uncnews.unc.edu

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

International Coverage

Debates Fail to Decide Elections Amid Myth of Kennedy-Nixon
Bloomberg Businessweek
...James Stimson, author of “Tides of Consent: How Public Opinion Shapes American Politics,” said it’s not even clear that the debates were decisive in 1960, though Kennedy’s cool, crisp on-air performance is often cited as pivotal to a campaign that marked the advent of the television age in politics. “It’s such a charming story,” said Stimson, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina. “You get the impression Kennedy was on the verge of losing when he debated Nixon. Instead, Kennedy was ahead going in.”

Mitt Romney's 'illegals' rhetoric alienates Latinos
The Guardian (United Kingdom)
...(Diego) Camposeco was born and raised in the small town of Burgaw, just outside Wilmington. He is the eldest of three children, all of whom are American citizens. A sophomore at University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, he's majoring in journalism and art, and tells me that he pays close attention to news and politics – how Romney calls people "illegal aliens" and how the New York Times and the Charlotte Observer, the most influential paper in his home state, both use "illegal immigrants".

The decay of the Great Barrier Reef calls for a reckoning (Column)
The Conversation (Australia)
There is a myth about Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, that goes like this: because it is so big, biodiverse, so well-managed and generally bloody awesome, the GBR is immune to climate change and other manifestations of human stupidity. (John Bruno, professor of Marine Ecology and Conservation at University of North Carolina.)

National Coverage

Biden visit to North Carolina is part of new strategy
USA Today
..."Yes, the economy is bad, but the way the economy plays out politically hasn't sunk Obama yet," said Ferrel Guillory, a political analyst at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. "The population growth and all of the diversity of population growth has elevated Obama's prospects in the state."

Skinny genes: could heredity raise your vulnerability to 'be-thin' pressure?
HealthDay News (Wire Service)
..."Basically, we vary in how permeable we are to environmental toxins -- including media pressures about the thin ideal -- and that variation can have its roots in genes," said Cynthia Bulik, director of the University of North Carolina Eating Disorders Program, in Chapel Hill. She was not associated with this study.

State and Local Coverage

Local free speech case serves as backdrop for First Amendment Day
News 14 Carolina
Standing up for First Amendment rights remains a top priority for UNC-Chapel Hill students and many others across the state. As UNC celebrates First Amendment Day, a woman in Hillsborough waits to hear how the the U.S. Court of Appeals will rule in her father's freedom of speech battle with the Town of Cary.

Universities and colleges compete for NC students
WGHP-TV (Fox/Greensboro)
...“If they’re looking for a top tiered business school, our’s is ranked third in the nation,” explained Sean Mattio, with UNC Chapel Hill. In-state and out-of-state schools are stepping up their game competing for North Carolina students. Last year UNC Chapel Hill received 5,000 more applications than the previous year.

Unresolved challenges put death penalty on hold in N.C.
The Star News (Wilmington)
...But recent years have seen a turnaround. Even before the state's moratorium took hold, executions had grown exceedingly rare for several reasons. The number of death sentences handed out has trended downward since 2000, dropping from 18 that year to three in 2007, according to Isaac Unah, a political science professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

By pushing reform, UNC chancellor will go out with grace (Editorial)
The Winston-Salem Journal
History records many cases where disaster sparked reform. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, humiliated by revelations of an athletic program out of control, might be on the brink of such a transformation. Chancellor Holden Thorp, who has resigned effective June 30, says he wants to spend his remaining days in leadership fashioning changes in his university’s athletics program.

Patients losing with inflated drug prices (Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
...So we welcome the intervention of U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley. Grassley has asked three of North Carolina’s largest hospitals to provide information about their use of a federal discount drug program that aimed to pass along savings to patients but that hospitals are using to subsidize their bottom lines. Carolinas HealthCare System officials acknowledged that their prices reflect a practice known as cost-shifting, in which hospitals charge more for some services to make up losses in others. Carolinas HealthCare’s Carolinas Medical Center was one of three hospitals Grassley sent letters to (the others were Duke University Health System and UNC Hospitals).

At UNC-Chapel Hill, finding volunteers for Obama campaign is harder this time (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
President Barack Obama's organizers at UNC-Chapel Hill are finding it harder to get students to volunteer for the campaign, reports The Daily Tar Heel, and other students aren't seeing the level of enthusiasm from 2008.

Bland Simpson's New Book Explores 'Two Captains' (Book Review)
The Daily Advance (Elizabeth City)
...Simpson, who is an Elizabeth City native and professor of creative writing at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will be on hand Thursday at Page After Page, 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and then at Museum of the Albemarle, 7:30 p.m. to discuss and sign copies of a book that will carry you through the history of these two disparate lives, told by a master storyteller.

Split peas, lentils are rich in fiber and protein (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
What’s the difference between split peas and lentils? That’s the question I was asked at dinner last week. We were eating homemade curried split pea and butternut squash soup with friends, and all heads turned to me for the answer. For a moment, I wasn’t sure. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical associate professor in the department of health policy and administration in the Gillings School of Global Public Health at UNC-Chapel Hill.)

NCAA President Mark Emmert discusses UNC case (Blog)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
For the first time, NCAA President Mark Emmert earlier today commented on the ongoing academic fraud case at North Carolina. Well, he kind of commented. Emmert joined CBSSports.com columnist Gary Parrish on The Gary Parrish Show, which is broadcast on 92.9-FM in Memphis.
Related Link:
http://www.wralsportsfan.com/ncaa-says-additional-unc-sanctions-a-possibility/11615841/

Requirements questioned for naval class taken by UNC basketball players
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
UNC-Chapel Hill’s Department of Naval Science exists to produce “highly qualified” officers who serve on ships, aircraft and submarines, or in the Marine Corps.
UNC Backgrounder:
http://www.unc.edu/news/12/Naval%20Science%20Background.pdf

Issues and Trends

NC education leaders lay out spending needs
The Associated Press
...UNC President Tom Ross said the system is setting up five key measures that will apply to all 17 campuses, including graduation and retention rates. Those will be measured against goals for set for each campus, he said. Those that don't meet the standards, "we'll be able to restrict their enrollment or prevent them from enrolling more students at all," Ross said.

UNC School of the Arts chancellor to step down
The Associated Press
University of North Carolina School of the Arts Chancellor John Mauceri says he is stepping down after seven years of leading the school. Mauceri says he will stay at the school until June so a search committee can have plenty of time to find his replacement.
Related Link:
http://www.bizjournals.com/triad/news/2012/10/02/mauceri-to-step-down-at-unc-sa.html