March 3, 2005

Carolina in the News

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

International Coverage

Fat players are muscling in on American football
The Times (London, UK)
More than half of the players in the American National Football League, the game that gives the world the Super Bowl and defensive tacklers the size of wardrobes, are dangerously obese, according to a controversial new study. ... Dr Joyce Harp, one of the University of North Carolina researchers who carried out the study, conceded that without measuring body composition it was difficult to say how many were truly fat, but she said that it was unlikely the high BMIs were "due to a healthy increase in muscle mass alone".
Subscription required.
Related national link: http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=ratto_ray&id=2003426
Note: Harp also was interviewed by BBC Radio, Fox Sports, CBS Radio, Texas Talk Radio and WUNC-FM.

National Coverage

Disability Insurance Side of Social Security Raises Questions
The New York Times
Disability insurance could be the Achilles' heel of President Bush's efforts to carve personal accounts out of Social Security (although there is a lot of competition for that distinction). ... Susan Chen of Duke University and Wilbert van der Klaauw of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill recently produced the latest study of the work behavior of those whose applications for disability insurance were rejected.
Registration required.

Look at what U.S. teenagers believe may be a revelation (Book review)
Chicago Tribune
In 2001, researchers in a pioneering study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, under the direction of sociology professor Christian Smith, began conducting lengthy phone interviews with parents and teenagers in 45 states.

Emerging Markets
University Business
Julia Jacobelli, a junior at George Washington University (D.C.), is a regular at her local market, often stopping in two to three times a day. ... While GW and BYU are seasoned grocers, other schools, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, are just entering the supermarket arena. The university opened its new 6,500-square-foot Ram's Head Market this month.

Youths need more interaction with adults (Commentary)
The Mail Tribune (Medford, Ore.)
Mel Levine has been a pediatrician for more than 30 years, and in that time he has watched some of his toddlers take their first, unsteady steps into adulthood.
Note: This column originally appeared in The Baltimore Sun.

State & Local Coverage

Students sign on for change
The Daily Tar Heel
Friday's attack on a UNC junior has forced the University to examine whether or not it provides a safe environment for all students.
Related link: http://rdu.news14.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=64795

A cry for change (Editorial)
The Daily Tar Heel
The Friday morning assault on UNC junior Thomas Stockwell has led vicious truth to replace complacent perception. This attack raises issues that trump almost any other. These issues pertain to how we view ourselves as being part of an open, civilized society. This crime was a result of closed-mindedness, and it certainly wasn't civilized.

UNC profs want talk nixed with foundation
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A large group of UNC faculty is demanding that the university stop talking with a conservative philanthropic foundation about a controversial proposal to create a new Western cultures program.

Faculty decry 'secret' negotiation
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Seventy-one professors at UNC-Chapel Hill have signed a letter to Chancellor James Moeser, asking the university to halt negotiations with the Pope family of Raleigh for a proposed Western cultures program.

UNC Heath Care cutting 200 positions
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
UNC Health Care is eliminating 200 positions in an attempt to increase revenue, but has pledged that no employees will lose their jobs. ... "It might be a lower-paying job," acknowledged William Roper, the health care system's CEO. "But at a time when people are anxious to have a job and have benefits, we want to make good on this commitment to not have layoffs."
Note: Roper was also interviewed by WUNC-FM which aired his comments during local breaks of "All Things Considered" last night.

Mr. Edwards goes to Harvard, as fellow
The Charlotte Observer
Call it his 2005 campus tour. North Carolina's former U.S. Sen. John Edwards has been named a visiting fellow at Harvard's Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government. On April 13 he'll speak to students and help teach a course on public policy. Last month the Raleigh Democrat took a job as director of UNC Chapel Hill's new Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.

Issues & Trends

Harvard at Top of List of Donations to Colleges
The New York Times
Contributions to colleges and universities rose $800 million last year, to $24.4 billion, led by Harvard and Stanford with more than $500 million each, the Council for Aid to Education reported yesterday.
Registration required.
Note: The full report is available as a pdf file at http://www.cae.org/content/pdf/FullFY2004.pdf. Carolina was listed as 20th nationally on the list, and 2nd -- behind Duke -- for total by state in North Carolina.

 

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.