September 5, 2002

Carolina in the News

Current International Coverage

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

Teens close to their mothers delay sex
The National Post (Canada)
Teenagers are less likely to start having sex if they have a strong connection with their mothers, 
according to the largest survey of teenagers ever conducted in the United States... The 
congressionally mandated study is the most comprehensive study of the health-related behaviours 
of adolescents in the United States. It was directed by investigators from the University of 
North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
http://www.nationalpost.com/utilities/story.html?id={36C564C4-5295-4B92-A82F-7AE6A6F55D20}

Current National Coverage

Sounding Off: Should the Koran be required reading for university students?
New York Daily News
It's tough being a college freshman. The academic pressure, the social anxiety, the impassioned 
denunciation of your summer reading as "indoctrination" and "tripe" by Bill O'Reilly and the Christian 
right... How to educate America on the world's most popular single religion as the war on terror 
rages on? Newspapers weigh in on the Koran curriculum...
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/15880p-15037c.html

Give Class of 2006 a chance to create its own syllabus (Commentary)
Philadelphia Inquirer
They have flooded the nation's dormitories during the last few weeks, about 1.3 million of them, 
armed with enough technological equipment to computerize several small nations, and enough
promise and potential to lead this very large one... That fear was at the heart of the ridiculous 
(and futile) lawsuit filed against the University of North Carolina for assigning its students a book 
on the Koran. It's a fear of the unknown...
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/4003843.htm

The Koran: A Study (Letters to the Editor)
Time Magazine
To those who objected to the plan by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for incoming 
freshmen to read a book about the Koran [Nation, Aug. 19], I would note that every religion, past, 
present and future, is a fit subject for academic study anywhere...
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1101020909-346234-2,00.html
(Note: Time magazine published two letters to the editor about the summer reading program. 
To view both, please go to the above url and scroll down to "The Koran.")

The anti-education educators (Commentary)
Nando Times (a website of the News and Observer)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill created quite a stir this year. To better understand the 
tragedy of Sept.11th, the school told its incoming freshmen to read and be ready to discuss 
"Approaching the Qur'an: The Early Revelations," a generally sympathetic portrait of Islam. 
http://www.nandotimes.com/opinions/story/516337p-4099820c.html
(Note: This column was distributed by Scripps Howard Service and also appeared in The Cincinnati 
Post (online link not available). The Nando Times website requires free registration to access articles.)

Soccer coach gets more than practice in Kenya
Philadelphia Inquirer 
After volunteering to start a girls' soccer program in Kibera, Kenya, Rob Rider was asked one
crucial question. Can you be autonomous? The question came from Rye Barcott, founder of 
Carolina for Kibera Inc... Barcott founded it in 2000 while studying in Kenya during his junior 
year at the University of North Carolina. Working with youth leaders in Kibera, he established a 
program to benefit youth through sports and community service.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/4004998.htm

Earnhardt still alive in fans' hearts
Philadelphia Inquirer 
Like a cross reverently fixed to a country church's steeple, a large No. 3 - six feet of hand-carved 
wood painted to a sparkling black sheen - is nailed to the side of a clapboard home along Route 52, 
several miles south of here... "These people love him because he was one of them, one of the boys," 
said Ron Hyatt, a NASCAR enthusiast and a professor with the University of North Carolina's 
department of exercise and sports science. 
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/sports/3982200.htm

Coed sleepovers leave some parents sleepless
Miami Herald
They watch movies, pig out on pizza, then crash on the floor or couches and beds in various rooms 
in the house. It's the typical teen sleepover, with one notable change: These days, the participants are 
increasingly likely to be boys and girls together in one big, coed event... Still, some young people 
say parents should base their decision on the circumstances. That includes Anne Hunnell, 18, who 
just started her freshman year at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...
http://www.miami.com/mld/miami/news/nation/4004471.htm

National News Notes

The Wausau Daily Herald (Wisconsin) featured a column by former Time correspondent Michael J. 
McManus about Carolina's summer reading program. McManus regularly writes this syndicated 
religion column. This piece includes quotes from Chancellor Moeser and Jan Rivero, campus minister 
of the United Methodist Wesley Foundation.. It was featured in The Birmingham News, The Allentown 
Morning Call (Penn.), Odessa America, and The Danburgy News Times (Conn.). No 
online links are available at this time.

North Carolina News Notes

Trudier Harris-Lopez, Carlyle Sitterson Professor of English, will be interviewed on WUNC-TV's 
"North Carolina Bookwatch" airing this Sunday, September 8th, at 5 p.m about her latest book, 
"Saints, Sinners, Saviors: Strong Black Women in African American Literature." For more information, 
please go to http://www.unctv.org/ncbookwatch/episodes.html and scroll down to "September 8."

State and Local Coverage

Moeser lists specific goals 
News and Observer
In his "state of the university" address Wednesday, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser 
zeroed in on concrete priorities as the campus strives toward his oft-stated goal of becoming the 
country's leading public university.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1702404p-1719938c.html

Moeser: UNC will take its measure 
Chapel Hill Herald
As amorphous as it might be, the concept that Carolina is -- or should be -- the nation’s best public 
university is one discussed around these parts with the grim solemnity of a serious, steadfast vision. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-263971.html

Conference recounts perils of school separation
Educate! (Charlotte-Mecklenburg weekly community journal on education)
About 500 people gathered in Chapel Hill for "The Resegregation of Southern Schools?" The 
question mark was a tip-off that academics were in charge, but it quickly became clear that this 
was a conference with an attitude - and a message... 
http://www.educateclt.org/archive_pdf/Educate!%20020905.pdf
(Note: This front-page article also included a graph on North Carolina course enrollment and 
included a three page conference reports featuring comments from Jack Boger, professor at the 
School of Law, Julius Chambers, director of the UNC Center for Civil Rights, and Anita Brown-
Graham, professor of public law at the Institute of Government.)

Experts keep watch on mosquito ills 
News and Observer
Mosquito-borne encephalitis has been confirmed in three people in North Carolina so far this summer, 
and seven more suspected cases are under investigation, state officials reported... "Once you get it 
once, you become immune, but right now the whole population is vulnerable," said Dr. David J. Weber, 
an infectious disease specialist at UNC-Chapel Hill. 
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1702399p-1719962c.html

Kinnaird, Lee take campaign to campus 
Chapel Hill Herald
Looking to drum up support among the university’s rank-and-file staff, state Sens. Howard Lee and 
Ellie Kinnaird hit the UNC campus Wednesday, pushing their own accomplishments while avoiding 
criticism of each other. 
http://www.herald-sun.com/orange/10-263966.html

A beneficial school for North Carolina (Letter to the Editor)
News and Observer
We read with great interest your editorial "The pork buffet," which ran Aug. 20. You properly highlighted 
the current budget woes of North Carolina but missed some important points regarding the establishment 
of a School of Pharmacy at Elizabeth City State University... A team of pharmacy school deans from 
neighboring states was brought in by the UNC Office of the President to determine the feasibility of 
establishing a School of Pharmacy at ECSU. The team concluded that it is feasible but offered two 
alternatives for the president and the Board of Governors to consider. The Board of Governors 
recommended the option of ECSU and UNC-CH establishing a joint program...
http://www.newsobserver.com/editorials/story/1702218p-1719980c.html
(Note: Charles Penny is chairman of the Board of Trustees at Elizabeth City State University.)

Memorial Hospital celebrates 50th 
News and Observer
A powerful combination of shame and pride drove North Carolina leaders to build the first state-
supported four-year medical school and teaching hospital 50 years ago, officials said in commemorating
the golden anniversary Wednesday of Memorial Hospital at UNC-Chapel Hill.
http://newsobserver.com/news/triangle/story/1702400p-1719987c.html

Issues and Trends Affecting Carolina

Recruit and retain the best minds to teach (Opinion-Editorial Column)
Charlotte Observer
Across North Carolina, public schools face a critical shortage of teachers. In the days just before the start 
of the new school year, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools had yet to fill 140 of 1,000 vacancies. The 
president of the University of North Carolina system has said that over the next 10 years, our state will 
need as many as 12,000 new teachers a year.
http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/4005118.htm
(Note: Elizabeth Dole of Salisbury is a candidate for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate.)

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