DTH at a Glance: RIP-Hop

I know we've been back in school for two days, but welcome back, Tar Heels! I feel like I can continue saying that because I am still dealing with the post-break sensation of being dropped very suddenly in pre-final hell. Everybody is busy and stressed out and multitasking — I just took a break from writing a four-page paper to perform as Hannah Montana for my friend's final video project and now I'm taking a break from both of those things to write this newsletter. 

While that was fun, it's not nearly as cool as the project that students in “The History of Hip-Hop Culture” have been working on all semester. Their final presentation, entitled “Hip-Hop Lives in Hip-Hop Lives,” will include performances by local artists and campus dance groups as they break it (the class curriculum) down.

— Rachel

QUICK HITS

• Senior Kyle Czarnecki is juggling a full courseload with raising his 10-month-old son and receiving less-than-optimal assistance from the University. While his student-parent situation is rare, it's far from unheard of.
• Lawmakers have until March 15 to redraw North Carolina's voting districts, which were ruled unconstitutionally gerrymandered by a U.S. District Court earlier this year. The new districts will be in effect for a 2017 special election for the General Assembly. 
• Tonight's game against Indiana will be Coach Roy Williams' 1,000th collegiate game — but it will also be the first evenly-matched road game of the season for the Tar Heels, who are coming hot off a winning streak at the Maui Invitational.
• The American Red Cross closed its final shelters for victims of Hurricane Matthew two weeks ago, but long-term recovery efforts are far from over. Gov. McCrory is still addressing eastern N.C. counties that suffered devastating damages and extended time out of school.

IN STICKY STATS

Survey says: Students aren't a fan of at least one teaching technique. Professors say that making students administer public surveys is a meaningful way for them to learn about research, but students often view them as busy work. I can't speak to the value of surveys as a whole, but as someone who administered a POLI 209 questionnaire about presidential primary candidates, I can confirm we definitely didn't hit the mark on that one.

IN POSTER CHILDREN

I don't understand Gilmore Girls — I've never seen an episode and I have no plans to change that in the near future. But I might need to change my tune since the show has a few ties to my native North Carolina. A Raleigh ad agency is in charge of a contest to choose the “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” official merchandise. And if you think that's a home run for the Triangle, wait until you hear this one: actor Scott Patterson, who played Luke Danes on the show and its reboot, was a pitcher for the Durham Bulls in 1981. 

IN TURKEY, IN CHAPEL HILL

Nobel Prize winner Aziz Sancar got unanimous approval from the Chapel Hill Town Council on Nov. 21 to build a new Turkish cultural center with his wife Gwen. The new center will have more space than the one the couple currently runs, and it will include a residential space and meeting center for cultural events. While some council members were originally concerned about noise in a close-by neighborhood, they are excited for the center to serve as a beacon of the town's diversity and acceptance.