uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Student loans: Obama's bid to rekindle 'Yes We Can' among youths
The Christian Science Monitor
...Obama’s appearances at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; the University of Colorado, Boulder; and the University of Iowa, Iowa City, will all produce news footage of cheering college students, reminiscent of the “Yes We Can” excitement of four years ago. But polls show that while Obama leads Romney among 18- to 34-year-olds – 60 percent to 34 percent in the latest NBC News/Wall Street Journal survey – enthusiasm about voting among the youngest demographic is down from four years ago.

We all have a fatal condition: it's pre-death
The Irish Times
...Dr Anthony Viera of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of North Carolina has proposed that pre-disease discovered through screening should only be acted on if the following conditions are met: the people designated as having pre-disease must be far more likely to develop disease than those not so designated; there must be a feasible intervention that, when targeted on people with pre-disease, effectively reduces the likelihood of developing disease; and the benefits of intervening on pre-disease must outweigh the harms in the population.

National Coverage

Obama Tries To Charm Youth Vote With College Stops
"Morning Edition" National Public Radio
President Obama sets off on a two-day tour of college campuses Tuesday to tout a plan to keep student loans more affordable. The trip is billed as official business, but it has a political flavor. Stops include: North Carolina, where Democrats hold their national convention this summer, Colorado where Obama accepted his party's nomination four years ago and Iowa, where his White House campaign was launched in 2008. ...Lauren Hovis, who's with the Young Democrats at the University of North Carolina, says fans began queuing up Saturday night. "The line was extremely long to get tickets," she says. "So I think it's actually, we're really pumped and we're really excited about Obama."
Related Link:
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-obama-students-20120424,0,5238398.story

'Loophole' Closing Eyed to Fund Student Loan Policy
The Wall Street Journal
The White House and Senate Democrats are looking at ending a tax provision benefiting some small business owners to pay for a year-long extension of a freeze in student loan interest rates, which are scheduled to double from 3.4% to 6.8% this summer, people familiar with the discussions said. ...Mr. Obama, seeking to narrow that enthusiasm gap, will tout his student loan proposal this week at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Iowa.

Romney backs extension of low student loan interest rate (Blog)
The Washington Post
...On Tuesday, Obama will travel to Colorado and North Carolina to continue his student-loan push with campaign events at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. On Wednesday, he will visit the University of Iowa.

Obama follows talk show trail blazed by Bill Clinton (Blog)
USA Today
President Obama's appearance today with talk show host Jimmy Fallon can be traced back to a political memo written almost exactly two decades ago. ...The president tapes his Fallon appearance this afternoon at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, one of three colleges Obama visits over the next two days to discuss student loan policy.

In North Carolina, more evidence of Obama’s delicate approach to gay rights
The Washington Post
...“The ‘evolving’ position does frustrate people, especially young people, because it’s such a no-brainer to us,” said Jeff DeLuca, 21, a senior at UNC-Chapel Hill and another organizer against Amendment One. “When it’s all said and done, young people are going to vote this down 70-30. There is just a very strong generation gap.”

Standardized test security questioned (Blog)
The Washington Post
...That causes concerns that the security of test questions had been compromised. The paper quoted Gregory Cizek, a test security expert and professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, as saying: “When there’s not enough computers for every kid, we have to widen the time frame to have kids cycle in and out of the test. I refer to it as a gaping door. It’s far too much time to allow a secure test to be exposed to the entire state full of students and educators.”

Tide Shifts on Title IX
Inside Higher Ed
...But it’s also crucial that the members of that body -- whoever they may be -- have the appropriate training and experience to handle such cases. And that, it appears, is where the Student Honor Court at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fell short: the system there, one that’s unique among public universities and extremely rare among institutions generally, is being stripped of its authority to hear allegations of sexual assault.

Regional Coverage

Student borrowing cost may be going up
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pa.)
On July 1, the interest rate on subsidized federal student loans will double on borrowing made after that date -- unless Congress passes new legislation. ...President Barack Obama today will visit three college campuses -- the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Iowa in Iowa City -- to promote his effort to keep the interest rate the same.
Related Link:
http://www.boston.com/Boston/politicalintelligence/2012/04/mitt-romney-scott-brown-join-president-obama-call-stop-student-loan-interest-rates-from-doubling/
zy80kAEbar7ClnBONz9YNL/index.html

Marine scientists urge government to reassess oil spill response
following Deepwater Horizon disaster
The Athens Banner-Herald (Georgia)
...The authors noted that the lack of a model for understanding deep-water spills may have hindered initial work on this disaster and obscured understanding of what actually happened in the key early days. “The problem here is that scientific assessment would be faster and more thorough if this were a familiar type of spill,” said the study’s lead author, Charles “Pete” Peterson, a professor at University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, who has been deeply involved in the study of Exxon Valdez environmental effects for more than two decades.

State and Local Coverage

Obama visits Chapel Hill today
WNCN-TV (NBC/Raleigh)
President Barack Obama arrives in Chapel Hill today to make two public appearances on the University of North Carolina campus. Obama will speak at around 1:05 p.m. at Carmichael Arena on campus to a crowd expected to be around 7,200 people. Free tickets were given away on a first-come, first-served basis Sunday and Monday.
Related Links:
http://www2.wnct.com/news/2012/apr/24/3/obama-speak-unc-student-loan-rates-ar-2200392/
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=8633390
http://www.wral.com/news/state/story/11015952/

Student loans are hot issue for Obama’s Chapel Hill trip
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
President Barack Obama arrives at UNC-Chapel Hill on Tuesday with a message that may resonate with young voters worried about their economic future. ..On Tuesday, Domonique Garland, a UNC-CH senior from Greensboro, will introduce Obama at Carmichael Arena on campus. She feels comfortable paying back her loans under the current low rate, but she worries that future students won’t be able to take full advantage of their undergraduate years.

On Affordability, Obama And UNC Closely Tied
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
At approximately 1:05 this afternoon, President Barack Obama will take the stage at Carmichael Arena to deliver a speech on the subject of college affordability—an issue that’s already been connecting the president with Chapel Hill for months. Obama’s using UNC as a launching pad for a three-state, two-day tour to put pressure on Congress to take action against rising student debt. No surprise: in his State of the Union address this January, Obama singled out UNC as a model for how universities can keep college affordable, even in the face of a budget crunch.
Related Links:
http://www.chapelboro.com/Student-Debt-Crisis-Fueling-Obama-Visit/12928285
http://ncnn.com/edit-news/7857-pres-obama-set-to-pitch-affordable-student-
loans-during-unc-speech
http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18332443/article-An-open-letter-to-
the-president?instance=search_results

Hours In Advance, Hundreds Line Up For Prez Talk
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
President Obama's speech at Carmichael Arena isn't scheduled to begin until 1:00 p.m. today, but ticket holders started lining up as early as 4:00 this morning. Many brought sleeping bags and blankets, snacks and iPods, and, of course, homework. UNC first-year Kat Nigro was one of the first in line, along with most of her Women's Soccer teammates. They woke up at 3:00 and sprinted across Hooker Field to beat the other early comers to the front. She also camped out overnight to get her ticket.

Former UNC Chief Remembers Clinton's 1993 Visit
WCHL 1360-AM (Chapel Hill)
When President Barack Obama takes the floor this afternoon at Carmichael Arena, it will mark the first appearance in Chapel Hill by a sitting president since October 12, 1993. The President then was Bill Clinton, and the University Chancellor was Paul Hardin. "I had many great moments when I was chancellor here--this is a wonderful university--but that certainly is a standout among all the standouts," he says today.

Amendment's Impact On Child Custody Debated
WUNC-FM (Chapel Hill)
...North Carolina courts currently determine custody and visitation rights according to the "best interests of the child" standard. UNC family law professor Maxine Eichner says, that's evolved to mean that nonmarital cohabitation isn't held against a parent seeking custody of a child, unless some harm to the child can be shown. And an unmarried partner of a biological or adoptive parent can seek custody and visitation rights on the grounds that he or she is a de facto parent.

Doris Betts, R.I.P. (Blog)
The Star News (Wilmington)
Doris Betts was a plain, sweet polite Southern lady of the old school, so it’s easy to underestimate her impact on North Carolina and on Southern letters. Winner of the John Dos Passos Award and the Medal of Merit from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as a three-time winner of the Sir Walter Raleigh trophy (for best N.C. fiction) and a holder of the North Carolina Award for Literature. Over a 32-year career teaching at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, she influenced hundreds of future writers.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/24/2019981/karyn-joyner-what-betts-brought
.html#storylink=misearch

Triangle hospitals plague financially distressed
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...UNC has done what many other local hospitals have done – turned to Absolute Collection Service, headquartered in the Bank of America Plaza on Fayetteville Street in downtown Raleigh. The company employs more than 200 people.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/24/2020219/costs-and-cash.html#storylink=misearch

Issues and Trends

Romney Agrees With Obama: Keep Interest Rate Low
Inside Higher Ed
President Obama has taken his call for Congress to extend the 3.4 percent interest rate on subsidized student loans to Iowa, North Carolina and Colorado -- all battleground states in this fall's election. But the presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney said during a press event Monday that he agrees with Obama, saying he supports an extension of the low interest rate, which would otherwise double for subsidized loans made after July 1.

Testing the Teachers (Opinion-Editorial Column)
The New York Times
There’s an atmosphere of grand fragility hanging over America’s colleges. The grandeur comes from the surging application rates, the international renown, the fancy new dining and athletic facilities. The fragility comes from the fact that colleges are charging more money, but it’s not clear how much actual benefit they are providing.

Quintiles CEO Gillings stepping down, replacement named
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The co-founder of Durham-based Quintiles Transnational Corp. is stepping down from his role as the company’s chief executive. Dennis Gillings, 67, has led Quintiles since the company was incorporated in 1982, except for a two-year period from 2001 to 2003. The company, whose major work is in the management of clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies, traces its roots to Gillings’ work as a consultant while he was a former statistics professor at UNC Chapel Hill.
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/04/24/2019324/quintiles-founder-gillings-stepping
.html#storylink=misearch

Chapel Hill Town Council pans proposed hotel, student housing
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Town Council members sharply criticized a proposed hotel and student housing across from UNC-Chapel Hill’s future satellite campus Monday night. ...Carolina Flats would put a four-story, 125- to 145-room hotel and about 190 apartments designed for upperclassmen and graduate students on the northeast corner of Estes Drive and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.