64 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
(10/22/09 8:07pm)
Details concerning a history of suicidal thoughts and alcoholism have been removed from the medical examiner's report of investigation into the death of junior Courtland Smith, who was shot dead by an Archdale police officer, after concerns were raised over the accuracy of some information.A portion of the narrative summary that said Smith had commented to friends on the day of his death and before about "possible suicidal ideas" has been crossed out, along with mentions of alcoholism and depression in the medical history section."He had called 911 indicating that he had a 9mm gun and was considering suicide only while he was driving," the amended report reads. "There is no evidence that prior to this he had expressed suicidal thoughts or intent."The junior biology major was killed at about 5 a.m. on Aug. 23 in Archdale, roughly 15 minutes south of Greensboro. Smith had called 911 about 15 minutes earlier, telling dispatchers he was driving at high speeds along the interstate and expressing thoughts of suicide.The narrative in the autopsy report stated that police shot Smith when he exited his vehicle and made a “suggestive move toward his pocket which the police interpreted as a move to get a gun.”The report also states that Smith had a blood alcohol content of about .22 percent, almost three times the legal limit.Smith's parents, Pharr and Susan Smith, met earlier this week with John Butts, chief medical examiner for North Carolina, seeking abetter understanding of the autopsy report.Members of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity, of which Smith was president, expressed surprise at the mention of his prior suicidalthoughts in statement made after the original report's release last week.Mentions of Jeremy Paul Flinchum, the Archdale police officer who shot Smith, the probable causes of death and the type of police weapon recovered have also been crossed out on the report.Butts could not be reached for comment Thursday.
(10/16/09 4:38am)
An Archdale police officer shot Courtland Smith four times, thinking the UNC junior was reaching for a gun, according to an autopsy released Wednesday.The report of autopsy investigation by the N.C. Medical Examiner states Smith died Aug. 23 from gunshot wounds to his arm, abdomen, left thigh and upper back.The order of the gunshots, fired from a .357 caliber police handgun, is not specified in the report.The 21-year-old Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity president exited his vehicle and made a “suggestive move toward his pocket which the police interpreted as a move to get a gun,” the report states.Even with the autopsy release, Smith’s reason for driving about 40 minutes away from Chapel Hill and his whereabouts in the hours before being stopped by police on Interstate 85 at about 5 a.m. are still unclear.The State Bureau of Investigation, which was present for the autopsy, is continuing to look into the incident.Alcohol and depression are named in the report as contributing factors in Smith’s death. Smith called 911 about 15 minutes before being stopped, saying he was drunk, had a gun and was trying to kill himself.The report does not state whether Smith was actually armed with a gun. His parents, Pharr and Susan Smith, had said previously in statements to friends that he was unarmed.A toxicology report also released Wednesday concluded that Smith was intoxicated, with a blood alcohol content of about .22 percent, almost three times the legal limit of .08 percent. It makes no mention of other substances being present in Smith’s system.The report also notes that Smith had expressed suicidal thoughts to friends.“Young student had commented to friends on (day of death) and before about possible suicidal ideas,” it states.“One of the things that alcohol does that people often don’t talk about is it intensifies emotional feelings,” said Fulton Crews, director of the Bowles Center for Alcohol Studies, in an interview in August.“I have a feeling the alcohol really triggered his melancholy emotions and triggered a suicidal mind set.”In a statement, members of Smith’s fraternity said they were surprised by the medical examiner’s statements that Smith had discussed suicide previously.“No one we have talked with has mentioned any such conversations,” the statement says. “We are also unaware of any history of depression; to the contrary, Courtland was cheerful and optimistic. We are not autopsy experts, but we are confused by these editorial comments made by the local Medical Examiner with no references to his sources.”SBI investigations are routine when an officer fires a weapon. Jennifer Canada, a spokeswoman for the SBI, would not comment on the ongoing investigation.Jeremy Paul Flinchum, the Archdale police officer who shot Smith, is still on administrative leave. A second officer on the scene, Chris Jones, is back on duty after a period of administrative leave.Friends and family have remembered Smith as an engaging leader who worked as a counselor at western North Carolina’s Camp Mondamin and served as president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.Smith was last reported seen in Chapel Hill leaving a Delta Kappa Epsilon house party at about 12:30 a.m. the day of his death.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/12/09 4:32am)
In an online address released today to the UNC community in celebration of University Day, Chancellor Holden Thorp presents an ambitious vision for the University’s future that hinges on learning from the hurdles of the past year.Thorp’s vision — one of blending innovation and entrepreneurship to spread the benefits of the University’s discoveries — is one he is pushing despite significant financial obstacles.Thorp, inaugurated as chancellor a year ago today, began the talk recapping the past year, in particular financial troubles that have cut $67 million from state funding.He pointed to the recommendations of consulting firm Bain & Company as an important building block for the UNC of the future.“From that work, we’ll seize the rare opportunity to reinvent the University’s operations,” Thorp said in the address.Thorp stressed that the lessons from Bain’s report, to be implemented through a program called Carolina Counts, aren’t intended to just fix problems but create a better University in the long run.“Higher education is due for a qualitative change in the way we operate,” he said. “The changes we’re making are not temporary corrections, but rather a permanent rebasing of our administrative budgets.”Saying UNC will play to its strengths, Thorp named innovation and entrepreneurship as inextricably linked qualities the community uses to help benefit the state and world.Innovation devises new solutions, Thorp said. Entrepreneurship finds a way to implement them.“We are here to help solve the world’s greatest problems,” Thorp said. “The bigger the problem, the more innovation is needed.”Thorp’s talk follows in the footsteps of former Chancellor James Moeser, who delivered a state of the University talk every fall.But Thorp’s speech is different in the sense that it is delivered from a YouTube clip instead of a podium.Thorp wrote on his Web site he didn’t want to interrupt schedules or incur additional costs by delivering the address live during other University Day celebrations.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(10/05/09 4:27am)
UNC football fans can now lease their own luxury suite in Kenan Stadium for the price of roughly $50,000 a year.But actual tickets to sit in the football stadium’s more than $70 million planned expansion cost extra.Plans for a massive overhaul to the football stadium’s east end zone section, currently the location of the digital scoreboard and student athlete development center, will add 3,230 seats and a new Student-Athlete Center for Excellence.The public sales phase of the project began Saturday, kicking off a campaign to raise money for the project, which will not be paid for with any state appropriations.Sales of new seats and individual luxury suites are expected to pay for most of the stadium’s expansion, although their construction will count for less than half of the project’s cost. Private donations and gifts are expected to make up the remainder of the cost.The final sign off for the project will come from University administrators and the Board of Trustees once the entire $70 million to $85 million cost can be accounted for.No date has been set for when the old buildings will be torn down or when construction will begin.“The revenue from club seats and suites will help us over the next 30 years continue to fund our 28-sport program at its current competitive levels,” said Dick Baddour, athletic director, in a statement.Plans to renovate the more than 80-year-old stadium have been in development for a decade. The goal of the overhaul is to modernize the facilities, provide better support for student-athletes and provide a better experience for fans, Baddour said in a statement.“We have to accomplish these goals in a way that the project not only pays for itself, but provides a long-term source of additional revenue for Carolina athletics,” Baddour said.The changes are part of a master plan to keep Kenan up-to-date that began with a west end renovation that ended in August.New seating sections, called the Blue Zone, will feature 20 individual suites and seating with access to private lounges.Underneath the new seating, the Student-Athlete Center for Excellence will house a variety of facilities, including the Carolina Athletics Business Office and visitor’s locker rooms.The new Academic Support Center will occupy more than 29,000 square feet making it one of the building’s largest occupants.It will be three times the size of the current academic center, which opened 23 years ago.The Student-Athlete Center for Excellence will also include a new locker room for the lacrosse team and a Strength and Conditioning Center for Olympic sports.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/25/09 4:46am)
A public service program housed at UNC and created by $10 million in federal money is reorganizing to repair confusions in leadership and the program’s purpose.U.S. Rep. Sue Myrick alerted UNC-system President Erskine Bowles to concerns about the Citizen Soldier Support Program in June 2008.Those concerns led to an internal review and audit, which Chancellor Holden Thorp presented Wednesday to the Board of Trustees.“My view is that this program has serious flaws, and I don’t think we’ve given the federal government the best return on its investment,” Thorp said at the trustees’ audit and finance committee meeting.The goal of the program, operated by the Odum Institute for Research in Social Science, is to provide better access to community support and behavioral health services for members of the military reserves and National Guard.The group’s leadership is already implementing the report’s recommendations to cement its leadership under one director, return its focus to North Carolina and strengthen military relationships.The report concluded that confusion over the responsibilities of leadership positions was limiting effectiveness.“No matter how competent and earnest the individuals might be, there is confusion … about who is in charge,” the report stated.In response to the recommendations, Principal Investigator Peter Leousis has been named the program’s director and has pledged to devote more time to its operation.The program will also seek to reconnect with North Carolinians before moving on to long-term national goals that have obscured its purpose.Tony Waldrop, vice chancellor for research and development, said the recommendations will absolutely help increase the program’s effectiveness.“We’re certainly committed to helping,” Waldrop said. “If we didn’t think we could do that through the changes we’ve made, we wouldn’t want to continue the program.”Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/22/09 4:51am)
Student group Youth for Western Civilization has been bolstered by three new faculty advisers only days after its previous adviser stepped down at Chancellor Holden Thorp’s request.The three new advisers — two who took the job after being asked by Thorp — cement YWC’s place at UNC after months of questioning whether it could find a sponsor. Friday’s resignation of previous adviser and retired psychology professor Elliot Cramer left the group with 30 days to find a new one before losing its official group status.Former sponsor Chris Clemens, an astronomy professor, and Jon Curtis, director of student groups and organizations, will replace him after being asked by Thorp.Physics professor Hugon Karwowski volunteered as the third faculty adviser. Karwowski was moved to action — and Clemens said outrage — after Cramer resigned at Thorp’s request.Cramer responded to brochures Friday protesting YWC that included his home address by joking in an e-mail to Thorp and two students that he had a gun and knows how to use it. Thorp called Cramer’s gun comments “highly inappropriate” and asked him to step down.The three new advisers will provide counsel to a group of about 10 current student members.Despite its small size, the organization gained national attention and created a local shouting match about free speech in April when students protested two anti-illegal immigration speakers on campus.Once he learned of Cramer’s resignation, chapter president Nikhil Patel approached Clemens with the prospect of rejoining.Clemens suggested a group of faculty to Thorp as the answer to YWC’s turnover problems. Clemens stepped down from the position in June, citing not enough time to deal with the scrutiny focused on the national organization.“I’m only willing to do it because there are other people who can take some of the load,” Clemens said.He and Curtis both said they weren’t nervous about the local attention YWC had garnered.“I think those brochures and the more outrageous protests do not reflect the value of Carolina students in general,” Clemens said.Protesters and their supporters have called for the abolishment of the YWC, calling it a racist and white supremacist group.“It doesn’t matter what a group’s about, as long as they function within the policies of the University,” said Curtis, who oversees all University organizations. He added that he can’t remember any other group to have such quick adviser turnover or three positions at once.Last week, Thorp said the University would be better prepared for the next time people protest YWC events.Senior Haley Koch, who was arrested for protesting a YWC speech in April but had the case dismissed, responded by saying protestors would find more creative approaches to voicing their dissent.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/21/09 4:51am)
Youth for Western Civilization is once again fighting for its life against a deadline set by the University.The conservative student group’s faculty adviser, Elliot Cramer, resigned Friday at the request of Chancellor Holden Thorp after he ended an e-mail correspondence related to YWC by joking about his gun marksmanship.The e-mail came in response to brochures speaking out against the group. The home address of Cramer, a retired psychology professor, appears twice in the brochures.Cramer had only officially been adviser for a week. Jon Curtis, associate director of organizations and activities, said the group will have 30 days to find a new faculty adviser, which is standard when a group loses its adviser.“I’m contacting some professors who might be able to help,” said senior Nikhil Patel, president of UNC’s chapter of YWC.YWC gained national attention and prompted a local debate on free speech this spring after it brought anti-immigration speakers to campus who were met with protests.Astronomy professor Chris Clemens, the previous adviser, stepped down from the position this summer because of increased public scrutiny placed on the group.The group found Cramer only a month before the deadline for student group registration.At the time, Curtis said conservative groups have had a difficult time finding faculty advisers.‘Highly inappropriate’Patel sent an e-mail to Cramer last week once he learned of the brochures with Cramer’s address.Cramer replied to the e-mail Friday, writing, “I have a Colt 45 and I know how to use it. I used to be able to hit a quarter at 50 feet 7 times out of 10.”He also sent his response to Thorp and Haley Koch, a senior arrested in April for protesting a YWC speech. Her case was dismissed Monday.Thorp then contacted Cramer and asked him to resign from the faculty adviser position. He said Cramer’s statement was “highly inappropriate and not consistent with the civil discourse we are trying to achieve.”“He said it was a joke, and I said, ‘This just isn’t something we joke about,’” Thorp said in an interview.Cramer said he also sent Thorp and Koch the e-mail because he wanted them to be aware of the brochures with his address. He stressed his comments about the gun were a joke.“Oh, of course it was a joke,” Cramer said. “It’s one thing to say that they simply ought to contact me, but to put my address is an implied threat.”Koch said she didn’t understand why Cramer’s gun comments were necessary to notify her of the brochures, and said she saw the e-mail as “very clearly a threat.”Koch, who said she was not involved in producing the brochures, added she might have taken a different approach but still doesn’t think printing Cramer’s address was threatening.“Finally I’m in agreement with something the chancellor did,” she said, adding that though Cramer had every right to make his comments, they were “totally inappropriate.”Cramer, who has been retired for 15 years, said he no longer owns a Colt .45 but used to be a target shooter in college. He said he thinks he owns a .22-caliber.YWC still plans to host former U.S. Treasurer Bay Buchanan in October, Patel said. Thorp offered to pay for the event as reimbursement for last April’s disrupted talk by Tom Tancredo, a former Congressman who came to speak about illegal immigration.Although plans haven’t been finalized, Patel wrote in an e-mail he thinks he will ask Buchanan to focus her talk on free speech instead of immigration.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/18/09 9:49pm)
The faculty adviser for student group Youth for Western Civilization resigned Friday at the request of Chancellor Holden Thorp after joking in an e-mail that he had a gun and knew how to use it.
(09/18/09 5:07am)
Chancellor Holden Thorp has offered to reimburse the student group Youth for Western Civilization for the cost of bringing a controversial speaker, who cut his talk short after a protest got out of hand in April.The group brought former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., to campus to speak about his views on illegal immigration.Tancredo ended his talk after roughly five minutes when someone broke a window. The talk was already delayed by protesters. The incident drew national attention.Nikhil Patel, president of UNC’s chapter of YWC, said the money will be used to bring former U.S. Treasurer Bay Buchanan to speak on campus in October. Buchanan spoke at UNC in March to a much smaller crowd and less notice than the other two YWC-hosted speakers.The reimbursement will come from the Chancellor’s Discretionary Fund, which is made up mostly of private gifts and donations.Thorp originally offered the reimbursement to last year’s YWC president, Riley Matheson, who has since graduated. The offer was mentioned again to the group’s new faculty adviser, Elliot Cramer, a retired psychology professor.“I thought the chancellor was very generous,” Cramer said. “I think he felt a moral obligation.”Senior Haley Koch, who was arrested for the protest of Tancredo’s speech, thinks differently. The case against her was later dismissed.“It’s ridiculous and reprehensible, though not surprising,” she said. “I hope the administration is thinking very carefully.”Thorp said that he would offer no more than $3,000, that the group must show him receipts and that the speaker must already be lined up.“What I won’t do is just send three grand over to do whatever,” he said.Thorp added that he made the offer because he felt the University was partially responsible for allowing the protest to get out of control.“I felt that we didn’t do the best job we could have at maintaining order,” he said. “If we had done a better job, Tom Tancredo could have given his talk and the protesters could have expressed themselves.”Cramer said the Chancellor told him he’s confident the University will be ready the next time YWC hosts a speaker.“I feel pretty confident that there will be a protest,” Koch said. “We’ll just have to be more creative.”A conservative public policy group, The Leadership Institute, funded two of YWC’s campus events with up to $3,000 per speaker. As of June, they have funded two other YWC speeches at other schools.
(09/17/09 4:27am)
Most students show their UNC pride by donning Carolina blue clothing. Stephanie Christine shows hers by not wearing much at all.For the month of October, she’s partially naked on page 53 in Playboy as UNC’s representative for the magazine’s “Girls of the ACC” feature.The feature appears in the latest issue, which hit the back row of magazine stands Friday. Other cover stories include “Vampire love” and “Meet the real pirates of Somalia.”Christine, who earned the spot in a trial photo shoot last March, said she first learned about the try-outs from Playboy’s Web page.“I always keep my eye open for local casting calls, specifically for Playboy,” she said.Christine tried out for Playboy once before in her home state of Ohio. She said she first became interested in modeling a few years ago, working as a waitress and bartender at a Hooters restaurant.“I saw all the things my colleagues were doing, and I wanted to be a part of that,” she said.She’s turned that interest into modeling work with publications like Hooters Magazine and MMA Sports, a magazine dedicated to mixed martial arts. Christine also recently became a member of the International Bikini Team, which includes two other girls from North Carolina. The group’s slogan is “classy not trashy.”Thanks in part to that experience, Christine said she wasn’t nervous when she arrived at Playboy’s offices for her first nude shoot.“They really treated me like a princess from the time I got there to the time I left,” she said. “Everyone made sure my needs were attended to.”The staff for her shoot included a videographer, photographer and assistant, and a hair and make up team. An equipment supervisor also acted as a personal disc jockey, playing Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynard and Britney Spears during the shoot.Christine said she hopes to continue modeling, turning this opportunity into more work.“The modeling industry is basically about making contacts and making good relationships, getting your name out and networking,” she said.But for the long-term, she understands there can be a short shelf life for many models and Playmates.Once her modeling career ends, Christine said she hopes to have a law degree to fall back on. She’s enrolled in the School of Law as Stephanie Haney, and is currently a third-year student, said Kathleen Bowler, assistant dean for communications for the law school.“It’s really so personal and subjective,” Christine said of a decision to stop modeling. “I’m just waiting to see what opportunities present themselves. Whichever is best at the time,” Christine said.Christine is the 17th UNC student to be featured in a Playboy pictorial. The last was Evelyn Gery, a psychology major who appeared on the magazine’s cover in 2004.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/15/09 4:26am)
Orange County District Court Judge Joseph Buckner dismissed Monday a charge of disturbing the peace at an educational institution against UNC senior Haley Koch.Koch and six others, who were not UNC students, were arrested last spring after protesting two controversial speakers. Their actions gained national attention and provoked debate about free speech and protest on university campuses.Koch protested a talk by former U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., on April 14.Koch’s arrest was based on a section of the N.C. General Statutes concerning disorderly conduct in educational institutions.Buckner found that Koch’s actions did not interfere with academic activity.The six others were arrested for disorderly conduct during a similar speech a week after Koch’s actions.The outcome of those six cases, also decided Monday, included fines, dismissals and one being found not guilty.Koch’s trial included the viewing of a roughly two-minute YouTube clip and the testimony of UNC Department of Public Safety officer Lt. Lawrence Twiddy, both of which chronicled the April 14 protest.“The videotape showed so much,” said Bob Ekstrand, Koch’s lawyer. “When Haley was asked to leave, she left. That’s probably the biggest reason it could be resolved on the facts, instead of the First Amendment issue.”The case centered solely on Koch’s actions inside the classroom during the protest. Koch held a banner and talked over a student trying to introduce Tancredo.Twiddy’s testimony and the video showed that when asked to, Koch rolled up her banner and left the classroom.A Supreme Court case from 1967, introduced by Ekstrand, provided important precedent when it came to defining terms like “schools” and “disrupting” in a legal context.Chancellor Holden Thorp said he had confidence in Buckner and thought the judge made the best decision possible based on the evidence.“I think everybody can learn from this that we need to respect different points of view,” he said.Koch, a Morehead-Cain scholar and communication studies major, said she hopes the case inspires other activists and sets an important precedent for campus.Thorp added that he and Koch will be meeting in a few weeks to discuss free speech issues on campus.More than a dozen supporters gathered outside the courthouse for a rally at noon, calling for the charges to be dropped and for the disbandment of Youth for Western Civilization, the conservative student group that hosted the two protested speakers.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(09/14/09 7:23pm)
Orange County District Court Judge Joseph Buckner dismissed the charges of disturbing the peace at an educational institution against UNC senior Haley Koch on Monday afternoon.
(09/14/09 5:00am)
UPDATE 3 P.M. — Assistant University Editor Andrew Harrell is live Tweeting the court appearance.
(08/31/09 4:44am)
University administrators are taking a closer look at Greek life after the death of junior Courtland Smith, who was president of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.The investigation will include an examination of the party held the night of Aug. 22 at the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity house hours before Smith was shot dead by police.The University will be working with Delta Kappa Epsilon to set up a substance abuse prevention program and review how UNC interacts with the Greek system.“This is an opportunity for us to examine the stress of being in college,” Chancellor Holden Thorp said. “We’re trying to keep the focus on how hard it is to be between 18 and 22 years old.”After meetings with fraternity members and alumni, Thorp said it seemed that the party was treated as a rush event and that alcohol caused it to get out of control.Rush officially begins Sunday, and no alcohol is allowed during rush activities. The Greek Judicial Board will continue investigating whether the Delta Kappa Epsilon party violated rules.“We don’t see any reason to treat this with a different process than we usually do,” Thorp said.During an emergency meeting of the Interfraternity Council on Sunday, fraternity chapter presidents decided to cancel large-scale events this week, citing increased scrutiny from the University. The IFC provides a common student-run authority for 22 fraternities. IFC executive board President Charlie Winn said no one with the organization was willing to comment yet on UNC’s investigation.Ashley Harrington and Erika Taylor, co-chairwomen for student government’s Greek affairs committee, said they had not heard about the investigation but would work with the University.“We will support the chancellor in his investigation and see how we can help,” Harrington said. “We want the Greek community to grow, be stronger and be safe.”Taylor added that the IFC and Panhellenic Council host a yearly, required meeting on alcohol and drug abuse for all new members.Delta Kappa Epsilon members and alumni also asked that UNC provide substance abuse services to the fraternity, an outreach that has never happened before, Thorp said.Smith said he had been drinking when he called 911 early Aug. 23. He also said he was armed and suicidal before a police officer shot and killed him near Archdale, about 15 miles south of Greensboro.According to a statement by Delta Kappa Epsilon, Smith was last seen at the party at about 12:30 a.m.How and why Smith was near Archdale is still unclear. The State Bureau of Investigation is looking into the shooting.Editor-in-chief Andrew Dunn contributed reporting.
(08/26/09 4:54am)
Correction: This article has been revised to correct an error that misidentified Aubry Carmody's gender. Carmody is male.
(08/25/09 2:05am)
With the completion of improvements to Old East and Old West, major renovations to campus residence halls have ended for now. Intensive work to campus housing likely won’t be scheduled for the next few years in order to prevent student rent fees from spiking, said Rick Bradley, assistant director of communications for the Department of Housing and Residential Education. Most renovation projects to residence halls receive no state money and are funded by student rent.What will continue are smaller work projects during the summer months when some housing is left unoccupied. This work includes installing air conditioning in Craige Residence Hall and Ehringhaus Residence Hall as well as sprinklers in all residence halls by 2012.Hinton James Residence Hall was the next planned for renovations, but housing officials said they do not know when those plans will continue or if Hinton James will be delayed for a smaller project.Bradley defined full-on renovations as work that closes a residence hall for “a good portion” of the academic year. Those projects can become a costly use of student rent.“We have to be good stewards of the student resources provided,” Bradley said. “We can’t just constantly renovate, or the prices would go through the roof. It’s always a balance of needs and resources available.”The projected budget for the Old East and Old West renovations was $8.5 million.When the green construction tarps came down from the buildings about a month ago and students were allowed back in, the buildings didn’t look much different.The purpose of the renovations was to replace mechanical systems, repair roofing structural elements and stop leaks caused by plumbing issues. Much of the work took place behind brick and mortar or in the roof and attic.“The student rooms and common areas don’t really look any different,” Bradley said.Old East and Old West each house about 65 students. Bradley said they are two of the most popular residence halls on campus, attributing demand for rooms to the history, location and unique design and charm compared to other halls.The buildings flank the Old Well, overlook McCorkle Place and are a short walk from Franklin Street.Old East made history as the first state university building in the United States, completed on Oct. 12, 1793 — now celebrated as University Day.It was designated as a National Historic Landmark and is the only UNC residence hall with its own Wikipedia entry. A Wikipedia search for Old West is redirected to a page about cowboys, six-shooters and Manifest Destiny.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(08/24/09 6:51pm)
A second officer was present when junior Courtland Smith was shot Sunday near Greensboro.
(08/23/09 6:59pm)
UNC’s Information Technology Services staff spent the summer doing what their boss calls the hardest and most expensive thing the office has ever done.That work and money have resulted in launching the first pieces of ConnectCarolina — a new software system that will interlock administrative and student functions across campus.Prospective students were the first to see the program in action, with the admissions system going live this summer.The student component alone will cost UNC roughly $50 million, with additional costs for the human resources and finance pieces. About 90 people are working on the project, including members of Deloitte Consulting, who were brought in because they have experience working with the Oracle’s PeopleSoft Enterprise program that ConnectCarolina is based on.Chief Information Officer Larry Conrad led the implementation of a similar program at Florida State University. He said not everyone was happy about the shifts in organization and interface.“You’re changing the way people do business,” he added. “Not everybody likes that.”But Conrad’s experience taught him to prepare for problems when — not if — they arrive. One major challenge was an overhaul of the PID creation system required by the new software, which Conrad compared to replacing the transmission in a car.Conrad said he knows more skeptics will come around once they see the benefits of the new programs. For example, a document management system at Florida State University reduced the wait times on purchasing requests from two weeks to two days, while at the same time saving paper by keeping documents online only.“That’s when you start to see the real power and value,” Conrad said. “The University will be better off.”Each piece of the integrated management system increases the portions of campus that will now be able to share information with unprecedented ease.Undergraduate admissions has already been converted to ConnectCarolina, as well as new document management and payment gateway systems.This summer’s launches also have included a campus community portal, which Conrad said will become a focal point for how students access services. “That’ll be the front door,” he said.The system has been in the works for the past two years, and its implementation will continue for the next 14 or 15 months. But that’s no time compared to the age of the systems it will replace, some of which are more than 20 years old.The next major milestones for ConnectCarolina will be the go-lives for financial aid in February and Fall 2010 registration in March.Countless hours, dollars and pages of information will have gone into the creation of the system. But once they finally go online, it should be as simple as flipping a switch.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(08/23/09 6:57pm)
For the first time in a decade, visitors to UNC’s home page could be greeted with more than a series of bland links in Times New Roman.“In the life of the Internet, that’s a really long time,” said Nancy Davis, associate vice chancellor for University relations.The redesign will create a site that can better tell the story of the University, with prominent placement given to rotating news stories.The current Web site has little to no space for news, with stories on national championships, record-breaking gifts and Nobel Prize winners reduced to a dull hyperlink on the side of the page.The projected cost for the project is $355,050. Planning started about a year and a half ago by seeking student feedback.“Students first wanted a site that reflected the Carolina they know,” Davis said. “The trick is to come up with a site that really combines the whole University.”Student input has remained an important part of the process, with a blog featuring updates, potential designs and polling reactions. Blog visitors can also vote on one of two near-final designs.One of the most evident changes in the current designs is how visual the new site is. The current plans feature large images that accompany news stories in the center of the page, which is dominated by darker colors instead of the current site’s stark white.Scott Jared, Web content director for University relations, said he also wants the site to create a sense of place, using images of campus on the site and having a spot for a Flickr stream of user-submitted photos.The UNC home page creates a first impression of the University’s Web presence for many groups. Obvious ones, like prospective and current students, employees and alumni are all important audiences. But the redesign team is also factoring in traffic from legislators, funding contributors and prospective employees.The current site averaged 4.35 million unique users per month from September 2008 to May 2009.Designers hope to maintain the current site’s functionality while improving the look and content. Usability tests took place in July, with potential users completing tasks on a mock-up of the new site.The design team’s next step is to decide on a final design to present at the Board of Trustees meeting in late September. From there, campus ITS will take four to six months to complete the programming before the site is ready for launch.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
(08/23/09 6:52pm)
Students logged on to find a new Webmail system Aug. 17 and stepped out of the 20th century. Larry Conrad, vice chancellor for information technology services, said there is a night-and-day difference between the old and new systems, heralding its intuitive navigation as one of the biggest changes.The outdated, often-criticized interface of the old system led to calls by several student body presidents to remake the system.Students often chose to use outside clients — such as Gmail and Microsoft Outlook — out of frustration at the University’s system.“Compared to a lot of the other solutions, it was pretty out of date and painful to use,” said Andrew Phillips, co-chairman of student government’s tech and web committee.The process was delayed multiple times by budget cuts.“Every time we thought we could go forward, we had to put the skids on it,” Conrad said.By using the open-source software RoundCube, the new Webmail system only had minimal costs for tasks such as fixing bugs and customizing the interface with school colors.The transition to the new system has been mostly problem-free. The Webmail home page allows users who are nostalgic for the outdated interface to switch back, and ITS is working to modify the icons to make them more recognizable, in response to user feedback.A new feature that automatically looks up e-mail addresses in the UNC directory is also in the process of repair, after an increased number of requests caused problems. Phillips said this feature was one of the selling points of RoundCube.Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.