Catherine Williams

News

'Stop Loss' brings war to home front

By Catherine Williams | March 27

The casualties of war don't all happen overseas, in sandy deserts or ambushed alleys. Sometimes, they're in your own backyard. At least that's the view taken by director Kimberly Peirce in "Stop Loss," a film about army heroes who come home only to have Uncle Sam send them back to the front. Sgt. Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) and his buddies (Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Rob Brown) are welcomed with fanfare after their third tour abroad. It's clear from the start that the homecoming won't be smooth sailing, as the men face hellish nightmares and strained relationships.

News

'Caramel' a sweet tale of silent love

By Catherine Williams | March 20

The women in Nadine Labaki's "Caramel" are sweet and tough, just like the sugary candy that gives the film its name. But in the Beirut salon Si Belle where the protagonists spend their days, caramel brings as much pain as it does pleasure, and the women find this to be true in love as well as in waxing.

News

Monochromes memoir bring story dimension

By Catherine Williams | February 14

If the comic book is the new direction for the adult novel, then "Persepolis" is surely the new direction for the animated feature. The film is based on co-director Marjane Satrapi's celebrated graphic novel, her illustrated memoir about growing up in Iran at the time of the Islamic Revolution. The film adaptation already has racked up quite a bit of recognition, beginning with a Jury Prize at Cannes and now an Academy Award nomination for best animated film.

News

'Diving Bell' excels in art of patience

By Catherine Williams | January 17

A devastating stroke leaves "Elle" editor Jean-Dominique Bauby completely paralyzed except for his left eye. He can hear his doctors and see the hospital around him, but he has no way to communicate with his friends and family. A very patient speech therapist teaches him to "speak" with his one eye, and with the help of an equally patient scribe, Bauby slowly and silently dictates his memoir, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly." The film adaptation of this true story is a beautiful combination of experimental film techniques and heartfelt honesty.

News

Family-owned newspaper fills local niche

By Catherine Williams | October 17

Before he owned a successful newspaper, and before he worked as a public relations officer in the Army during the Second World War, Hoover Adams was a Boy Scout in the rural town of Dunn. During his 1930s Boy Scout years, Adams had a casual conversation with the associate editor of the town newspaper, the Daily Bulletin. Adams told him about his upcoming trip to Scout camp, and the editor, E.C. Daniel, handed him five postcards. "I was going to be gone five days," Adams said, recounting the story. "And he said, 'You write and tell us what the troops are doing every day.'"

News

Accreditation up for review

By Catherine Williams | April 18

As UNC nears the end of its routine reaccreditation process, the evaluation method is facing intense scrutiny from a commission of the Department of Education. An issue paper released last month by the Commission on the Future of Higher Education suggests a national accreditation foundation as an alternative to the current regional method. The recommendation, which is not a formal proposal, already has some educators and accreditation officials worried.

News

UNC not among elite of university patent filers

By Catherine Williams | April 11

UNC is not among the 10 universities receiving the most patents during the 2005 calendar year, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

News

Duke community rallies against rape

By Catherine Williams | March 28

For Duke University and the Durham community, Sexual Assault Prevention Week, which kicked off Monday, got an early start. A string of protests organized by students and residents filled the weekend in response to allegations of rape against members of the Duke men's lacrosse team at a March 13 party near campus. A black woman hired as an exotic dancer for a party at 610 N. Buchanan Blvd. reported that men at the party shouted racial slurs at her and another dancer and that three of the men raped her.

News

New Kansas student insurance may restrict abortion access

By Catherine Williams | February 17

Saving college students money on health care might mean restricting their access to affordable abortions - at least in Kansas. Legislation passed by the Kansas House on Feb. 8, gives the state Board of Regents the authority to negotiate and enter into contracts with health insurance companies to provide more affordable insurance for students of state universities.

News

Renick set to serve as higher-education guru

By Catherine Williams | February 13

When James Renick, chancellor of N.C. Agricultural & Technical State University, moves from Greensboro this summer to take a position in Washington, D.C., he will be leaving a campus very different from the one he came to almost seven years ago. Renick announced Feb. 3 that he will resign his post at N.C. A &T to accept an appointment to the American Council on Education. Effective June 1, he will serve as senior vice president for programs and research at ACE, a research and advocacy group that concentrates on issues in national higher education.