Students interested in student government will have the chance to get involved in committees and special projects at an open house from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. today in Student Union 3102. At the event, the leaders of 12 committees and eight special projects will present information to attendees and field questions about their niche in student government.
As hundreds of UNC students now can attest, sex-ed talks aren't just for high school students. More than 500 people attended Dorian Solot and Marshall Miller's two-hour sex-ed "I heart female orgasm" event Thursday evening. Solot and Miller, a married couple from New York, answered students' questions and spoke candidly about many aspects of female sexuality. "If we're lucky, this will be the climax of the semester," Solot said at the beginning of the presentation.
A judge ruled last week against two former UNC dental technicians who claimed that age discrimination played a part in their dismissals. Sharon House and Jacqueline Maynard claimed that their January 2007 layoffs were a result of age discrimination because only two of the 15 terminated technicians were younger than age 40. Although John Williams, dean of the School of Dentistry, originally said the employees were let go because it would be more cost-effective, court documents showed the cost comparisons that the school used to make the layoff decision were inaccurately calculated.
After 25 years at UNC and six years as director of the Institute for the Environment, Douglas Crawford-Brown resigned his post this month to accept two opportunities in Cambridge, England. "We're all very disappointed to have Doug leave. He was the sort of vision that created the institute," said Robert Peet, the interim director of the institute until Crawford-Brown's replacement is found. Peet said he expects a new director to take over by July 1. Although he will miss the students and faculty with whom he worked, Crawford-Brown said now is the right time to give up his position.
Sallie Krawcheck, chief executive officer of Citi Global Wealth Management, is a living testament to the fact that women can succeed in a male-dominated field. The UNC alumna and former Morehead scholar was part of the celebration of Women's Week Tuesday. Krawcheck, one of Fortune magazine's "Most Powerful Women," spoke to a full house of more than 300 students, alumni and businesspeople about the role of women in the business world and the state of the economy.
Student elections laws could become simpler if Student Congress approves a bill to eliminate some of the complexities. If approved, the bill would get rid of some rules that restrict candidates' actions during the four weeks of campaigning. Student Congress Rep. Val Tenyotkin will introduce the new bill at Tuesday's Congress meeting. Under the current elections laws, candidates can address students publicly 21 days before the election but are not allowed to use materials, such as fliers or A-frames, until two weeks before the election.
CORRECTION: Due to a source error, Tuesday's pg. 3 story, "Congress tries to finish tasks," incorrectly states the time period candidates may publicly campaign during student elections according to a Congress bill under consideration. The period is 19 days. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error. Although only one meeting remains for the 89th Student Congress, the group will be working until the end. Congress will hold its final meeting March 25 before the inauguration of new members April 1.
From advice columns and current event updates to entries of the "Dear Diary" nature, blogs are becoming a hit at UNC, and more and more faculty and staff members are using them. Some have formed their own blogs to inform students and the rest of the world about their areas of expertise while others have created them to discuss the events of their days. Journalism professor Paul Jones considers his blog an outlet to record everyday life events. Since August 2004, Jones has posted events, opinions and random thoughts from his day-to-day life in his blog "The Real Paul Jones."
Since African Americans were first admitted as UNC undergraduates in 1955, numerous black professional, social and service-related student groups have formed at UNC.
A group of UNC women learned to rethink their "good-girl" instincts and listen to their intuitions in possibly threatening situations Tuesday night at a SafeSkills self-defense workshop. Kathy Hopwood and Beth Seigler, of the Durham-based self-defense group, taught about 12 students how to prevent sexual assault and defend themselves during an attack.
