uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Courts set to consider the legality of Texas, South Carolina voter ID bills
"The Takeaway" Public Radio International
...Kareem Crayton, a law professor at the University of North Carolina, said the basic problem is that while the law applies uniformly, all people "are not equally situated." "A lot of the population that was without voter ID currently were groups of people who were non-white voters," Crayton said. "Voters who are protected under federal law against discrimination."

National Coverage

March Madness for Academics
Inside Higher Ed
Don't think that Harvard University's entry into the 2012 National Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament makes this year's bracket winner a lock. For the Academic Performance Tournament bracket, we mean, in which Inside Higher Ed -- for the seventh consecutive year -- determines the tournament winner based on each team's scores in the classroom rather than on the court. (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is included in the bracket that is attached to this article.)
Related Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/campus-overload/post/march-madness-of-
graduation-rates-u-conn-loses-notre-dame-wins/2012/03/12/gIQARKHc8R_blog.html

After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses (Blog)
The New York Times
...Gary Marchionini, the dean of the School of Information and Library Science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, said the fading of print encyclopedias was “an inexorable trend that will continue.” “There’s more comprehensive material available on the Web,” Mr. Marchionini said. “The thing that you get from an encyclopedia is one of the best scholars in the world writing a description of that phenomenon or that object, but you’re still getting just one point of view. Anything worth discussing in life is worth getting more than one point of view.”

State and Local Coverage

Grad programs receive high ratings
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
This will come as no surprise: Once again, there are some pretty good graduate and professional schools in the neighborhood. According to the latest rankings from U.S. News & World Report, both Duke University and UNC Chapel Hill are rated highly for the quality of a variety of their post-graduate endeavors.
Related Link:
http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2012/mar/13/duke-beats-unc-chapel-hill-mba-rankings-ar-2037565/
UNC Release:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5153/107/

Triangle Alzheimer’s experts hope cancer drug helps
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
New research released today focuses on potential use of a cancer drug in reducing tangles in the brain and improving cognition among people with Alzheimer’s, in a glimmer of hope for dementia patients and families. ...Dr. Murali Doraiswamy of Duke University Medical Center and Dr. Dan Kaufer of the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill commented on an article published Tuesday in The Journal of Neuroscience.

Saving Nelson Mandela
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
When law professor Kenneth Broun began learning about the 1963 trial of Nelson Mandela, he was startled to discover the South African leader was expected to be put to death. Mandela spent 27 years in prison, but he eventually got out and became president. Still, Broun wondered what would have happened if the celebrated leader had been killed. He set about researching the trial that led to Mandela's imprisonment. Host Frank Stasio talks to Kenneth Broun, professor at the University of Chapel Hill, about his new book, "Saving Nelson Mandela: The Rivonia Trial and the Fate of South Africa" (Oxford University Press/2012).

New fee is keeping students out of driver's ed
WRAL-TV (CBS/Raleigh)
Driver's education used to be provided free in all North Carolina high schools, but state lawmakers cut $5 million from the program last year, saying schools could make up the money by charging a fee of up to $45. ...Arthur Goodwin with the University of North Carolina Highway Safety Research Center said the process, called graduated licensing, has significantly reduced deaths among teen drivers. “One of the main factors why teens get in so many crashes is just inexperience,” Goodwin said. “That full year of driving with mom or dad is really critical for getting the experience you need to be a safe driver.”

Jordan Lake a key backup water source for southern Orange County (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The Chapel Hill News
...This remarkable accomplishment has been achieved through the sustained efforts of all water users in our community: residential, commercial, University, and more. Thanks to UNC’s multi-million dollar investment in reclaimed water facilities, 11 percent of our total water demand is now being met with highly treated wastewater from OWASA’s Mason Farm Treatment Plant – rather than from our drinking water supplies. This is a tremendous benefit to our entire community. (Ed Holland, AICP, is the Planning Director for the Orange Water and Sewer Authority [OWASA].)

Herman Cain to speak at UNC-Chapel Hill (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Former presidential candidate Herman Cain will speak at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on March 22 during his visit to the Triangle. ...The talk, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the UNC College Republicans, the Carolina Economics Club, and Young America's Foundation and paid for in party by funds from the UNC Student Congress.

Marsalis plays Memorial Hall Thursday
The Chapel Hill News
Wynton Marsalis, the first jazz composer to win the Pulitzer Prize in music, leads the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in a concert at Memorial Hall on the UNC campus Thursday night. Prior to the show, Jim Ketch, director of jazz studies at UNC, will give a talk (location TBA) about listening to a jazz orchestra’s various components in general, and about the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra in particular.

NCAA case done, UNC football team to start practice
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
There was anger when Larry Fedora gathered his North Carolina football team on Monday and told his players they wouldn’t be eligible to play in the postseason in the upcoming season. There was disappointment. “Then it was, OK – now what do we do?” said Fedora, entering his first spring as the Tar Heels’ coach. “The good thing about it is it’s over. It’s out there. We know what it is. It’s done. There’s no more speculation. “We know what it is now. And now we can move on.”

University’s wrong ‘way’ (Editorial)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
At least it’s over. It matters little what the consequences are for UNC-Chapel Hill’s football team after some relatively mild penalties from the NCAA, the governing body of college athletics, for egregious violations including academic fraud, players’ improper contact with and benefits from agents, and ineligible players participating in the program. The suspense, thankfully, is no more.