October 31, 2003

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

International Coverage

Cheap test monitors HIV drugs
Nature (United Kingdom)
Spots of dried blood could help to monitor the success of HIV drugs in the developing world, say disease researchers....Using dried blood "would be fantastic", says HIV researcher Susan Fiscus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Needy, Working Students to Get free Tuition at UNC
Education Daily
Low-income students working 10 to 12 hours a week at a federal work-study job will get a free ride at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill under a new program to start next fall, school officials announced this month.

National Coverage

A Public University Acts Like One (Commentary)
The Austin Chronicle (Texas)
At a time when the very concept of the "public good" is being bashed and dashed by the downsizers and privatizers on Wall Street and in Washington, what a joy it is to get a bit of good news from Chapel Hill, N.C....Officials at the University of North Carolina have taken a stand to make a university education in that state more universal for the people -- particularly for students from families of the working poor.

Mixed-Race Teens Prone to Depression
National Associated Press
Students who consider themselves of more than one race are more likely to feel depressed, have trouble sleeping, skip school, smoke and drink alcohol, a study says...."The most common explanation for the high-risk status is the struggle with identity formation, leading to lack of self-esteem, social isolation and problems of family dynamics in biracial households," said [Richard] Udry, a professor of maternal and child health at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health.
UNC News Release

Regional Coverage

Classical music to be heard again on Outer Banks radio
The Virginia Pilot
After a two-year drought, classical music will again be available on Outer Banks public radio airwaves....WCPE, one of the nation's most listened-to classical music stations, will be broadcast from WUNC-FM Public Radio transmitters in Manteo and Buxton starting at 9 a.m. Monday.
WUNC News Release

UNC kicks in $9.2 million
Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Tulane University has received $9.2 million from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in connection with a federal effort to help developing nations improve nutrition and other public health programs.

State and Local Coverage

Cars, deer on collision course
Wilmington Star News
Sue Galloway of Supply said it was too late to miss the seven-point buck that suddenly appeared and jumped a ditch before colliding with the front fender of her car Friday evening in Brunswick County....Car-deer accidents like Mrs. Galloway's happened 14,000 times last year in North Carolina, according to a new study by the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center in Chapel Hill.

A Picture of Health in Children's Eyes
WTVD-TV (Raleigh, ABC)
Check your family photos closely... what you see could save your child's life....Eye exams have become routine for little Israel Montoya, who's not quite 3-years-old. UNC pediatric ophthalmologist, Dr. John Wright monitors him closely because a few months ago Israel lost his left eye to cancer

Conviction is an aberration in state's history
The News & Observer
There was one bright note to Meg Scott Phipps' conviction Thursday: It was a rarity in the annals of North Carolina politics....Ferrel Guillory, director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media and Public Life at UNC-CH, said the structure of government -- and the state's "Protestant rectitude" -- have insulated it from wrongdoing.

Noted journalist dies
James 'Jay' Jenkins was a writer, lobbyist, political adviser
The News & Observer
James L. "Jay" Jenkins Jr., a member of the North Carolina Journalism Hall of Fame and retired senior assistant to the president of the University of North Carolina system, died Thursday after a brief illness....He also worked for the oral history program in the North Carolina Collection at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Issues and Trends

Advocates for Academic Research Say Federal Policies Have Shifted Rising Costs to Colleges
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Academic research groups told the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy this month that universities are struggling to deal with increases in the cost of research. The groups say the federal government has shifted the burden of those expenses to universities in recent years, placing stress on their facilities and administrations.

Ehrlich Says He May Seek Tuition Cap At Colleges
The Washington Post
Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. said yesterday that he may ask the General Assembly to cap tuition increases at public colleges and universities in a move that would force officials to rein in spending rather than pass on rising costs to students.

College Costs (Editorial)
Winston Salem Journal
The price of attending college, nationwide and in North Carolina, is escalating at a frightening pace, threatening to put the cost of a higher education beyond the reach of some young people.

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.