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(08/27/08 4:00am)
The effects of using the flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate, commonly known as MSG, are unclear and controversial.
And a recent study from UNC's School of Public Health that has linked MSG to obesity is the first product of an ongoing research project that will investigate long-term effects.
The consumer confusion can be attributed to the different names and forms of MSG, said Dr. Ka He, co-researcher and assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the school.
(04/14/08 4:00am)
UNC students gathered in the Pit on Friday to collect signatures supporting the 2008 Beijing Olympics and opposing recent protests of the games.
Members of the Friendship Association of Chinese Students and Scholars plan to send the cream-colored cloth with the signatures to the organizing committee to show support for the August games.
Recent protests of the Olympic torch relay, a symbolic journey around the world, have targeted China's perceived human rights violations in Sudan and Tibet.
"We don't need to mix Olympics and politics," said Wei Luo, a UNC chemistry graduate student and president of the association. "The Olympic Games are the world's dream and the world's game."
Journalism graduate student Amy Shirong Lu said she watched coverage of the torch relay and thought the media gave an unfair amount of attention to the protesters.
"Many Chinese people are hurt by the media's portrayal of the situation," Lu said. "The spirit here today is to show the Olympic spirit, not use the Olympics as an excuse to hijack the governments."
But Duke University junior Adam Weiss, a member of the Duke Undergraduate Human Rights Coalition, said the Olympics are inherently political and therefore valid grounds for protest.
Weiss organized a pro-Tibet demonstration on his campus Wednesday, gathering a group of students for a cross-campus run holding Tibetan flags.
The demonstration faced a group of 60 to 80 counter-protesters carrying Chinese flags and blocking the view of the runners.
"I wanted to take the idea of celebrating these Olympics through a torch relay and do the reverse," he said. "Instead of celebrating the Chinese government, I said, 'Let's celebrate the Tibetan people who are often neglected and forgotten.'"
Weiss said that while he was glad to see the activism, he supports boycotting the opening ceremonies.
UNC geography professor Christopher Gaffney, who is teaching a course next fall titled "Globalization and Sport," said the opening ceremony is a good time to bring up political issues.
"It is an international exhibition," he said.
In response to China's violations, world leaders such as the president of France have said they will not attend the opening ceremony.
UNC journalism professor Charles Tuggle, who will lead a group of journalism students to Beijing this summer to report for the Beijing Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games, said he thinks the end result of the Olympic protests will be good.
"The Chinese know what they are doing and want to show themselves as a major world player, so they knew that some major criticism was going to come along with it," Tuggle said.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/31/08 4:00am)
An emerald-colored lizard sits perched on a bed of periwinkle and crimson flowers in a drawing on Rachael Francis’ prayer flag, which hangs in the Carolina Garden Co-op’s garden behind Kenan Residence Hall.
(03/28/08 4:00am)
Every springtime week, the Carolina Garden Co-op meets to eat dishes incorporating the vegetables and herbs they grow themselves on campus, such as carrots, lettuce, beets, potatoes, cilantro and arugula.
(02/29/08 5:00am)
Chocolate, nail biting and soda are commonly given up for Lent, a 40-day Christian religious observance preceding Easter.
But the United Church of Chapel Hill is urging its parishioners to do something different - to follow an environmentally friendly calendar, called "At Least 10% for God's Creation," with daily suggestions that encourage sustainability.
"As Lent is 40 days, we look at it as a tithe, a tenth of the year," said Richard Edens, co-pastor of the church.
"Lent has been a time where you seek to make change in your life, and ask ,'Is there something I can give up, which will really make a difference?'"
The church's commitment to the environment began during last year's Lenten season when the church distributed compact fluorescent light bulbs, held five classes in reducing carbon emissions and screened "An Inconvenient Truth" and "Kilowatt Ours."
Since then, a group of parishioners has held a challenge to reduce carbon emissions, and the church now holds weekly sustainability classes.
"It is designed to be flexible and interactive," said Katherine Shea, a sustainability group consultant at the church and professor in the UNC School of Public Health.
"We are trying to have an information exchange . because people really want to talk about these issues and get reinforcement."
The classes reinforce information from the calendar, which has weekly themes, such as water, energy and consumption.
Each day has a very specific suggestion, including filling a small milk jug to run a toilet tank or installing an efficient toilet that uses less than 2 gallons.
Sustainability fits the theme of Lent, Edens said, because part of the original Lenten fast is about showing solidarity. Originally in northern Europe, the rich and the poor would join together and suffer through scarcity to wait for the early spring greens.
"We are trying to get intentionality back into our living," Edens said. "A new way of dealing with our energy needs and the needs of the environment requires solidarity among all of us."
The church's progressive actions even caught the attention of ABC's World News, which attended the class Sunday.
The class was led by Alice Loyd, who works with the N.C. Council of Churches on a program about climate change, said Jon Haebig, chairman of the sustainability class designing committee.
"Alice suggested the concept of fasting from carbon to make a connection from our religion and what we are doing in our daily practical lives about the energy problem," Haebig said.
Because the programs have exponentially grown in popularity, the class had to move to a bigger room.
"In this time when the world is rapidly changing and approaching its capacity in many ways, it is our responsibility to ensure that the world stays a healthy, beautiful place for generations to come," Shea said.
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(02/25/08 5:00am)
A recent mugging on the perimeter of the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics campus in Durham has prompted a security increase that some students call excessive.
After the Feb. 17 mugging on the corner of Maryland Avenue and Sprunt Street, students are no longer permitted on the perimeter of the campus after sunset, including areas such as the athletic fields.
"We are trying to eliminate our students from being in that area because they won't be targets if they are not in that area," said Harry Tucker, NCSSM director of campus resources and security.
NCSSM graduate and UNC freshman Zachary Hackney was mugged on NCSSM property in May. He said the rules are just a temporary solution because students won't stay on such a small amount of campus.
"The sanity of students is going to be in question with this policy," Hackney said. "Instead they need to put more lighting around campus, get a blue-light system or have security staff be more present on the edge of campus."
Student Body Vice President Cydney Swofford said that since students are in exam period now, they have not had much time to react to the new restrictions.
"I've heard a lot of talk about how we are in Durham, and we expect a certain (lack of safety) due to our area, but we feel that it is not fair for us to be this restricted," she said.
"We understand that they are doing this for our safety, but we feel that this is taking it too far."
Swofford said the restrictions on the soccer field and the Watts and Bryan lawns should be removed.
"The new safety procedures are things that have always been considered best practices for our students; it is just a matter of making those official," said NCSSM director of communications Lauren Everhart.
"Students may complain at first when they hear new restrictions, but it is our responsibility to keep the students safe no matter what."
Before this, students could roam campus until their 10:30 p.m. curfew on weeknights.
NCSSM graduate and UNC sophomore Hailey Loftis said the newly restricted places are popular for spending time with members of the opposite sex, who are not allowed in each other's dormitories.
"They are places to go on dates or to hang out with friends," she said. "People would take blankets out there and watch movies on their laptops."
NCSSM is bordered by two neighborhoods, Walltown and Watts Hospital-Hillandale, and residents said they hope students do not feel unsafe off campus.
"I can certainly understand the school's new policy given the certain situation, but I think it's a little unrealistic," said Merideth Emmett, Watts Hospital-Hillandale Neighborhood Association president.
"I walk that neighborhood all the time, and I would hate for students and parents to think that they are in a neighborhood that is unsafe."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(02/13/08 5:00am)
Elegant decor in cyan and chocolate, walls accented with oval mirrors and a baby-grand piano adorn the lobby, bar and entrance to the Franklin Hotel.
And last month this 18-month-old addition to Franklin Street won the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce's 2007 Business Newcomer of the Year Award.
The award is given to a chamber-member business that is less than three years old and shows innovation, creativity and contribution to the community.