101.htm

Judge abilities first, some say 
News and Observer
Students, parents and grandparents visiting Triangle campuses Monday were no 
less divided than Supreme Court justices on affirmative action. But on the question 
about what matters most in college admissions, the supporters sounded like the 
critics. Top universities like Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, they agreed, should never 
consider race more important than academic merit.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2643589p-2452114c.html

Note: UNC's Moeser, Lucido, Ervin and Boger also spoke with media outlets 
including The Wall Street Journal, The Christian Science Monitor, The 
Miami Herald, The News and Record (Greensboro), WRAL-TV (Raleigh-CBS), 
WTVD-TV (Durham-ABC), WLFL-TV (Raleigh-Warner Brothers), WNCN-TV
(Raleigh-NBC), WUNC-FM, N.C. News Network (90-plus N.C. radio stations), 
WPTF-AM, WBT-AM (Charlotte), WCHL-AM and The Daily Tar Heel.

ACC expansion update

A brief sampling of today's coverage on this topic follows:

Compromise could make Miami lone new team in ACC
USA Today
Presidents and chancellors of the nine Atlantic Coast Conference universities are 
scheduled to hold their fifth teleconference in two weeks this afternoon amid signs 
support might be growing - within both leagues - for an expansion compromise 
that would send only Miami (Fla.) from the Big East to the ACC. It's unknown if 
a vote will be held, but North Carolina chancellor James Moeser said Monday
that he's hopeful that ultimately a Miami-only scenario will prevail.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/2003-06-24-expansion-compromise_x.htm

ACC Presidents to Meet Again Today 
The Washington Post
When ACC university presidents held two votes in mid-May -- one to approve 
expanding from nine to 12 teams, and another to decide with which schools they 
wanted to enter formal discussions -- adding three teams seemed like a foregone 
conclusion. ... With the University of Virginia under significant political pressure to 
oppose any expansion plan that does not protect Virginia Tech's interests, the two 
schools that oppose expansion -- Duke and North Carolina -- essentially have 
received a second chance to make an impact. "You could say so," North Carolina 
Chancellor James Moeser said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24522-2003Jun23.html

13-team ACC unlikely
News and Observer
When the ACC presidents and chancellors hold their next conference call, likely this 
afternoon, a 13-team league may be off their list of expansion options. ... But the 
option of inviting only Miami and forming a 10-team league now has an ally other than 
North Carolina Chancellor James Moeser, who championed the compromise 
over the weekend.
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/story/2643649p-2452050c.html

Current International and National Coverage

Limiting passengers will save lives (Commentary)
The London Free Press (Canada)
It happens whenever I read a story featuring the words "teens" and "crash." ... In a 
study prepared by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research 
Centre, researchers concluded young drivers (under 20 years of age) were the most
likely to be involved in distraction-related crashed. 
http://www.canoe.com/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2003/06/21/116175.html

They Eat Their Own; the Question Is Why
The New York Times
Birds do it. Robber flies that look like bees do it. Even chimpanzees do it. And now 
researchers say that a tiny voice from near the bottom of life's evolutionary ladder is 
chiming in on the chorus: Let's do it. Let's eat our own. ... A 1998 study of 
cannibalistic tiger salamanders led by Dr. David W. Pfennig, a University of 
North Carolina biologist, tested that notion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/24/science/24CANN.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles)

Resources
The Chicago Tribune
There's something fishy about eating seafood for your health. Dr. Jane Hightower, an 
internist in San Francisco, has made a strong connection between certain types of 
fish consumption and mercury poisoning, notes a compelling report in the June issue 
of Health magazine. .... A non-surgical method for fighting uterine fibroids is under 
study at the University of North Carolina Hospital at Chapel Hill
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/health/chi-0306220252jun22,1,4550572.story
(Note: The Chicago Tribune requires free registration to access articles.)

Slow Acting Relief (Opinion-Editorial Column)
Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)
Momentum is building in Congress for enacting a Medicare prescription drug benefit. 
If adopted this year, the addition of an outpatient drug benefit to the program will have
taken almost 40 years to achieve. So why the rush to pass a benefit now after 
decades of inaction?
http://www.newsday.com/news/health/ny-vpobe223340751jun22,0,2224642.story
(Note: Jonathan Oberlander is an assistant professor of social medicine.)

Big portions are feeding our obesity
The Miami Herald
If a little is good, then a lot must be better, right? If what you want is a larger waist-
line, the answer is yes. ... ''Clearly, the problem is that Americans are eating too 
much food,'' said Barry Popkin, professor of nutrition at the University of North 
Carolina schools of public health and medicine, who co-authored one of the 
studies.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/6112798.htm

Oprah fans get into the spirit
St. Petersburg Times (Fla.)
Ask Chris Giblin why she's spending nearly $200 of her own money to bring a home-
less woman to Oprah Winfrey's "Live Your Best Life Tour" stop today in Tampa and 
she gives a simple answer. ... Kathryn Lofton, a doctoral candidate in religious 
studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has written a paper on 
the religious aspects of Winfrey's activities, Practicing Oprah.
http://www.sptimes.com/2003/06/21/Tampabay/Oprah_fans_get_into_t.shtml

State and Local Coverage

`The Boss' heads for Kenan 
The Herald-Sun
The first rock 'n' roll act in 20 years to play Kenan Stadium will also be one of the
biggest to play anyone's stadium -- Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-364968.html
(Note: This story, the subject of statewide attention today, resulted from a UNC 
announcement Monday, 
http://tarheelblue.ocsn.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/062303aab.html.)

WISEWOMAN project reaches out
Wilmington Star-News
Vicky Kempfert was on the way to turning her life around. ... Designed by the state
Department of Health and Human Services, the University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the program will 
take in 240 female participants, ages 40 to 64, and randomly divide them into two groups. 
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?SearchID=73139033185060&Avis=WM&Dato=20030624&Kategori=NEWS&Lopenr=306240318&Ref=AR

University slashes frosh-prof initiative 
The Herald-Sun
A UNC program that connected freshmen with faculty members outside the classroom 
has been eliminated. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-364631.html

Bad economy doesn't spare the area 
The Chapel Hill Herald
The evidence increases nearly every day, nearly every where we look: We are not an 
island. .. Once again, it's a "frill," not something, we suppose, directly related to the 
essential mission of the university. But like the Heels for Health program for UNC staff 
that was cut earlier this month, the First Year Initiative improved the quality of life at
the university.
http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/chhedits/57-364928.html

Prof tries to bring wholeness in his AIDS work 
Chapel Hill Herald
Charles van der Horst strives to lead a life of tikkum olan -- a Hebrew phrase 
exhorting one to make the world whole again. He has opted, as his personal battle, to 
focus on helping rid the world of the scourge of AIDS. Van der Horst is professor of 
medicine and infectious diseases at UNC Chapel Hill and visiting professor at 
Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-364454.html

Music in motion
The Chapel Hill News
There's no doubt they've paid their dues. For years the staff of the university's music 
library has made do in the cramped confines of Hill Hall's basement. ... But life has 
changed drastically in the past few weeks as the library, which includes 123,000 books, 
8,000 microforms and 36,000 audio and video recordings, was loaded up and trucked
to a new home in Wilson Library.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/our_town/story/2635393p-2444602c.html

Historic Snow Camp drama turns 30
The Courier-Tribune
Thirty years ago, there was nothing. ... "No one in his or her right mind would start an 
outdoor drama in Snow Camp," said Scott Parker, director of the Institute of 
Outdoor Drama at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.courier-tribune.com/nws/drama062403.html

Program links kids with golf
The Herald-Sun 
In the game of golf, sometimes the only person who will know if you kick your ball out
of a particularly knotty tangle of rough or "forget" to count the swing that only moved
your ball six inches is you. ... Perraut and the other young men and women in the golf 
program are also part of the Durham Scholars Program, a group funded by the W.R. 
Kenan Charitable Trust that provides academic assistance to students in tough parts of town.
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0423999531
(Note: The Durham Scholars Program is based within Kenan-Flagler Business 
School's Frank Hawkins Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise. For more
information, go to this UNC news release. The Herald-Sun requires free
registration to access archives.)

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

A moldy policy (Editorial)
News and Observer
The aging boiler that heats and provides hot water for most of the buildings at N.C. 
Central University in Durham is a prime example, if an extreme one, of the General 
Assembly's counterproductive habit of stinting on routine maintenance of state property. 
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2637201p-2446360c.html

Council questions UNC building plan 
News and Observer
The Town Council will wait at least until Wednesday to consider a UNC-Chapel Hill 
proposal to build two parking decks and an air-conditioning chiller plant close to a 
historic cemetery and two neighborhoods. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2643591p-2452016c.html

Council delays UNC plan action 
The Herald-Sun
The Town Council deferred action Monday on changes that UNC Chapel Hill wants to 
make to its campus Development Plan. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-365056.html

Towns part ways on buses 
News and Observer
Don Frazier would rather hitch a ride from a friend from his home in northeast Durham
to his landscaping job in Carrboro than fish out an extra quarter to ride Durham's buses.
... Chapel Hill Transit, subsidized by the towns of Chapel Hill, Carrboro and the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, had a 43 percent increase in ridership 
after rolling out its free ride program last year -- double what was expected.
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2637276p-2446403c.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