Here is a sampling of links and notes about Carolina people and programs cited recently in the media:
National Coverage
UN declares World Autism Day
NBC National News
Wednesday is the first time the United Nations has declared World Autism Awareness Day. …Dr. Joseph Piven of the University of North Carolina says "I would say that we are at the beginning. I guess that is maybe the unfortunate news because we first described autism over 50 years ago." Which is why the United Nations declared Wednesday World Autism Awareness Day.
Bad News U: Colleges Reject Record Numbers
The Wall Street Journal
The college-admissions season set records this year — both in the number of students who applied, as well as the number of students who were rejected. …State schools, too, are reporting a tough admissions season, with acceptance rates down at the University of Texas and the University of North Carolina, among others.
Regional Coverage
Walla Walla teen dies of pole vault injuries
The Tri-City Herald (Richland, Washington)
Ryan Moberg, a DeSales senior who enjoyed helping out with Walla Walla Pacific Little League and was set to study engineering at Washington State University this fall, died Wednesday of head injuries suffered in a pole vaulting accident. …Nationally, since 1982, there had been at least 18 deaths linked to the sport but none since 2002, according to data compiled by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research based at the University of North Carolina.
State and Local Coverage
UNC will increase science teachers
The Chapel Hill Herald
A new program will increase the number of science teachers produced at UNC by offering biology and physics majors a way of earning North Carolina teaching licenses while simultaneously completing their undergraduate science degree."UNC Baccalaureate Education in Science and Teaching — UNC-BEST — is a model program that will help North Carolina schools address the critical need for qualified science teachers" said Bernadette Gray-Little, the university's executive vice chancellor and provost.
Carnegie Concert Debut
"The State of Things" WUNC-FM
Concert pianist Mayron Tsong can boast a string of achievements throughout her professional music career, which she began as a pre-teen. Next month, she will add one of performing's highest honors to her already impressive resume when she takes the stage for the first time at Carnegie Hall. Tsong, also a professor of music at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joins host Frank Stasio to talk about balancing the life of a performer with the life of a teacher and her plans to wow the audience at one of the country's most prestigious venues.
Note: "The State of Things" is the statewide public affairs program airing live at noon weekdays and rebroadcast at 9 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays.
Triangle clinics focus on voice disorders
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
…Like breathing, we don't even think about it unless there's a problem. But by the time our vocal cords become so damaged they don't work right, it's often far worse than an inconvenience. …Only a few places in the country do that in the same clinic. The UNC School of Medicine's voice center is one, and it also has a speech pathologist who specializes in singing-voice disorders.
UNC dental school will lease space cast off by GSK
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
A shot in the arm for one empty Research Triangle Park building will lead to shots in the gums. The UNC School of Dentistry is setting up temporarily in a former pharmaceutical lab as it awaits completion of a $125 million building in Chapel Hill.
Allegations raise debate on board
The Charlotte Observer
Union County school board members at a meeting Tuesday night talked generally about allegations of wrongdoing against one of them, but continued to withhold the board member's name and the specific allegations. …N.C. Open Meetings Law prohibits discussions that are coded or keep the public in the dark, according to N.C. Press Association attorney Amanda Martin of Raleigh. But another expert, David Lawrence of the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government, said it sounded like the board was within the law.
Sex Trafficking Conference
WCHL 1360 AM (Chapel Hill)
The Carolina Women’s Center is hosting a major conference on sex trafficking Thursday and Friday. …The conference is solution-oriented, aimed at increasing awareness about sex trafficking. The two-day event is open to the public, and will be held at the Friday Center.
UNC Media Advisory:
http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/health-and-medicine/media-invited-for-
coverage-training-at-unc-conference-on-sex-trafficking-this-week.html
Forum explores warming earth
The Chapel Hill Herald
UNC's Morehead Planetarium and Science Center continues its Current Science Forums series today with "Climate Change and Coral Reefs: Are the Oceans Telling Us Something?" The forum will explore how our rapidly warming earth could be jeopardizing some of our greatest ocean life. The program speaker is John Bruno, associate professor of marine sciences at UNC.
Malveaux will speak at UNC
The Chapel Hill Herald
Bennett College President Julianne Malveaux will give this year's Sonja Haynes Stone Memorial Lecture on Tuesday at UNC. The free public talk honors the life and legacy of UNC's Stone Center for Black Culture and History.
Immigration series set Sunday
The Chapel Hill Herald
The Institute for the Study of the Americas, The Center for Global Initiatives and the Chapel Hill Institute for Culture and Language Education present the "Community Conference, Examining the Impacts of Local Policy Responses to Undocumented Immigration." The community conference will kick-off a four part series of Sunday afternoon discussions in April entitled "Immigration: Asking the Hard Questions." This Sunday's Community Conference will take place at the UNC Global Education Center on 301 Pittsboro St. from 12:30 to 6 p.m.
Writer awaits word on novel contest
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
For a woman who knew very little about men's basketball, it's ironic that legendary basketball announcer Dick Vitale would inspire one of her first novels. …Vitale had come to speak during March Madness at UNC-Chapel Hill's Bulls Head Bookshop, where she works as a manager.
Teens can take breakfast to go (Column)
The News & Observer (Raleigh)
Image-conscious teens have another reason to not skip breakfast: Eating breakfast may help control weight. …Teens, it's worth the effort to figure out how to work breakfast into your daily routine. You've got nothing to lose — except excess weight — by trying. (Suzanne Havala Hobbs is a registered dietitian and a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Health Policy at UNC-Chapel Hill.)
Issues and Trends
The politics of college tuition (Opinion-Editorial)
The Charlotte Observer
Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore are skirmishing over tuition at University of North Carolina campuses in their battle for the Democratic nomination for governor. …From a state policy perspective, the exchange is good news. It reinforces the view that tuition at public universities should remain low, or free "as practicable," as the state Constitution puts it. Yet almost every state legislator has voted at some point to raise tuition at UNC campuses.
Probation system needs to be fixed (Editorial)
The Chapel Hill Herald
It's official now: the state's probation system failed us. Most importantly, it failed Eve Carson. Probationer # 0878016 and Probationer # 1057218 should have been under intense supervision at the time the UNC student body president was murdered last month on a quiet street not far from campus.
Related Links:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iU3IVnyNBpy8ooTN4OutE2rKG1pgD8VQ1C000
http://www.onlineathens.com/stories/040308/news_2008040300341.shtml
http://www.heraldsun.com/opinion/hsedits/56-939070.cfm
http://www.heraldsun.com/durham/4-939200.cfm
http://www.newsobserver.com/2811/story/1023064.html