uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Poverty stress blamed for achievement gap
United Press International
The early achievement gap, in which children from low-income homes start school behind more advantaged classmates, may be due to stress, U.S. researchers say. Study leader Clancy Blair of New York University and colleagues at Pennsylvania State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill studied almost 1,300 children ages 7 months to 24 months from mostly low-income homes.

Flu vaccine doesn’t work as well for obese people
The Star (Montreal, Canada)
Being obese may impair the body’s ability to mount a protective immune response to the flu, according to a newly published study in the International Journal of Obesity. The study, conducted at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill’s Department of Nutrition at the Gillings School of Global Public Health, found that the initial immune response from the flu vaccine is intact in both healthy and obese people 30 days after inoculation.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4859/71/

National Coverage

Experts Challenge China's 1-Child Population Claim
The Associated Press
..."A draconian birth control policy is not the answer to the world population problem," said Cai Yong, an assistant professor at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and an expert on China's population. Cai said Zhai and the government are "rewriting China's fertility reduction history."

It's No Guarantee, But You Should Get the Flu Shot Anyway
Time
...Indeed, a study published on Monday found that the vaccine may be even less effective than previously thought in overweight and obese people. About 11 months after it was administered, the vaccine had worn off by a factor of four in twice as many heavy people (50%) as in those of healthy weight (25%), according to the study by researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4859/71/

That Merit-Based Aid Offer Is Final, Universities Insist (Blog)
The New York Times
...Dan Thornton, associate director of financial aid and scholarships at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, echoed Ms. Horne’s hard-line stance. “We simply do not negotiate,” he declared. Saying that the majority of families who sought increased merit aid at Chapel Hill were affluent, he took the automobile analogy a step further.

Death On Notre Dame Lift Spurs Schools To Action
The Associated Press
..."Everyone is certainly aware of what went on and is trying to be more calculated and know what's going on, on a daily basis," said Christopher Luke, vice president of the Collegiate Sports Video Association and director of football video operations at the University of North Carolina.

Urban Agriculture: Green on a Human Scale
The Huffington Post
How do you turn a garden on its side and grow it up a wall? And why would you want to? Going sideways with your greenery might be a way to provide healthy food in densely-populated urban areas. According to a recent study conducted by the University of North Carolina, there are five fast food restaurants for every supermarket in the United States. You're five times a likely to encounter a chicken mc-something than you would a vegetable.

Regional Coverage

Study: Flu shots less effective on obese people
The Atlanta Journal Constitution
Here's yet another good reason to lose weight. New research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill shows that annual flu shots may be less effective for obese people. The study, reported online in the International Journal of Obesity, reports for the first time that influenza vaccine antibody levels decline significantly in obese people compared to people who maintain a healthy weight.
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/4859/71/

State and Local Coverage

Obama speeds debt relief to students
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
President Barack Obama unveiled a plan Wednesday that could give millions of young people, including thousands of recent N.C. college graduates, some relief on student loan payments. ...Wadsworth graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill and began law school at Campbell University in 2008, just as the economy spiraled downward. Now highly educated but unable to find a job that would allow her to afford her six-figure student loans, she's struggling to find a way to pay up.

Duke Leads ACC Grad Rates
WUNC-FM
...The NCAA graduation rate does not take into account student-athletes who leave school in good academic standing. Wake Forest was right behind at 94 percent. UNC-Chapel Hill came in at 88 percent. All beat the national average for student-athletes of 82 percent.

Sparring continues over Rex Healthcare
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The UNC Health Care System appears to be taking a more aggressive stance in its ongoing dispute with WakeMed over the future of Rex Healthcare. Last week, the UNC Health Care System, which owns Rex, sent a public-records request to WakeMed asking for minutes from Board of Directors meetings, agendas for those meetings and annual financial audits for the hospital system.
Related Link:
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/business/unc-health-care-fires-back-makes
-public-records-request-of-wakemed#storylink=misearch

Minority bundling (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The Oct. 21 article "Minorities increase in Wake schools" indicated that racial and ethnic minority students were now the majority in the Wake County Public Schools. The article not only made the mistake of clumping various racial and ethnic groups together to form one statistical figure but also lacked a clear objective for pointing out the increased presence of minority students. (Charity Sneed, UNC School of Social Work, Chapel Hill)

Heels go camo on Nov. 11
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
It's not exactly Alexander Julian-style argyle, but the uniforms that the North Carolina basketball team will wear for its Nov. 11 Carrier Classic game against Michigan State will feature a bit of military flair. UNC posted photos of the light blue uniforms with a specially designed camouflage pattern Wednesday on tarheelblue.com, the university athletic department's official website.

UNC working to improve Honor Court system
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
When University of North Carolina officials go before the NCAA Committee on Infractions Friday, it marks a final step in the investigation of the Tar Heel football program that has lasted more than a year. After investigations both internal and external, UNC admitted that players had received improper benefits as well as participated in academic misconduct.

NCAA to weigh in on allegations against UNC football program
News 14 Carolina
UNC is preparing to go before the NCAA Committee on Infractions to face the nine allegations against the football program. The enforcement team will determine what penalties the program faces for violations of academic misconduct, the athletes taking improper benefits, and unethical behavior. Before the hearing, UNC put forth self-imposed sanctions in hopes the NCAA will not come back with stiffer penalties.

Right all along (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Sometimes, in fact rather often these days, people all over the country call William C. Friday and the Rev. Theodore M. Hesburgh to say: You guys were right about college athletics. You should say, "We told you so." But Friday, president emeritus of the University of North Carolina system, and Hesburgh, former president of Notre Dame, are 91 and 94 respectively, and gentlemen of the old school not given to boast or gloat.

Issues and Trends

Blake to face NCAA
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Former North Carolina associate head coach John Blake will appear in front of the NCAA Committee on Infractions on Friday in Indianapolis in an attempt to clear his name, his lawyer, Wade Smith, said in a telephone interview Wednesday. Blake is named in three of the nine major violations charged in the Notice of Allegations sent by the NCAA to North Carolina in June.