34 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(09/08/09 4:58am)
Last month, a jury sentenced a 22-year-old killer to life in prison despite his lawyers’ best efforts to prove he was not guilty by reason of insanity.Both the defense and prosecution agree that Alvaro Castillo has a severe mental illness, but they disagree about whether he will receive the same level of mental care in a state hospital versus a state prison. In August 2006, Castillo, a former Orange High School student, shot his father to death then opened fire on his school in an attempt to recreate the Columbine High School shootings. A forensic psychiatrist at Dorothea Dix Hospital testified that Castillo has a schizoaffective disorder — a combination of schizophrenia and mood disorders such as bipolar disorder and depression.N.C. Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, is the chairwoman of the assembly health committee. She said the Department of Correction coordinates with the Division of Mental Health to have more uniform services, but they aren’t truly uniform.“I am under the impression that prison services are not as extensive or intensive as they would be in a mental hospital,” she said.About 40,000 are incarcerated in North Carolina, and about 10 percent are inmates receiving some level of mental health treatment, said John Carbone, mental health section chief for the Division of Prisons.“The care isn’t 100 percent synonymous, but when talking about the level of care, it’s pretty darn close,” he said.Prisons don’t offer electroshock therapy and specialty care for conditions like anorexia or post traumatic stress disorder, he said.But the real “meat and potatoes” of treating someone with an illness like Castillo’s are medications, Carbone said. The same medications are offered in both facilities, and there is no difference in the frequency of day-to-day therapy, he said.Williams said that the prison environment makes all the difference in treating someone with a mental illness and that it’s a major stretch to put the two on the same level.“For a person who has been convicted of a crime and sentenced to prison, their primary focus is going to be on punishment and security,” he said.If Castillo had been found criminally insane, he would have been in a secure facility where the focus would be treating mental health, said James Williams, his public defender.Before the shooting, Castillo was hospitalized in April 2006 after attempting suicide. His mother, Vicky Castillo, suffered from depression and panic attacks and testified that mental illness runs in her family.Castillo will receive the same level of care if he wants it, said District Attorney Jim Woodall. Some of the same doctors from Dorothea Dix Hospital who treated Castillo might also treat him in prison, he said.“By being sentenced to the Department of Corrections, he’s got to allow them to give him the mental health treatment,” he said.Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/25/09 1:27am)
As a group of new after-school volunteers received an orientation of The ArtsCenter in Carrboro, Ed Camp offered a friendly greeting.
(08/24/09 4:51am)
Alvaro Castillo was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of first-degree murder Friday.
(08/23/09 7:49pm)
The free clinic opens at 5:30 p.m., but half an hour earlier Claudia Barba is already waiting outside the doors with a half-dozen others in the humidity. Barba, who drove from Holly Springs, is taking advantage of the Student Health Action Coalition’s Wednesday night free clinics for the first time. She said in Spanish that it has been difficult to get an appointment for new medicine. She can’t remember the type she needs because it’s been a year since she could get it.The Student Health Action Coalition is run by student volunteers, but even with employment costs eliminated, the clinic must finance running tests and handing out free medicine.Rising health care costs have been at the forefront of a national debate. Last March, President Barack Obama announced he would give $155 million to create 126 new community health centers. But free clinics are different from community health centers and therefore have not seen any of this money.Pamela Stephens, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Association of Free Clinics, explained the difference between the two medical providers. Community health centers bill a third party based on the patient’s income. But at a free clinic, there are absolutely no fees you have to pay — they only ask for donations. The Student Health Action Coalition, which operates out of Piedmont Health Services on Lloyd Street in Carrboro, depends on private donations and money from UNC student groups and community organizations.Stephens said even if health care becomes nationalized, free clinics will still exist. One reason is that the bill doesn’t address undocumented immigrants, a large percentage of free clinics’ patients.“We’ll still be in existence because one system can’t do everything,” she said.Ben Aiken, the clinic’s co-director and a UNC medical student, said the clinic saw 1,300 patients last year and generally sees 20 to 25 patients every night.“The clinic is our weekly reminder of how broken the system is,” Aiken said. “We have patients coming in that are delaying care because they can’t afford it … Their problems are worse than they would have been if they had care earlier.”The clinic is developing projects that make it eligible for more government funding, said Julie Hamra, co-chairwoman of the clinic’s coordinating council and a public health student. She said they’re trying to apply for a grant that allocates money to clinics that plan to develop electronic medical records systems.“It’s very difficult to get government funding as a clinic,” she said. “We’re just trying to figure out the ins and outs of the system.”Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
(08/28/08 4:00am)
Every day after school, 20 students from local elementary schools pile into Chapel Hill Transit buses bound for the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center.
Using buses is the center's first step in teaching environmentally sustainable habits to local students.
"We are trying to raise the next generation of mass transit users," Science Program Manager Jonathan Frederick said of the planetarium's after-school program.
The program, which focuses on green and environmentally sustainable activities with a science-based curriculum, debuted Monday.
(08/25/08 4:00am)
Campus organizations can make some extra cash by having their members mention their group while buying textbooks on Franklin Street.
At the end of each semester, Ram Book & Supply donates 5 percent of its profits to individual organizations whose members purchase or sell their books at the store.
Last spring, 60 organizations participated in the program, and the store gave back a total of $2,422.19 to student groups, said Jeff Pellicani, assistant store manager.
(07/17/08 4:00am)
ROUGEMONT - Judy Rhyne laughed and shook her head as two of the competing Carolina Speedway Series cyclists zoomed past her on the track.
"They're just so competitive, no matter what," she said.
Rhyne served as one of the two USA Cycling officials during the third and final races of the Twilight Points Race Series on July 15 at the Orange County Speedway.
The series was hosted by Mike Vandy, president of Flight Club, a sanctioned USA Cycling club in Raleigh.
(07/10/08 4:00am)
Student Congress usually meets over the summer months before the start of the fall semester; however, they did not last month.
"No one actually turned in a finance request," Student Congress Speaker Tim Nichols said. "If there are no finance requests, then there's no reason to meet."
The Student Congress finance committee chairman, Mike Morrill, has been overseas for the summer, so Student Body Treasurer Pedro Carreno, who served as finance chairman last year, has been keeping track of finance requests. Nichols said that Carreno has not reported any new requests.
One of the reasons that Student Congress does not meet as regularly as it does during the school year is because any legislation passed during the summer only applies for the summer. Therefore, any legislation passed will expire as soon as the fall semester begins.
Also, unlike members of the executive branch, members of Student Congress are not all in Chapel Hill over the summer, which makes holding a meeting very difficult.
Former Speaker of Congress Tyler Younts said he called a Student Congress meeting last summer only because finance requests had been submitted.
Nichols said they may have one more meeting within the next month before school begins if a group turns in a finance request.
Deborah Horne, director of the Student Activities Fund Office, said that there are no real negative effects of Student Congress not meeting if there have not been finance requests submitted.
But Student Body President J.J. Raynor said different student groups contacted her about how and when to submit finance requests for the summer. She said Student Congress usually sends out an e-mail to these student groups instructing them on how to file finance requests.
"I don't think (Student Congress) publicized well enough to student groups about how to submit finance requests," Raynor said.
Raynor said the executive branch is still waiting to hear when the next meeting will be.
Nichols said that they usually do not send out any sort of e-mail or tutorial because most student groups that require funds in the summer know how to submit finance requests. Larger student groups would submit a finance request during the summer if they wanted to pass out fliers or put on a show during orientation, he said.
Usually, Student Congress provides an informational session for student groups about how to interact with Student Congress at the beginning of the fall semester, he said.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(06/26/08 4:00am)
In the Student Union's basement, the bowling score tables have sat lonely and unused for over a year. What used to be a bowling alley has been temporarily replaced by pool and ping-pong tables and makeshift rehearsal spaces.
But eventually there will be some permanent changes, Union Director Don Luse said. After conducting some spring assessments, the Union has been working with Clearscapes, a Raleigh architecture firm, to determine a feasibility report for construction.
(06/12/08 4:00am)
Check out a photo slideshow of the event by clicking here.
RALEIGH - As he took the stage on Monday at the N.C. State Fairgrounds, Barack Obama was met with an explosion of applause and standing ovations.
(06/12/08 4:00am)
Afraid that the experience of service-learning might someday be lost, APPLES professor Rachel Willis decided to write a handbook for duplicating the impact of the program in universities across the country.
Willis has watched APPLES, or Assisting People in Planning Learning Experiences in Service, grow for almost 20 years. "Harvest from the APPLES Orchard: Reflections on Service-Learning at the Nation's First Public University" is her attempt to institutionalize that knowledge.
In the spring of 2007 she began the laborious task of collecting essays from contributors who had participated in APPLES programs.
The goal of the book is to put APPLES on the national service-learning map as the first-ever student-initiated and -led program in higher education, she said.
The book is composed of four key components. These include the history of APPLES and reflections on what APPLES has meant in the lives of students and faculty.
It also will highlight the various partnerships APPLES has created with faculty, community patrons and administrators. Finally, "Harvest" will emphasize the dynamic nature of APPLES by highlighting its strategic innovations of change.
Currently, there are 20 authors who will contribute to the book.
The goal is to have it finished by 2009 and ready to distribute in 2010, just in time for APPLES' 20th anniversary.
The hyphen between "service" and "learning" represents a balance between the two, Willis said, attributing the phrase to humanitarian Robert Sigmon.
"You should be bringing to the community what you have learned," Willis said. "It is not simply volunteerism, rather a reciprocal relationship."
After participating in an alternative Spring Break trip to New York City, senior Ben Kinattukarathadathil said he understands the difference between volunteerism and service-learning.
On the trip, students worked with patients diagnosed with terminal diseases. Kinattukarathadathil said he learned more from serving on the reflection committee after the trip.
"We got to see it from a lot of other standpoints," he said. "Everyone brings up other ideas you would have never thought of."
Willis is proud to say that many of her students who participated in APPLES through the years have gone on to do great things.
"They do amazing work that is meaningful, and it keeps coming back to UNC," she said. "We are a research institution, and we do research on what is effective on service-learning. We invented service-learning and greatly benefited from collaborating with one another."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(05/29/08 4:00am)
With the creation of a C2C bus route, the late nights of students waiting for buses running between Chapel Hill and Carrboro might be coming to an end.
Though Carrboro is only about three miles from the heart of campus, a growing student contingent traveling to and from UNC late at night has raised safety and convenience issues.
Inspired by a friend in a study session, Student Body President J.J. Raynor proposed the C2C bus route in her election platform.
A rapid transit bus, the C2C - which is short for Chapel Hill to Carrboro - will be modeled after the current Point-2-Point campus shuttle. The transit bus is designed to carry students to and from campus late at night so as to avoid biking or walking alone in the dark.
"I think it's a great initiative on J.J.'s part," first-year law student Sarah Simon said. "I would definitely use the bus to come back home late at night."
Though the J bus serves Carrboro hourly until 1 a.m., Raynor said the additional option is necessary because students complain about waiting for the bus in the evening.
Raynor said students living in Carrboro will be able to study or attend later meetings on campus without having to worry about a safe passage home.
"Especially if it runs during the week," said senior Parin Desai, who liked the idea. "Because if you stay on campus longer than usual, it is difficult to get back."
Desai said that although there is a weekend bus that runs at night, the Safe Ride JV, there is not a weekday night bus.
Raynor said that the project is very feasible, and that she already has been analyzing route options with Ray Magyar, Chapel Hill assistant director for planning and transit.
In Raynor's platform, she said the route will run from the Varsity Theatre on Franklin Street to Weaver Street Market in Carrboro. The stops also could include some of those in the P2P route.
Raynor said an express route solely dedicated for the C2C would be the most cost-efficient solution to this problem.
Because ridership is low on other Carrboro routes, Raynor advocates decreasing the number of times those buses run their routes, instead expanding the use of the new bus.
"What is so great is that we have a great relationship with the town of Chapel Hill and the Department of Public Safety," Raynor said.
Raynor also commented on the potential for the C2C to help Carrboro's economy. More students would be willing to go get dinner in Carrboro, do late-night grocery shopping or go to bars, she said.
When junior Stephen Dougherty heard about the C2C route, he immediately thought of the DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro.
"I've always wanted to go to a comedy show there, but I can't because I can't park, and it's too far to walk," he said.
Christian Mibelli, the University Services co-chairman for student government, said the branch will determine in the next month when it will be able to start the route.
Ideally, leaders are hoping to have the bus up and running by the start of the 2008-09 school year.
"We will be using student fees so we won't have to depend on the city's or the University's financial aid," Mibelli said.
After a trial year, UNC and Chapel Hill Transit will determine whether or not the bus route will be permanently written into UNC's contract.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(05/22/08 4:00am)
Lisa Carolyn Moran came from Scotland to Chapel Hill to study law and economics and enjoy the picturesque scenery of UNC's campus.
Tragically, though, her life was cut short May 15 when she was hit by a Chapel Hill Transit bus while jogging on Manning Drive near South Columbia Street.
Moran's roommate, Andrea Trotta, remembers asking Moran why she would pick Chapel Hill, of all places, to live.
"Lisa said she just got on UNC's Web site and saw how pretty it was and just fell in love with it," Trotta said. "She knew she had to go."
Trotta said she was shocked and saddened when she found out, but she said she enjoys reliving their memories together.
Though her exams ended at the beginning of May, Moran had planned to stay on so she could do some traveling.
Trotta said Moran was excited about going to New York for the first time and was also trying to book a trip to Washington, D.C.
Moran loved working out and was "very athletic despite being so tiny," Trotta said. She was a ski instructor and played squash in Scotland. The two roommates often went to the gym together, as well as UNC basketball and football games.
According to Moran's Facebook.com profile, she identified herself as "Tar Heel Faithful."
A third year law student in Scotland, Moran spent the past semester at UNC's School of Law.
"We are deeply saddened by this news," said Jack Boger, dean of the law school, in a statement.
"Our sincerest condolences go out to all of her friends and family, both here and in her native Scotland."
According to The (London) Telegraph, Moran's father, Fraser Moran, said, "Lisa was beautiful; she was fiercely intelligent, fun-loving and was having a great time in America."
Her parents, Fraser and Carolyn Moran, travelled from Scotland to Chapel Hill to bring their daughter's body home.
Fraser Moran went on to say what a terrible loss it was. "She was at the peak of her powers," he is quoted in the article.
Her funeral will be held Friday with her family in Paisley, Scotland.
After an investigation into the accident concluded Tuesday, police found that Moran had tried to cross the street where there was not a designated crosswalk.
She also had been wearing her iPod headphones while she was jogging, which might have kept her from hearing the approaching bus.
Captain Jackie Carden concluded that "Ms. Moran lost her footing, causing her to eventually slide under the bus."
Moran was taken to UNC Hospitals, where she later died.
No charges are being filed against the bus driver, though he was placed on paid leave as per standard Chapel Hill Transit procedure after an accident.
Moran's death, along with other pedestrian accidents in the area, have led local enforcers to search for new ways to improve pedestrian safety.
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(05/15/08 4:00am)
Slideshow: Commencement
Multicolored umbrellas shielding the new UNC graduates interrupted the usual sea of Carolina blue at Sunday's commencement.
The poor weather initially created some confusion among UNC administrators, graduates and parents. The ceremony, scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m., was pushed back to 10 a.m.