March 18, 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

Commentary: Flexitarians
"The Osgood Files," CBS News Radio
Living languages add words all the time. Well, a flexitarian is a vegetarian who sometimes eats meat, or a confirmed meat eater who sometimes orders the vegetable platter or the veggie burger. University of North Carolina dietician Suzanne Havala Hobbs defines a flexitarian as....Somebody who is flexible it terms of what they eat or don't eat.

IBM in N.C. hums at center of outsourcing debate
USA Today
Some 13,300 people work here, at IBM's largest site in the world. That places them at the epicenter of the ongoing political and economic debate over the virtues and evils of outsourcing...."They've moved from processing materials to processing information," said John Kasarda, a professor of management and sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Migration: Hispanics Settling Into the South
HispanicBusiness.com, Santa Barbara, Ca.
Juan Reyes spends his days in the dusty trenches of the vegetable fields that populate this tiny southeastern Georgia town...."Jobs, jobs, jobs. That is the story of migration in the South, plain and simple," said Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at the University of North Carolina.

State & Local Coverage

Middle class caught in college-aid squeeze
The News & Observer
Bryn Tracy, a fisheries biologist with the state, started buying U.S. savings bonds for his eldest daughter's college education when she was in diapers...."In Georgia, poor people are subsidizing kids to have Beemers," UNC-CH Chancellor James Moeser said. "The upper-middle- class parent says, 'You can go to Stanford or you can go to Georgia and I'll get you a Beemer.' I just think our model is the right model."

Planetarium gets new starring role (Editorial)
The Durham Herald-Sun
Not so long ago, back in the 1990s, Morehead Planetarium was at real risk of becoming a dowager queen on the UNC Chapel Hill campus. Attendance was down, facilities were dated -- and, besides, how many times does your average North Carolinian want to sit through a showing of the constellations?

SAT essay offers new challenge
The News & Observer
Beginning in spring 2005, the SAT -- which has long measured knowledge of words -- will evaluate how students use those words to compose their thoughts....Jerry Lucido, director of admissions at UNC-Chapel Hill, said the essay is a "very welcome" addition because students will be required to write the day they set foot on campus.

Thieves hit campuses
The News & Observer
A caution to students, faculty and staff at Triangle college campuses: Keep watch over your belongings because theft is the most common crime on campus....Last year, UNC-Chapel Hill officials won an award for their efforts that resulted in a 30 percent drop in the number of larcenies on campus between 2001 and 2002.

Women's Week events seek to build equality
The Herald-Sun
A civil rights activist, an environmentalist and two nationally known educators on sexual violence will highlight UNC's sixth annual Women's Week, which kicks off Friday.

Law hazy on mental evaluations
The News & Observer
A gray area of the law covering mental commitments triggered a disagreement last week among magistrates about whether their involuntary commitment orders are valid anywhere in the state....Wills said Tuesday that he, like Briggs, thought that magistrates' custody orders are valid only in the county where they are signed, but he said he would seek clarification on the issue from the Institute of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, where most magistrates are trained.

Student leader seeks vote on UNC board
The Herald-Sun
As a member of the UNC system's Board of Governors, Jonathan Ducote sits in on meetings, takes part in discussions and argues eloquently for causes he supports.

Issues and Trends

Universities' leaders honored
The Herald-Sun
Former UNC President William C. Friday and former Duke University professor John Hope Franklin will receive lifetime achievement awards tonight from a newly formed Character Education Foundation, which describes itself as "teaching compassion, honesty, courage, responsibility and respect."

Tuition hikes may not work (Point of View)
The News & Observer
urge the UNC Board of Governors to delay further its vote on increasing tuition. A number of discussions still need to take place before the vote. And why not wait until state taxes have been collected and proposed 1, 2 and 3 percent budget-cut scenarios for the university system have been unveiled?

Note: If you have any questions about Carolina in the News, please call Russell Campbell at News Services, (919) 962-2091, russell_campbell@unc.edu, or Mike McFarland in University Communications, mike_mcfarland@unc.edu

Note: Web links on this page are time-sensitive, so stories might not be available after the day they first appeared.