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March 15, 2006Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:International Coverage
Free flow: All the world's roads may lead to aerotropoli
International Herald Tribune
Hong Kong Mention aerotropoli to most people, and they will wonder whether the word indicates a new disease, a dance step or maybe an exercise machine. Instead, their advocates say, aerotropoli are the shape of the future, the unavoidable endpoint of current trends in trade, cargo management, factory technology and transport planning. ...Major airports are driving the location and functions of business and urban development in this century, in the way that highways did in the 20th century, railroads in the 19th century and seaports in the 18th century, said (John) Kasarda, the director of the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise at the University of North Carolina.
How do animals migrate without getting lost?
The Independent (London)
The tiny Arctic tern flies 14,000 miles from the Farne Islands to Australia when it is three months old. In the course of its life, a Manx shearwater will travel 5,000,000 miles. A baby turtle will cross the Atlantic and end up in the same spot off Florida 10 years later. But how do these migrating creatures navigate? ...The pair could be on to something. In Science, Dr Kenneth Lohmann, from the University of North Carolina, published evidence that suggested baby turtles navigate through the Sargasso Sea using a magnetic map.
Nepal Health 'Research' Centers Evade Tax
OhmyNews International (South Korea)
A study conducted by a state-run health think tank has made shocking revelations: most of the institutions operating as health research centers, including some leading privately-run institutions, have not been doing any research and apparently make huge profits by evading taxes. ...The NHRC has been collaborating with leading U.S. universities, including the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
National Coverage
Study: Genes May Cause Risk for Anorexia
The Associated Press (National)
Researchers studying anorexia in twins conclude that more than half a person's risk for developing the sometimes fatal eating disorder is determined by genes. Most experts already believe there is a strong genetic component to the disorder, which mostly affects girls and women. The new study "hammers home the fact that these are biologically based disorders," said Cynthia Bulik, lead author of the study who is a psychiatrist at the School of Public Health at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/feb06/geneticsanorexia022806.htmA frog in disguise might live to croak another day
Newsday
If an edible frog in the Amazon copies the "stay away" coloring of its semi-noxious neighbor instead of a more toxic frog's warning, what are the odds that the selective mimic will avoid becoming lunch? ...David W. Pfennig, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of North Carolina, said the initially puzzling results make perfect sense. Predators, he said, likely err on the side of caution with the more toxic frog: "I'm not going to take any chances because if I'm wrong, I could be dead."
Clarification: North Carolina program
Newsday
In a March 5 story about eight selective colleges seeking to enroll more community college students, The Associated Press reported that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hopes to enroll about 25 students from each of three feeder community colleges each year.
Math Madness
The Hartford Courant
The dream of anyone filling out a bracket is to find a magic formula - a set of numbers and equations that will reveal the winner of Syracuse and Texas A&M. ..."You can model all you want, but it's only going to be based on what happened in the past," says Koleman Strumpf, a professor of economics at the University of North Carolina who studies sports gambling. "There is no way to build surprise into a model. There is no model that says [Gerry] McNamara is going to have a hot hand."
Beverages contribute to U.S. obesity bulge
South Bend Tribune (Ind.)
Americans drink way too many calories, a researcher says. U.S. adults consume more than 20 percent of their daily calories through beverages, according to Barry M. Popkin, of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. That's twice the recommended caloric intake. "Many people either forget or don't realize how many extra calories they consume in what they drink," said Popkin, a professor of nutrition.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/healthybeverage030806.htm
Chronic Pot Smoking May Cloud Intellect
HealthDay News
Adding a new twist to the debate over the effects of marijuana, Greek researchers say the minds of long-term pot smokers don't process things as well as those of other people. ...The new study brings new information to the debate, especially about the differences between short- and long-term pot users, said researcher Flannery, who works for a private research company affiliated with the University of North Carolina in Research Triangle Park, N.C., said it's hard to "untangle" whether marijuana use directly causes brain deficits.
State & Local Coverage
In letter, driver cites Quran
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The man who hit nine people with a sport utility vehicle on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus wrote a letter to a television reporter saying he read the Quran's 114 chapters 15 times and found that the Muslim holy book justified the attack.
Related Link: http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=81816&SecID=2The Pit attacker ready for life term
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Mohammad Reza Taheri-azar, the UNC graduate who told police he intentionally tried to kill people in the university's Pit by running over them with a Jeep, is ready to spend his life in prison for what he did, he says in a letter to The Herald-Sun. "With Allah's help, I am prepared and will be prepared for a life sentence," he wrote. "I only fear and only respect Allah."
Related Link: http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-712873.htmlInciting anger (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Reading Rick Martinez' diatribe (March 8 column "At UNC, call it what it is: terror") arguing that Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar's act was a terrorist one under the U.S. criminal code, I wondered why he had chosen to write on the subject. ...Everyone knows that UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser is not a federal agent, nor is he the district attorney who will bring the charges. That Martinez should criticize Moeser for not saying something stupid is baiting the chancellor. Thank Moeser's wisdom for not taking the bait.Muslims condemn driver's use of Quran
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Local Muslim leaders today condemned attempts to link Islam's holy book to the actions of a man who hit nine people as he drove a sport utility vehicle through the heart of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus earlier this month.
Related Links: http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=triangle&id=3995005
http://www.news14charlotte.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=115535
No offense, but what it was was terrorism (Opinion-editorial column)
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Colleges and universities are known for their student protests. But an SUV flying through the campus gathering spot? When I was an undergrad at UNC, the most frightening sightings in The Pit were preachers who brought hellfire messages. Students these days have to contend with the likes of a guy so mad at the United States that he hits the gas on his Jeep Grand Cherokee and sends textbooks flying.
'Terrorism' label is too easy to apply (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
Bravo to Ian Kleinfeld for his sensible and intelligent column ("Terrorism in Chapel Hill?" March 12) regarding the recent auto attack on the UNC campus. It's truly bizarre how certain people are so anxious to label this event "terrorism." Perhaps it was, perhaps it wasn't, but why rush to judgment before the facts are in? It seems that these conservatives actually want it to be a terrorist act so they can run around waving their arms in the air and crying "wolf."
Was it terrorism or a hate crime? (Opinion-editorial column)
The Wilmington Journal
Terrorism – premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience [Title 22, US Code, section 2656f(d)]. Hate Crime – crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, ethnicity or national origin [Federal Bureau of Investigation]. Which of the above best describes Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar’s alleged attack on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus March 4th?UNC wants panel leader's ear
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Town leaders are protesting UNC-Chapel Hill administrators' request to meet privately with the head of a Carolina North committee. Ken Broun, a former Chapel Hill mayor and current UNC law professor, leads the group of political, university and business leaders assembled to advise on how Carolina North, the research campus the university plans to build a few miles north of downtown, should be developed.
A refusal raises questions for UNC (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
The letter sent by Duke University law professor Erwin Chemerinsky should have set off a number of alarms at the UNC School of Law as well as at South Building, Carolina's administrative headquarters.
Can't give up desserts? Then go often with fruit ones (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
Dessert is one of life's simple pleasures. For many of us, it's also one of life's daily challenges. Regular dessert-eating can make the difference between one pant size and the next or the extra 10 pounds that make blood pressure medication necessary. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.
Training Begins for Robbins
The Southern Pilot
For Robbins, winning selection for NC STEP was a bit like winning selection in a draft lottery. ...Cockman and Bell, along with Mayor Mickey Brown, Town Administrator James Britt and Commissioner Mark Garner stayed in Chapel Hill and prepared for the next day’s work, a very full day of intense training led by the University of North Carolina School of Government called Small Towns, Big Ideas Economic Development for Small Town Leaders.
Issues & Trends
2 National Ad Campaigns Focus on Higher-Education's Value and Expanding College Access
The Chronicle of Higher Education
If higher-education officials have their way, their concerns about the availability of public funds and college access will be as familiar to Americans as Coca-Cola, thanks to two national advertising campaigns set to kick off this year.
Note: Carolina is among the universities and colleges participating in the Solutions for Our Future project.Serious Message, Humorous Delivery
Inside Higher Ed
When officials in higher education hype a public outreach campaign as being edgy and entertaining, there’s plenty of reason for skepticism. “There’s no question that perhaps higher education is a little stodgy,” said Roy Spence, president of GSD&M, a Texas-based company that produced television spots intending to show the practical relevance of colleges and universities. “We used humor to disarm and engage. That is the first round of reaching the masses.”For Bush's Ex-Aide, Quick Fall After Long Climb
The New York Times
Claude A. Allen often said his religious upbringing took him from a two-room apartment in a poor neighborhood of Washington to a post at the White House. ...Although he attended Catholic school, he credited his grandfather, a former sharecropper, with inculcating in him a more evangelical faith, and he had become born again by the time he left college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Many long to be in Tar Heels' shoes
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
When North Carolina freshman Marcus Ginyard was growing up, he coveted just about every pair of Air Jordans he ever saw. ...Carolina is one of about a dozen schools with an all-sports contract. Under an 8-year, $28.34 million deal signed in 2001, Nike supplies more than $2 million worth of shoes and swoosh-embossed apparel and equipment per year for 28 Tar Heels sports teams; that includes about $58,500 per year for men's basketball.
Old agreement could hold up UNC's plans for coastal institute
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)
Dare County's gift of 40 acres to the University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute has been caught in the crosswind of a long-ago agreement that limits use of the property to aviation purposes. Although the land falls outside what the county leases to Dare County Regional Airport, it still is covered under restrictions in the original deed, County Attorney Bobby Outten said.Dean Dome designer dies at 80
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Any time a game at the Dean Dome is sold out, there are always two secret seats unclaimed by any ticket holder. More than 20 years ago when Joe Hakan designed the UNC-Chapel Hill basketball arena, he snuck the seats in to ensure that he and his wife would always have a spot to watch his beloved Tar Heels.
Easy choice – ECU dental school a natural fit for region (Editorial)
The Daily Reflector (Greenville)
Dental needs are critical in eastern North Carolina, and East Carolina University is proposing to meet the challenge with the establishment of a school of dentistry here. From its beginnings, the university has a history of addressing public concerns. Initially it was to provide trained teachers to meet the growth in public education. Its name, East Carolina Teachers Training School, virtually mandated it.
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.
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