Special Projects and Investigations -

Chapel Hill is getting its first mosque on Stateside Dr. off of MLK. It is located in a neighborhood and this is the site during construction.

Muslims ﬁnd a home in Chapel Hill

By Mary Helen Moore | October 7

Chapel Hill is home to more than 50 churches, a Jewish synagogue and two Buddhist temples — but no mosque.

Alex Vasquez, a senior dramatic arts and psychology major, and Max DePietro, a senior management and society and art history major, set/stand together in St. Anthony's Hall, a co-ed art fraternity of which they are both a part.

Vasquez was raised in a Catholic family and now identifies as Christian. DePietro was raised in a Jewish family but is now agnostic.

"I know that my family just cares that I'm with someone who cares about me, not so much the religion," DePietro said.

Interfaith relationships are "another way to gain new perspectives and kind of explore life through that lens," Vasquez said.

Couples of different faiths ﬁnd perspective to make it work

By Cain Twyman | October 7

UNC sophomore Salem Hockett says she’s a United Methodist Christian. She was raised in the church, and her father was the preacher.

David Horner, the senior pastor of Providence Baptist church, gives the 38th year anniversary sermon Sunday.

Megachurches attract youth members

By Zoe Schaver | October 7

The building towers over its sprawling parking lot, its windowless slabs of off-white concrete giving it the authoritative look of a government building. ...

Steve Richichi of Chapel Hill, picks up a few things at the Mediterranean Deli Market on Monday evening. He says he enjoys the fresh produce and the prices are great too. Employee, Lukas Zdanavicius.

On campus, religious dietary restrictions hard to meet

By Zhai Yun Tan | October 6

Saarah Khan’s food options in the dining hall are limited. She mostly eats pasta, salad and an occasional veggie burger.

Same-sex couples still face obstacles with adoption

By Nick Niedzwiadek and Lindsey Brunson | October 6

As America grows evermore accepting of the LGBT community, some religious communities have opened their congregations to people of different sexual orientations, ...

NC Hillel opens doors to all

By Trevor Lenzmeier | October 6

Though Ari Gauss, executive director of Jewish campus life foundation N.C. Hillel, has made a home in Chapel Hill since moving to the South in 2009, his ...

Rev. Beverly M. Solomon (left) and Rev. Mary Jane Palmer (right) lead communion at St. Paul African Episcopal Methodist Church in Chapel Hill.

St. Paul AME: Come in to worship, leave to serve

By Camila Molina | October 6

Chapel Hill is going to be a town with a village.

ROTC students get ready for practice on Wednesday, Sept. 16.

On campus, ROTC, veteran students bridge gap between military, civilians

By Lindsey Brunson | September 23

When Lacy Evans came to UNC in 2012, she had already been on two combat tours to Afghanistan as a heavy equipment operator in the Marine Corps.

Clinical trial registry helps weed out bad medical science

By Nick Niedzwiadek | September 16

When flu breaks out, doctors across the world often rely on Tamiflu, a medication considered so vital it is listed on the World Health Organization’s ...

Melissa Du, 11, bravely sits still for the Tdap vaccine. The Tdap protects against tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis. Not a single tear was shed.

North Carolina parents opting out of vaccinations could put children at risk

By Zhai Yun Tan | September 2

Christian Lundberg received an email two weeks ago notifying him of a diagnosed case of whooping cough at The Expedition School in Hillsborough, where ...

Shannon Ross, a senior psychology major from Pembroke, N.C., sits in front of the American Indian Center, which is comprised of four rooms and is in the same building as the Department of Public Policy. Native Americans make up .5% of the student population at UNC.

Native Americans ﬁnd skewed representation at UNC

By Samantha Sabin | August 20

Shannon Ross walked on campus her first year worried she wouldn’t find a home.

Jan Boxill says she did not teach 160 independent study courses at UNC

By Amanda Albright and Sara Salinas | April 27

Jan Boxill is refuting records that indicate she taught 160 independent study courses during an eight-year period at UNC.

Chancellor Carol Folt looks onto the Old Well from her South Building office. Folt has faced many pressures this year, including scandal and student protests.

Folt believes she should keep her opinions private

By Bradley Saacks | April 24

To Ayesha Faisal, most incoming freshmen have false expectations coming into UNC about what their time at the University will be like.

UNC misrepresented sexual assault policy

By Langston Taylor | April 24

For at least 12 years, UNC said it had a sexual assault policy it didn’t actually practice.

UNC investment debates complicate endowment

By Nick Niedzwiadek and Samantha Sabin | April 24

It wasn’t long after Mark Yusko arrived in Chapel Hill in 1998 with big ideas about how to revitalize UNC-Chapel Hill’s slumping endowment that he ...

Filling top in administration spots costs UNC $840K

By Amanda Albright | April 24

If anyone should be happy about chancellors quitting after just years on the job, it’s William Funk.

Graphic: The consequences of drugs and alcohol

April 16

Graphic: The consequences of drugs and alcohol

UNC’s alcohol policies have drastically changed in the past 50 years. UNC recently started a binge drinking task force. Photo courtesy of the North Carolina Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, UNC-CH

UNC’s problem with binge drinking is a recent one

By Sarah Chaney | April 15

For alumna Judy Bistany South, the worst consequence of drinking in the late 1960s was getting banned from University Lake

Mounting pressures fuel sale and use of ADHD medication

By Sara Salinas | April 14

With final exams on the horizon, some students will be looking for an extra advantage over their classmates. For many, the academic edge will come with ...

After being released from prison, Jimmy “Moe” Penny was hired at K&W Cafeterias. He started his job there while he served eight years in prison.

Prisons offer up inmates as cheap laborers

By Claire Williams | April 2

During the day, Jimmy “Moe” Penny prepared dishes at K&W Cafeteria in a neatly pressed cook’s apron.