UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School has created a new orientation for all students newly admitted to the undergraduate business program called Spark. The new program facilitates interaction between new students in order to better promote collaboration and community in a way that the prior orientation, Engage, did not.

Vani Hari, a food influencer and blogger, has made controversial claims in her blog, "Food Babe." These claims have included that vaccines, such as the flu shot, can result in Alzheimer's disease and cancers. Kenan-Flagler Business School has faced recent controversy after inviting Hari to speak about her entrepreneurial success. 

On one side of the debate, Dean Douglas Shackelford of Kenan-Flagler said free speech is important to consider in hosting controversial speakers like Hari. Others feel that Hari's visit could be harmful and spread information not based in science. 





Brad Ives, Assoc. Vice Chancellor for Campus Enterprises, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documents obtained by the DTH show chief sustainability officer Brad Ives was fired, contradicting University officials' claims that he left to pursue other opportunities. Ives said he was fired following a long-standing disagreement with administration over the next steps for sustainable progress at UNC. Photo Courtesy of Brad Ives. 

Sustainability officer fired, contrary to UNC statements; energy initiative sputters

Documents obtained by the DTH show chief sustainability officer Brad Ives was fired, contradicting University officials' claims that he left to pursue other opportunities. Ives said he was fired following a long-standing disagreement with administration over the next steps for sustainable progress at UNC.  In his absence, many students and faculty have expressed concerns that the Three Zeros Initiative and other environmental efforts on campus struggle to find direction.


North Carolina General Assembly building in Raleigh on Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020.

Medicaid expansion and teacher pay have held up N.C.’s budget. Why are they important?

“It’s an expensive program. I mean, Governor Cooper’s budget, his projections are over the first two years it would cost just over $6 billion, for the federal state share, just for two years.” Looking into the details of the Medicaid expansion and teacher pay policies reveal these programs have tangible effects for large populations of North Carolina, including the fact that they are primary reasons the state budget is unable to pass through the general assembly.


The Christopher and William Barbee Family Cemetery pictured on Jan. 24, 2020. The cemetery was active in the 18th and 19th century and where William Barbee and his relatives were buried. Nearly 100 enslaved people are buried in unmarked graves.

Unmarked graves of enslaved people demonstrate Chapel Hill's dark past

“With all the intense emotional reaction over the fall of an abstract monument to slave-owning soldiers, you might think people might be up in arms about actual bodies in the ground that have gone unremembered.” About three miles from UNC’s campus, nearly 100 enslaved people are buried in unmarked  graves at a historic family cemetery. Located only a short walk from the Rizzo Center, the exact details of the cemetery’s ownership and maintenance were unclear to the University when The Daily Tar Heel began investigating the property. Currently, an on-site marker states that the cemetery contains approximately 120 graves but makes no mention of the 100 enslaved people buried there.


UNC senior guard Taylor Koenen (1) dribbles the ball upcourt during a game against NC State on Thursday, Jan. 9, 2020. UNC broke N.C. State's undefeated streak with a score of 66-60.

In her final season, UNC women's basketball's Taylor Koenen is writing her own legacy

For the past three and a half seasons, Taylor Koenen has been one of the most consistent players for UNC women's basketball, appearing in over 100 games and amassing over 1000 points, 700 rebounds and 300 assists.  For the players inside the program, her legacy will be built on the type of person she was off the court. Koenen has earned the respect of her teammates through constant professionalism and positivity, helping to keep the team together in the wake of Sylvia Hatchell's departure and has led the team to its best start in years. 


UNC players on the bench watch the game in worry at N.C. State's Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. UNC eventually lost 68-76.

'Another sixth man': Banghart's energy gives UNC optimism despite loss to N.C. State

Despite UNC’s 76-68 loss to N.C. State on Sunday, the team’s optimism hasn’t wavered, in large part thanks to head coach Courtney Banghart. The Tar Heels have trailed at halftime in their last seven games, and though they’ve only come back to win three times in that stretch, they’ve shown promise. Aside from a 14-point road loss to No. 14 Florida State two weeks ago, UNC hasn't fallen by more than seven points this season. “That’s the team I’ve got, a group of fighters,” Banghart said. “That’s what I expected, and that’s what I got.”