The end of its TALON database on antiwar activists may signal more emphasis on civil liberties.

Christian Science Monitor

First came the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s decision in the spring to implement stringent new guidelines to prevent agents from abusing their authority to issue national security letters, which can be used to gather information about Americans without their knowledge. Then in Congress, lawmakers voiced concern that the wiretapping authority they granted the Justice Department this summer may be too broad and needs to be revisited.

While many security experts argue that the amorphous nature of the terrorist threat demands a comprehensive response, they also question the advisability of casting a wide net that infringes on Americans’ privacy rights.

“There’s clear evidence of abuse and that the pendulum has shifted too far in terms of eroding civil liberties, so these are all hopeful signs,” says Matthew Robinson, professor of criminal justice at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. “But I think the pendulum has farther to swing, and [civil liberties may be eroded further] until some courageous leader comes forward and says, ‘Enough.’”   Read full story

Younger people have high risk for contracting an STD  

Asheville Citizen-Times

When college students head back to school this week, many will be packing the essentials - sheets, towels, clothes and books. But along with stops at Bed Bath and Beyond and Target, some students and their parents might stop in to see Michael Harney for other essentials.
Harney is a prevention educator at the Western North Carolina AIDS Project and supplies any college student who wants them with a package full of free condoms, lubricant and information on practicing safe sex.

Teenagers and people in their early 20s have the highest rates of new sexually transmitted diseases in the country, and local college health centers say they haven’t seen a drop in infection rates over the past few decades.

“They have knowledge, but knowledge doesn’t always change into a change in behavior, especially when other things are involved,” said Dr. Pat Geiger, a physician at Appalachian State University. “I think this issue is a very complex issue, and it comes down to personal decision making, and ultimately, it comes down to people making good decisions.” Read full story

Camp Catawba’s founder fled horrors of Germany in 1939

Winston-Salem Journal
Moss grows heavy on the roof of Camp Catawba’s “Mainhouse.” The roof is caving in on the boys’ dorm, and thick brush and tall trees cover a hillside where there was once a ball field and amphitheater.

It’s been nearly 40 years since boys raced down the path to the swimming hole or dressed up in costumes to perform Shakespeare. But the camp and the story of how the camp director escaped Hitler and founded a summer enclave of European culture in the mountains is being preserved.
The National Park Service, which now owns the 18-acre Camp Catawba, is working with the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation and Appalachian State University in trying to get the camp included on the National Register of Historic Places.   Read full story

UNC system is working on textbook rentals, buyback programs to help students foot costly book prices

Raleigh News and Observer

For college students and parents who wandered through the busy UNC Student Stores in Chapel Hill over the weekend, the sign atop a 4-foot tall mound of shrink-wrapped organic chemistry books was a little scary: $201.05. Nearby, a human anatomy and physiology book was selling for $252.40.

Rising tuition isn’t the only thing taking a bite out of parents’ wallets. The cost of textbooks nearly tripled from 1986 to 2004 in the United States, according to the most recent data studied by the federal Government Accountability Office.

But the tab for textbooks could be headed downward for students in the UNC system.

In March, the UNC Board of Governors passed rules designed to reduce the cost of textbooks. Most notably, by January 2008, each campus must have either a book rental program or a system to guarantee that books for large introductory courses would be bought back at a set price. And average textbook costs would be taken into account when campus leaders request tuition increases.

The rental fee is $87 at ASU, $107 at WCU and $150 at ECSU. Renting is easy on students, but faculty members argue that the system limits their choices of books for each course. In 2004-05, the Faculty Senate at Appalachian State recommended abolishing the rentals. In the end, ASU decided to keep the system. Now it’s so popular it’s a recruiting tool for the university.

Appalachian State’s rental program began in 1938. Other campuses determined it would be too costly to start a rental system at today’s prices, because it would require an enormous up-front investment. NCSU estimated it would cost $8.5 million for books, plus nearly $600,000 in operating expenses.
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Raleigh News and Observer
Go to the blogspot for Appalachian Trail hikers Spencer McKay, Ben Burchardi and Garrett Dixon, and look at the gear lists.
Every item in their packs has been weighed and measured.

As any seasoned hiker will tell you, there is no room for excess when you’re hauling it over a mountain on your back.
But there is one item — the most important item on these hikers’ trip — that does not appear on the list.

It is a miniature Nalgene water bottle containing some of the ashes of the hikers’ friend Stephen Harrington.

In the summer of 2005, Spencer, Ben, Garrett and Stephen made a pact to hike the entire 2,173-mile trail. Then, in October 2005, Harrington, a sophomore at Appalachian State University, was murdered in an apparent drug dispute.     Read full story