With limited space available in UNC's Honors Program, some top-tier high-school students are turning to peer institutions for advanced standing. "The biggest weakness is that the Honors Program in its current state is not big enough to accommodate for all the students who are qualified," said Barbara Polk, senior associate director of undergraduate admissions.
Since two students crashed through the window of their residence hall last year, UNC officials have taken extra steps to ensure the safety of windows across campus. Sophomore resident adviser Keith Shawn Smith and then-freshman Tyler Downey were racing down the third-floor hallway of Stacy Residence Hall in the early morning hours of Feb. 24, 2006, when they broke through a window and fell more than 30 feet. Smith did not survive the fall, and Downey was in the hospital for several days with broken vertebrae.
After facing a year marked by criticism and scrutiny, the Carolina Athletic Association will welcome Colby Almond to its top position. "I'm very excited," Almond said Tuesday night after the announcement. "We campaigned and got our ideas out there, and the students showed up." Almond won the presidency by a substantial margin over competitor Marcus Carpenter, who lacked experience within the CAA and ran on a platform of increasing students' voices in the organization. Almond won 3,748 votes, with Carpenter trailing by 1,618.
UNC Printing Services will lay off 11 employees in a department reorganization, officials announced last week. Officials declined to release the names of those laid off. The layoffs are specific to the offset printing sector of the department and will be effective June 29. Offset printing includes copy-making and full-color printing - jobs that are less needed in the digital age, said Richard Mann, vice chancellor for finance and administration. "It's a national trend," Mann said. "I think it's technology. It has changed printing significantly."
From new gym equipment to more accessible buildings, elections have sparked ideas to improve student life at the University. Student Body President candidates Eve Carson, Jon Kite, Nick Neptune and Caroline Spencer have several different plans to encourage students to participate in healthier lifestyles. The hopefuls also have ideas for helping disabled students. Carson said she has made improving campus life for the disabled a priority in her platform.
A plan to review the University's advising system that could lead to internal improvements was unveiled Thursday to members of the Board of Trustees. An eight-person committee is set to deliver a comprehensive report to the board in May. Madeline Levine, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, said the review is a timely response to the concerns of trustees about the advising program, which was implemented in 1999. The advising program offers guidance and clarification to undergraduates who need assistance interpreting course requirements.
The arrest of a part-time UNC faculty member last week in an Atlanta airport was part of a month-long investigation by police. Hugh Tilson, a researcher in the School of Public Health, was arrested Jan. 16 in a restroom at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport after an undercover police officer caught him masturbating at a urinal. He was charged with public indecency. The arrest of Tilson was one of 12 made by undercover police officers for indecent exposure during the investigation.
Sarah Jacobson entered UNC as a freshman in 2000 and is in the midst of taking a semester off. She said financial difficulties have contributed to her lengthy stint at the University. "After I turned 22, my parents stopped paying, and I got tired of taking out loans," Jacobson said. "Most of my friends had graduated or weren't going to school. "It's hard to go to class every day when your roommates are home hanging out." When the Board of Trustees convenes today it will tackle a range of issues including how to improve UNC's graduation rate.
A group of demonstrators touted banners bearing the message "Hey Victoria's Secret - clear cuts aren't sexy," at the Streets at Southpoint in Durham on Monday night. Members of the Student Environmental Action Coalition performed a skit outside the lingerie store to protest the deforestation practices they say the company supports to make its catalogs. Protesters say the company's catalogs should use post-consumer recycled paper. The short skit was based on a popular children's book to make it more friendly to the public, said senior Jenna Weidig, a member of SEAC.
Blood-covered patients and mad doctors filled Carmichael Ballroom on Wednesday night for the second annual haunted hospital. Freshman Edward Graham said the hospital gave him a good scare. "Part of the tunnel was wet and there were some warm, squishy things that were creepy," he said. "The doctor bit where they were ripping out guts was pretty good." The University's American Red Cross Club hosted the event, and its fundraising committee planned it. About 25 club members were involved in coordinating the haunted house, said fundraising committee chairwoman Jessie Schmitz.
