May 5, 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:

North Carolina Senate Votes for Executions Moratorium
The Los Angeles Times
In another sign of growing doubts about how capital punishment is administered in the 
U.S., the North Carolina Senate has voted for a bill calling for a moratorium on execut-
ions until June 2005, while the state conducts a comprehensive study of its death penalty 
system. ... Then, in April 2001, a University of North Carolina Law School study con-
cluded that the chances of a defendant receiving a death sentence in the state increased 
by 3 1/2 times if the victim was white.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-penalty4may04,1,2597699.story
(Note: The Los Angeles Times requires a subscription to access articles.)

Yale, Harvard M.B.A. No Sure Ticket to a Job, '03 Grads Learn 
Bloomberg News (national business wire service)
Concerned by the bleak job outlook for his graduating M.B.A.s, Jeffrey Garten, dean 
of the Yale School of Management, dispatched an appeal to alumni. ... Julie Collins, 
the interim dean of the business school at the University of North Carolina at 
Chapel Hill, said 56 percent of the graduating class has a job offer. 
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aQf94v0N98S8&refer=us

World sees explosion of diseases 
Knight Ridder News (national wire service) 
Get used to SARS, West Nile, Hantavirus, Ebola, Nipah, Hendra, AIDS .... "It's a
confluence of many factors," said Dr. Fred Sparling, a medical and microbiology
professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a report co-author.
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/democrat/5780400.htm
(Note: This article also appeared in The Miami Herald, The Contra Costa Times 
(Calif.), Duluth News-Tribune (Minn.), The Lexington Herald Leader (Ky.), The 
Deseret News (Utah), The Billings Gazette (Mont.) and The Charlotte Observer.)

Immunologists gather
Rocky Mountain News (Colo.)
Researchers who fight bioterrorism and infectious diseases from around the world will 
gather in Denver this week. ... The Denver meeting "gives the best minds in the field the 
ability to discuss current findings and challenge one another to even greater urgency," 
said Dr. Jeff Frelinger, head of immunology and microbiology at the University 
of North Carolina.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1938276,00.html

Distracted Drivers' Tragedies.
Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.)
It was a first for Sgt. Louis Dini of the Suffolk County Police Highway Patrol. 
Cruising the Long Island Expressway in an unmarked car near Ronkonkoma during a 
Friday evening rush hour, he looked to his right and saw a driver steering with one hand 
and shaving with the other, using an electric razor. ... Researchers at the University of 
North Carolina have studied what causes drivers to lose concentration, aided by data 
and driver interviews stemming form accidents in 1995 to 1999. 
http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-epdistract23269045may05.story

Astronomical Society Announces Awards Honoring Scholars
The Chronicle of Higher Education 
The Astronomical Society of the Pacific has announced the recipients of seven awards 
honoring scholars and amateur astronomers. ... The Robert J. Trumpler Award, given 
to a recent Ph.D. recipient for outstanding research in astronomy, will go to Daniel E. 
Reichart, who received his doctorate at the University of Chicago and is now an
assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/05/2003050507n.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access articles.)

'Conservative Values' Guide Court Appointee 
Washington Post 
Claude A. Allen, nominated by President Bush last week to the nation's most 
conservative federal appeals court, was just out of college when he began to immerse 
himself in conservative policy and rough-and-tumble politics as the campaign pitchman 
for then-U.S. Sen. Jesse Helms ... Speaking about Allen's career last week, several of 
is University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fraternity brothers saw his service to 
Helms as a pivotal moment in his political life.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13850-2003May4.html

Rule change helps safety, may hurt pole vault future
The Wichita Eagle (Kan.)
David Ziemann reaches the peak of his vault, stalls in midair, then topples backward 
onto the coarse runway. It's a nasty spill, but Ziemann's had far worse. ... There are an 
estimated 25,000 high school pole vaulters, according to the National Center for 
Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, based at the University of North Carolina.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/kansas/sports/5784807.htm

Democrats face off at Southern starting gate
The Orlando Sentinel 
At the opening of campaign season here, the catfish fries until midnight, and Democrats 
running for president debate late into the evening. ... "The South has become an essential 
part of the Republican base in presidential politics," says Ferrel Guillory, director of 
the Center for Southern Politics at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/nationworld/orl-aseccarolina03050303may03xx,0,6648073.story?coll=orl-news-headlines

Regional Coverage

Black and white and Southern all over (Commentary)
The Times Picayune (New Orleans) 
"It has taken me a long time to arrive at a basic fact of my existence: I am a Southerner,"
writes Trudier Harris. ... Those words, near the end of Harris' new collection of essays, 
made me pause. Maybe Harris, an English professor at the University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill, isn't giving enough of us credit.
http://www.nola.com/entertainment/t-p/index.ssf?/base/living-0/105202856442440.xml

State and Local Coverage

If this were real money ... 
News and Observer
Sitting in a half-circle in front of the startup executive, would-be venture capitalists asked
the hard questions. ... "Could you quantify that?" fired back Paul Kuebler, a member of 
the Venture Capital Investment Competition team at the University of North Carolina 
at Chapel Hill. Bock's grilling came courtesy of a venture capital investment competition 
at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2512136p-2334206c.html

4 UNC employees accept awards 
News and Observer
Four UNC-Chapel Hill employees were honored Saturday as winners of the C. Knox 
Massey Distinguished Service Awards. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/2514292p-2335900c.html
(Note: This coverage was the result of a UNC news release,
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may03/massey050203.html)

Another tradition down the drain (Editorial)
Wilmington Morning-Star
Generations of students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shared one
sink-or-swim test. In order to graduate, each had to be able to swim 50 yards and 
demonstrate an ability to tread water or otherwise avoid drowning for five minutes.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=WM&Date=20030503&Category=EDITORIAL&ArtNo=305030302&Ref=AR&Profile=1016

Dangers of prep sports are diminishing
The Charlotte Observer
Mitch Greeley used to be a rock climber, but he gave up that endeavor for another sport 
some say is more dangerous, though it's sanctioned by high school and college athletic 
bodies. ... Pole-vaulting isn't nearly as dangerous as skateboarding, bicycling, in-line 
skating and snowboarding, according to Frederick Mueller of the National Center for 
Catastrophic Sports Injury Research at UNC Chapel Hill.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/states/south_carolina/counties/york/5781707.htm

New grads join crowd 
News and Observer
College seniors entering the job market this year may face the toughest challenge of any 
graduating class in recent memory. ... NCSU, N.C. Central and University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill all report a slight increase in the number of employers recruiting 
on campus.
http://newsobserver.com/business/story/2512138p-2334119c.html

The Swalin song 
News and Observer
On Wednesday the first lady of the N.C. Symphony, Maxine McMahon Swalin, turns 
100. ... She encouraged the development of a strong arts curriculum at UNC-CH.
http://newsobserver.com/features/story/2512187p-2334110c.html
(Note: For more information, see a related UNC news release,
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/apr03/jones041103.html)

Witnesses say Forte in scuffle 
News and Observer 
University of North Carolina police are investigating whether former UNC basketball 
All-America Joseph Forte punched a student in the face Thursday during a pick-up 
game at Woollen Gym. 
http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/unc/mens_basketball/v-include_college_sport/story/2509532p-2332019c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Public Colleges Try to Show Their Value to States, but Not Everyone Is Convinced
The Chronicle of Higher Education
In these tight budget times, public colleges feel the need to prove their value to state 
legislators. But instead of highlighting higher education's basic virtues, many institutions 
are summing up their assets in dollars and cents.
http://chronicle.com/weekly/v49/i35/35a02601.htm
(Note: The Chronicle of Higher Education requires a subscription to access articles.)

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