March 24, 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:

War's Gruff 'Composer' Strikes Confident Chord 
The Washington Post 
Since hostilities began in Iraq five days ago, Defense Secretary Donald H. 
Rumsfeld has assumed a familiar pose as the Bush administration's chief war 
spokesman, exhibiting the air of resolve that made him enormously popular with 
the American public during the war in Afghanistan. ... "His gruff, combative and 
often arrogant style has won the respect of the American people but has had 
disastrous consequences overseas," said Richard H. Kohn, a military 
historian at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A16298-2003Mar23.html
(Note: This story also appeared in The Winnipeg Free Press (Manitoba, 
Canada)

Air pollution spurs asthma, allergies
MSNBC
In cities across America allergies and asthma seem to be worsening. It's not 
that more plants are pollinating, experts say. Rather, it's the high levels of diesel
fumes and ozone polluting the air ... Several studies have shown ozone can
exacerbate one's allergies, says Dr. David Peden, a professor of pediatrics 
at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and director of the 
UNC Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma and Lung Biology. 
http://www.msnbc.com/news/886576.asp

X-treme faith
Miami Herald
At University Baptist Church in Coral Gables, out comes the bass guitar for a 
youth group's Sunday afternoon jamming. ... Indeed, the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill found during its National Study of Youth and Religion 
that churches and synagogues help shield youngsters from bad habits and crime.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/5445250.htm

Teens and temptations
St. Joseph News Press (Mo.)
Cody Calloway wears his scars with pride. The 15-year-old Benton High School 
freshman proudly shows off scars on his neck and arms from some pretty rowdy 
games of paint ball. ... "Forty percent of teenagers go to religious services and 
about a third say religion is very important in their lives," says Christian Smith, 
associate professor and chair of sociology at the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Smith is involved in the still ongoing Lilly Endowment
-funded National Study of Youth and Religion based at UNC.
http://www.stjoenews-press.com/Main.asp?SectionID=81&SubSectionID=272&ArticleID=38882
(Note: For more information about Smith's research, go to 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/dec02/smith120302.html or 
http://www.youthandreligion.org/

State and Local Coverage

Community Ties (Editorial)
The Daily Tar Heel 
UNC officials recently took a step in the right direction to help ease ongoing 
tensions between Chapel Hill residents and the University. Chancellor James 
Moeser announced Wednesday that the University's Grounds Department will 
not move to the Elkin Hills neighborhood partly because of residents' opposition 
to the plan.
http://www.dailytarheel.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/03/24/3e7f0c0e55dc1

University concedes Elkin Hills residents' concerns 
Chapel Hill News
Elkin Hills residents are expressing relief and cautious optimism over a decision 
by university officials to revise plans for moving service and maintenance shops 
from the main campus to land bordering the neighborhood.
http://www.triangle.com/triangle.com/communities/chapelhill/story/2361668p-2203124c.html

UNC awaiting court ruling on affirmative action 
The Herald-Sun
At universities across the country, admissions officers will soon start paying close 
attention to the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation's highest court will begin hearing 
oral arguments April 1 on two cases that could have a significant impact on how 
colleges admit students. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/features/54-334220.html

Investing in Our Children (Editorial)
Winston-Salem Journal
Smart Start, to the surprise of no one in Forsyth County, is working in its primary 
objective of providing early childhood development programs that prepare young 
children for school. In these almost desperate times for government budgets at 
every level, a new study from the Frank Porter Graham Child Development 
Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides a 
powerful, compelling argument against skimping on money for Smart Start.
http://www.journalnow.com/wsj/opinion/editorial/MGBF9SQ0MDD.html

More for children before school starts (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer
Last year's legislative session saw much discussion of the merits of the governor's 
prekindergarten initiative called More at Four.
http://newsobserver.com/editorials/story/2370368p-2210189c.html
(Note: Richard M. Clifford, Ph.D., is a senior scientist at FPG Child 
Development Institute and research associate professor at the School of 
Education at UNC-Chapel Hill)

Lessons of a postwar Yugoslavia (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer
Almost exactly four years ago, the United States unleashed a 78-day bombing
campaign against Slobodan Milosevic's Yugoslavia. The arguments for war
resembled those we have heard in recent months. Evil had to be confronted. A 
ruthless leader had to be punished, and democracy would have to be fostered 
in a region of strategic importance to the United States. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/story/2366604p-2207222c.html
(Note: Robert D. Greenberg is an associate professor of Slavic languages 
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)

Safe havens can save babies (Editorial)
Wilmington-Morning Star
The stereotype of a mother who murders or abandons a newborn infant is that 
of a panicked, frightened, unwed teenager. But a recently published investigation 
of infant homicides suggests that's not the case ... A study by researchers at the 
University of North Carolina, just published in the Journal of the American 
Medical Association, says that the laws prevent at least 85 deaths per year.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=WM&Date=20030323&Category=EDITORIAL&ArtNo=303230318&Ref=AR&Profile=1016&SectionCat=editorial
(Note: A UNC news release on this study is available at 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar03/herman031703.html)

Web tangles with lack of literacy
Charlotte Observer
Two months ago, University of North Carolina officials launched a free 
health-information Web site billed as the first of its kind in the country. The site,
www.nchealthinfo.org, links people to federal medical data and N.C. health 
services. The launch ceremony was at the Pittsboro Memorial Library, to 
emphasize the site's ability to reach every small town and rural community.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/business/5454390.htm

War evokes differing reactions from N.C.'s immigrant populations
Wilmington Morning Star
Ha Giao Cilpam spent 17 years hiding in the jungle, fighting Vietnam's Communist 
government after American troops left his homeland in 1975. Decades later, he 
says he and his fellow Montagnards are willing to go to war again. ... Jim Johnson, 
a professor at UNC-Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School, has studied 
Hispanic immigration to North Carolina and said attitudes toward the war are 
likely to vary by country of origin, length of time in America and immigration 
status.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20030323&Category=APN&ArtNo=303230652&Ref=AR&cachetime=5

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Database to Track Foreign Students Still Is Not Ready
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Nearly three months after it was supposed to be ready, the database that the 
federal government uses to track international students in the United States is still 
far from being fully operational, a new report from the U.S. Department of Justice 
has found. 
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/03/2003032401n.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access articles.)

New Online Guides Rate Professors
The New York Times
When Kelaine Conochan, a sophomore at the University of Maryland here, was 
choosing courses for this semester, she went online to Pick-a-Prof to check out 
the teachers - and their grading patterns. ... 
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/03/24/education/24PROF.html
(Note: The New York Times requires free registration to access articles.)

No new engineering school 
News and Observer
North Carolina does not need another engineering school in its 16-campus UNC 
system, according to consultants who studied the feasibility of new programs 
proposed at East Carolina University, Western Carolina University and UNC-
Asheville.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/2358892p-2200641c.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