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(11/20/07 5:00am)
Leading a healthy lifestyle full of exercise and good eating habits is difficult all year round.
But when cold weather hits, staying physically active and fit can become significantly harder for students, especially with the sinfully tempting food selection lining your dinner table during the holiday season.
To keep the 8-pound turkey from becoming an 8-pound gut, several local health experts weigh in on how to stay fit during the winter.
Physical health
(11/13/07 5:00am)
You walk into a music store with no more than a ball of lint in your pockets, and you spot the latest CD by your favorite artist.
Taking the CD without paying is too risky, and the reward is not worth getting caught for stealing. So you go home and download it illegally instead.
But while downloading and sharing music illegally can be downplayed as a norm among college students, you should be more cautious next time you turn to the Web for tunes.
"I just assumed that I would never get caught," said Sarah Farrell, a sophomore who was caught this semester for downloading from LimeWire. "People download all the time, and they don't know what they can or can't do with music."
So far in 2007, 295 UNC students have been caught downloading music illegally, up from 194 in 2006.
Molly Betton, a sophomore who got caught for downloading illegally from Ares in April, said she became aware of the allegation against her when she moved back to campus this semester.
"I got to school, and I plugged in my laptop, and the Ethernet cord wasn't working," she said. "When I found out what happened, I was kind of freaked out because I wondered how UNC knew. How much have they been tracking on my computer?"
But UNC wasn't the one keeping an eye on her.
Tim Cline, analyst for Information Technology Services information security, said when a student is caught sharing music illegally, UNC is notified of a copyright infringement from an external agency, such as the Recording Industry Association of America.
UNC is required to act under federal law and must cut the student's access to the network.
A student is not allowed back on the network until the songs in question are deleted and the student signs a form stating he or she understands the policies and won't violate them again.
Second-time offenders commit an Honor Code violation, and third-time offenders may face more severe consequences.
"We have two or maybe three second offenses during the year," Cline said. "I have no recollection ever of there being a third offense."
Farrell's only punishment was having her Internet cut off temporarily, thanks to her status as a student.
Had she not been enrolled in college, she might have dealt with more severe consequences, such as getting sued or even going to prison.
"I wasn't even downloading at the time they caught me," she said. "They just saw I had the songs downloaded."
Educating students
Cline said ITS and the Department of Housing and Residential Education have been making an effort to teach students about the dangers of downloading illegally.
"We're looking to develop compelling and engaging programs for students," he said. "We're trying to have presentations made by ResNet people who live in dorms and can talk to students as peers."
Many students don't know they violate copyright laws when they e-mail or instant message songs, put an MP3 copy of songs on the Internet, burn CDs for others or join a file-sharing network, such as LimeWire or Kazaa, to download unauthorized copies of copyrighted songs for free.
But most students don't get caught just for downloading, but also for sharing the illegal tunes.
"The program is set up so that songs you download are automatically shared," said Jeremy Buenviaje, ResNet assistant program director. "Even some programs that give the options not to share aren't reliable."
Students who share songs illegally are also prone to getting computer viruses and downloading versions of songs that are scratchy or incomplete.
"Because it's a black market, you'll end up with bad downloads you don't want," said Cristobal Palmer, co-founder of the Carolina Open Source Initiative.
"You also end up with viruses that control your computer and hide inside the operating system," he said.
Free or cheap alternatives
More than 13,000 UNC students have signed up for Ruckus, a free and legal downloading service lobbied for by former Student Body President James Allred.
But Ruckus won't allow students to make copies of the songs on CDs or download MP3 files to put on iPods or MP3 players.
And the software is useful only to Windows users. It doesn't work on Macintosh and Linux systems.
Palmer said the idea of downloading MP3 files for free and legally from famous artists, whether from Ruckus or any other software, is an illusion.
"It's a unicorn," he said. "It doesn't exist. If you really have to have their music, then bite the bullet and get it through iTunes or Amazon.com or any number of other online retailers."
So what are students to do if they aren't willing to pay for songs?
Doug Whitfield, co-founder of the Carolina Open Source Initiative, recommends listening to free Internet radio sites, such as Pandora or Shout Cast, which work on Linux and Macintosh systems.
"The problem with Internet radio is that you don't get to pick when you hear a certain song," Whitfield said. "But with Pandora, you can listen to music based on a song or an artist, and then they keep playing a bunch of songs they think you might like."
If 50 Cent or Britney Spears are what you're into, maybe the 99-cent songs from iTunes are your best bet.
But if you're into more independent, up-and-coming artists, Whitfield and Palmer recommend Magnatune, which lets consumers decide how much they want to pay for a record, starting at $5, or emusic.com, which has a starting plan of 30 downloads per month for $9.99.
Downloading services
Illegal music sources
Kazaa
LimeWire
Morpheus
BitTorrent
BearShare
Ares
Legal alternatives
iTunes
ArtistServer
Ruckus
Ez-Tracks
Download.com
SpiralFrog
mp3.com
Upcoming music downloading info sessions:
Love music? Share the love, legally.
6:30 p.m. today
Morrison Residence Hall lobby
Find out about innovative unlimited music services like the Pandora Music Project and Ruckus. Also find out what constitutes "legal" to avoid having the RIAA knocking on your door.
Inside with the Internet Po Po
6 p.m. Thursday
Cobb Residence Hall lobby
A short discussion about downloading and copyright infringement at UNC.
A Good Band is Hard to Find: How to Discover Music Online
3 p.m. Saturday
Odum Village Community Room
An exploration of online services that use personal input to play music users like.
The Future of Music is NOW
7 p.m. Nov. 29
Ram Village 1 Multipurpose Room
The event will focus on current advances in online music distribution. Ruckus and iTunes will be covered, as well as other music distribution technology such as Rhapsody, Napster, imeem, Pandora, etc.
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(10/31/07 4:00am)
Once a year Chapel Hill opens its streets to flocks of unfamiliar faces who come to celebrate one of the biggest Halloween festivals in the Southeast.
Among the 70,000 people who typically gather on Franklin Street are students from colleges and universities all over the state who put their school pride aside for an evening of costumes, fun and tradition.
Tiffany Wong, a junior at N.C. State University, said she has been celebrating Halloween in Chapel Hill since she was a freshman.
She said she makes sure to return each year to keep the tradition alive.
"When I think Halloween, I immediately think Franklin Street," she said. "They're equivalent now."
Wong said this year she and two of her friends will be portraying stereotypes.
She will dress up as a geisha, and she will be accompanied by one friend who is Hispanic and will dress like a senorita and one who has French roots and will dress as a French guard.
N.C. State is only half an hour away, but other Halloween visitors will make a much longer drive to spend only one night in Chapel Hill.
Geoffrey Bishop, a junior at UNC-Charlotte and a Chapel Hill native, said he has been celebrating Halloween on Franklin Street since ninth grade.
But as soon as the partying is over, Bishop will make the two-and-a-half hour drive back to UNC-C for his 9:30 a.m. U.S. History class.
"In the South there's not much to do, so if you're under 21 you have to go to something like this," he said. "I go every year, and I have a lot of fun."
Bishop said that although he is looking forward to seeing his high school friends on Halloween, he is most excited about flaunting his costume as the infamous rapper and TV show and commercial icon, Flavor Flav.
"I got a clock for it a couple of days ago," he said. "It's going to be so hot, I can't wait."
Brandon Gleason, a junior at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk said the six-hour round-trip drive to Chapel Hill is worth every minute for the time spent on Franklin Street.
"It only happens once a year," said Gleason, who is also a Chapel Hill native.
He said he has been going to the Franklin Street festival since he was 10 years old.
"It's one of the best places you can be for Halloween," he said. "I can either stay and go to a bar in Boone, or I can go to Chapel Hill and party with thousands of people."
Unlike Chapel Hill natives who know the Halloween scene too well, Kelly Vaughan, a first-year student at UNC-Wilmington who is from the Outer Banks, said this will be her first Halloween celebration on Franklin Street.
"It's just a good experience to have," Vaughan said. "I have a lot of friends who go to Chapel Hill, and I don't know of anything too fun going on out here."
Vaughan said she and her friends plan on spending the night in Chapel Hill, but she hopes to make it back to Wilmington for her 10:30 a.m. class on Thursday.
She said she hasn't had much time to think about a costume, but she will likely show up to Franklin Street dressed as a turtle. "I have the costume from high school, and I have it with me, so it makes it easier."
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu
(10/16/07 4:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>After the parents have driven away and the boxes are long unpacked, dorm roommates stop being polite and start getting real.
Whether it's dealing with loud music and late-night TV shows or being "sexiled" every night, roommate conflicts are never easy to resolve, and some UNC students deal with them every day.
Junior Maggie Niemczyk said roommate differences last year often left her sleep deprived.
She said her roommate would do laundry or want to talk at random hours in the morning.
"She woke me up at 4 a.m. to tell me that it bothered her that I had a bicycle," Niemczyk said.
"She would also do her laundry at 3 a.m. and would turn on this sun lamp that, I swear to God, was 90 watts," she said.
Junior Erika Lopez-Finn said she dealt with constant sex noises when she lived in Hinton James Residence Hall her freshman year.
She said a suitemate and her boyfriend would frequently have sex without turning on the TV or stereo, making the paper-thin walls the only defense against the sounds.
"Sometimes I would only hear her, but sometimes I would only hear him," she said. "I don't know which one was more disturbing."
Lopez-Finn said her suitemate apologized the first two times but continued being loud and inconsiderate. So Lopez-Finn took matters into her own hands and pounded on her suitemate's door while she was having sex to get the point across.
"I just heard her say, 'La la la,' like, 'I'm ignoring you,'" Lopez-Finn said.
Roommates are encouraged to work out their differences, but hundreds of students still request to change roommates each year, said Rick Bradley, assistant director of the housing department.
To help reduce the amount of room change requests, a roommate finder Web site created in March, housing.unc.edu/roommates, helps UNC students find roommates with compatible living habits.
The site allows students to communicate via e-mail, and it keeps their identities anonymous until users choose to exchange contact information.
But sometimes opposites attract and get along better than students who are supposed to be compatible.
Some UNC students said being part of a program that matches roommates based on their cultural or racial differences rather than their similarities has been better than living in regular housing.
Ash Barnes, a white junior who was in UNITAS her freshman year, said she was placed with a black roommate who had a very different personality.
"I was paired with someone who was very athletic and into everything that I wasn't," said Barnes. "She went out for cheerleading, and I sat in my room and fixed computers, but she was the best roommate I've had so far."
Thomas Landreth, a sophomore from Chapel Hill who is in UNITAS, said he was paired with a senior exchange student from South Korea.
He said that although they didn't share the same background, they never had any roommate conflicts and got along very well.
"I think people in regular housing have more roommate conflicts than people who are in UNITAS," Landreth said. "The people who come into the program expect something different and are prepared to try something new."
How to change roommates
(09/19/07 4:00am)
The balance between fulfilling their responsibilities and enjoying their college experience can be a delicate one for resident advisers.
Those pressures came to a head this week when several RAs were fired after an incident at a mandatory retreat.
Twelve RAs were sent home and then disciplined further for their involvement in an incident involving alcohol during the event.
But while that particular situation - this year's Sept. 7 through Sept. 9 retreat was not held in previous years - has never happened before, this wasn't the first time the housing department has penalized RAs for drinking.
Housing Director Larry Hicks said the department has fired RAs in the past for drinking and for abandoning their posts while on duty.
"We expect them to abide by the same expectations we have for students," Hicks said. "The role they play is so critical to students and to the University."
Some former RAs said that the best way to serve the students is not necessarily by enforcing strict standards.
Ryan Leatham, a former Hinton James Residence Hall RA, said he had a tough time connecting with some residents because of the authority figure complex that comes with the job.
"The RA position isn't supposed to be as a rule enforcer primarily," Leatham said. "The RA is supposed to positively influence students, and the best way to do that sometimes is to be friends with them."
And the process of hiring new RAs can reinforce that mind-set.
Hicks said the majority of students who apply for the job do so after being inspired by their RAs.
"Some of them see their RAs as good role models and want to set the same examples, while others think they can do a better job," he said.
During the summer, the new corps of RAs socialize, set up their halls and discuss potential situations they might face during the year, including underage drinking, roommate conflicts, indecent exposure and depressed students.
The RAs who were fired Monday have until Friday to vacate their residence halls.
Doing so will take away their compensation - a $4,068 stipend, $400 in dining flex money and a single-occupant, air-conditioned room for $710 or less semesterly.
But even RAs who don't encounter touchy situations with the housing department come across difficult experiences with residents.
While most campus jobs offer students a set schedule and specific duties, these 200 students work a job that provides almost the complete opposite.
As resident advisers these individuals are constantly on tap helping students with problems and maintaining order in the residence halls, a challenging task at times.
Junior Andy Ives said he always had his hands full last year as an RA for Horton Residence Hall, which houses mainly freshmen.
"Pretty much if it could've gone wrong, it went wrong," he said.
"If you work Halloween, you're going to come across alcohol, indecent exposure and belligerent people who will try to fight you," he continued. "We've even had people pee off the balconies."
Ives, who is now an RA at Morrison Residence Hall, said he also dealt with a lot of noise complaints this summer while working at Cobb Residence Hall.
He said he had students tell him several times to get lost and even slam doors in his face when he asked them to turn down their music.
"A lot of people aren't very happy when you enter their space," Ives said. "They get offended. It's people not wanting to get authority from their peers."
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(08/21/07 4:00am)
Have you heard how Silent Sam got his name?
Legend has it that the bronze Civil War soldier statue in McCorkle Place, got his name because he only fires when a virgin walks by.
Not quite.
Its creators said Silent Sam, built in 1913, was not given ammunition to represent peace.
For two centuries, students have kept UNC's traditions alive through folklore and myth, many of which blur the line of fiction and truth.
The Old Well, which was renovated in 1897 to look like the Temple of Love at the gardens of Versailles, for example, is rumored to grant academic success.
Legend has it that students who drink from the fountain on the first day of classes will prosper academically while at UNC, with many versions promising straight A's.
But senior Manu Balachandran said he has no interest drinking from the fountain for luck.
"By the time I had heard about it, I had also heard the rumor that it's frequently peed on," he said.
Another well-known campus myth lies beneath the Davie Poplar tree in McCorkle Place.
It is rumored that if two people share their first kiss on the bench beneath the tree, they are destined to marry.
Other myths aren't so romantic.
Some say the Chapel Hill firetrucks were painted blue after the traditional red color caused angry students to egg them because of the color's association with N.C. State.
Not true, according to the Town of Chapel Hill. The trucks were blue to commemorate the joint purchase of new trucks by the town and the University.
And some myths are just tricks that upperclassmen play on new students.
"Most freshmen don't come in knowing a lot of the myths," said Tim Lendino, a 2007 orientation leader.
Lendino said he spreads stories he has heard from other upperclassmen to more than 300 freshmen during orientation.
"They'll believe anything you tell them," he said.
One is a tale about a student who was hit by a bus at a crosswalk.
"She was going to sue the University," Lendino said. "The chancellor, as a settlement for her not taking legal action, gave her free tuition. ... I've been trying to get hit ever since."
But some campus legends have been proven true.
Awika Kriengkraipetch, a 2007 orientation leader, said she often warns students about the infamous campus squirrels.
"They are really mean," she said. "They will attack you and throw things at you."
Kriengkraipetch also said she has confirmed rumors about the never-ending campus construction and how basketball players are treated like movie stars.
Despite the competing versions of history, UNC's myths and legends help create a bond between generations, Leazer said.
"These myths help students feel more connected to UNC and give people a way to connect with others."
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(04/13/07 4:00am)
As a naval aviator for 20 years, flying during the Korean and Vietnam wars, UNC alumnus Thomas Bryan did his part to serve his country.
Bryan returned to campus Thursday to honor 787 of the fallen soldiers and Tar Heels who will be remembered permanently through a new memorial, which was dedicated between Phillips and Memorial halls.
"It's important so the reason they gave their lives for will not be repeated," said Bryan, who graduated from the Naval ROTC program in 1946, just six years after the program's inception at UNC.
Bryan was one of about 100 who gathered by Memorial Hall to dedicate a new campus memorial honoring UNC alumni killed during war, from the Civil War to the Gulf War.
No UNC alumni have been killed in the Iraq war.
Although the University has memorials commemorating alumni who died in different wars throughout U.S. history, the "Carolina Alumni Memorial in Memory of Those Lost in Military Service" is the first to honor all alumni who have died in wars.
The memorial lists the names of the alumni in a bronze Book of Names, which contains empty space for the names of others who might be lost in future wars.
"Each of them once walked on this campus . and strolled on Franklin Street on warm spring evenings," Chancellor James Moeser said at the event. "They were all Tar Heels, as we now are Tar Heels."
The memorial - which was designed by Maggie Smith - also consists of 10 trees, a sidewalk engraved with 16 quotes and a red sandstone bench inscribed with a quote from alumnus Thomas Wolfe's book, "Look Homeward, Angel."
Alumnus Robert Eaves, who came up with the idea for the campus memorial, said he thought of it while visiting the American cemetery in Normandy, France.
"It's about the sacrifice these people made," Eaves said. "They should never be forgotten."
Eaves worked with a committee to raise $300,000 for the memorial, most of which was donated by ROTC alumni.
Jane Smith, associate director for university events, who organized the event, said the outcome was worth the effort.
"I've seen students and everyone reading all the quotes, and I believe that it's generated a lot of interest on campus," she said.
Dale Smith, a 1966 alumnus who was in the ROTC, said the memorial should motivate students to think about what is at stake every day.
"It's a good reminder for people to think of those who once were students and to think about their friends who are with them today."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/11/07 4:00am)
While some people have a hard time memorizing a five-minute speech, professor Jodi Magness can talk passionately about religious studies for more than an hour - without using so much as a note card.
About 200 students, some of whom resorted to sitting on the floor of Murphey 116, listened intently Tuesday as Magness narrated a tale about the Roman siege of Masada, a site of ancient palaces in Israel.
And although many typically consider history lectures dry and trite, Magness' unique teaching style of using vivid anecdotes kept students on the edge of their seats.
"You constantly want to know what she's going to say next," said freshman Ben Liebtag, who is taking "New Testament Archaeology" with Magness.
Magness, who has been teaching at the University for five years, said she knew she wanted to become an archaeologist at age 12 and dedicates all of her spare time to learning about the subject.
"That's pretty much what I do 24/7," said Magness, who has a bachelor's degree in archaeology and ancient history from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a doctorate degree in classical archaeology from the University of Pennsylvania.
She said she hopes to retire doing exactly what she does now - digging for ancient artifacts and writing and teaching about archaeology.
Magness, who has written four books about archaeology, spends her summers in Israel digging for ancient artifacts.
Students said she is so passionate and knowledgeable about the subject that they sometimes have a trouble keeping up while taking notes.
"She has hands-on experience of everything," said junior Allison Beck. "If Jodi says it, that's what I believe."
And her credentials make her class a one-of-a-kind experience.
Magness said she is the only person in the U.S. with a doctorate degree in classical archaeology who has a full-time appointment in a religious studies department.
Magness said that she never anticipated becoming a professor but that she thoroughly enjoys sharing her love of archaeology with students.
"I just like to get people excited about archaeology," she said. "It's inherently interesting stuff that everybody can relate to."
Magness gained most of her teaching experience as a professor at Tufts University for 10 years. Although she said coming to UNC from Boston was a big transition, it didn't take long for her to adjust.
"The students here are wonderful," Magness said. "They love the fact that they're at UNC. It's almost universal that everyone who is here is where they wanted to go."
The sentiment seems to go both ways. Freshman Jonathan Hecht said Magness has a way of making the subject come to life.
"Jodi Magness is wonderful in every shape and form," he said. "She's on the Discovery Channel every other day. It's a privilege being in the same room with her."
Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.
(03/29/07 4:00am)
Dan Reed, a man of many titles, just picked up two more.
The director of the Renaissance Computing Institute has been named senior adviser to the chancellor for strategy and innovation and will become executive director of an expanded institute.
Reed, who founded RENCI in 2004, will assume his new post this weekend and will work closely with University officials to develop new multidisciplinary research initiatives and oversee the expansion of RENCI.
"The expansion is really a big part of making one of the objectives of the University a reality, which is to be the leading public university," said Reed, who served as chief information officer for Information Technology Services during the past three years.
Karen Green, marketing-public relations director at RENCI, said Reed's new post will help the University better compete for research projects by making Reed's official job to focus on developing strategies for innovation, instead of dealing with "the day-to-day ITS kind of stuff."
She said she doesn't know how much he will make in the new position. He made $305,000 per year as vice chancellor for information technology.
As a collaboration among UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, N.C. State University and the state of North Carolina, RENCI seeks to build multidisciplinary collaborations among research teams statewide to address issues such as natural disasters and health care in rural areas.
As part of its expansion, which Reed said would cost about $30 million each year, RENCI will welcome new faculty and staff members. It also will integrate new technology initiatives into an advanced research infrastructure to support RENCI's statewide virtual organization.
Enhancing RENCI also will be key to raising $1 billion in external research funding by 2015 -a goal proposed by Chancellor James Moeser in his September State of the University address.
"It will help in putting together the kind of cross-disciplinary projects that are necessary to get major research projects," Green said.
"Those are the kinds of projects that bring a good number of dollars and that really raise the profile of the University as a leader in research."
Provost Bernadette Gray-Little said she thinks RENCI will help make the $1 billion goal more tangible by bringing people from different campus disciplines together to develop successful proposals.
Reed also is a member of President Bush's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and chairman of the board of directors of the Computing Research Association.
"He is ideally suited to do this not only because he is a creative, resourceful person but also because he's been involved in helping to form the national research agenda," Gray-Little said.
Reed said that RENCI already has partnerships with N.C. State, East Carolina University and UNC-Asheville but that he hopes to establish eight or nine more sites in North Carolina as senior adviser.
"I hope to enable the faculty to be more competitive, attract some of the best and brightest students to Carolina and give the University the international and national visibility it deserves."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/26/07 4:00am)
When junior Jennifer Andrews decided to study abroad in Madrid, Spain, one of her central concerns was how being a minority would affect her experience overseas.
"I tried to research the experiences of minorities abroad and why we were so underrepresented," said Andrews, who is black.
"However, I found that there was a lack of information available."
As a result, Andrews said she decided to develop a Web site catered specifically to minority students at UNC.
The site, International and Cultural Awareness for Minority Students, seeks to promote and support study abroad among minorities and can be found within the UNC Study Abroad Web site at studyabroad.unc.edu/icams.
The site gives students advice from other students and advisers, links to need- and academic-based scholarships and lists national statistics demonstrating the under-representation of minorities studying abroad.
The site's statistics, provided by the National Association of Foreign Student Advisers, show that in 2003-04 almost 84 percent of U.S. students who studied abroad were Caucasian, 6 percent were Asian, 5 percent were Hispanic and only 3.4 percent were black.
"Nationally, the statistics are not as shocking to me just because most minorities do come from a lower socio-economic class," said Erika Lopez-Finn, a Hispanic sophomore who said that she plans to study abroad in Spain in spring 2008.
"Students aren't focusing on studying abroad," she said. "They're focusing on just paying for college itself."
Arnab Saha, a sophomore of Indian heritage who studied abroad in the Singapore first-year immersion program last summer, said he strongly encourages minority students to take advantage of any scholarships available.
Saha said if it weren't for the scholarship he received through the immersion program, he probably wouldn't have gone abroad.
"I couldn't afford a $10,000 program over the summer," he said.
"Minority applicants have one of the coolest opportunities to study abroad," Saha said.
"You get so much out of it. You get a more pragmatic perspective on things, greater self-confidence and a much greater thirst for knowledge."
Bob Miles, associate dean for study abroad and international exchanges, said ICAMS gives minority students who are concerned about racism abroad positive encouragement.
"It's the atmosphere that's created," Miles said. "It's about peer identity. It says, 'If my peers have done this, this could be for me.' And that's extremely valuable."
Andrews said she hopes ICAMS will help dispel some of the common misconceptions minorities might have about studying abroad.
"The study abroad experience is something that you cannot receive from a textbook," she said. "The work environment is becoming increasingly global, and . we have progressively more access to global markets.
"I want to reiterate to minorities how important it is to study abroad in such a global economy."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/19/07 4:00am)
Six months after Chancellor James Moeser announced a campaign to raise $1 billion in external research funds by 2015, University officials say the initiative is well on its way.
Administrators say the goal, announced during Moeser's State of the University address in September, is ambitious but attainable, mainly by increasing grant dollars.
"We're targeting every potential funder of research," said Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development.
"We've already taken active steps, so it's a matter of continuing to do what we do well and planning for opportunities we see in front of us."
Waldrop said that in order to win grant funding and reach the $1 billion goal, the University also must spend some money.
"We have to make sure we're retaining and attracting the best faculty because they're the ones that write the grants and receive the funding," Waldrop said.
William Marzluff, associate dean for research in the School of Medicine, said he is optimistic about UNC reaching its goal.
"There are more and more grants being given than there used to be," Marzluff said. "UNC is particularly competitive for these grants because we have a history of the different schools working together."
Marzluff said UNC recently received a National Institutes of Health Roadmap Nanomedicine grant, which will be distributed in yearly increments of $4.5 million for five years.
He said these large grants are what the University needs.
"We've gotten more Roadmap grants than any other university," he said. "We will continue to focus on these very large funding opportunities."
Waldrop said the University has earned more funding this year than it had in the same time period last year. But he said the increase does not necessarily mean this year's total will exceed last year's annual total of $593 million.
"You really don't know until you have a full year of funding coming in," Waldrop said. "We monitor month by month, but we compare on a yearly basis."
Steve Matson, chairman of the Department of Biology, said that although UNC is successfully reeling in grant money, the national "funding climate" might make it harder for the University to continue its trend.
"The federal budget that has provided for research has really not kept pace the past few years with inflation," Matson said. "There's much more competition for grants at the moment than there has been."
Matson said the billion-dollar goal also will benefit the state of North Carolina.
"Being able to conduct that basic research within the University leads to the formation of companies," he said. "Those companies tend to improve the overall public welfare."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(02/14/07 5:00am)
Lauren Anderson retained her post as Graduate and Professional Student Federation president Tuesday night, fending off competition from write-in candidate Doug Whitfield.
Anderson won by 101 votes, making her the first GPSF president since 2000 to be elected for a second yearlong term in office.
"I'm relieved," said Anderson, who did not attend Tuesday's election announcement.
Anderson received 311 votes, or 57 percent of the vote. Whitfield earned 210 votes, or 38 percent.
"She was on the ballot; I'm not," Whitfield said. "It's as easy as that."
(01/18/07 5:00am)
Although candidates running in the student government elections have begun campaigning, the Graduate and Professional Student Federation is still in search of candidates to run for its top post.
Tuesday's mandatory candidates' meeting, which marked the start of official campaigning, drew a crowd for undergraduate positions, such as student body president.
But no candidates for GPSF president showed up.
"I'm not surprised that no one came to the meeting," said Lauren Anderson, GPSF president. "I have thought about running again, but I'd like to graduate next year."
Anderson said that most students in their mid to late stages of graduate school are very busy and aren't interested in running.
"It takes a lot of time," she said. "There's a certain degree of bureaucracy, and that's a game that not too many people have the patience for."
Anderson said that she's not aware of anyone interested in running but that she will try to recruit people for the position. If no one steps up to run as a write-in candidate for the Feb. 13 election, there will be a special election for the post.
Student Body President James Allred, who works hand-in-hand with Anderson, said the time commitment might dissuade people from seeking the office.
"It takes a lot of long hours to do it well, and graduate students are mainly focused on their own research," Allred said.
Some of the responsibilities of the position include serving as a member of the tuition and fee advisory committee and meeting with many top administrators to represent the interests of the more than 10,000 graduate and professional students at UNC.
Although nobody interested in running for GPSF's top post came to the meeting, the opportunity for students who want to fill the position still is available.
"There is the possibility of there being a write-in candidate," said Jim Brewer, chairman of the Board of Elections.
He said write-in ballots often occur, and it's common for write-in candidates to be unaware of their nomination.
"If they win, we call them and ask them if they accept their winning the office," Brewer said. "They say 'yes' or 'no,' and if not, we go to the next candidate with the highest votes or we have a runoff."
Anderson said that graduate students have become more involved in the past year and that getting students interested in the GPSF is a work in progress.
"Students may not realize that a lot of the things they see happening are the result of efforts of the people affiliated with GPSF in some way."
Allred said that the GPSF president shares many of the same responsibilities as the student body president.
"Perhaps when graduate students see the need and recognize that this a great way to get their concerns heard, someone will come forward."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/26/06 4:00am)
An old campus fixture has received a face lift and a new name to boot.
The School of Medicine dedicated its recently renovated office building Friday in honor of Dr. Stuart Bondurant, a former dean of the school.
Bondurant - the interim executive vice president and executive dean at Georgetown University Medical Center - served as dean at UNC's medical school from 1979 to 1994.
"I'm immensely honored, but I also feel that the things that I did (at UNC) were not done alone," he said.
"It represents the work of many people."
Bondurant, who also was a founder of the N.C. Institute of Medicine, said the dedication was completely unexpected.
William Roper, dean of the School of Medicine, surprised him with the news during a visit back to Chapel Hill.
"Dr. Roper asked if I would stop by his office, and when I got there he said, 'Let's take a little walk.' He took me in front of the building and that's where he told me," Bondurant said.
"I was deeply moved."
Bondurant said he isn't finished contributing to the University.
He plans to step down from his position at Georgetown within the next several days and return to Chapel Hill to resume teaching at the medical school, he said.
The hall, which originally was called the Medical Sciences Research Building, consisted mostly of laboratories prior to the renovations.
It was the first facility used for research at the school.
Since its completion in 1962, the hall has undergone a number of internal and external changes.
An expansion to the building began in 2001.
Space was increased from 55,000 square feet to 106,000 square feet.
Bondurant now houses offices from the medical school, the department of allied health services and the dean's offices.
Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development, said that despite the changes, medical research at the University has been unaffected.
"It has grown and expanded and has always done tremendous work," he said.
"We're having a great expansion in our research space, and those individuals doing research in that building are now moved into new buildings in the University."
Waldrop added that medical research funding from agencies outside the University has increased in recent years.
Last year, $579 million was donated for research initiatives, he said.
Private funding sources have been a focus of the University administration as other funds threaten to dry up.
Bondurant said he thinks the School of Medicine is adapting well to the rapidly changing medicine field.
"The things that were successful in the '70s and '80s and '90s are not the things that will be successful today," he said.
"The team that's there now, led by Dr. Roper, (is) doing different things and are doing them very well."
Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/21/06 4:00am)
Although the good die young, their memories last forever.
Almost two months after the death of sophomore Keith Shawn Smith - a resident assistant in Stacy Residence Hall who fell out of the building's third-story window - the community continues its efforts to keep his memory alive.
As part of its goal to raise more than $3,000 in donations, the Keith Shawn Smith Memorial Fund held a "Keepin' It Movin'" benefit show Thursday night featuring dancing, music and poetry. About 50 people attended the event.
Sekou Sidibe, Smith's freshman-year roommate and high school friend, said he established the fund to help Smith's family overcome any financial burden from funeral costs and medical bills.
So far, the group has raised between $1,000 and $1,200, including the $767 raised April 13 with a party at Players, said Sidibe, who is president of the fund.
The fund is meant to show Smith's family how well loved he was, said Eric Andrew Smith, a freshman who attended the event.
"It reassures them how good of a person their son was because all of these people are coming together to help them out," he said. "At least (students) know their money is going to a good cause."
Demetria Watford, a sophomore who also attended the show, said she wished more people had attended the event. Smith had to work and rely on scholarships to pay for school, and his family could benefit from the money raised by the fund, she said, noting that she hopes more students will pitch in.
"If they didn't come, hopefully maybe they gave a donation, "Watford said. "(The fund) will get some more people to reality and understand that life is short."
The event's theme, "Keepin' it Movin,'" was Smith's motto, his friends say. Students involved with the fund said he always had a positive attitude and was full of ambition.
"Keith is an amazing person who lived his life to help people," Sidibe said. "You can't really forget a person like that."
He also said he hopes the fund will serve to inspire people and make them realize every individual can make a difference.
Some of the performances included Ebony Readers/Onyx Theater, Vision singing group and Kamikazi, a student dance group. About 75 tickets were sold to the show, raising several hundred dollars for the fund.
Ashley Smith, vice president of the fund, said that next year the group will focus on starting a scholarship honoring Smith.
Sidibe said that the details have not been worked out yet.
Winston Crisp, assistant vice chancellor for student affairs, said the fund is helping students heal from the tragedy.
"It allows people to think of Keith in a positive way and remember the positive impact he had on this campus," he said.
"It shows how much students on this campus care about each other."
Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/12/06 4:00am)
The Campus Y is leading a charge this week to reach out to its neighbors - both local and global.
To educate the community about international human rights violations, a Campus Y committee called advocates for human rights is promoting its annual Human Rights Week.
Mona Soni, Campus Y co-president, said she hopes the events will open people's eyes and motivate them to act.
Soni said that although groups across the globe have tried to address human rights, few substantive changes have been made.
"Those who don't have the power are going to be exploited," she said. "It's an ongoing struggle."
Campus Y leaders have been promoting human rights throughout the year, said Peter Tinti, the committee's co-chairman.
The organization has held fundraising dinners and has invited guest speakers to cover the issues, he said.
Human rights expert Mark Gibney will lecture at 7 p.m. today in Carroll 111 about why human rights violations continue to exist, even with the growing number of laws against it, Tinti said.
Minesweep, an informational event discussing landmines, will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday in the Pit.
"They're all over the world, and thousands are injured from them everyday," Tinti said. "We're hoping to raise awareness and give statistics, which have an impact on people."
The committee planned to hold a "fair-trade sale" on Tuesday, but the event fell through.
Lindsey Witmer, a Campus Y member, said students can purchase fair-trade food all across campus - including coffee in the dining halls and "fair-trade" labeled chocolate in Student Stores.
All purchases support families producing their own goods in developing countries, Witmer said.
Milan Pham, director of human rights and relations for Orange County, said that while she appreciates student activism, time would be best spent focusing on local issues.
"You don't have to go to another country to see horrible wrongs," she said. "They need to be involved in local government - local politics are global politics."
Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(04/10/06 4:00am)
After being condemned for more than 1,700 years, Christianity's most treacherous man pleads innocent.
Judas Iscariot, the apostle known for betraying Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, is said to be obedient in the recently translated Gospel of Judas, which was discovered almost 30 years ago in Egypt.
The gospel claims that Jesus asked Judas to betray him so that Jesus could liberate his true spiritual self.
Members of the Lutheran Campus Ministry at UNC joined audiences nationwide Sunday in watching the first airing of National Geographic's two-hour documentary on Judas, which presents new findings from the document.
Those who viewed the show said that they are keeping an open mind and that they have yet to make a decision on the content, which was authenticated by Bart Ehrman, UNC professor and chairman of the Department of Religious Studies.
Ehrman said he was thrilled to be part of the project.
"Hardly ever does a scholar have a chance to deal with a newly discovered document," he said. "I just felt really, really lucky that I was able to do that."
Corinne Bohling, a UNC junior and member of the ministry, said that seeing Ehrman involved in the project makes the gospel more credible.
To translate and authenticate the manuscript, National Geographic collaborated with international organizations and a team of experts from around the world.
The project's results were released for the first time Thursday at a news conference at National Geographic headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Ehrman said he was first contacted by National Geographic in November 2004 and traveled to Geneva, Switzerland, the next month to sign a nondisclosure agreement.
He said that although the authentication process took several months to complete, the results showed the document was authentic and was written between the third and fourth centuries.
Although scientific tests needed to be conducted for certainty, Ehrman said he knew the gospel was an ancient manuscript as soon as he laid eyes on it.
While Thursday's announcement might have created a wide range of reactions, Ehrman said the aftershocks were expected.
He said many conservative scholars are upset and defensive and argue that the manuscript is less historically accurate than the Gospels in the Bible's New Testament.
"I think it's wrong to think that you've got Gospels inside the New Testament that are accurate and gospels outside the New Testament that are inaccurate," Ehrman said.
Cuttino Alexander, a UNC senior and member of the ministry, said that the level of acceptance from students also might vary.
"If you take the Bible very seriously, you're not going to be very accepting of this," he said.
"Regardless, I think it's great that people are talking about this."
Ehrman said the gospel is helpful in understanding early Christians' views of Jesus and Judas.
"The point isn't to change people's minds - it's to get people thinking more," he said. "This shows how incredibly and wonderfully diverse Christianity was."
Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/29/06 5:00am)
Women should speak out for their personal beliefs and not accept societal stereotypes, said a self-described feminist and journalist Tuesday.
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez - author of "The Dirty Girls Social Club"- delivered the keynote lecture, titled "Exploding Stereotypes: Beyond the Myths" as part of Carolina Women's Center ninth annual Women's Week.
Valdes-Rodriguez followed the week's theme of "Ain't I a Woman? A Gathering of Wisdom," and spoke about getting away from stereotypes of women, said Chimi Boyd, interim director of the women's center.
"It's important to carve out your whole identity," Boyd said. "(The lecture) points to the idea that you decide what womanhood is and don't let others define it for you."
More than two dozen people attended the event, which began with Valdes-Rodriguez taking questions and later speaking about her experiences dealing with cultural generalizations as a Latina journalist and writer.
Valdes-Rodriguez, who was named one of Time magazine's "25 Most Influential Hispanics in America," said that publications, which wanted to take pictures of her after her book's release, made stereotypical suggestions.
"They said, 'We were thinking about taking a picture of you by a Mexican restaurant with a bag of tortilla chips and a margarita glass,'" she said.
"I said, 'Do you want me to bring my donkey, too?'"
She recounted racial stereotypes in literature and how writers of different backgrounds are labeled as Latino or black - instead of merely "writers."
She said that if bookstores, which now hold sections for black writers, begin making sections for Latino writers, she is going to sue major book chains for unlawful segregation.
The author ended the event by encouraging women to speak against what is wrong and not to be afraid of the stigma that often is attached to advocacy.
"Any human being that believes all other human beings are equal is a feminist," she said.
Ana Cerna, senior biology major, said she thought Valdes-Rodriguez was the right person to speak at the event.
"She's someone influential," she said. "She's a fighter. She embodies everything we should be."
Sophomore journalism major Dianna Leyton said she thought the event should make women unafraid to be different.
"You don't always have to go with the crowd. Fight for what you think is right," Leyton said.
As a continuation of the weeklong event, the women's center will hold a discussion about women's health at 3 p.m. today in Union 3206.
In hopes of building public support against sexual violence across all social boundaries, the center also will hold a "Take Back the Night March," which will begin at 6 p.m. today on the steps of Wilson Library and will proceed across campus.
Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(03/23/06 5:00am)
While noisy construction fills the air on campus, a more serene atmosphere surrounds the more remote renovations.
Battle Park, a 93-acre wooded area on the east side of campus, is the site of an ongoing restoration to its approximately two miles of pedestrian trails.
Some of the changes include the addition of side trails, the removal of invasive exotic plants and the introduction of bridges and benches, said Stephen Keith, who as Battle Park curator is overseeing the restoration.
He said that even though the process - which was outlined during the summer of 2004 - might be close to completion in a few years, work will never be completely done due to recurring modifications.
A ceremony was held this past September to mark the completion of restoration of the main pedestrian trails, but there is room for more side trails, said Peter White, director of the N.C. Botanical Garden.
White said Chancellor James Moeser set the restoration in motion during the previous summer.
"The chancellor was the one who made the pledge to restore the trails in the park," he said.
"The trail system that we started with the chancellor's initiative is done, but there are two or three opportunities for trails that we're still thinking about or working on."
White said the garden's curators also want to provide educational information about Battle Park to biologists and ecologists.
"We are doing a botanical and ecological survey of Battle Park as a precursor for making it available to classes and researchers," he said.
Although Battle Park is surrounded by neighborhoods and is open to all pedestrians, Keith said he especially encourages students to take advantage of the tranquility of the trails.
"It's a great place to get away from campus - even though it's on campus," Keith said.
The trails include several gathering spots opportune for outdoor recreation and study breaks, he said.
Among those locales is "The Sisters' Corner," a spot dedicated to Barbara Stiles and Bernice Wade, a pair of 90-year-old twins who open their Chapel Hill garden for viewing to the community every spring.
Keith said that the sisters' neighbors raised money for the spot as a birthday gift, and they looked to Battle Park to put the idea into play.
White said the restored Battle Park is getting rave reviews from students who jog or commute to campus via the trails.
"It's a great recreation area and a forest at the heart of Chapel Hill."
Contact the News Editor at udesk @unc.edu.
(03/10/06 5:00am)
No news is good news, or so the saying goes.
After two campus accidents that plastered UNC's name across the news, tour guides - the University's unofficial spokespeople - are fielding questions about the campus that are more difficult than the usual fare.
Last week a UNC alumnus injured nine pedestrians when he drove a rented Jeep through the Pit, setting of a national media frenzy.
The week before, one student died and another was hospitalized after falling from the third floor of Stacy Residence Hall, which also cast a spotlight on University safety.
In light of both incidents, which administrators have called unprecedented, questions have been raised about the incidents, and tour guides have been urged to answer honestly and not conceal information.
"We've encouraged them to remember that the University has nothing to hide," said Steve Farmer, director of admissions. "We want them to talk honestly about what's happening, what's going on around campus."
Patrick Elliot, a senior and a tour guide, said he has toured worried students and parents but tries to alleviate concerns by cracking jokes about campus safety.
"Whenever I talk about security on campus, I tell them that if you open up the police log in The Daily Tar Heel, you'll see more incidents of squirrels attacking people than people attacking each other," he said.
Farmer also said he wants the guides to avoid speculation about the incidents and to know the facts when answering questions.
"What we really want our tour guides to do is tell the truth about the University," he said. "We want students to come to Carolina with a clear understanding of what this place really is."
Stephanie Norris, tour coordinator, said the guides don't have post-trauma training and will most likely not receive any in the near future.
She also said tour guides usually don't bring up the incidents unless asked about them.
"We do not address either situation unless someone asks because it's really not relevant to the tour topic of their admissions next year."
Elliot said that he thinks the two accidents don't exemplify what the University is about and that UNC is safer than the average college campus.
"I really don't think campus is less safe today than it was two weeks ago."
Although the recent incidents might alarm students wishing to attend UNC, Farmer said he doesn't think what happened in the Pit will affect the decisions of students wishing to enroll at the University.
"We try pretty carefully to remind people that no place is perfect, that no student at any campus can assume that there is never a risk to safety," he said.
Jerry Lucido, vice provost for admissions and enrollment management, said he believes students and families interested in UNC will see past the recent tragedies.
"We have a campus that's a highly residential community," he said "(It) has a strong record of safety, a strong record of a lot of students being around and students being involved."
He also said he is proud of how students on campus are always supportive of one another during times of hardships.
"This is a community that responds and reacts together with a sense of care for each other and is always fixed to learn from its experiences."
Contact the News Editor at udesk@unc.edu.