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March 22, 2006
Carolina in the News
Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina
people and programs cited recently in the media:National Coverage
Spending Measure Not a Law, Suit Says
The Washington Post
For anyone who took fifth-grade social studies or sang "I'm Just a Bill," how legislation turns to law always seemed pretty simple: The House passes a bill, the Senate passes the same bill, the president signs it. ..."I think it's an open-and-shut case," agreed Michael J. Gerhardt, director of the Center on Law and Government at the University of North Carolina School of Law. "It would be a horrible precedent to set if this is how Congress is allowed to make laws."
The Progress of Black Student Enrollments at the Nation’s Highest-Ranked Colleges and Universities
The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
After four consecutive years of ranking Number One in our annual survey, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill lost its position in 2003 as having the largest percentage of black freshmen among the highest- ranking universities. ...However, this year Chapel Hill once again has the highest percentage of blacks in its first-year class. There is a very large cadre of 416 black freshmen at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this year, an increase of 3 percent from a year ago. Blacks make up 11.1 percent of this year’s entering class at Chapel Hill.
Matzoh Ball Gumbo
The Chicago Tribune
For those of us who relish food as much more than something to eat, Matzoh Ball Gumbo, by Marcie Cohen Ferris (University of North Carolina Press, $29.95) offers insight into a less publicized niche of Southern regional cooking: Jewish cooking. Ferris, an assistant professor of American studies at the University of North Carolina, combines firsthand experience as a Southern Jewish woman with a researcher's skill in this cultural exploration of food and identity.
Regional Coverage
Support key in bio facility bid
The Jackson Clarion-Ledger (Miss.)
Mississippi economic development officials believe community support has put the state at the top of the list to land the National Bio and Agrodefense Facility. ...However, the most likely competition could come from North Carolina. The area referred to as the research triangle in the Raleigh-Durham area is a strong contender, Albright said. The area has the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University and Duke University close by.
Got to scream for your team? Diet, warm-up can help
The Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk)
Go ahead, lose your head. But be careful. March Madness can steal your voice. From the tip off to the final buzzer, college basketball fanatics do more than cheer on their favorites. They roar their lungs inside out, and as Dr. Robert Buckmire, director of the University of North Carolina's Voice Center, notes, that's not particularly helpful for those not trained in proper projection techniques.
Without Delta, Atlanta Airport Would Lose About Half Its Passengers
The New York Law Journal
If Delta Air Lines were to shut its doors, it could take Atlanta's airport up to five years to recover, according to airline industry observers. ...If the airline were to go under, there would be a short-term impact on the economy, such as substantial cutbacks in the number of destinations serviced in the United States and abroad, said John D. Kasarda, an aviation industry expert and professor of management at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
State & Local Coverage
Black freshmen at UNC increasing
UNC among elite in graduating blacks
The Chapel Hill Herald
For the fifth time in the last seven years, UNC has a higher percentage of African-American students in its first-year class than any other highly ranked university, according to a new report in "The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education." The journal compiled admissions statistics from 30 universities that were highest ranked by U.S. News & World Report.
The Daily Tar Heel
UNC admitted more black freshmen last year than any of the nation's 30 highest-ranked universities, and new statistics show that it beats out most of its public peers in helping those students receive their diplomas. UNC ranks fourth among major public universities in graduation rates for black students, according to data compiled by the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. ..."It shows we are headed in the right direction," said Archie Ervin, associate provost for diversity and multicultural affairs.
Carolina North flare-up settled
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC professor Ken Broun said Tuesday he wouldn't meet or talk with any other members of the new Carolina North committee outside that group's public meetings. Broun, who is chairing the group, moved to put to rest the first minor flare-up coming out of the committee.
Pedestrian safety campaign begins
The Chapel Hill News
UNC will work to educate campus pedestrians on the importance of visibility today as a part of the Yield to Heels campaign. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, almost half of pedestrian fatalities occur between 6 p.m. and midnight.
Related Link: http://rdu.news14.com/content/your_news/durhamchapel_hill/default.asp?ArID=82158
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/pedsafety032006.htm
Boone receives Morehead Scholarship
The Free Press (Kinston)
Portia Boone arrived in Chapel Hill on March 6, amazed and humbled by the 125 other Morehead Scholarship finalists that crowded the campus of The University of North Carolina. “The greatest sentiment I felt was respect,” Boone said. “So many people had achieved so many things. It was obvious that everyone there had a passion for a standard of excellence.”
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/morehead031006.htmMorehead win a gift for father
The Clayton News Star
When Clayton High School senior Raj Persaud asked his father what he wanted for his birthday on March 8, Charlie Persaud replied, “The only thing I want is for you to get the Morehead Scholarship. ”
UNC spinoff snaps up U.K. concern
The Triangle Business Journal
A health care instruments and technology company with Triangle ties has bought a United Kingdom company for an undisclosed sum. ... Founded in 1984, SunTech has built its business on technology developed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Fighting poverty to be UNC topic
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity will host a conference Thursday and Friday on "Challenging the Two Americas: New Policies to Fight Poverty." Expert panelists from varied backgrounds will join former U.S. Sen. John Edwards, the center's director, to discuss policies that local and national policy-makers could put in place to alleviate the plight of the working poor.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/mar06/povertyconf031606.htm
N.C.’s Energy Revolution
"The State of Things," WUNC-FM
Thomas Meyer, professor of chemistry at UNC-Chapel Hill and former associate director of strategic research at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Pete Andrews, professor of public policy at UNC-Chapel Hill, were featured in today's (March 22) edition of "The State of Things."
Group sues to block budget law House didn't pass
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
For anyone who took fifth-grade social studies or sang "I'm Just a Bill," how legislation turns to law always seemed pretty simple: The House passes a bill, the Senate passes the same bill and the president signs it. ..."I think it's an open-and-shut case," said Michael Gerhardt, a constitutional law professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law. "It would be a horrible precedent to set if this is how Congress is allowed to make laws."
Pack your own snacks to save money, cut calories (Commentary)
The Charlotte Observer
When we were young, Mom doled out the treats in measured amounts. Now food manufacturers are doing it for her. Kraft, Nabisco and other food companies are selling familiar products, such as Cheez-It crackers and Sandies shortbread cookies, in tidy and controlled 100-calorie packages. ...Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC.
Roses & Raspberries (Commentary)
The Chapel Hill News
Raspberries to the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament selection committee for its indefensible scheduling of the nation's top team. Coach Sylvia Hatchell's Tar Heels are, by any measure, the No. 1 team in America and the overall top seed in the tournament. The team's reward for a season that has thus far been only the barest whisker shy of perfection: a berth in the most brutal of the brackets, which includes Tennessee, a No. 2 seed that really should have been a No. 1, and a second-round game against Vanderbilt -- on Vanderbilt's home court.
The SUV as WMD (Letter to the editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Op-ed columnist Rick Martinez has argued fervently that Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar's crime -- driving an SUV into a crowd on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus -- should be labeled an act of terrorism. And on the third anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, President Bush is reaffirming his doctrine of pre-emptive military strikes to forestall terrorist attacks.
Related Links: http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/hsletters/index.html#715345
http://www.chapelhillnews.com/opinion/story/2916135p-9365964c.htmlIssues & Trends
Chapel Hill street may reopen in April
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
WHAT: Pittsboro Street, a busy one-way artery in Chapel Hill that closed more than a month ago, needs further repairs before it can reopen to traffic. WHEN: UNC-Chapel Hill officials hope to get permission from the state Department of Transportation to begin work this week. They hope to finish by mid- to late April.
Wastewater reuse at UNC on agenda
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The public can learn more about a plan to reuse highly treated wastewater for nondrinking purposes on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus at OWASA's board meeting Thursday.
Mason Farm Road area rezoning vote set for April
The Chapel Hill Herald
Being near the edges of the university is an inescapable part of the character of the Mason Farm Road neighborhood. But a number of residents there say it's also a key source of problems. And they hope to get a decision from the Town Council next month that they see as a first step toward protecting some of the neighborhood's qualities. ...Associate Vice Chancellor Bruce Runberg said Tuesday he felt a level of disappointment and frustration with the criticisms. He said he felt UNC planners often went the "extra mile," both in Mason Farm and other neighborhoods, to lessen the impacts of projects.
Council weighs zoning request
The Chapel Hill News
Erma Kirkpatrick remembers when her house off Mason Farm Road was so far off the beaten path she couldn't even get mail delivered. Much has changed for the 85-year-old resident of her 59-year-old house. A bustling bypass borders her neighborhood to the south. A major thoroughfare to campus, Mason Farm Road, is to the north, and UNC has plans to widen it to four lanes.
Wipe out the West (Editorial)
Daily Tar Heel
Sometimes it's better just to put something out of its misery - take West House, for example. For several years now, the fate of West House has been a point of contention. Those in the know realize that West House is that little house between Swain Hall and Hanes Art Center - prime real estate in the planned Arts Common that will coalesce at some point in our lifetimes.
West House preservation has garnered strong support (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill Herald
Despite what the university says about West House, we have the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservation North Carolina, the Chapel Hill Preservation Society, the Chapel Hill Historical Society, the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Historical Landmarks Commission, local papers, nationally respected preservationist and former UNC Board of Trustees member Richard Jenrette, a former governor, our current lieutenant governor, four Town Council members, 14 distinguished professors and over a thousand alumni attesting to its historical and aesthetic importance. ...Jeffrey Beam, West House Coalition.
Note: No link available.Colleges maintain independence as bills die in subcommittee
The Associated Press (S.C.)
Bills were in a House subcommittee to set a standardized curriculum for early childhood education, require college students to take a financial literacy class and require the University of South Carolina to admit a freshman class of at least 80 percent in-state students. But the legislation all died Tuesday. ...Since the mid-1980s, the University of North Carolina system has had a policy that caps out-of-state enrollment at 18 percent of incoming freshmen.Public colleges doing more with less
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Just five years ago, public colleges and universities enjoyed their highest per student levels of state and local government support in at least 25 years. By 2005, thanks to stagnant budgets and exploding demand, that figure had plummeted to a 25-year low.
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/news/clips/index.shtml.
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