EMILY FISHER

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Finding the words

By EMILY FISHER | August 31

Several students stand nervously at a dry-erase board, markers poised. The professor utters a guttural sound and markers fly, right to left, looping and erasing. It's the first week of Elementary Arabic, and instructor Nasser Isleem is telling the class to "pay attention to the dots," that Arabic pronouns are "just like English," and that the word for "peach" sounds something like "hauchh." Nasser's students are among an increasing number at UNC and nationwide who are attempting to learn one of the most difficult languages in the world.

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Nation rallies for immigration rights

By EMILY FISHER | April 28

SILER CITY - Thousands of demonstrators stood in front of City Hall waving American flags, chanting in unison and singing "This Land is Your Land" in English, and then louder in Spanish. The march through the predominantly Latino town of Siler City was part of the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice on April 10. Events in more than 120 cities across the nation were expected to draw more than two million people. In Dallas alone, some 500,000 demonstrators took to the streets.

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Going straight to the source

By EMILY FISHER | April 26

Fifty-three-year-old Rodger Tygard lost his wife to cancer three years ago. He's been searching ever since for the best way to tell her story. "She was phenomenal in the way she lived her last days," he says, his salt-and-pepper beard framing a smile. "The disease was turning her off, and she was still doing work. She had a good belly laugh before she went into a coma." Enter StoryCorps, an oral history outfit that has made folklore both glamorous and important and has given its participants' stories notoriety by airing selections on National Public Radio stations nationwide.

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Rallying cry

By EMILY FISHER | April 11

SILER CITY -Thousands of demonstrators stood in front of City Hall waving American flags, chanting in unison and singing "This Land is Your Land" in English, and then louder in Spanish. The march through the predominantly Latino town of Siler City was part of the National Day of Action for Immigrant Justice. Events in more than 120 cities across the nation were expected to draw more than two million people.

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Farmer harvests seeds of renewal

By EMILY FISHER | January 20

There's a rap on the door of a nondescript Carrboro apartment. A friendly Hispanic man fumbles for the lock, enveloped in darkness. A few mumbled Spanglish words later, the dark face and angular jaw of Francis Anim appears next to him. "We haven't been able to pay some of our bills - let's go to Burger King and talk instead," Anim says of the apartment's lack of power, his wide smile showing the slight gap in his teeth. The 35-year-old Anim speaks with the unflinching optimism of someone much younger - and someone for whom circumstances aren't so dire.

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Greek community has religious side

By EMILY FISHER | September 15

In an age of increasingly politicized and polarized religion and skepticism, Emily Pressley just wanted to hand out free lemonade and Blow Pops to students. It was part of her sorority's yearly Random Acts of Kindness project, but when passersby found out the group was Christian, she says some were cynical. "We always get the question, 'You mean you can be a Christian and be in a sorority?'" Pressley says. "They are viewed in a negative light. When I first came (to UNC), I said there's no way I'm joining a sorority."

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Graduates find work abroad

By EMILY FISHER | September 14

In the midst of a domestic crisis, problems overseas have taken a temporary backseat for some. But for Christine Bixiones, the newly inaugurated Peace Corps recruiter at UNC, there is always work to be done beyond the borders of the United States. As a Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador, she experienced that fact firsthand. A graduate of UNC, Bixiones received a bachelor's degree in political science in 2002. Three months later, she left for South America for 27 months. And she's been telling people about it ever since.

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First day of classes leaves freshmen unscathed

By EMILY FISHER | August 31

UNC freshman Aaron Harrill wasn’t expecting a party Tuesday when he walked through the Pit on his first day of classes. “It was a lot of people — a little overwhelming,” he says. “I wasn’t expecting the music.” Harrill was one of the thousands of increasingly ambitious, qualified Carolina freshmen winding their way through the Tuesday humidity.

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Flying high

By EMILY FISHER | July 21

Kirk Yoo is too slow to play Ultimate Frisbee and too frugal to play golf, so he plays disc golf instead. It’s free of charge and still all in the wrist. Yoo, a member of the Professional Disc Golf Association’s Board of Directors, was one of 89 competitors in the fifth annual Tar Heel Tournament on July 16 and July 17 at the newly revamped course behind UNC-Chapel Hill’s Outdoor Education Center.

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Alumnus hawks portable bars

By EMILY FISHER | November 30

Former UNC scholar-athlete Phillip McLamb is transferring his competitive spirit from the basketball court to the business world. McLamb's venture - a $350 snap-together, portable bar called Bar-In-A-Box - doesn't have much competition. "There's a pretty good demand for it," McLamb said. The Bar-In-A-Box, which can be assembled in less than 10 minutes but comes sans alcohol, is selling better than its initial expectations.