September 10, 2002

Carolina in the News

Current National Coverage

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

Shanksville, Pennsylvania 
The Washington Post 
The hole where Flight 93 crashed is filled in now. But the deaths of 40 passengers and crew here
hasn't been forgotten. ... Why was America attacked? Many people turned for answers to libraries, 
bookstores and colleges, where enrollment in Islamic studies courses jumped sharply. Since the 
attack, U.S. sales of one version of the Koran, the Islamic holy text, went from 1,200 per month to 
6,000. But one group filed a lawsuit against the University of North Carolina to stop it from having 
incoming freshmen read a book about the Koran.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A59573-2002Sep9.html
(Note: This article was featured in the "KidsPost" section of today's The Washington Post.)

The Tulsa World included a positive editorial about Carolina's summer reading program on September 4. 
This editorial is not available online to non-subscribers. The full text is included at the end of today's 
Carolina in the News. The September 9 issue of USA Today also included a mention of Carolina's 
summer reading program in an article about colleges marking the anniversary of September 11. To view
this story online, please go to http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2002-09-09-education-911_x.htm

Local schools fill demand for info on Islam
Wausau Daily Herald (Wausau, Wisc.)
The Sept. 11 terror attacks awakened in Americans a hunger for information about Islam, and a year 
later, schools still are answering the call for information. But their efforts are not without controversy. 
The University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill was sued last month by a conservative Christian group
and three unidentified freshmen who claimed the school was promoting religion because it was 
requiring incoming freshmen to read and discuss "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations." 
http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/wdhlocal/290092515809360.shtml

Is Islam dangerous? (Commentary)
The Daily Herald (Provo, Utah)
After Muslim extremists burned down Javed Nazir's newspaper in Pakistan and threatened him with 
death for blasphemy, the Muslim journalist and his wife, Ameera, fled to the United States... In 
recent weeks, evangelist Franklin Graham angered Muslims by calling their faith evil and accusing 
Islam of encouraging violence, and Americans sparred over whether the University of North 
Carolina should have assigned students to read a book about the Koran...
http://www.harktheherald.com/article.php?sid=59205&mode=thread&order=0
(Note: This syndicated column distributed by Knight Ridder News Service has also appeared 
in The Miami Herald.)

U.S. struggling to plug gaps in security
Chicago Tribune 
The evening of April 26, 2001, a team of officers from the Broward County Sheriff's Department 
set up a routine checkpoint on Inverrary Boulevard in suburban Ft. Lauderdale. Among the cars 
they stopped was a red, 1989 two-door Pontiac. The driver, Mohamed Atta, couldn't produce a 
license... Richard Kohn, a professor of military history at the University of North Carolina and 
former chief historian of the Air Force, notes that it has taken time to adjust to that new reality. 
When he went to work in the Pentagon in the 1980s, cars could drive up to the building....
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0209100296sep10.story

Family News
The Washington Post
... Women who take multivitamins during their pregnancies can cut the incidence of a rare nervous 
system cancer among their kids by 30 to 40 percent. That's according to a study conducted chiefly 
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that focused on neuroblastoma, the most common 
tumor in infants and children, occurring in nearly 2 of every 1 million births. Lead author Andrew F. 
Olshan, professor of epidemiology at UNC's School of Public Health, said researchers believe 
that folic acid and vitamins C and A may cut incidence of childhood cancers.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A51759-2002Sep7.html
(Note: The Washington Post publishes all family news briefs on the same web page. To view this 
brief, please go to the above url and scroll down the web page.)

Study links statins to nerve damage 
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins have been hailed as an enormous advance in the treatment 
of heart disease and stroke, medications so beneficial that some doctors have jokingly suggested 
putting them in the water supply... "This study does raise the awareness that polyneuropathy may 
occur, but other studies have not found it to be a significant problem," said cardiologist Sidney 
Smith, a professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20020910hstatins3.asp
(Note: This story originally appeared in The Washington Post .)

Primaries: It's Time For Parties To Punch Tickets
Hartford (Conn.) Courant
Voters in 12 states and the District of Columbia today may provide the biggest clues so far as to
whether Sept. 11 is affecting 2002 politics... There's a long list of close races, and endangered 
incumbents, as governors tend to get blamed more for a sluggish economy, because they are closer 
to voters. That's because "terrorism is not the issue people are talking most about," said Lawrence 
Grossberg, professor of communication at the University of North Carolina. 
http://www.ctnow.com/news/nationworld/hc-primaries0910.artsep10.story?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Dnationworld

Regional News Coverage

Atlanta schools see good in flat test scores
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Atlanta Public Schools' scores on the 2002 state curriculum test remained largely flat from a year ago 
--- and school officials say that's good news... "The school district is right on the money," said 
Gregory Cizek, professor of educational measurement and evaluation at the University of North 
Carolina. 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/epaper/editions/tuesday/metro_d3d7e8fb1020f0d700fd.html

There is no benign act of censorship (Commentary)
Kingsport Times News (Kingsport, TN)
During the summer as my son and I were walking in the center of old Berlin, he showed me the most 
startling monument I've ever seen... At the University of North Carolina this thwarted attempt at 
censorship resulted from an assignment for incoming freshmen to read about the Koran in order to 
discuss it during orientation. 
http://www.timesnews.net/index.cgi?CONTEXT=cat&BISKIT=410783154&id=64164&category=45

Critics uneasy with expenditures from secret city contingency fund
The State (South Carolina)
Away from public view, the city of Columbia has an account that can be - and has been - spent on 
just about anything... David Lawrence, a municipal government finance expert at the University of 
North Carolina's Institute of Government, said that type of account was unusual.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/news/local/4028906.htm

Tri-Cities is tech center
Knoxville News-Sentinel 
What does it take to be high tech? Well, some local cities may be better off than they think, according 
to a study recently released by the Appalachian Regional Commission... While Knoxville is 
considered more of a high-tech region because of Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University 
of Tennessee, that doesn't necessarily translate into a regional economic advantage, said Ed Feser, 
assistant professor with the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill's Office of Economic 
Development. Feser helped to prepare the study for the Appalachian Regional Commission. 
http://www.knoxnews.com/kns/sci_and_tech/article/0,1406,KNS_328_1403318,00.html

New helmet a big hit
The State (South Carolina)
People tell Ryan Brewer that he looks like an XFL player in his new football helmet... Studies 
indicate that multiple concussions reduce cognitive functioning, and a University of North Carolina 
study in 2000 indicated players who have one concussion are three times as likely to suffer another 
one as their teammates are to suffer their first concussion.
http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/sports/4041052.htm

State and Local Coverage

Area 9/11 remembrances, memorials and tributes 
The Herald-Sun
Following is a list of remembrance, memorial and tribute events to honor survivors and those who lost 
their lives during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001... CONVOCATION. With speakers 
including Chancellor James Moeser. Events will include a remembrance of the six UNC alumni who 
perished in the World Trade Center towers, as well as a bell-ringing ceremony... INTERFAITH 
CANDLELIGHT VIGIL. Remembrance service and prayers for peace, understanding and tolerance. 
Event to take place in The Pit...
http://www.herald-sun.com/chatham/13-265631.html
(Note: For more information regarding the convocation, please go to
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/aug02/911anniv082702.htm)

Together we remember
Charlotte Observer
America is about to be united by its grief. In what Charlotte pastor John Earl likened to a national 
funeral, the first anniversary of the Sept. 11 attack will be marked with an unprecedented display of
prayer and patriotism that begins tonight... This has been a difficult year for Muslims in America,
including the 7,000 who live in the Charlotte area. While some Carolinas Christians have welcomed 
Islam experts to their Sunday school classes, critics objected to UNC Chapel Hill requiring incoming 
students to read a book about the Quran. 
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/4040478.htm

Economists rank 9/11's role in downturn low
High Point Enterprise
When it comes to having an impact on the Triad economy in the past year, the Sept. 11 terrorist 
attacks probably rank no higher than fourth, a number of regional officials say... The U.S. and the 
state's economy is not more fragile because of Sept. 11 or other recent negative influences, said James 
Smith, an adjunct professor of business administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel 
Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School.
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=5311619&BRD=1332&PAG=461&dept_id=414359&rfi=6

BD Technologies incubator lands biotech tenant
The Business Journal 
Tranzyme, a biotech company focused on diseases of neurosensory organs, will settle into laboratory 
space at the BD Technologies incubator. The Research Triangle Park facility will support the Tranzyme's 
genomics-based research and development program. Tranzyme has collaborations with scientists at the 
Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is in the process of establishing 
a partnership with North Carolina State University. 
http://triangle.bizjournals.com/triangle/stories/2002/09/09/daily17.html

Don't betray our founding ideals (Opinion-Editorial Column)
News and Observer
Difficult as it is to believe, a full year has passed since the horrific tragedies of Sept. 11. A life-altering year.
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/story/1717621p-1733185c.html
(Note: Gene R. Nichol is dean and Burton Craige professor of law at the UNC School of Law.)

Out of state, but close to class 
News and Observer
In 36 years of teaching at UNC-Chapel Hill, English professor Richard D. Rust has missed one, maybe two, 
classes. So when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in May, he was determined not to let his students 
down, even though he had to pack his bags for Atlanta to undergo radiation treatment. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1715378p-1730851c.html

UNC book controversy boosts sales
The Herald-Sun
With the selection of "Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations," for its summer reading program, 
UNC has brought a tidal wave of attention to both the university and the book. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0398291721
(Note: The Herald-Sun requires free registration to access archives.)

Blinders at Chapel Hill (Letter to the Editor)
News and Observer
In his Aug. 29 column concerning the recent Quran controversy at UNC-Chapel Hill, Thomas Friedman
incorrectly assumes professors and administrators there are truly interested in a fair exchange of ideas. For 
years now the folks at Chapel Hill have failed to deliver on that pledge, cowering and succumbing instead 
to the forces of political correctness.
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/story/1708957p-1725834c.html

Pilots' group shouldn't have such power (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Herald-Sun
Whenever a state legislature bows to the will of a well-funded national lobbying interest like the Airplane 
Owners and Pilots Association, it erodes public trust and undermines the democratic process... The 
attempt to use budget approval to circumvent Chancellor Moeser's authority to close Horace Williams 
Airport is a textbook example. For AOPA, it's not about the university or the state of North Carolina; it's 
about private pilots keeping an airport for their private use. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/archives/URNDetail.cfm?URN=0398291648
(Note: The Herald-Sun requires free registration to access archives.)

University people 
News and Observer
... Dr. Oliver Smithies has been selected to receive the 2002 Massry Prize for pioneering research on how 
genes affect health and illness in people and other mammals. Smithies will share the $40,000 prize with Dr. 
Mario Capecchi of the University of Utah, who has done similar research.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1715378p-1730852c.html
(Note: Smithies is a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine at the UNC School of Medicine. 
For more information regarding Smithies, please go to 
http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/aug02/smithies082802.htm)

Local Contests See More Notice Than Senate Race 
WNCN-TV (NBC, Raleigh)
With the drought, a state budget crisis, the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks and worries of more terrorist 
incidents to come, observers say it's little wonder that North Carolina voters aren't gripped by U.S. Senate 
primary elections... "That's the main thing: the control,'' said Thad Beyle, a political-science professor at 
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
http://www.nbc17.com/news/1655642/detail.html

Retired firefighter to mark 9-11 by making donation 
The Herald-Sun
Richard Kirrstetter, a retired New York City firefighter currently living in the North Carolina mountain 
town of Lansing, plans to mark the one-year anniversary of Sept. 11 on Wednesday by making a cash 
donation and presenting a print of a memorial painting to the N.C. Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-265634.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Negotiators seek way to restore cuts 
News and Observer
General Assembly budget negotiators have recommended restoring tens of millions of dollars in cuts to 
education and human services -- but haven't figured out how they'll pay for it all.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1717742p-1733221c.html

OWASA cuts off outside watering 
The Herald-Sun
The use of Orange Water and Sewer Authority water for any outside purposes became illegal Monday, taking 
away the one day per week on which OWASA customers had been able to do things like watering lawns and 
gardens. The tighter water restrictions took effect around southern Orange County after the county and towns 
of Chapel Hill and Carrboro promptly approved OWASA’s request for the restrictions. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-265629.html

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
***

The Tulsa World 
September 4, 2002

Students should study the Quran 

Religious intolerance led to oppression and war in Afghanistan. It was a key factor in the attacks of Sept. 11. It 
keeps millions of people around the world shackled in ignorance. Americans don't tolerate such intolerance. Or 
do they?

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has caused a stir. It has required all incoming freshmen to read 
"Approaching the Quran: the Early Revelations," a book devoted to the translation and analysis of the Quran's 
revelations. 

A group of conservative Christians has sued the university. The lawsuit claims that asking new students to read the 
assignment violates the First Amendment. The North Carolina Legislature is threatening to cut funding for the 
program. Opponents have called it a whitewash of Islam and some have even compared reading the Quran to 
studying Adolf Hitler's "Mein Kampf" during World War II. 

Such notions are, of course, ludicrous. The Quran is a religious text. Just like the Bible, the Quran offers an 
understanding of a religion and of a people. 

Critics claim that studying the Quran is somehow unpatriotic or even ungodly. Balderdash. What better time to 
study the text that incites millions around the world? What better time to understand that those committing 
atrocities in the name of the Quran and Islam are misrepresenting an entire religion? 

College expands the minds of those attending. An unbiased reading of the Quran -- or any religious text for that 
matter -- will allow the student to make up his or her own mind. 

It's what is done in a democracy. 

To suppress or deny the study of a religion to gain a better understanding of its tenets makes those who would 
do so no more tolerant than the Taliban.