uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Obama names Kang to arts council
The Korea Herald
Emil Kang, music professor and also the executive director for the arts at the University of North Carolina, was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama as a member of the National Council on the Arts on Tuesday, according to reports. The National Council on the Arts, consisting of 14 members, is in charge of operating a $150 billon fund on supporting the country’s performing arts.
Related Link:
http://dc.broadwayworld.com/article/President-Obama-Nominates-National-
Council-on-the-Arts-De-Leon-Kang-for-Key-Administration-Posts-20120508

North Carolina passes Amendment 1 banning same-sex unions
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
...Holning Lau, an associate professor of law at the University of North Carolina, who has written extensively on the implications of Amendment 1, said: "The language is very broad compared to other states. It is a common misconception that it would only affect same-sex marriage."

National Coverage

North Carolina passes ban on gay marriage
The Los Angeles Times
...Officials at most local governments offering domestic partner benefits have indicated they will retain them despite the amendment. But they are likely to face lawsuits to force compliance, said Maxine Eichner, a family law professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The family law professors said the amendment would spawn years of lawsuits. "When the dust clears," they concluded, unmarried couples will "have fewer rights over their most important life decisions."

Some Moms Unaware Toddlers Are Overweight (Blog)
ABC News.com
...In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Eliana Perrin, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine at Chapel Hill, wrote that pediatricians should screen a child’s body mass index (BMI) with parents starting at age 2 and discuss it in a culturally sensitive manner with parents, along with dietary and activity recommendations.

Do Kids Need to Snack? What the French Know That We Don't
The Huffington Post
...American kids snack and snack and snack. And the more kids snack, the worse they eat. An important study by Carmen Piernas and Barry M. Popkin at the University of North Carolina shows that: Children average nearly three snacks per day...

Government considers protection for dwarf seahorse
The Associated Press
Marine scientist Joel Fodrie said he has not seen much difference in the seagrass meadows from Louisiana's Chandeleur Islands to St. Joseph Bay, Fla., marine nurseries which he has trawled for juvenile fish from mid-July to late October every year since 2006. Seagrass ecosystems are stressed by climate change, pollution that keeps light from reaching the grass and fragmentation, said Fodrie, an assistant professor in the University of North Carolina's Department of Marine Sciences.

Law School Plans to Offer Web Courses for Master’s
The New York Times
...2tor, a four-year-old company based in Maryland, has partnerships in place with the University of Southern California, Georgetown and the University of North Carolina for online graduate degree programs in education, business, public administration and nursing.

Regional Coverage

Football: America's dangerous game
The Baltimore Sun (Maryland)
...On the other hand, a career like Mr. Seau's — a linebacker with a reputation as a hard hitter and a "warrior" on virtually every defensive play, using his body as a weapon, and "playing hurt" — almost certainly included dozens of concussions, whether or not they were reported to his team or to the league. ...A recent study at the University of North Carolina showed a threefold increase in depression among NFL retirees who had three or more concussions.

Postpartum-depression clinic helps women become happy moms
KABC-TV (ABC/Los Angeles, Calif.)
...At the nation's first free-standing perinatal psychiatry center at University of North Carolina Hospital, specially trained nurses, therapists and lactation consultants offer a range of intensive sessions to assist moms with coping and relaxation. ..."To help the mother, to help the mom interact with the baby, we also want to help the mother develop confidence that she can deal with stress anxiety and coping skills around this new role," said Dr. Samantha Meltzer-Brody from the University of North Carolina.

State and Local Coverage

N.C. to add marriage amendment to its constitution
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
...The N.C. Election Protection hot line, part of a nationwide voter education coalition coordinated by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, fielded calls from voters all day who were given a ballot without the amendment, said Elizabeth Haddix, staff attorney with the UNC-Chapel Hill Center for Civil Rights, which sponsored the hot line Tuesday. “We’ve certainly gotten a heavy volume of calls, many more than we expected in a primary,” she said.

Despite sign, voters at church vote against amendment
The Star News (Wilmington)
Officials said the sign at the church, at 3403 Winston Blvd., does not violate elections law. But the sign prompted complaints to a state election rights hotline, which is partially sponsored by the UNC Center for Civil Rights. "Clearly their message is standing for a political position or an electoral position," said Elizabeth Haddix, a staff attorney for the law center.

Amendment One draws steady and strong turnout locally
The Herald-Sun (Durham)
The much-debated Amendment One defining marriage as between a man and a woman helped drive local voters to the polls Tuesday, resulting in voter turnouts in Durham and Orange Counties that election officials deemed a strong showing for a primary. ...Ifetoya Hall, a senior at UNC majoring in political science and African-American Studies, said she was trying to be a good role model by voting. “In a democratic society, it’s our duty to turn out and vote,” Hall said.

Ceremony honors UNC’s Confederate war dead
The Chapel Hill News
...A century and a half after these men fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, another group of men remembered them Saturday when the Sons of Confederate Veterans held a memorial on the UNC campus.

Roy Williams defends players who enrolled in dubious classes at UNC
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams on Tuesday defended his players who were enrolled in classes at the center of an internal university investigation of academic fraud and improprieties. “The players were eligible to be enrolled in those classes, as were non-student-athletes, and they did the work that was assigned to them,” Williams said through an athletic department spokesman.

Most courses not compromised (Letter to the Editor)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
The recently issued Review of Courses in the Department of African and Afro-American Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill is sobering and disappointing for all of us who believe deeply in African and Afro-American studies and are committed to upholding the ideals and the integrity of the University of North Carolina. The findings of the report have been a heavy blow to us. We are particularly mindful of our majors who have worked hard, with integrity, and are in no way implicated in this report that deals primarily with a subset of summer school courses taken mostly by non-majors. (Reginald F. Hildebrand, Associate Professor of African and Afro-American Studies, UNC-Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill)
Related Link:
http://www.newsobserver.com/2012/05/09/2052124/bill-zieger-firing-offenses.html

Issues and Trends

Seminar looks at ways to promote higher education
The Associated Press
...Grand Valley State University President Thomas Haas said his university is getting $2,365 per student in state funding this year, while the University of North Carolina system gets $11,000 per student.

Ross makes case for new personnel system
The Chapel Hill News
Changes to the employee grievance process are a leading concern among opponents of legislation that could transfer thousands of UNC employees from a state-run personnel system to one overseen by the UNC Board of Governors.