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(10/23/07 4:00am)
UNC-Charlotte student government's use of university resources to influence a Mecklenburg County ballot initiative has sparked further-reaching debate about university involvement in municipal politics.
UNC-Charlotte's Student Government Association has come under fire for using its student-fee-funded Web site to oppose the repeal of a Mecklenburg County transit tax, which Student Body President Justin Ritchie says is the main source of funding for public buses that many students rely on.
(10/12/07 4:00am)
A clinical research company's decision to base its expansion in Wake County - rather than proposed locations in Texas and Pennsylvania - will impact the economy there in a big way.
INC Research, which specializes in pharmaceutical and biotechnology development programs, announced its decision this week. The expansion will bring 1,093 new jobs to the area and generate $19.2 million in capital investment during the next four years for Wake County.
A state incentive grant cemented the company's choice of Wake County, said Brenda Muldrow, customer relations vice president for INC Research.
Other factors included the proximity of INC Research's headquarters in Raleigh and easy access to community colleges, universities and a skilled work force, she said.
"When we looked at the competition, North Carolina just had the best package for us."
The state has been pushing recently to grow the economy through incentives packages and funding research initiatives.
Jobs will be created in a variety of areas, including management, clinical research, finance, data management and biostatistics. The company employs 362 N.C. workers.
Much of the capital investment will go toward leasing property and purchasing equipment in Wake County, as there are no plans for construction, she said.
The wages for INC Research jobs also will be an economic boost - the average wage for the new positions is $62,690 a year, compared to the county average of about $35,672.
That boon to the employment, investment and wage sectors of the economy is the reason that INC Research was awarded the state's Job Development Investment Grant, which provides annual funds for new and expanding businesses in North Carolina.
The JDIG is awarded by the Economic Investment Committee, a five-member body that is part of the N.C. Department of Commerce.
It is the 66th such award since the program began in 2002.
The grant provides annual funds as long as companies remain on-schedule with their performance targets in job creation, investment and wages, said Deborah Barnes, N.C. Department of Commerce spokeswoman.
Most of the funds go to the company, but about 25 percent of the money goes toward infrastructure improvements in the state's least prosperous counties, she said.
The committee found that even if the company receives its full grant payment, the state still will gain about $5 million by the time the JDIG expires.
"We never give a JDIG that will cost the state more than it will gain," Barnes said.
"They must have considered it a good investment."
Customized training provided by the N.C. Community College System also attracted the company's interest, Barnes said.
The community college system works with new and expanding companies to provide training programs tailored to their needs, said Audrey Bailey, spokeswoman for the system.
"It really enhances the agreement with the company to locate or grow."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/26/07 4:00am)
Billionaire entrepreneur David Murdock announced a $35 million donation Monday to fund a Duke University medical study taking place at the N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis.
The record-breaking donation will supplement the $1 billion that Murdock, owner of Dole Food Co., has already invested in the campus.
The $35 million will help create a database for tracking human health and disease, a project called the Measurement to Understand the Reclassification of Disease of Cabarrus and Kannapolis - an acronym for the donor's name.
The MURDOCK study, spurred by Murdock's friendship with a Duke scientist and by the loss of his wife to cancer, is expected to have a significant impact in the medical field, said Victoria Christian of the Duke Translational Medicine Institute.
North Carolina will reap health and economic benefits from this campus and, by extension, Murdock's financial support, she said.
"I think that the state of North Carolina is going to be like a laboratory community," she said. "They'll be the first to experience any improvements in health care delivery."
The campus has lured other companies and industries to Kannapolis, said mayor Bob Misenheimer.
Misenheimer said the city resembles Research Triangle Park before the technology boom and could be a similarly profitable economic hub.
"Business persons aren't in business for their health," Misenheimer said of Murdock's investments. "They're looking to make money."
Land value has already increased in Kannapolis, he said, which will guarantee Murdock financial returns on the large amount of property there in his name. Each UNC-system university at the campus will pay rent on their facilities, along with new residents and retail store owners.
One of Murdock's companies, Castle & Cooke Inc., is in charge of construction at the rapidly growing campus.
Murdock's investment in the research campus could transform the entire state's economy, said Michael Walden, professor of economics at N.C. State University.
"The facility in Kannapolis represents an effort to move the North Carolina economy into the biotech field, which will help us replace jobs we've been losing in our traditional manufacturing," he said.
"To have someone like David Murdock involved gives the project a tremendous amount of knowledge, wisdom and credibility."
Misenheimer said Murdock's fame greased negotiations with the UNC system and N.C. General Assembly to secure supplemental state funding for the research campus.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/21/07 4:00am)
Two $1 million federal grants awarded to N.C. community colleges this week could jump-start growth in two rural communities.
The funds are expected to make rural North Carolina more attractive to greater numbers of professionals, particularly in the health care field, who normally would gravitate to the state's urban areas.
The grants, funded by the U.S. Economic Development Administration, were given to Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory and to the city of Laurinburg, which has partnered with Richmond Community College.
"North Carolina is becoming a state of the haves and have-nots," said Laurinburg City Manager Craig Honeycutt. "The influx of grant money and the influx of new educational facilities is huge for our community."
The grants will fund innovative programs aimed at retaining locals and attracting others from across the state.
Rural communities have an especially hard time attracting health care professionals and other industries because they are not experiencing the same rapid growth as the state's urban areas, said Billy Ray Hall, N.C. Rural Center president.
"This is a timely grant for the people in our state who need health services, as well as those people who desperately need a job," he said.
Grant-funded projects are expected to create 859 new jobs and generate more than $123 million in private investment in Hickory. The Laurinburg area could see 230 new jobs and more than $27 million in private investment.
Honeycutt said growth in Scotland County, home to Laurinburg, has been flat compared to more urban areas such as Chapel Hill.
Scotland County, which has the highest unemployment and tax rates in the state, is struggling to train its workers and to attract new ones for what industry has not already left, said Rep. Douglas Yongue, D-Scotland.
"We're just desperate for some training and retraining to attract new industry."
Right now the community college closest to Laurinburg is Richmond, about 20 miles away.
The new campus, a satellite of Richmond, should make it easier for Laurinburg citizens to obtain the training they need for employment.
The federal money will be used to fund job training centers at both community colleges. Catawba Valley's will be a simulated hospital intended solely for the training of health professionals, who are in short supply across North Carolina.
"Our state is having a tremendous shortage in nursing and a number of other areas," said Garrett Hinshaw, president of the college. "This initiative will assist them as the shortage continues to grow."
The Catawba Valley facility is scheduled to open in Hickory, already home to two major hospitals and a number of private practices, in fall 2009.
Laurinburg construction will include nursing and industrial training facilities.
The industrial facilities are slated to be versatile and to cater to the needs of the county's existing and potential industries.
"We want to, with this facility, have the flexibility to cater to any industry that would like to come to Scotland County," Yongue said.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/19/07 4:00am)
RALEIGH - The N.C. National Guard celebrated its 60th birthday Tuesday, and guardsmen at the event acknowledged their role in the heightened N.C. military commitment since Sept. 11, 2001.
Most of the current Army and Air guardsmen have enlisted since the beginning of the War on Terror and said they are aware of their increased chance of deployment.
"The recruits we have today fully understand what they're joining," said Maj. Matthew Handley, state public affairs officer for the N.C. Army National Guard.
"They have a very high level of commitment. ... There's a higher level of patriotism."
About 16 N.C. guardsmen are scheduled to mobilize next week. They will go to Afghanistan to train and advise the Afghan army.
First Sgt. Ronald Judson is one of the men in that group. He said he is looking forward to the mission - preparing Afghan soldiers to assume more military responsibility so that fewer American troops are necessary.
"Our job will help bring everybody home," he said.
More than 11,000 N.C. guardsmen have been deployed since the Sept. 11 attacks - some of them more than once. About 700 are waiting in mobilization stations across the country for deployment to Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. And one Army military police company is in Baghdad now.
The N.C. National Guard has about 11,500 soldiers total - 10,000 in the Army and 1,500 in the Air Force.
Handley said the majority of N.C. guardsmen who have been deployed overseas have gone to Iraq. The rest have gone to Afghanistan, Kuwait or the Balkans. Many have stayed stateside on security, maintenance and personnel missions.
"This is the most experienced National Guard that we've had since World War II," Handley said, citing the high number of active veterans created by the many deployments.
And that experience has translated into their civilian lives.
Judson said he has used techniques and training learned during deployment to manage the men under his direction at the electrical contracting company he works for.
Civilian communities throughout the state have been supportive of the National Guard, Handley said.
"North Carolina is very understanding of what the military men and women and families experience, and they're ready to support that."
Handley said that encouragement has made guardsmen especially eager to serve their communities.
Judson said that sense of service turned what started as a six-year enlistment into a career that he enjoys.
"I like the duality of being a citizen-soldier," he said.
Guardsmen say they develop strong bonds from their common roots in North Carolina and because of the immense amount of time they spend together.
"It's a brotherhood that no matter what, the person's got your back," said Capt. Joseph Joyner, N.C. National Guard deputy state public affairs officer.
Judson agreed, equating the guard to both a fraternity and his family because of the camaraderie and trust that develop.
"Once you get into it, it's hard to leave."
Contact the State and National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/12/07 4:00am)
Federal prison inmates are finding their chapel library shelves a bit emptier lately, and some are fighting against what they claim is a limit on their religious freedom.
Two New York inmates have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Bureau of Prisons for its Standardized Chapel Library Project, which is designed to eliminate religious books and other materials that "discriminate, disparage, radicalize or advocate violence," bureau spokeswoman Tracy Billingsley said.
"We want to make sure that our institution chapels don't have holdings that do any of those things," she said.
The bureau created a list containing at least 150 books, audio or video deemed acceptable for each major religion, Billingsley said. Those materials will return to the shelves by Sept. 30, and a review board composed of religious experts is looking into whether other texts also are acceptable.
If an inmate wants a book not on the approved list, he can buy it provided it passes a separate screening process administered on a case-by-case basis, she said.
The Otisville, N.Y., inmates, one Christian and one Jewish, claimed in their suit that the bureau violated religious freedoms guaranteed by the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
That act states that the government must be minimally restrictive in their policies that affect inmates' religious freedoms, said Solomon Klein, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
Religious freedoms include the inmates' right to study, pray and learn about their faith.
"By banning all books not on this particular list, inmates cannot learn about their religion or study texts important to their faith," he said. "Their ability to pray has also been restricted by this policy."
N.C. prisons have not followed suit in creating a standardized list of acceptable materials but have had a review process for years, said Keith Acree, public affairs director for the N.C. Department of Correction.
"We think what we've got works."
State prisons have an ongoing list of unacceptable publications, and inmates can appeal any materials that have been rejected.
Acree said N.C. prisons don't have their own chapel libraries; religious texts are usually available through personal collections that chaplains have built through donations, gifts and other means.
"We train our chaplains to know what's appropriate," he said.
Pornographic, overtly violent or gang-related materials are more commonly banned than religiously extremist texts, Acree said.
"I don't know that we've ever had a ban on anything radically Islamic," he said. "Practice of religion is something that inmates in prisons have a right to."
UNC law professor Michael Gerhardt said some kind of evidentiary support is necessary for the claim that these texts endanger national security. He said the case is likely to end in a compromise that would more clearly define the government's power to ban material.
"I wouldn't be surprised by a ruling that would require a more narrowly tailored solution," he said.
"It might depend on the particular people who are being denied this and why the government might be suspicious of their access to such books."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(08/29/07 4:00am)
Gov. Mike Easley, Sen. Marc Basnight and Speaker Joe Hackney met Tuesday afternoon to discuss the state's pressing transportation needs, heeding calls to improve roads, highways and bridges throughout North Carolina.
The meeting focused on the importance of identifying and prioritizing those needs and broached the question of what avenue would be best for addressing them.
"Today's meeting was just to discuss how they might get their hands around this problem," said Bill Holmes, Hackney's spokesman.
"Until you know the scope, range and cost of bringing roads and bridges and transportation in general up to a certain standard, there's really not much you can do."
Easley, Hackney and Basnight agreed that the first step is taking stock of what the state's transportation needs are, Holmes said, and they discussed the establishment of a study group that would include members of the legislature, the Department of Transportation and other groups.
"The tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota highlighted bridge safety as an issue," said Schorr Johnson, communications director for Basnight.
He cited Bonner Bridge, which connects Hatteras Island to the mainland, as one project in dire need of attention. It received a score of two out of 100 in a bridge safety assessment, he said.
Bonner Bridge is the only means of accessing Hatteras Island by car and is used by about three million people each year, Johnson added.
Holmes said the Department of Transportation has already started examining the state's bridges.
"That is a priority right now."
Other aspects of transportation needs yet to be addressed are the amount and source of money necessary to fund improvements.
Holmes said those figures will be known once transportation needs, and a means of addressing them, are identified more specifically.
At UNC-Chapel Hill, reconciling accessibility with construction and environmental concerns dominates the transportation agenda, said Department of Public Safety spokesman Randy Young.
"I think our main priority right now is to maintain accessibility for the campus while also prioritizing campus development and concerns for the ecology," he said.
The department also has focused on decreasing the demand for parking by making alternatives to cars more attractive through prioritizing of fare-free transit, park-and-ride lots and pedestrian safety, he said.
Young said the only roads DPS is responsible for are Stadium Drive and Skipper Bowles Drive, and no one has complained about either.
Construction around campus has affected roads, Young said, but DPS is working to ensure that no roads are completely blocked and that people are inconvenienced as little as possible.
"We are trying to maintain traffic flow on campus because of the start of football season and students being back on campus," he said.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(08/28/07 4:00am)
It's common knowledge that exercise can improve physical fitness, but recent studies have increased support for the idea that exercise also can improve mental fitness.
"With humans, exercise improves memory and attention," said Art Kramer, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Kramer leads an ongoing study that's found that exercise can increase brain tissue and the efficiency of mental processes in adults.
Dr. Greg Tuttle, a UNC clinical and sports medicine physician, said he's not surprised by the findings.
He cited exercise's effect in increasing blood flow, brain cell formation and the release of certain chemicals.
"I've been a believer of this for many, many years, prior to any particular studies that have come out," he said. "I think unequivocally that exercise, both aerobic and anaerobic, does improve cognitive function - memory, recall, speed of function."
Tuttle said he has observed that some athletes at UNC have noticed academic improvements with any increase in physical activity.
"What they'll say is that sometimes they tend to have their best semesters. Sometimes they'll come out doing better grade-wise when they're physically engaged."
The positive impact isn't limited to varsity-level sports, he said. Many students who participate in athletics at a club or intramural level experience the same mental benefits.
Lindley Barrow, a sophomore environmental studies major on the UNC varsity rowing team, noticed an improvement in her academic performance after joining the team.
But she said she couldn't be sure if the academic improvement was due to the increase in exercise or the habits it prompted.
"I did realize that I was much more awake for classes, especially in the morning," she said.
Tuttle cautioned that devoting too much time to exercise and not enough to school will negate the positive effects of physical activity.
"There has to be a balance of activity to see a positive result in cognitive function," he said.
There have been studies on the link between exercise and human cognition for 20 or 30 years now, Kramer said.
"I think this is more evidence that the choices we make in life, be it exercise or diet or being intellectually engaged, has pretty strong implications for how we function as humans and how our brains function," he said.
The link between exercise and brain function opens new areas of inquiry, Kramer said, such as the amount of exercise necessary to improve mental function and the age at which exercise offers the greatest benefits.
"We would also like to understand how different lifestyle choices interact - can you offset a bad diet with exercise?" he said, adding that the cause and effect of different bodily functions during exercise is still largely uncertain.
"We just don't know all of the mechanisms at play."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(08/22/07 4:00am)
As construction advances on the 350-acre, self-contained N.C. Research Campus in Kannapolis, plans for UNC-system facilities and research edge closer to realization.
Officials expect the UNC-Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute's facility to be complete as early as April.
In the meantime, institute leaders are working to engage the local community, which was hit hard by textile-industry layoffs in 2003, and to recruit top-notch faculty.
"The research institute is only as good as the talent we hire," said Jana Harrison, NRI deputy director for research administration. "Getting the word out about these openings is of the utmost importance. We want to demonstrate to potential faculty what we have available and why they should come here."
Harrison said she hopes the synergy presented by the partnership between N.C. universities and the research campus will attract high-caliber faculty.
"That provides a whole new collaborative environment that isn't going to be available elsewhere."
A large portion of the $16.5 million set aside for the research campus by the N.C. General Assembly will go toward faculty salaries.
Steve Leath, vice president of research for the UNC system, said that the legislature's 2007-08 allocation will meet immediate needs but that he hopes for more funding during the next few years.
"We're OK right now, and we hope it will grow as the campus grows," he said.
Most of the ambitious construction program is running on or slightly ahead of schedule, said Tom Sanctis, vice president of commercial construction for Castle & Cooke Inc., the construction company leading the project.
"It's the amount of programming and pre-construction work that we basically flew through," he said.
"We are working at an extremely accelerated pace."
The David H. Murdock Core Laboratory Building's external structure was slated to finish in February and will instead be completed in January. The building will provide laboratory space for all of the universities and some of the private companies affiliated with the research campus, Sanctis said.
Leath said UNC-system buildings will begin opening this spring.
The first of those buildings to be completed will house laboratory space for N.C. Agricultural & Technical State and N.C. Central universities, UNC-CH and UNC-Greensboro.
N.C. State's laboratory building will be done one or two months after the UNC-CH facility.
Karen Whichard, communications director for Kannapolis, said the project has prompted major improvements to town infrastructure and collaboration between the community and the research campus.
"So much of the project is dependent on the two working together," she said.
Many Kannapolis residents will benefit from a career-training center meant specifically to prepare local citizens for campus work, Whichard said.
"That's a big part of the research campus - how is it that we can be of benefit to the broader community?" Harrison said.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(04/19/07 4:00am)
Wednesday's topping-off ceremony celebrated the achievement of a construction milestone for the UNC-Chapel Hill Nutrition Research Institute at Kannapolis.
The ceremony marked the completion of the building's steel skeleton, bringing the faacility one step closer to its February opening.
The NRI is part of the N.C. Research Campus, a community being built in Kannapolis that is the combined effort of six UNC-system schools, Duke University and the N.C. Community College System.
NRI Director Steven Zeisel said that a main focus right now is faculty recruitment, which will begin officially on July 1.
"Our next step is to get the great minds to come to campus."
The NRI is using faculty to pursue an innovative research approach, he said. Scientists of different disciplines will work together to address a common research focus.
"The team will be able to attack questions from many different disciplines," he said. "We think that this is the new way to do science."
NRI's nutritional research focuses are brain development, obesity and cancer prevention, said Jana Harrison, NRI deputy director.
Administrators also are exploring grant opportunities to fund the projects that NRI faculty members will be pursuing, although some might come with existing grants, she said.
Zeisel, also the associate dean for research at the UNC-CH School of Public Health, said other administrative projects include budget planning, development of a strategic plan and communication with other universities involved with the campus.
"My job is to help make a cohesive team out of all the people down here," he said.
Collaboration on the research campus between the schools - Duke, UNC-CH, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Charlotte and N.C. State, N.C. Central and N.C. Agricultural & Technical State universities - is unique, said Karen Whichard, Kannapolis marketing director.
"You don't find any towns where seven universities decide to put a physical presence in that town at the same time," she said.
Zeisel said this kind of interaction between universities, community and state is something new.
"It's an experiment to see how the university can reach out to the rest of the state," he said.
The city of Kannapolis is just as optimistic about the implications of the research campus's completion, Whichard said.
"It's going to be very new for Kannapolis, and I think we're all very excited," she said.
"You don't find anything like this anywhere else."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/28/07 4:00am)
The UNC system already is big, but it's about to get bigger - about 80,000 students bigger.
The projected enrollment for UNC-system schools in 2017 is about 281,000 students, said Alan Mabe, vice president for academic planning for the UNC system.
That is a 39-percent increase from current enrollment of about 202,000.
The University of Arizona, a peer institution for UNC-Chapel Hill, also is expecting general and minority enrollment growth, said Patti Ota, vice president for enrollment management. The university's enrollment projection in 2010 is about a 16-percent increase in freshman students.
Much of the growth for both UA and the UNC system will come from a burgeoning Latino population.
"Because of the demographics in Arizona, we would expect Hispanics to be the most rapidly increasing," Ota said.
The future jump in UNC-system students also is accompanied by a projected increase in Latino N.C. public high-school graduates.
Thirty-three percent of 2006 high-school graduates were minorities. In 2020, that number is expected to climb to 57 percent. Latinos alone are expected to make up 32,000 of graduates in that year.
"The main point is there is a growing number of Hispanics in North Carolina, and in turn there will be a growing number of Hispanic high-school graduates," Mabe said.
At the UNC-system Board of Governors meeting on March 15, system President Erskine Bowles stressed the importance of accommodating the rapid growth of student numbers. "These are startling numbers," he said.
He warned that the state risks creating a "permanent underclass."
Preliminary suggestions made at the meeting for accommodating the growth include an increase in online education, full funding for summer sessions, campus expansion, the creation of branch campuses and flexibility for high-school students taking college courses.
Ota said that the biggest challenge will be providing enough classes for students without relying too heavily on online education.
Not all universities' enrollment numbers are climbing though.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison has made an effort to keep enrollment growth minimal.
"We try to either have controlled growth or maintain the status quo with our enrollment to avoid any fluctuations," said Brian Mattmiller, spokesman for UW-Madison.
Although the school does not create projections for general or minority increases, Mattmiller said that diversity still is an important goal for the campus.
"That is a top priority at our institution."
Senior writer Eric Johnson contributed to this article.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(03/22/07 4:00am)
Gubernatorial hopeful Robert Orr's presence Wednesday at the release of poll results is further evidence that the campaign for N.C. governor in 2008 already is well under way.
The poll surveying voter trends was conducted by the John William Pope Civitas Institute.
Orr, a former state Supreme Court justice, resigned last week from his post as executive director of the N.C. Institute for Constitutional Law so that he could focus on his campaign.
"This is not a campaign where we're telling people what the solutions are," said Orr, a Republican.
"I'm not so presumptuous to think I've got all the answers. I want the best and brightest ideas flowing into our campaign."
Orr is one of five gubernatorial hopefuls who already have political committees in place through which they can receive campaign donations.
The Civitas Institute, a conservative policy organization, has invited four candidates in addition to Orr to speak at the institute's monthly events, said Dennis Parker, communication director at the institute.
Republican hopeful Sen. Fred Smith of Johnston County spoke last month, and political novice Republican Bill Graham is slated to address the institute in April.
Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue and State Treasurer Richard Moore, both Democratic hopefuls, declined their invitations to speak to Civitas.
The main differences between this campaign and past campaigns is that there is no incumbent and the candidates have a lot more money than they have had in the past, said Andrew Taylor, professor of political science at N.C. State University.
Taylor also found fundamental differences between the campaigns for the Republican and Democratic nominations.
"Both races are wide open, but for different reasons," he said of the chances of each candidate.
Taylor said the campaign for the Republican nomination has no clear front-runners and could be open to other candidates.
"The Republicans are looking for someone who will blow things open, who will really catch on, because there are a tremendous number of Republican voters who are undecided," he said.
Perdue's and Moore's political experience, he said, likely would deter any other Democratic candidates from trying their luck.
"The Democratic race looks very, very tight," Taylor said. "Ideologically it's difficult to tell the difference between them."
Ethics and government corruption likely are to be important in the election, he said.
Graham's decision to run was prompted by his desire to increase accountability in ethics, said Andy Lancaster, campaign spokesman.
"You know, it's time to clean up government, and it's time to clean up leadership."
Graham, a Salisbury attorney, is the only hopeful who has not held public office before. His committee is gathering feedback now, and Graham will make a formal announcement this spring if the feedback is positive, Lancaster said.
Orr was similarly motivated to run.
"We've got to look at how we can make government more open, more accessible to the people, and instill a higher degree of ethics and openness to the process," Orr said.
All candidates must file for office by February 2008 and the primary will be held the following May, said Don Wright, general counsel of the N.C. State Board of Elections.
To receive campaign donations and make campaign expenditures, hopefuls must have a political committee in place, he said.
All five hopefuls have committees in place.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Governor hopefuls
Bill Graham
Republican
Practicing attorney from Harnett County
Robert Orr
Republican
Former state Supreme Court justice
Fred Smith
Republican
N.C. Sen., Johnston County
Richard Moore
Democrat
State
Treasurer
Beverly Perdue
Democrat
N.C. Lt.
Governor
(01/31/07 5:00am)
High-school graduates nationwide have a shot at free or reduced tuition, and N.C. programs reflect the trend.
Guilford County Schools and Greene Central High School each have developed programs to provide funding to cover college tuition costs. Others exist in Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Oklahoma.
Guilford County Schools announced a plan last week to pay for two years of tuition at Guilford Technical Community College.
Superintendent Terry Grier said that the program is aimed at students who don't see a reason to complete high school, and that it could convince these students and their families that continuing education would benefit them.
The county now is exploring finance options for its program, which would cost roughly $2,400 for each student who participates.
Students must graduate from a county high school and be accepted to the community college to receive the scholarship.
"This would improve the economic condition of Guilford County and provide a well-educated community and well-educated workforce," Grier said.
Greene Central High School's program - which is in its second year - is more expansive, covering all freshman-year expenses at any UNC-system school, local community college or local university for Greene Central graduates.
Known as "College for Everyone," Greene Central's program results from collaboration with presidential hopeful John Edwards.
"We hope that this program will enable our students to see beyond the high-school setting," said Randy Bledsoe, Greene Central High School principal.
N.C. programs reflect the goal of several other scholarships across the nation - making higher education a reality for all students.
Kalamazoo Public Schools in Michigan and El Dorado High School in Arkansas developed programs to provide free tuition to any public state school for four years.
"We want to maximize the education they get and minimize the debt they have to acquire to obtain that education," said Bob Jorth, executive administrator of the Kalamazoo Promise.
In Arkansas, the El Dorado Promise will give the graduating class of 2007 a full ride to any state school. The program was announced last week.
El Dorado High School senior Emily Turbeville said people cried and cheered when the program was announced at a school assembly.
"We were in shock because it was huge and just completely unexpected."
LeBryant Crew, a senior at El Dorado High School, said he and others initially were skeptical.
"They couldn't believe they were getting paid just for graduating. This is one of the biggest opportunities anybody could receive in a lifetime."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
Similar scholarships in other states
Georgia Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally Scholarship:
Who: Students who graduate from high school with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 from a college-preparatory school, a 3.2 from a technical or career school and are Georgia residents.
What: Full tuition, approved mandatory fees and a $300 book allowance to enroll at a Georgia public university or $3,000 per year to attend a private university.
Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program:
Who: Students with 3.5 weighted GPA, 75 hours of community
service and test scores of 1270 on the SAT or 28 on the ACT.
What: Full tuition at a Florida public university and $300 for college-related expenses or an amount equaling 100 percent of average tuition at a Florida public university toward a private university.
(01/17/07 5:00am)
DURHAM - Faculty, staff and students gathered Tuesday for a memorial honoring Denita Smith, a N.C. Central University graduate student killed earlier this month.
Smith, 25, was shot in her apartment complex Jan. 4. Shannon Crawley, a former 911 dispatcher, was charged with the murder.
The memorial service was held in the B.N. Duke Auditorium on the N.C. Central campus. Speakers praised her positive attitude and campus involvement.
A slide show was played of Smith's work as a photographer for the Campus Echo, N.C. Central's student newspaper.
"She was a true photographer. She never gave up," said Romy Camille, editor-in-chief of the newspaper, in his speech.
Camille announced that the Campus Echo staff soon will rename the newsroom in Smith's honor.
Smith was pursuing a master's degree in English and would have graduated in May.
Michele Ware, professor of English at N.C. Central, said the loss will be felt.
"Denita was always smiling. She was always cheerful," Ware said.
"We feel robbed."
Many students expressed bewilderment at the murder because of Smith's kind nature.
"Because of who she was, it was a shock," said Venus Boston, an undergraduate classmate.
"I wondered who could do such a thing to such a nice person."
The university community was horrified when it heard she was dead, Ware said.
"When we heard she was murdered, it was even worse."
Crawley was arrested Jan. 9 in Greensboro and is being held in Durham County Jail without bond. Her trial is set to begin Feb. 1.
The police have not released information regarding Crawley's motive, citing the ongoing investigation, but said in a press release that it does not appear to be a random act of violence.
The murder took place at Campus Crossings Apartments, a complex operated by N.C. Central and which houses about 500 of its students.
Security at the apartments has been heightened since Smith's death.
Students and faculty say that the incident still is of great concern on campus.
"Because we know so little, it's still a matter of public discussion," Ware said.
The campus is just trying to cope, she said.
"We're a small enough school that everyone feels like family."
Boston, as well as speakers during the service, promised that Smith's death will have a lasting impact.
"This is an issue they're going to be talking about for a while," Boston said of students at the University. "They're not just going to drop it.
"It raises awareness that at any moment your life can be taken from you."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(01/12/07 5:00am)
President Bush's announcement Wednesday night that more than 20,000 additional American troops will be deployed to Iraq will have a direct effect on N.C. troops.
The 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade, based at Fort Bragg, will be the first in the nation to deploy to the region. The 3,500 troops have been in Kuwait.
About 150 soldiers from the division also were deployed to Afghanistan on Thursday.
The 2nd Brigade returned in December only to learn of its January redeployment, well in advance of Bush's announcement, said Miriam Mulholland, who lives on the base and whose son is a soldier in the brigade.
"As somebody that's been around the army for a pretty long time, I'm used to going with new orders and hoping that the people in charge know that they have a plan in place that will be a good one."
Army families can only hope that the plan to stabilize the country will succeed, she said.
Joseph Glatthaar, chairman of the curriculum in Peace, War and Defense at UNC, said additional soldiers will boost the performance of the Iraqi troops but perhaps not enough to secure the country.
"The object is to get the Iraqi army to stand on its own, and it may do so with U.S. presence, but I am not confident it will work long-term."
Mark Crescenzi, a UNC professor of political science, said an increase of 20,000 troops is not large enough to have a noticeable impact on the conflict.
The 82nd Airborne has undergone training geared specifically toward counterinsurgency fighting, Marshall Pesta, of the division's public affairs department, said.
"They learned a lot about the culture - what they'll be seeing over in a foreign land."
Pesta said the soldiers will play a role in securing neighborhoods in Baghdad and around the country.
But there's little reason for optimism regarding the Iraqi public's reaction to more American troops, Crescenzi said.
"There is lots of suspicion. We're dealing with a huge city and a huge population," he said. "Securing Baghdad is a monumental problem."
Bush said he plans to put more Iraqi troops on the ground in Baghdad and anticipates that Iraqi and American troops will have greater access to neighborhoods that were previously restricted.
Glatthaar expressed doubts that the increase in Iraqi forces would be effective.
"Various groups have infiltrated the Iraqi troops being trained who have loyalties to groups other than the Iraqi government."
Glatthaar said that when troops move in, the insurgents clear out. Once the troops leave, the insurgents move back in.
"The insurgents have time on their side. They can wait out the U.S."
Bush also announced plans for reconstruction and the strengthening of the Iraqi government's infrastructure, adding that local governments plan to assume responsibility for all provinces by November 2007.
Those efforts are long overdue, Glatthaar said.
Finally, Bush promised to end Iran's and Syria's support for the insurgency, something both Glatthaar and Crescenzi said was improbable.
"I don't think he has the capability of accomplishing it. We have no leverage over Iran and Syria," Glatthaar said.
"Iran's dominant strategy is to make Iraq unstable as long as possible," Crescenzi said. "The more the U.S. has to focus on Iraq, the less it can focus on Iran."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(11/20/06 5:00am)
A new kind of war on terror emerged earlier this week when the U.S. Congress passed the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act.
The legislation makes it a criminal act to harass or intimidate researchers who use animals in their experiments. It also protects researchers' family and friends.
The bill defines terrorism as intentionally causing fear of death or injury, said Gail O'Connor, deputy press secretary for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.
Feinstein and U.S. Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., co-sponsored the bipartisan legislation.
"There is a much stronger statement now in our legal system as far as what constitutes terrorist attacks," said Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and economic development at UNC.
An undercover investigator from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals infiltrated the UNC labs in 2001, Waldrop said.
She later alleged that UNC labs failed to follow the National Institute of Health's regulations.
Although Waldrop said he does not classify any of PETA's undercover actions as terrorism, this bill will provide a greater sense of security among researchers.
However, not everyone supports the new legislation.
"It's a desperate, transparent attempt by animal exploitation industries to try to thwart growing protests and opposition to their practices with these animals," said Jeff Kerr, general counsel for PETA.
He also said he found fault with the use of the word terrorism in the bill, adding that peaceful protest is important to protect.
"I think it's an outrageous use of the label terrorism, especially post 9-11, in an effort to try and scare people by calling aggressive social protest and debate something that it's not," Kerr said.
He said that PETA does not advocate violent protest, and that laws already in place sufficiently penalize violent behavior.
O'Connor said the bill recognizes that picketing and public demonstrations are not terrorist acts.
"The threats we are addressing are threats that go far beyond the freedom of expression."
There were incidents in California where researchers and people affiliated with them were threatened or had their lives put in danger, O'Connor said.
Animal Liberation Front claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing earlier this year of the home of a researcher in the University of California at Los Angeles psychology department, said Judy Lin, spokeswoman for media relations at UCLA.
The Molotov cocktail, which accidentally was planted at the house of the researcher's neighbor, failed to detonate.
Another researcher at UCLA has since suspended his work because he was concerned for his family's safety, Lin said.
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(11/10/06 5:00am)
Two months after the board of trustees at Randolph-Macon Woman's College voted to make the school coeducational, students, alumni and administrators remain uncertain about how to move forward.
The decision to admit men led to protests, student applications for transfer and two lawsuits.
Tawnya Ravy, student government president, said that the initial anger from students has subsided, and that now they are more nervous than angry about the impending changes.
"The atmosphere is one of anxiety - some discontent, but mostly anxiety," she said.
R-MWC spokesman Dave Blount said the school hopes the students will embrace the change and stand by the school.
"This is a great and exciting direction that we're going," he said. "Naturally we want our students to stay."
Attention on campus has shifted from protesting the decision to adapting to the changes it heralds, Ravy said.
A campus group that was initially responsible for organizing protests and other ways of combating the decision now plans to play a crucial role in implementing the new policy.
"Our goal is to try and preserve women's education as much as possible, even if it's in a coed setting," said Ravy, who is a member of the group created to preserve single-sex education at R-MWC, the Coalition to Preserve Women's Education.
"I am trying to make the best of the situation," she added.
Despite the school's decision to proceed with implementing the new policies, problems remain.
The school is embroiled in two lawsuits. The first, filed Oct. 6 by nine current R-MWC students, accuses the school of breach of contract. A second lawsuit was filed Nov. 2 by students and alumni.
That suit contends that using school assets to fund education for both sexes is a violation of R-MWC's charter, which named women's education as its primary purpose before the decision.
Many students said they are considering transferring to other women's colleges.
Three R-MWC students already have applied for transfers to Sweet Briar College, a women's college in Virginia, for the spring semester, said Ken Huus, dean of admissions at Sweet Briar.
Two of those women cited R-MWC's decision to go coed as their reason for transferring, he said.
Sweet Briar received 20 to 30 additional inquiries about transferring. The number of spring semester transfers from R-MWC averages at about 12 students in a typical semester, Huus said.
Meredith College and Agnes Scott College also have received an unusually high number of transfer inquiries from R-MWC students.
Both single-sex schools have increased enrollment the past few years, admissions officers said.
Blount cited declining enrollment and higher demand for financial aid as reasons for financial difficulties that led to the decision to go coed.
"This is a very hard market for single-sex colleges," Blount said. "Randolph-Macon is unwilling to sacrifice academic excellence to remain single-sex."
The school was using endowment money to provide the tuition discounts students were demanding, he said.
"Ten years down the road, that would lead to financial ruin. We're not in crisis, but we can see crisis down the road."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(10/27/06 4:00am)
The upcoming elections are making state and national politicians think twice about the words coming out of their mouths.
On Monday President George Bush abandoned the phrase "stay the course" in an attempt to stress to voters the administration's flexibility on the war in Iraq.
Political language also was present during recent debates on campus.
Andrew Reynolds, UNC professor of political science, said language is the way governments spin their policies to the electorate.
"It is a powerful tool for winning elections and maintaining public opinion in office," he said.
Both the Democratic and Republican parties rely on the use of slogans and loaded language to attract voters.
"Messaging and framing are extremely important to politics," said Schorr Johnson, communications director for the N. C. Democratic Party.
"Voters want to hear people talking about their values. They want to hear people running for offices say what issues they're for or against and what they stand for."
Bill Peaslee, chief of staff for the N.C. Republican Party, said catchphrases run the risk of oversimplifying issues but are necessary in the modern political realm.
"In today's busy society, you have a relatively short time to communicate a message to the group of targeted voters," he said.
"It is a necessary evil."
Johnson said that N.C. Democrats are emphasizing a new direction and that traditionally they shy away from oversimplifying issues.
"People aren't looking for bumper-sticker solutions to the problems we have," he said.
Johnson cited the "stay the course" slogan that the Bush administration recently abandoned.
"They are abandoning it because the Democrats have been saying for months, 'What's your plan? Stay the course isn't a plan.'"
Peaslee said phrases such as "cut and run," in reference to the Democratic Party's lack of a decisive plan for Iraq, and "family values," in reference to Republican morality, are important communication tools.
"Family values is a catchphrase which encompasses a lot of different issues," he said.
At a debate Wednesday between the UNC College Republicans and UNC Young Democrats, Republican Derek Belcher cited family values as a component of what he argued to be Bush's successful presidency.
Discussion of values also was present at the debate Monday between incumbent U.S. Rep. David Price, D-Orange, and Republican Steve Acuff, Price's opponent in the upcoming congressional election.
Price said the application of slogans and catchphrases can make some issues too black and white.
"Nobody needs to tell me or lecture me on what the pro-life position is," Price said, explaining that his support of stem-cell research does not translate into poor values.
Reynolds said complicated policies are presented to voters in small packages because most U.S. citizens lack the time and resources to digest political nuances.
"The way it is presented and communicated can sometimes be bigger than the substance."
Contact the State & National Editor at stntdesk@unc.edu.
(09/29/06 4:00am)
A several thousand-strong festival returns today in Durham, marking the beginning of the N.C. PrideFest weekend for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their straight allies and supporters.
It attracted more than 5000 attendees last year, said Keith Hayes, spokesman for The Pride Committee of North Carolina, the organization sponsoring the event. Hayes expects a greater turnout this year.
"This event has two purposes: to help the gay community feel a strong sense of solidarity and to build bridges with the non-gay community," Hayes said.
Approximately 110 groups signed up to participate in the Pride Parade - the main event at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Duke East Campus - including several college and high school organizations. The event corresponds with Duke's Coming Out Week.
Other events will take place in Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Greensboro.
"The most gratifying thing about this event is that the number of college and high school students involved keeps growing each year," Hayes said. "We are creating an event and environment that makes it easier for young gay people to come out rather than hiding."
UNC's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Center and Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered-Straight Alliance have combined efforts to increase involvement.
"We have never had the amount of resources at our disposal that we have this year," said Julian Wooten, co-chairman of GLBTSA. "The climate on campus has changed."
The two UNC organizations are entering a float in the parade for the first time.
GLBTSA will have a table featuring information on the organization, its subgroups and the annual Unity Conference, a gathering of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer people held on the UNC campus.
"It is important that we keep our visibility up for queer students and for our allies," Wooten said.
GLBTSA also helped promote the various festival parties.
"We are called to promote because we are the largest undergraduate gay-straight alliance in the Southeast," Wooten said.
GLBTSA and the Alliance of Queer Undergraduates at Duke are working together this year on an unprecedented level, Wooten said. AQUADuke members regularly attend GLBTSA meetings.
"This is the strongest we have ever collaborated," Wooten said.
The first PrideFest was held in Durham in 1981. Durham was chosen as the location because of the fatal beating of a man suspected of being gay and the subsequent rally, the first of its kind in North Carolina.
The events in Chapel Hill will be held on Friday and Sunday at Caff