Academics

Future leaders in business, government, and civil society need more than just job skills. The following articles defend the value of liberal education, with a focus on academic quality and rigor, fundamental knowledge, and the ideas that have shaped Western Civilization. They also scrutinize academic programs that have departed from these ideals in the name of progressive ideology.

Patriots on the Hill

Feb 16, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL — While protesters can still be heard in front of the post office on Monday evenings protesting the War on Terror, some students are attempting to prove that not everyone in this college town agrees.

The Carolina Troop Supporters is a group of college students from UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina State, and other colleges that have formed a bond to work together to support U.S. troops fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is not a group concerned about the politics of intervention or the United Nations. Instead, the students want to do more to support the troops than place a yellow ribbon magnet on their car.

The group was started by club President Ashley Weeks and came through a discussion that originated in an anthropology course. Weeks said the professor discussed the sacrifices soldiers made to fight and she wanted to do something other thanb to simply say “thank you.”

Student newspaper headline goes too far

Feb 14, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL – The key of a newspaper headline is to serve, basically, two points. Its first objective is to inform the reader about the context of the story. The second is to grab your attention to entice you to read more than just a few randomly selected words in large font.

Sometimes headlines can be spread across the entire page when the article has major significance, such as during a national tragedy, war, or a major local, state, or national story. Other times, the headline is just a small blurb on the corner of a page.

To the headline writers goes an important responsibility and challenge. The writer is responsible to write compress what could be a 750 word article into five or six words. When dealing with a controversial topic, the headline writer faces the challenge of writing a headline that focus on the story’s importance while showing the proper respect and care for the situation.

What Do You Give to a Failed Candidate?

Feb 11, 2005 ·

Just three months after his campaign to become the Vice President of the United States ended, former Senator John Edwards has been given a new job that seems designed to keep him, at least occasionally, in the public eye.

Edwards is going to become the Director of a new organization called the Center on Poverty, Work, and Opportunity (CPWO for short) that will officially be a part of the Law School at UNC-Chapel Hill. His title will be University Professor. He will give occasional guest lectures and do whatever directing the CPWO entails. For that work, he’ll be paid $40,000 annually. That’s a lot less than a senator is paid, but money is really no object for the millionaire lawyer.

“Bake sale” stirs debate

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CHARLOTTE — A planned College Republican-sponsored “affirmative action bake sale” at UNC-Charlotte has raised the ire of at least one school official, who said the event is offensive to minorities.

Members of the UNC-Charlotte College Republicans want to set up a booth Feb. 15 to offer baked goods with different prices for various groups of students. This is the third year the group has held the sale. Similar events have been conducted at college campuses across the nation in previous years.

Hayes fights for military recruiters

Feb 8, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL — Rep. Robin Hayes, R-N.C., was among the leaders of a recent House resolution to express support for the continuation of a federal law that denies federal funding to colleges that do not allow military recruiters on campus. The resolution is in response to U.S. District Court of Appeals ruling in November that struck down the law.

Speeches offer Bush Higher Education Plan

Feb 7, 2005 ·

CHAPEL HILL — Though most of the State of the Union address Feb. 2 dealt with reforms to Social Security and spreading freedom throughout the world, President Bush also focused attention on his higher-education goals.

During his fifth State of the Union address, Bush advocated increasing Pell Grant funding as well as providing more funding for workforce training initiatives for community colleges. Both proposals were ways, Bush said, “to make our economy stronger and more dynamic.”

Edwards’ new gig:

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The Dionne article anticipated last week’s big Edwards news. He now has an issue: the alleviation of poverty. Dionne doesn’t write that Edwards has no idea about how to accomplish it; instead, as he graciously puts it, Edwards is “planning to set up a center to study ways to alleviate poverty.” That would be UNC’s new Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, of which Edwards will be director.

Revisionist attempt to erase history

Feb 3, 2005 ·

In December, UNC-Chapel Hill Chancellor James Moeser retired the Spencer Bell Award after questions were raised over the award’s “integrity.” A January 12 article in The Daily Tar Heel explained the decision by citing a December 3 letter from the Chancellor. “Some esteemed women on our campus—women who I think could be considered for the Bell Award—were asked if they would accept it if it were offered. Their answer was ‘no.’”

That was enough to dump an award going back more than a century.

Cornelia Phillips Spencer is best known for her efforts to reopen UNC after reconstruction. Upon hearing that the University would reopen in 1875, Spencer ran to the University bell tower and rang the bell in an effort to inform others of the good news. Hence the title: Spencer Bell Award.

O’Dell speaks to NBC 17

Feb 2, 2005 ·

Note: Here is a copy of an interview of North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics teacher Carol O’Dell. The interview was part of the NBC 17 program “At Issue” and was conducted by moderator Donald Jones and Donna Martinez of the John Locke Foundation. The topic of the interview was O’Dell’s assertions that NCSSM is declining academically. O’Dell was informed by school administrators that her contract would not be renewed mainly because she has been critical of the school’s apparent academic decline. NCSSM officials declined a request by NBC 17 to appear on the program. The interviewed aired December 19, 2004.