March 17, 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:

Finding right treatment for high blood pressure is tricky
The Baltimore Sun
In December, a study of more than 42,000 white and black Americans found that 
old-fashioned diuretics - "water pills" - work at least as well and sometimes better 
than more expensive drugs to treat high blood pressure. ... Granted, it is a bit 
confusing. But it's "very reassuring" that the JAMA study found diuretics to be so 
effective, says Dr. Sid Smith, past president of the American Heart Association 
and professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 
http://www.sunspot.net/news/health/bal-te.foreman17mar17.story
(Note: This story also appeared in The Chicago Tribune.)

Cost of your vote goes down
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 
Talk about deflation: in 1998, the cost per vote of the Georgia governor's race 
was $21.96. Last year, with more voters and a candidate who didn't have any 
money, the average price of a vote plummeted to $11.96. That nugget comes 
from a study of the costs of Southern gubernatorial races done by Thad Beyle 
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/monday/metro_e357c6ecb2a161420061.html

Search for truth of '79 'massacre' roils Greensboro 
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution 
A caravan of Klansmen and neo-Nazis rolled into the housing project a little after 
11 a.m. Nelson Johnson, an organizer of that morning's "Death to the Klan" rally, 
remembers the nine cars and trucks moving so slowly he walked between them to 
cross the street ... "The conventional wisdom was it was a Klan-Commie shootout,
for which no one could be blamed and you couldn't expect to get to the bottom 
of it," said Harry Watson, director of the Center for the Study of the American 
South at the University of North Carolina. 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/news/0303/17greensboro.html

Feature made for safety becomes fashionable, convenient 
Detroit Free Press
Reggie Smith knew he wanted a new cell phone. But when it came time to decide 
whether to buy a hands-free device that allowed him to talk on the phone without 
holding it to his ear, he wasn't so sure. ... And a University of North Carolina 
Highway Safety Research Center study showed that fiddling with the car radio, 
talking to passengers and eating or drinking caused far more accidents than talking 
on a cell phone. 
http://www.freep.com/money/business/guide16_20030316.htm

State and Local Coverage

N.C. colleges had a long way to come (Commentary)
Charlotte Observer
Ever wonder why we have these long debates about affirmative action in college 
admissions? ... Now ratchet forward a couple of decades and take a look at the 
friend-of-the-court brief filed by UNC law school's leadership in a Michigan case ... 
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/columnists/jack_betts/5404381.htm

UNC studies classic debate on Iraqi war 
The Herald-Sun
Rhetoric? Check. Shouting? You betcha. Placards? Plenty. But is campus 
activism at UNC failing to dig beneath the surface of the war issue? Are students, 
outside of those with clear pro- or anti-war affiliations, really learning anything as 
the country prepares for war? These are questions asked by Virginia Carson, who 
as director of UNC’s Campus Y is pushing administrators to conduct a formal 
campus debate to explore the issue. ... Carson has asked Chancellor James 
Moeser for help in organizing a classical-style debate. ...
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-331860.html

No access to justice (Speech Transcript)
News and Observer
From a speech by Gene Nichol, dean of law and Burton Craige professor 
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (The speech won first place 
in an American Bar Association Law Day contest.) ...
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2328585p-2183178c.html

Like cats and dogs (Question and Answer)
News and Observer, Q Section
THE N&O: As a French-born American, what is your take on the tension between 
the United States and France? ...
http://newsobserver.com/news/q/story/2328493p-2183346c.html
(Note: Yves de la Queriere, a French-born American, is an associate 
professor of French at UNC-CH.)

A hero's kindness (Commentary)
News and Observer
One week out from the 75th annual Academy Awards, the buzz is already 
deafening. Who will win? What will they wear? Whom will they thank in the 
acceptance speech? Katie, Matt and Barbara can scramble for the sit-down 
interviews. I got my exclusive with Doug Crutchfield, winner of the Robert R. 
Cornwell Unsung Hero Award. ... 
http://www.newsobserver.com/features/columnists/story/2328767p-2183286c.html
(Note: A UNC news release about Crutchfield is available at 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar03/hero031003.html)

Scandal might tarnish legacy 
News and Observer
Meg Scott Phipps grew up in the Executive Mansion, in a time before strict 
campaign-finance laws. ... "She found herself in a very competitive situation and 
was scrambling for money," said Ferrell Guillory, director of the Program on 
Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at UNC-Chapel Hill. ...
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2328577p-2183349c.html

Some feel Phipps has to resign
Winston-Salem Journal
Her grandfather was agriculture commissioner, governor and a U.S. senator. Her 
father was governor. Now Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps is the 
third generation of the Scott family to win statewide office in North Carolina. ... 
"It is getting to the point where that has got to be seen as a potential option," said 
Thad Beyle, a professor of political science at the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill. ...
http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/news/state/MGB5BFGGCDD.html

Phipps will not resign as commissioner
News 14 Carolina (Time Warner, Raleigh)
Attorneys for Agriculture Commissioner Meg Scott Phipps say she will not resign. 
... UNC-Chapel Hill Political Science Professor Thad Beyle said that if Phipps 
does run in 2004, she could taint the entire Democratic ticket.
http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=25516&SecID=2

Dentist fills needs with airplane 
The Herald-Sun
Before the sun began to set, Keith Taylor’s "compassion flight" took off recently 
late one afternoon from the Horace Williams Airport. The grateful passengers — 
who didn’t pay a cent for the flight — looked out of the plane’s small windows, 
and toward their home in Asheville. ... 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-331607.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Study Questions Educational Benefits of Diversity, a Common Defense of 
Affirmative Action
The Chronicle of Higher Education
In a direct challenge to academic research that asserts the educational benefits of 
diversity, a new study by a team of prominent scholars suggests that students of 
all ethnic backgrounds feel that as minority enrollment grows, the quality of their 
education diminishes and incidents of discrimination increase. 
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/03/2003031701n.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access
articles.)

UNC's hard choices (Letter to the Editor) 
News and Observer
Your March 12 editorial "Open on cuts..." questioned Gov. Mike Easley's 
recommendation that state agencies have the flexibility to manage proposed cuts 
in their 2003-04 budgets. ... 
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/letters/story/2325136p-2180638c.html
(Note: Molly Corbett Broad is president of the UNC system.)

Requests up for help with college 
News and Observer
When it came to saving for his son's college education, Carl J. Schreck Jr. did 
virtually everything that a financial planner says you should do. ... Local colleges 
are awash in financial aid requests from students who received aid in the fall and 
are coming back for more because their parents' financial fortunes have worsened. 
Appeals for additional aid have nearly doubled at NCSU so far this year. Appeals 
are up 50 percent at N.C. Central University in Durham and 10 percent at the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2328677p-2183331c.html

Checking vital signs of Chapel Hill (Commentary)
Chapel Hill News
Folks who attended Orange County’s annual “State of the Economy” breakfast 
last weeknight have come away with the impression that, hey, things are OK here 
in the western corner of the Triangle. 
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/opinion/story/2326470p-2181887c.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