September 12, 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:

Studying Quran more valuable than ever (Editorial)
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Speeches, posters and patriotism-pandering advertising campaigns don't really serve to set America 
apart from the world's most repressive regimes. That is better done by the calm and sometimes 
courageous acts of those who exemplify, rather than merely spout, this nation's ideals. The chancellor 
at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, for example, has done something that would be 
impossible, if not downright foolhardy, in one of the world's harsh theocracies.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/86610_koraned.shtml

Debate flares over UNC Koran rule
Sarasota Herald Tribune
To get to the heart of the controversy over the University of North Carolina's decision to assign its new 
students the Koran as a summer reading selection, journalist Deryl Davis visited the campus and 
interviewed academics, students and alumnae. The reading directive was an effort to help students better 
understand Islam. A transcript of the national PBS broadcast Aug. 23, "Koran Controversy at UNC" 
follows. And it illuminates the excitement spurred by the decision.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=SH&Date=20020912&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=209120418&Ref=AR&Profile=1027&SectionCat=FR
ONTPAGE
(Note: Today's edition of The Herald Tribune published a transcript of a recent report on PBS-TV's 
"Religious and Ethics News Weekly" about the summer reading program. This report included interviews 
with Chancellor Moeser, Carl Ernst, professor of religious studies, Michael Sells, author of "Approaching 
the Qur'an," Terry Moffitt, Bashar Staitieh, president of the UNC Muslim Society, and several UNC
freshman. For more information, please visit "Religious and Ethics News Weekly" at 
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week551/news.html)

Lessons learned, and ignored 
Denver Post 
The televisions suspended over pool tables at Doc Holliday's Bar and Grill are tuned to CNN. But none 
of the late afternoon post-lunch, pre-happy-hour crowd complains... And at the University of North 
Carolina, several thousand freshmen peeled off into little groups and spent Aug. 19 talking about the 
Koran. In the end, a federal judge said the university's assignment for incoming freshmen - to read and 
discuss Michael Sells' "Approaching the Qur'an" - was constitutional. UNC chancellor James Moeser 
called it the school's shining hour.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E24750%257E830775,00.html?search=filter
(Note: News Services arranged The Post's interview with the chancellor and supplied background information.)

An unreal response (Commentary)
Baltimore Sun
Hoe we've changed, and how we haven't: A year later, Sept. 11 has saturated our consciousness. It's a 
background hum, something that's always there... The University of North Carolina has been reviled for 
suggesting that its incoming freshmen study the Quran.
http://www.sunspot.net/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.sartwell12sep12.story

At Maryland, summer reading causes a stir
Brown Daily Herald (Providence, RI)
Except for some grumbling from students, summer reading isn’t usually controversial — until this summer, 
as the University of Maryland at College Park found out. Following the uproar and legal wrangling over 
the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s assignment of “Approaching the Qur’án: The Early 
Revelations,” Maryland experienced a similar controversy surrounding its distribution of “The Laramie 
Project,” a play about the 1998 killing of gay college student Matthew Shepard. 
http://www.browndailyherald.com/stories.cfm?S=1&ID=7163

MIIS holds bioterrorism preparedness broadcast
Monterey County Herald (California)
Monterey Institute of International Studies will hold a live satellite broadcast titled "Bioterrorism 
Preparedness: A Progress Report," Sept. 27 from 11 a.m. to noon in the McCone Building board room, 
499 Pierce St... The program is free and cosponsored by the School of Public Health, University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
http://www.montereyherald.com/mld/montereyherald/news/local/4057706.htm

Regional Coverage

Voter turnout surprises officials 
Myrtle Beach Sun News 
Engineer James Adams of Fayetteville, N.C., prepared Wednesday for a rematch with U.S. Rep. Mike 
McIntyre after defeating family therapist Raymond Brown of Autryville, N.C., in Tuesday's Republican 
primary for the U.S. 1st District House seat... Thad Beyle, a political science professor at the University 
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the delay may have been offset by other factors that sparked voter 
interest. 
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/mld/sunnews/news/local/4056664.htm

State and Local Coverage

UNC pays tribute to those lost on 9/11 
The Herald-Sun
Early on a picturesque Wednesday morning, UNC freshman Chris Balga stood at the base of the flagpole 
on Polk Place, head cocked at an angle, a solitary figure gazing at Old Glory as it hung at half staff... The 
hour-long ceremony included a color guard, a rendition of the national anthem, and words from various 
university officials including Chancellor James Moeser, who implored those gathered to use the memory of 
the fallen Carolina alums as motivation to better themselves. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-266461.html

Area Muslims reflect on life since 9-11-01
Wilmington Morning Star
Many Wilmington Muslims say their co-workers and neighbors have treated them much as they did before
last year's tragic events on Sept. 11, and in some cases with friendly concern... "The interest all this year 
has been 'What do Muslims really believe?'" he said, adding that the reading requirement of a book on 
Islam at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was an encouraging sign that knowledge of Islam 
is broadening.
http://www.wilmingtonstar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=WM&Date=20020912&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=209120309&Ref=AR&Profile=1004&SectionCat=Local

Local Help at Ground Zero
WTVD-TV (ABC, Raleigh)
Since September 11th, we've seen many heroes - some are firefighters, many are in the military, but three 
of the biggest heroes came from the Triangle. A month after the attacks, three nurses from the North 
Carolina Jaycee Burn Center at UNC Hospitals left for New York to help out. An experience they'll 
remember forever... Looking at Anita Fields, Mary Kessler, and Earnest Grant, you see different ages, 
different faces, but what you can't see is one common bond.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/news/091102_NW_Nurses.html

Qu’ran’ author led ‘gloat fest’ at UNC (Letter to the Editor)
Herald Sun 
In reference to “Author: Book’s message distorted,” (Sept. 6): I assumed Prof. Michael Sells was making 
a public confession... 
http://www.herald-sun.com/opinion/hsletters/index.html#266351

Sparring Begins In Senate Race
WNCN-TV (NBC, Raleigh)
North Carolina's freshly picked nominees for U.S. Senate took the day off following their primary victories 
to observe the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks... Thad Beyle, a political science professor at 
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said Dole's proposal could be seen as the strategy of a 
front-runner to control the campaign. 
http://www.nbc17.com/News/1663225/detail.html

Bowles, Dole Seek Return Trip To Washington
Dunn Daily Record
For Erskine Bowles or Elizabeth Dole, a new job in Washington could soon await... “We didn’t need to
go through this whole primary to find out that Liddy Dole and Erskine Bowles were the nominees, because
they had already won the wealth primary,” said Thad Beyle, a political science professor at the University 
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 
http://www.dunndailyrecord.com/Main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=36515

Chapel Hill Sorority House Sprinkler System Saves Lives
WRAL-TV (CBS, Raleigh)
A sprinkler system installed after a deadly fraternity house fire may have saved lives Tuesday night. A 
faulty air conditioning unit sparked the fire in a study room at the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority house 
in Chapel Hill. 
http://www.wral.com/news/1662933/detail.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Lottery in budget talks 
News and Observer
The lottery has always been a controversial subject in the General Assembly, and tempers are flaring yet 
again over the possibility that budget negotiators will insert language in the state budget calling for a 
statewide lottery referendum.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/nc/story/1722612p-1737574c.html

Boosting the male minority 
News and Observer
About 11 a.m. when the cafeteria opens and students fill the courtyards of St. Augustine's College, the 
change on campus becomes crystal clear: There are many more men... Nationwide, there are about 
8.3 million women and 6.4 million men in college. In North Carolina, women make up 56 percent of 
college students. Last year, there were 20,000 more women than men enrolled at the University of 
North Carolina system's 16 campuses. At Duke University, men outnumber women by about 700.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1722662p-1737576c.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