uncnews.unc.edu

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

National Coverage

PARADE's College A-List
Parade Magazine
No disrespect to Harvard, Yale, and Princeton, but you don’t need to attend a fabled Ivy to get a big-league education. PARADE asked top high school counselors across the nation to recommend outstanding schools that often fly under the radar. ... (UNC-Chapel Hill appears on the list of "Large Schools" based on the recommendations of 43 top high school guidance counselors across the country. Some entries include comments from the panel.) (http://www.parade.com/news/2010/08/22-parades-college-a-list.html)
"UNC Chapel Hill has strong academics across the curriculum...The nation's first public university is full of tradition, spirit, and smart, engaged, happy students who work hard and are very proud of their school."

Students warned to beware of 'laptop-itis'
USA Today
The very design of laptop computers encourages bad posture among college students and other heavy users, which can lead to headaches, muscle strain and debilitating neck, shoulder and hand injuries, researchers caution. The issue stems from the unified body construction that defines laptops, researchers at the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, explained in a university news release. With an inseparable keyboard and monitor, users are not free to configure their equipment in a way that minimizes risk.

For Imam in Muslim Center Furor, a Hard Balancing Act
The New York Times
...One critique of the imam, said Omid Safi, a professor of religious studies at the University of North Carolina, was that he had not been outspoken enough on issues “near and dear to many Muslims,” like United States policy on Israel and treatment of Muslims after 9/11, “because of the need that he has had — whether taken upon himself or thrust upon him — to be the ‘American imam,’ to be the ‘New York imam,’ to be the ‘accommodationist imam.’ ”

More Candidates Are Hunting For Votes With Guns
National Public Radio
...So far, 2010 "has been a big year for guns in political ads," says Darrell West, director of Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. ... "It's product differentiation," says Mac McCorkle, who teaches the politics of public policy at Duke University and the University of North Carolina. "In a big Republican year with a crowded field, a primary candidate posing with a gun is a quick attention-getting symbol or message to people that 'I'm really conservative.' "

State and Local Coverage

UNC chancellor visits with students moving in
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
hile it may have been just another, albeit significant, work day for Holden Thorp, the UNC chancellor was treated like a rock star everywhere he went on campus Saturday as he inspected the residence halls and business offices teeming with students moving in, parents toting their luggage and employees doing their best to keep the process problem-free and seamless. "Hey, I'm Holden Thorp. I'm the chancellor. Where you from?" he asked over and over. "What are you going to study? Is your roommate already here?"
Related Links: http://www.wchl1360.com/detailswide.html?id=15647
http://charlotte.news14.com/content/local_news/triangle/629512/unc-ch-students-move-back-to-campus

Tree Surgeon
Our State Magazine
For more than 50 years, Bus Hubbard has helped shape the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, branch by branch. Although much of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill campus seems to be perpetually under construction, it never seems to lack for trees. There are some areas of true arboreal serenity, and even in the less-covered spaces where students and faculty walk, there are trees and shrubs that can provide insulation.

Bubba to Ziggy, he tracked them all
The Charlotte Observer
The South is the home of the nickname, where a grown man can be called Bee Bop, Dinky or Sugar Boy and not think anything about it. And the reason for that is simple: The South's penchant for nicknames comes from its inherently intimate culture. "People know each other in a deep way and their families have often lived in communities for generations," said UNC Chapel Hill history professor Bill Ferris, one of the editors of the "Encyclopedia of Southern Culture." And when you are extremely comfortable around someone, nicknames follow suit and stick.

Subsidy created few jobs in N.C.
The Charlotte Observer
...Jobs programs tend to be more palatable to critics of government spending than other types of subsidies because government bureaucrats don't dictate what work is to be done, said Gregory Brown, a finance professor at UNC Chapel Hill's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Brown, a conservative economist who said he is opposed to social welfare programs on ethical grounds, said the jobs subsidies still are problematic because they could be misused by businesses to get free labor at the expense of more productive workers.

Who benefits from summer vacation?
WUNC-FM’s ‘The State of Things’
The traditional school calendar is based on the country's former agrarian lifestyle which includes a long break in the summer months. While summer vacation is enriching and exciting for kids with parents who can afford camps and recreational programs, the summer can be boring and isolating for kids in low-income families. Julie Justice, assistant professor of literacy at the School of Education, was one of the guests discussing how summer vacations affect K-12 students’ progress and the importance of summer academic programs.

Week's end: School's back
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
There's something about venison stew that summons fond memories of icy fall mornings melting into chilly Southern days, sitting in the woods as steam curls out of an old thermos. The recipe might call for carrots and potatoes (a traditional American stew, something the colonists might have stretched out over the winter) or for rice and diced peanuts (that one's almost a gumbo, really), but the key ingredient is, of course, the wild, meaty shreds or chunks of venison. ... UNC didn't fare badly, either, overall the 30th best in the nation, the fifth on the list of public universities and 15th on the "Great Schools, Great Prices" list. It seems to us that education, particularly at the university level, cannot be ranked like a football team's win/loss record -- but the U.S. News list is venerable and, hey, it's a feather in the caps of our local schools.

Challenge: When UNC beat Harvard on academic playing field
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
Challenge readers know about academic challenges, including Garland Freeland in Chapel Hill who knew the answer to last week's Challenge: "In which 'competition' in 1962 did UNC beat Harvard, 295 to 285?" As Freeland replied, "What may look like a high score in bowling, swimming, or track and field was actually a come from behind victory for the Tar Heel scholastic team of 1962, as they somehow defeated the powerful Harvard team in the National Championship Academic Bowl held in Kenan Stadium.

Shakespeare Comedy Kicks Off PlayMakers Season
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
PlayMakers Repertory Company is preparing a full-service show with their production of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It”, including a behind-the-scenes look at how the show gets made. Producing artistic director Joseph Haj says one great aspect of this production is the opportunity to cast UNC alum Michele Vazquez as Rosalind. The comedy is the first show of the 35th season for PlayMakers on their main stage, a season that will feature a return of the musical for the company with “Big River” in April. Other plays scheduled for the main stage include August Wilson’s Tony winner “Fences” and Tony Kushner’s acclaimed “Angels in America.”

Ackland to open museum shop under Top of the Hill
The Chapel Hill News
Following in the footsteps of the FRANK arts cooperative, downtown may get two more art galleries. The Ackland Art Museum at UNC is poised to open a new museum store in the long-vacant space beneath Top of the Hill restaurant and brewery. And Somerhill Gallery, which moved from Eastgate to a converted warehouse near downtown Durham in 2007, has discussed moving back to Chapel Hill, into a retail space on the first floor of the Greenbridge condominiums on West Rosemary Street.

Developers describe plans for U-Square
The Chapel Hill News
Developers plan housing, more office space and a grassy gathering place for downtown as part of a new 123 W. Franklin St., the current home of the University Square shopping center. But it could be four to eight years before you'll sip iced tea on the lawn. The public got to hear plans for the first phase of the redevelopment project Wednesday night. The project would transform University Square, which bridges East and West Franklin Street, into a retail, residential and office-space complex, connecting the UNC campus with downtown
Related Link: http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/9235396/article-UNC%E2%80%99s-University-Square-plan-nearly-ready?

Issues and Trends

Food aid from N.C. bound for Haiti
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
More than 1,500 volunteers - students, Girl Scouts, church group members, senior citizens - will gather in N.C. State University's Carmichael Gymnasium today to pack more than 400,000 meals for Haitians still suffering from the effects of a devastating earthquake in January. It's the kickoff of a series of the festive, rally-like campus events organized by the Raleigh aid group Stop Hunger Now that aims to pack 1 million meals for people in poor countries. UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina University will hold their own meal packing events next weekend, and UNC-Wilmington plans another in November.

Anti-abortion group lobbies Perdue on UNC health plan
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A national anti-abortion group is asking Gov. Beverly Perdue to look into the details of a new UNC system requirement that all students have health insurance. Students for Life of America has asked Perdue to investigate a number of issues surrounding the UNC system's new health insurance program for students. The university wants all students to have health insurance and mandates that they buy into a new insurance plan it is offering unless they can prove they have coverage from another source.
Related Links: http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/22/639507/unc-insurance-plan-under-fire.html#storylink=misearch
http://www.newsobserver.com/2010/08/22/637831/free-to-kill.html#storylink=misearch