unc.edu/news

International Coverage

CI in tsunami warning system
The Cay Compass (Cayman Islands)
The Cayman Islands will benefit from the establishment of a Caribbean–wide tsunami warning system, but those involved with the project here are cautioning that the system should not lull anyone into a false sense of security. ...According to a 2005 study by University of North Carolina researchers, 10 significant tsunamis have been documented in the northern Caribbean since 1492, six of which are known to have claimed lives.

National Coverage

A Bad Reaction to a Diet
The New York Times
VOGUE made the proposal, but was it indecent? Last September, Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sibling designers of Rodarte, received a phone call from a Vogue editor who suggested that they see a trainer and go on a diet. ...Nonetheless, Cynthia M. Bulik, a professor of eating disorders at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, defended the offer as it was presented in the magazine, noting that the designers had written that a doctor had also told them to get in shape.

Bikers, helmet advocates disagree on medical costs
USA Today
Motorcycle helmets save lives. But do they save taxpayers money by reducing potentially unpaid medical costs? ...A 1992 University of North Carolina study of injured motorcyclists over three years found that unhelmeted riders were 70% more likely to suffer a moderate or severe head injury than helmeted riders.

Regional Coverage

Elizabeth City councilman has 10 days to appeal ruling
The Virginian-Pilot (Hampton Roads, Va.)
The Pasquotank County Board of Elections filed an order Wednesday giving City Councilman Kirk Rivers 10 days to appeal its ruling that he no longer lives in the city. ...If Rivers files an appeal, the judge must determine whether the board committed any errors in law, according to an e-mail from Bob Joyce of the University of North Carolina School of Government to Pasquotank County Attorney Mike Cox.

State and Local Coverage

Shades of Discrimination
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
In academia, America’s ongoing struggle with racism is well-documented and thoroughly researched. But, the impact of biases based on color distinctions within races is less-frequently discussed. Scholars from across the country are gathering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Duke University this week for a conference to explore the effects of colorism on race and class in communities around the globe.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.

Professorship honors Eizenstat
The Chapel Hill Herald
A $1.5 million distinguished professorship in Jewish studies at UNC will be named in honor of alumnus Stuart E. Eizenstat, lead negotiator for Holocaust reparation agreements and deputy secretary of the treasury during the Clinton administration.

USDA's nutrition tool fails
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has spent more than a half-million dollars and two and a half years designing a dietary assessment tool that has little value. The USDA's new MyPyramid Menu Planner, which was unveiled this month, doesn't work because the MyPyramid approach doesn't work. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

Mental health services under review
The Reidsville Review
The Annie Penn Community Trust is funding a three-month assessment of all the mental health and substance abuse services in Rockingham County.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is conducting the assessment, headed by Professor Cynthia "Syd" Wiford, program coordinator.

Time to get serious about taking on gun violence (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Citizen-Times (Asheville)
Thursday afternoon on March 6, my inbox contained an e-mail with the subject line, “Carolina’s tragic loss.” Hurriedly, I read the heart-rending message from James Moeser, chancellor at UNC Chapel Hill, that Eve Carson, student body president and trustee, had been murdered on March 5.

Carson Slaying Weighs Heavy on Students During ‘Take Back the Night’
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
Student activism was alive and well at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Wednesday night. During the annual "Take Back the Night" march, students symbolically reclaimed the night from fear and violence. ...This year's event was even more meaningful in the wake of Eve Carson's killing.

UNC's Emergency Siren Test Successful
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
UNC’s emergency sirens were tested Wednesday … as part of the launch of Alert Carolina … a safety awareness campaign. Randy Young with UNC Public Safety says the sirens will be used to alert students of emergencies such as … an active shooter on campus, a gas leak or a weather related emergency.

Issues and Trends

State should make it easier to save official correspondence (Editorial)
The Fayetteville Observer
There is no gray area when it comes to destruction of public records in North Carolina. It’s illegal and no public official may do it. ...When you consider that North Carolina is the only state in the nation that conducts closed chancellor searches, it’s fair to assume that at least some board members and university trustees took advantage of the hiding space private e-mails provide. On Monday, the chairman of the UNC Board of Governors, Jim Phillips, said he would examine the board’s use of private e-mail addresses to ensure that records are being kept in compliance with state law.

E-mail policies (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Regarding your March 20 editorial "A handle on e-mail": We are state employees. Each morning we arrive at UNC-Chapel Hill to find inboxes full of e-mails that have no administrative value: informational e-mails sent to all university employees, listserv e-mails and e-mails labeled junk. Deleting these e-mails allows us to do our jobs more efficiently and helps us identify records with administrative value. (Caroline Walters, University records manager and Janis Holder, University archivist, UNC-CH Chapel Hill)

The politics of tuition (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Carrboro Citizen
Tuition at University of North Carolina campuses is the subject of the latest skirmish between Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and state Treasurer Richard Moore in their battle for the Democratic nomination for governor. ...But almost every member of the General Assembly has voted at some point to raise tuition at UNC campuses, despite promises from most legislators to right tuition increases.

A year after his death, the memory of Jason Ray lives
ESPN.com
Sitting hand in hand on their living room couch some 10 months ago, Emmitt and Charlotte Ray had one goal in sharing the single worst moment of their life with the world. "We just want to make sure Jason will never be forgotten," Charlotte said. "We never want our son to be forgotten." Now, a year after North Carolina mascot Jason Ray's tragic death during the 2007 NCAA men's basketball tournament, their wish has come true.

Probation officer never met with suspect
The Athens Banner-Herald (Georgia)
Records show the probation officer ordered to monitor Laurence Alvin Lovette never met with the teen, who is charged with killing 2004 Clarke Central High School valedictorian Eve Carson and a Duke University grad student. ...The investigation has been under way since the arrest of Lovette and Demario Atwater, 21, both of Durham, in the March 5 shooting death of Carson, 22, who was student body president at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Durham sets session on probation
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Durham leaders have called a special crime Cabinet meeting to discuss the probation system's failure to keep tabs on two offenders now accused of murder. ...She said she first became concerned nearly two weeks ago when Durham residents Laurence Alvin Lovette, 17, and Demario Atwater, 21, were charged with murdering Eve Carson, the UNC-Chapel Hill student body president. Each was on probation for other offenses.

Program informs teens of hazards
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
A group with backing from several local organizations began what it hopes will be a series of life- and community-changing events for Durham teenagers on Wednesday. ...The group says it is backed by Duke University Health System, UNC Hospital, N.C. Central University's public health education department, the county health department, a local Wal-Mart store, two local radio stations and other area businesses.