Sept. 6, 2005

Carolina in the News

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

National Coverage

Doctors Hamstrung in Relief Efforts
The Associated Press (National)
With the last of Hurricane Katrina’s (search) victims rescued from New Orleans’ toxic floodwaters, the public health disaster wrought by the storm continued to unfold Monday. ..."We have tried so hard to do the right thing. It took us 30 hours to get here," said one of the frustrated surgeons, Dr. Preston "Chip" Rich of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, told the Associated Press.
UNC News Tip: http://www.unc.edu/news/newstips/2005/hurricane090205.htm

N.C. Mobile Hospital Now Treating Patients In Miss.
The Associated Press (National)
The first patient at the state-of-the-art mobile hospital designed for disasters was a puppy. ...Dr. Ben Zarzour, trauma surgeon at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, explained, "This hospital can be put on C-130s (big cargo planes) and flown anywhere in the world."

More Than One City Is a Phoenix
The Washington Post
American cities have been assailed by fire and flood and earthquake and hurricanes, seen thousands dead and hundreds of thousands more turned into evacuees. ..."Some beautiful homes in New Orleans will never be rebuilt, some entire neighborhoods will just never be the same," says William Ferris, co-editor of the Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and history professor at the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina.

Assessing the environmental damage
The Philadelphia Inquirer
When environmental officials consider the area devastated by Katrina, they envision waters fouled by oil, chemicals and sewage. ...Hans Paerl, a marine and environmental sciences professor at the University of North Carolina who has studied the effects of hurricanes on estuarine systems, said the infusion of saltwater from the storm surge and the subsequent inundation of freshwater from the rain - plus the contaminants - creates "a complex situation" for nature.

Rebuilding expected to be grueling, complex, controversial
The Chicago Tribune
It took centuries to transform New Orleans from a mosquito-infested swamp into one of the world's unique cities. ..."This is mind-boggling," said David Godschalk, a professor emeritus in urban planning at the University of North Carolina. "My expectation is that parts of the city are just not going to be salvageable. There's no way some of those areas will be brought back."

Software Strives to Spot Plagiarism Before Publication
The New York Times
After a series of damaging newspaper scandals involving plagiarism in recent years, a new piece of software looks to help editors stop wrongdoers before their articles go to print. ...Debashis Aikat, an associate professor of journalism at the University of North Carolina, praised the use of checks and balances in newsrooms but speculated that the cunning plagiarist could still sidestep the archived materials. "You really cannot have software that can cover everything, but this is a step in the right direction."

Into the Deep End
The Washington Post
Swimming was not my first choice as a fitness activity. ..."Because of the pressure of the water, your heart circulates more blood with less effort," says Robert McMurray, professor of exercise science at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. "So to get your heart rate up, you are going to have to work harder" than on land.

Study Touts Pre-Angioplasty Superaspirin
The Associated Press (National)
Giving heart attack patients a dose of "superaspirin" before rather than during a procedure to restore blood flow to the heart could save tens of thousands of lives a year, new research suggests. ...Dr. Sidney Smith, the cardiology chief at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, who was not connected with the research, said the study's findings were very important.

An Unexpected Reprieve
Newsweek
When 6-month-old Tiffany was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis in 1972, her doctor warned her mother not to let her play with dolls. ...Dozens of adult centers have now opened, but the years in limbo left a mark, says Dr. Mike Knowles, codirector of the University of North Carolina's adult CF center. Patients were sort of lost," he says. "They were not treated as if they were going to have a future, so they were not given the opportunity or responsibility to grow into mature young adults."

A Better Way To Ambush AIDS?
Business Week
In the U.S., AIDS may not seem to be the urgent problem it once was. ...he original compound, found in a variety of tree barks, was discovered nearly 10 years ago by Kuo-Hsuing Lee at the University of North Carolina as part of an effort to test thousands of natural substances for anti-HIV or anti-cancer effects.

Rehnquist's unfinished agenda
The Christian Science Monitor
The saga of William H. Rehnquist at the US Supreme Court is very much the story of a long-term Republican campaign to conquer an institution that had become a citadel of liberal power in the 1960s. ..."It dramatically changed the direction of constitutional law," says William Marshall, a law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC News Tip: http://www.unc.edu/news/newstips/2005/nomination071905.htm

The Business School as a Start-Up
The Chronicle of Higher Education
For more than three decades, Robert S. Sullivan helped budding entrepreneurs transform inventions into thriving businesses. ...Under his leadership, North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler school joined an e-learning company to offer courses over the Internet but was forced to move the program in-house in 2001, when the company pulled out of the market.
Note: Subscription required.

One bullet away
The Los Angeles Times
As he contemplated his career choices, Dartmouth graduate Nathaniel Fick fretted that he had been born too late. ...Richard Kohn, professor of history and chairman of the Curriculum in Peace, War and Defense at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says a typical narrative involves "my journey into the world of the military, my descent into the horror of combat, the lessons that I learned, the wisdom that I experienced, the psychological trauma that I faced, the rebuilding of my life afterward, my reflections on this unique experience."

Regional Coverage

Research shows the role of religion in teens’ lives is in flux
The York Daily Record (Pa.)
Teenagers deal with countless distractions and crammed schedules that can put religion low on their priority lists. ...Christian Smith, a University of North Carolina sociologist who lead the study, wrote that teens are replacing the traditional vision of God with an “alternative religious vision of divinely underwritten personal happiness and interpersonal niceness.”

Color A Child's Way to Healing in the Aftermath of Katrina
KCBD-TV (NBC; Lubbock, Texas)
Helping children digest the destruction and chaos left by Hurricane Katrina can be a heavy task. Experts say talking and listening are good first steps. Dr. Jack Naftel, Child Psychiatrist, University of North Carolina says, It's helpful for children not only to talk about it, but figure out ways to master this trauma."

State & Local Coverage

Memorial Hall
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
When Friday night's crowd gets its first look at a newly refurbished Memorial Hall, UNC-Chapel Hill will not only be putting the building's dazzling $18 million facelift on display but also will be trying out its new role as an upstart arts destination. ..."The notion of turning Cameron Avenue into an avenue of the arts is powerful," said Steve Allred, executive associate provost. "The goal on any given night is to have, between student, professional and faculty performances, something going on in PlayMakers, in Gerrard, in Memorial, in the new music building all at once. Suddenly, you've got a lot of arts activity going on in an area that previously was mostly a parking lot."
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/may05/memorial_facts050205.html

Shiny new hall, sparkling season
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Arts czar Emil Kang is confident he has built a kickoff season that matches Memorial Hall's ambitious make-over and lives up to the lofty title of his newly created position. This is the third concert hall UNC-Chapel Hill's first executive director for the arts has opened, following similar debuts in Detroit and Seattle in his previous jobs as an orchestra administrator.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/aug05/memorial082205.htm

Past glories echo through updated digs
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Ghost stories tend to have murky origins. The legend of the spirit supposedly haunting Memorial Hall is no exception. ..."The person who opened the doors and gave access to the hall got to live in that apartment in exchange for taking care of the place," says Don Luse, director of the Carolina Union. "That's about as technical as things were in the early days. Somebody was living there later than you'd think, maybe through the '60s." Memorial's new seating capacity is actually smaller, down 186 seats to 1,434 -- both for comfort and new codes that had to be met. But its square footage has nearly doubled, from 24,000 to 44,600. Most of that new space is in the stage area.

UNC Offering Minor In Christianity For First Time
The Associated Press (N.C.)
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has begun offering a minor in Christianity to help students whom a professor says aren't able, regardless of their faith, to talk seriously about it. The curriculum called Christianity and Culture is a first for the university and sets a precedent across the nation, said Christian Smith, a UNC-Chapel Hill sociology professor.

New minor available
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
For the first time in its 210 year history, UNC-Chapel Hill has begun offering students a minor in Christianity. ...Bart Ehrman, who teaches an introduction to the New Testament at UNC-CH, said most undergraduates routinely fail a basic quiz he gives at the beginning of each course with questions such as, "What language was the New Testament written in?" and "How many books are in the New Testament?"

UNC expands religious degrees
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Starting this semester, UNC Chapel Hill students can earn a minor in Christianity and culture. ... Peter Iver Kaufman is a religious studies professor and co-director of the minor. "The idea has been banged around an awful lot and most recently, it's come out that, in UNC sociology assistant professor and minor co-director Christian Smith's research that folks that professed Christianity had an imperfect understanding of it," he said. "His study was the spark that got this going."

Doctors: What's the holdup?
The Associated Press (N.C.)
Volunteer physicians are pouring in to care for the sick, but red tape is keeping hundreds of others from caring for Hurricane Katrina survivors even as health officials worry about potential outbreaks. ..."We have tried so hard to do the right thing. It took us 30 hours to get here," said one of the frustrated surgeons, Dr. Preston "Chip" Rich of UNC-Chapel Hill.

Duke, UNC doctors working in Mississippi
The Herald-Sun (Durham)/The Chapel Hill Herald
The first major wave of medical personnel from the Triangle has slammed into the harsh realities of weapon-wielding storm victims, decaying human bodies, alligators and chaos as workers set up field hospitals to bring health where tragedy has reigned since Hurricane Katrina struck last week. Doctors, nurses and other health providers from Duke and UNC hospitals started rolling up their sleeves to provide hands-on care to the storm victims on Monday.

Poverty center draws speakers
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
John Edwards, the former U.S. senator and vice presidential candidate, will be at UNC-Chapel Hill on Wednesday to launch a monthly speaker series at the UNC-Chapel Hill law school's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity.
Note: There is no link available.
UNC News Release: http://www.unc.edu/news/archives/sep05/povertycenter090205.htm

People
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Kimberly Cobb of the department of child and maternal health in the School of Public Health and Heidi Hollingsworth of the early childhood families and literacy research track in the School of Education have received James J. Gallagher Dissertation Awards of $1,500 each for their research on policies that affect children and families.

Barbara Entwisle, a sociology professor who directs the university's Carolina Population Center, has been elected president of the Population Association of America.

Anna Fabiszewski, a rising junior from Virginia Beach, Va., an environmental science major in the UNC Environmental Program, has won an Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Milton Health Jr., a professor in the School of Government, was elected recently to the National Association of Conservation Districts' Southeast Regional Conservation Partnership Hall of Fame.

Cheryl Jones and Polly Johnson, two UNC nursing faculty members, have been named fellows in the American Academy of Nursing, an organization of leaders in education, management, practice and research.

English professor Patrick O'Neill was awarded the Sir Israel Gollancz Memorial Prize by the British Academy in July for his contributions to medieval studies.

Betsy Sleath, a professor in UNC's School of Pharmacy, was recently awarded a $1.6 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for a study on "Children and Asthma: Communication and Outcomes."

Opting for a shot of safety
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Hundreds of college students in the Triangle are taking the better-safe-than-sorry approach by getting a meningitis vaccination this fall, health officials say. ...Today, UNC-Chapel Hill will offer a special vaccination clinic at the student recreation center from 5 to 7 p.m. Another clinic will be held Sept. 14. Students and parents were notified by e-mail. "More people are wanting it," said Carol Kozel, nursing director at UNC-Chapel Hill's Student Health Service. "We'd like to see all of our incoming students, incoming freshmen immunized, particularly if they're living in residence halls."

UNC-Chapel Hill honors 14 teens in science
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Fourteen teenagers statewide have been named recipients of UNC-Chapel Hill's second annual Carolina Award for Outstanding Achievement in Science. The award is designed to cultivate students' excitement for the sciences and recognizes outstanding eighth- and 11th-grade students in the state.

Replacement planned for Chapel Hill hotel
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A local developer's expanded plan for a parcel of land near the intersection of NC 54 and Hamilton Road includes a new hotel along with homes, offices and retail space. ...Next door UNC Hospitals is considering erecting a two-story building with a total of 30,000 square feet. The building would be for hospital outpatient services, such as clinical programs and diagnostic testing, according to the concept plan UNC Hospitals submitted to the town.
Note: There is no link available.

Lottery fallout may reach polls
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The legislative fight over a North Carolina lottery took more than 20 years to finish, but the political memoir of state-run gambling in this state has just started. ..."People who are dead set against all of this will be angry with those who voted for it," said Thad Beyle, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. "There may be some repercussions."

Mistakes made, Tolson says of Lee Act
Triangle Business Journal
North Carolina companies may be short-changing the state hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate income tax payments by taking ineligible tax credits under an economic incentives program. ...In one of the only independent examinations of the Lee Act credit system ever performed, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill professor Michael Luger examined 100 corporate tax returns for a 2003 report. He found credit-disqualifying errors - missing or incorrect data and discrepancies in credits claimed - in 33 percent, concluding that high rates of erroneous data collection were making it difficult to "assess the real costs of the Lee Act as a central component of the state's economic development arsenal."

Chief's report details shooting
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
An off-duty police officer was standing by the driver's side of her car before she fired a single shot at an unarmed man trying to steal it, according to a report released Friday by Raleigh Police Chief Jane Perlov. ...North Carolina law does not permit people to use deadly force to protect their possessions, said Richard Myers, a law professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. "You wouldn't be allowed to kill someone in mere defense of property," he said.

Information appeal could affect other cases, man's attorney says
The Winston-Salem Journal
A Forsyth County case could be used to determine whether defense attorneys are entitled to some internal information from district attorneys' offices, the defense attorney in the case says. ...John Rubin, a criminal-law specialist at the Institute of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, said in an interview that information from the DA's office is not "necessarily protected from discovery by the defense."

Suminoe oyster is no threat to N.C.
The New Bern Sun Journal
Blue crabs sure go for those Asian oysters. ..."It doesn't mean the oyster couldn't become established. It means that there won't be a lot of adults to reproduce," said Charles Peterson, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Institute of Marine Sciences.

Several UNC commuter parking lots are now open to public
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC has opened several commuter parking lots for use by the general public, an effort to encourage university students and employees not to drive to campus themselves. ..."We're trying to make it as easy as possible for folks to use alternatives and decrease fuel consumption," said Randy Young, a spokesman for UNC's Department of Public Safety.

Bouquets and brays (Opinion column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
And you thought they'd never leave Raleigh. But the legislators finally packed their valises and returned home last week -- assuming they could find enough gas -- after a seven-month stay in the capital. ...UNC-Chapel Hill boosters -- apparently with the acquiescence of Chancellor James Moeser -- tried to bypass the university system in financing their campus. It didn't quite pass.

The mysteries of female friendships (Commentary)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
If I hadn't been asked to review Hillsborough writer Leah Stewart's earnest second novel, I might have bought it anyway for its siren red cover and magnificent title: "The Myth of You & Me." The jacket copy of my reviewer's galley clearly targets the book to specific readers (women haunted by broken friendships with other women). As I thumbed the opening pages, names of long-lost girlfriends flickered nostalgically across my brain. ...Marianne Gingher is the author of four books, both fiction and nonfiction, and teaches writing and literature at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Look to future with small-town airport (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
I regret that Matt Dees' good story on the legislature's requirement that the airport remain open for at least another year was shortened from the full version that ran in The News & Observer. CHN cut my next sentence, and I understand that it has caused some to believe that I think that UNC's Area Health Education (AHEC) is not important.

Social workers key to health care unit (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
We were happy to see your article about UNC-Chapel Hill's Student Health Action Coalition (SHAC) in the Aug. 28 paper. SHAC is the oldest student-run program of its kind in the country and deserves the media attention; however, we were surprised that you neglected to mention that students from UNC's School of Social Work are actively involved in both the leadership and organization of SHAC.

Governor boosts cancer awareness (Letter to the editor)
The Chapel Hill News
On behalf of the thousands of people battling blood cancers in North Carolina, I salute Gov. Mike Easley for declaring September Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month. ...Eight scientists at Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill are working to discover cures with more than $3 million in grants from The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Small businesses can breathe a sigh of relief (Opinion-editorial column)
The Chapel Hill News
The Umstead Act is a landmark piece of legislation originally adopted in 1929 to protect private enterprise from unfair competition by the State of North Carolina and its agents. ...This legislative session, the UNC Office of the President proposed four new amendments that would have substantially weakened the Umstead Act and greatly broadened the ability for the UNC campuses to engage in activities previously prohibited by law. Though these changes would have applied to UNC-Chapel Hill, I would like to note that the amendments were not requested by them.

A million miles (Opinion column)
The Chapel Hill News
According to MapQuest, the distance between Jacksonville, N.C., and Chapel Hill is only 145 miles. When I drove home from the beach this summer, it seemed more like a million. ... McCorkle Place at UNC offers a Carolina-blue welcome to people armed with laptops. Silent Sam alone stands watch.

Issues & Trends

Lottery `monkey' off Easley's back (Opinion column)
The Charlotte Observer
Ten days ago, about a dozen reporters sat in Senate leader Marc Basnight's conference room on the second floor of the Legislative Building, staring at a telephone while Basnight's voice told them the session was over. ..."The reputation of North Carolina for fair and good government took a hit today," said UNC president emeritus William Friday. "This is a mortal blow."

Animal shelter vote due
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Orange County commissioners might vote next week to move the animal shelter to Eubanks Road near the county landfill. ...The animal shelter has to be moved because the town of Chapel Hill leases the current site from UNC-Chapel Hill, which is getting ready to build its Carolina North research campus.

Why go Greek?
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Next to the entrance of Fraternity Court at N.C. State University, the Sigma Phi Epsilon house stands empty. It needs plenty of work inside, but there is no hurry to fix it. The chapter was shut down last year after a pledging ritual got out of hand.

Myth vs. reality
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
All Greeks are rich kids. ...At Duke and NCCU, many Greek chapters are housed on specific floors of university dorms. For that classic feel, head over to UNC-Chapel Hill and take a walk along Franklin Street, Rosemary Street, Cameron Avenue and Columbia Street.

Produced by News Services, Carolina in the News is an e-mail sampling of current news media coverage about Carolina people and programs, as well as issues and trends that affect the university. Stories usually will be online and available free for a limited time - often one to two weeks. Expiration dates before stories move to archives vary by media outlet. Some outlets require free user registration or a subscription.

Carolina in the News is also posted daily to the News Services Web page, http://www.unc.edu/news/clips/index.shtml.

Please share any questions, comments or suggestions at news@unc.edu.