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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A man who admits that he intentionally plowed into nine people on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus last week told authorities he was disappointed that more people were not around when he carried out the alleged attack. In a search warrant released Tuesday, Mohammed Taheri-azar told authorities that for two years, he had been thinking about some type of attack because "the United States government had been killing his people across the sea." Taheri-azar told authorities he had been carefully planning the attack for two months and had rented the Jeep Cherokee in which he drove on...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Protests are planned for Monday in the same area of campus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where, authorities said, a former student plowed a sport utility vehicle into nine people Friday afternoon. The College Republicans, Americans for an Informed Democracy and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies are sponsoring the event, scheduled for 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Monday in "The Pit," a central area of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. The event is open to the public and free of charge. Police said Mohammad Taheri-azar, a 2005 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, admits...

Man Accused in UNC Attack Appears in CourtBy STEVE HARTSOE, Associated Press WriterCHAPEL HILL, N.C. - A University of North Carolina graduate from Iran, accused of running down nine people on campus to avenge the treatment of Muslims, said at a hearing Monday that he was "thankful for the opportunity to spread the will of Allah." Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar was accused of driving a sport utility vehicle through The Pit, a popular campus gathering spot, injuring nine people Friday. None of the victims was seriously hurt. Police Chief Derek Poarch said Taheri-azar told investigators he intentionally hit people to "avenge...

Protests are planned for Monday in the same area of campus at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where, authorities said, a former student plowed a sport utility vehicle into nine people Friday afternoon. The College Republicans, Americans for an Informed Democracy and the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies are sponsoring the event, scheduled for 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. Monday in "The Pit," a central area of the UNC-Chapel Hill campus. The event is open to the public and free of charge. Police said Mohammad Taheri-azar, a 2005 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, admits he acted to "avenge...

"Our ongoing investigation indicates that the suspect's motive was to avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world," said Derek Parch, UNC-Chapel Hill's Director of Public Safety at a news conference Saturday afternoon. "There is every indication in this early stage of the investigation that he acted alone. There is no indication whatsoever that he acted in concert with anyone." Taheri-azar, currently at Raleigh's Central Prison under a $5.5 million bond, was charged with nine counts of attempted first-degree murder and nine counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury with intent to kill.

But Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar appears to have acted alone, campus police say A UNC-Chapel Hill graduate told investigators he intentionally drove into a crowd of students on campus Friday to "avenge the deaths of Muslims around the world," UNC Police Chief Derek Poarch said Saturday. Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, told detectives to go to the Carrboro apartment he shared with two other men, saying authorities would find evidence there that would explain his decision to hurt students. Poarch declined to say what, if anything, was found, but emphasized that Taheri-azar appears to have acted alone. It does not appear that...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - A recent University of North Carolina graduate faces attempted murder charges after a sport utility vehicle raced through a popular campus gathering spot Friday, hurting nine people and scattering startled bystanders. Six people - five students and a visiting scholar - were treated at UNC Hospitals, though a hospital spokesman said none was seriously injured. Five were released Friday and the sixth wasn't expected to be admitted to the hospital, the university said in a statement. Three other people declined treatment at the scene, police said. Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, who graduated in December as a...

Religious Terrorism Strikes Chapel Hill by Jillian BandesPosted Mar 04, 2006 CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- With backpacks as physical shields, University of North Carolina students are now called to defend themselves against religious terrorism while they walk the halls of their school. Earlier today, just before high noon, Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, 22, bulldozed the center of UNC's main campus with a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee -- the biggest SUV he could find -- in order to retaliate against treatment of Muslims around the world, he said.   Taheriazar, a recent graduate, sent six to the hospital with injuries and hit three...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - A recent University of North Carolina graduate faces attempted murder charges after he allegedly drove a sport utility vehicle through a popular campus gathering spot Friday, clipping and scattering startled bystanders. No one was seriously hurt. Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, 22, who graduated in December after studying psychology and philosophy, was in the custody of campus police. They intended to charge him with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, said police Capt. George Hare. Taheri-azar called police to surrender and then awaited officers on a street two miles from the campus,...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — A recent University of North Carolina graduate was charged with nine counts of attempted murder Saturday, a day after authorities say he drove through a popular campus gathering spot in an attempt to avenge Muslim deaths. Derek Poarch, chief of the university police department, confirmed Saturday that Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, a 22-year-old Iran native, told investigators he wanted to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world." Poarch would not provide any other details on the motive. Taheri-azar also is charged with nine counts of assault. No one was seriously hurt in the incident...

A JIHADIST IN NORTH CAROLINA By Michelle Malkin   ·   March 03, 2006 08:29 PM Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, lone jihadist New details from ABC 11 in Raleigh, N.C., about the Muslim man who plowed into students on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus today: The driver of an SUV that plowed into a group of pedestrians at UNC-Chapel Hill on Friday told police it was retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world, according to ABC News. It happened around noon Friday in front of Lenoir Hall on the campus, in a common area known as the Pit. Paramedics took six people...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The FBI has joined the investigation of a recent college graduate who faces attempted murder charges for allegedly injuring bystanders after driving a sport utility vehicle through a popular campus gathering spot. No one was seriously hurt in the incident at the University of North Carolina on Friday. The FBI joined the case because 22-year-old Mohammed Reza Taheri-azar, a native of Iran, "allegedly made statements that he acted to avenge the American treatment of Muslims," said agent Richard Kolko, an FBI spokesman in Washington. "The ongoing investigation will work to confirm this." Taheri-azar, who graduated in...

9:14 pm x43 9 injured by SUV at UNC-Chapel Hill Updated: 3/3/2006 7:32 PM By: Associated Press WATCH THE VIDEO More Information UNC Hit-and-Run The driver of an SUV that sped through the UNC-CH campus, hitting several people, allegedly planned the attack as retribution for the treatment of Muslims around the world. CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- A recent University of North Carolina graduate faces attempted murder charges after a sport utility vehicle raced through a popular campus gathering spot Friday, hurting nine people and scattering startled bystanders. Six people -- five students and a visiting scholar -- were treated at...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Authorities say 23-year-old Mohammed Reza Taheriazar drove a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee into The Pit at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus around noon Friday, injuring five students and a visiting scholar. Police said they would charge Taheriazar, who was a UNC student as recently as Fall 2005, with multiple counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. Authorities are not releasing a motive, but they did say the incident was intentional. Six people were taken to UNC Hospitals with minor injuries, hospital spokesman Tom Hughes said. Four of the students had been treated and...

A University graduate careened a rented silver Jeep Grand Cherokee through the Pit about noon Friday, striking nine pedestrians and sending six to UNC Hospitals. Mohammed Reza Taheriazar, 23, who graduated in 2005, is in custody at the Department of Public Safety after turning himself in after the incident. He was born May 5, 1983, according to University registrar records. He was a psychology and philosophy major. He was published in The Charlotte Observer for dean's list honors in spring 2005. He is still listed as a senior in the print directory. At about 2 p.m., a bomb threat was...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- Authorities say 23-year-old Mohammed Reza Taheriazar drove a silver Jeep Grand Cherokee drove into The Pit at the UNC-Chapel Hill campus around noon Friday, injuring five students and a visiting scholar.

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Two students "horsing around" in a college dormitory crashed through a third-floor window early Friday and fell to the concrete below in an apparent accident that killed one and critically injured the other, school officials said. Investigators don't believe drugs or alcohol were involved but were still trying to determine exactly what happened, said University of North Carolina spokeswoman Lisa Katz. The two student were "just running, horsing around, playing," Katz said. They went through a window at the end of a hallway in Stacy Residence Hall shortly after midnight, and both landed on a concrete...

"More than a dozen students marched into The Daily Tar Heel offices at UNC-Chapel Hill and plopped down on the floor to protest the newspaper's publication of an editorial cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad. They said they wouldn't leave until the newspaper apologized. "A student newspaper serves the students," Salma Mirza, a Muslim student from Buffalo, N.Y., said as she read a statement to DTH staffers. "It should not attack students under the pretense of 'promoting open dialogue.' This decision marginalized and belittled many students, and we are banding together in the fear that the precedent of this incident will...

Three years after being sued for requiring freshman students to read a book of excerpts from the Koran, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is now offering a minor in the study of Christianity and culture. But at least one UNC alumnus is skeptical about the school's decision. The Christianity and Culture minor is the brainchild of sociology professor Chris Smith, who says while researching the religious lives of young people, he realized how little many young people know about their own faith traditions. He notes, "It got me thinking that there are probably tons of students at Carolina who...

A just got off the phone with a good friend from the Old North State (NC) Chapter of FRee Republic who joined a small group in FReeping a "Peace" Fundraiser organized by the usual characters. As the NC FReepers are driving to their homes, they asked if I could start the thread for them. ------------------ Here is some background information from another thread (link above) Benjamin speaker for fundraiser [Code Pink's Medea Benjamin] North Carolina, Sept 16 herald-sun.com ^ | Sept. 1, 2005 Posted on 09/03/2005 10:20:07 PM PDT by Albion Wilde CARRBORO -- Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink...

CHAPEL HILL -- The dismissal of a writer from a student newspaper over a controversial column usually would stir a tempest only on campus. But not at UNC-Chapel Hill, a frequent battleground in the national culture wars. In the first sentence of her opinion column Tuesday in The Daily Tar Heel, Jillian Bandes wrote: "I want all Arabs to be stripped naked and cavity-searched if they get within 100 yards of an airport." Referring to conservative writer Ann Coulter's comment that if she ever wanted physical intimacy, she would walk through airport security, Bandes wrote: "I want Arabs to get...

Jillian Bandes is a junior at UNC-Chapel Hill, and, until today, was a columnist for the student newspaper, the Daily Tar Heel. Ms. Bandes wrote a controversial editorial in support of airport profiling that ran Tuesday. Today, she was fired. Daily Tar Heel opinion editor Chris Coletta claims she was dropped because she used out-of-context quotes. Yeah right. My guess is that he caved to the inevitable barrage of phone calls and e-mails demanding her removal. The issue here is not whether you agree with Ms. Bandes' column or not. The issue is a question of if we support open...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has begun offering a minor in Christianity to help students whom a professor says aren't able, regardless of their faith, to talk seriously about it. The curriculum called Christianity and Culture is a first for the university and sets a precedent across the nation, said Christian Smith, a UNC-Chapel Hill sociology professor. "Teens don't know a lot about their religious tradition, and that made quite an impression on me," said Smith, who conducted a four-year study on spiritual lives of teens. "There are lot of students who come...

On the day the University of North Carolina officially began its search for a new president, former U.S. Senate candidate Erskine Bowles said he wants the job of leading the 16-campus system. Bowles, a Charlottean whose resume includes the White House, Wall Street and now the United Nations, called the UNC system presidency "the one job in the world I would really like to have." "It presents an opportunity to have as significant an impact on shaping the future of North Carolina in a positive way as anything I can think of," Bowles told the Observer. "If you have an...

Keg proposals alarm Chapel Hill Chapel Hill had sought controls By MATT DEES, Staff Writer CHAPEL HILL -- Bills filed in the General Assembly that would require beer keg buyers to register with the state could invade lawful citizens' privacy and have unintended consequences, Town Council members said Monday. While still voicing support for keg registration as a tool to discourage underage drinking, the Chapel Hill Town Council voted unanimously to send their concerns to local lawmakers as the bills await committee hearings. Council member Cam Hill said the laws proposed are more stringent than what the council envisioned when...

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com But university president still supporting 'non-discrimination policy' A federal court has ordered the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to reinstate a Christian fraternity which had been denied recognition because its officers refused to sign the university's nondiscrimination policy requiring the group to allow homosexuals to join. The preliminary injunction, issued by U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Bullock Junior, will permit Alpha Iota Omega access to student funds and university facilities, like other fraternities on campus. The order will remain in force until the issue of compliance with the university's policy against discrimination is settled,...

Ancient Artifacts Found on North Carolina Campus Willie Drye for National Geographic News March 7, 2005 The discovery of 2,000-year-old artifacts on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is prompting archaeologists to rethink their theories about the early presence of Native Americans in North Carolina. The artifacts include spear points and pottery fragments. Their location indicate that small bands of roaming Indians made a seasonal home on ground that later became the site of the nation's first state university, said Steve Davis, associate director of UNC's Research Laboratories of Archeology. "They were living as bands...

<p>RALEIGH (AP) — The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill must recognize a Christian fraternity that has waged a legal fight challenging the school's nondiscrimination policy.</p> <p>The preliminary injunction issued by U.S. District Court Judge Frank W. Bullock Jr. will remain in place until the case is resolved, possibly by trial.</p>

John Edwards, former U.S. senator and Democratic vice presidential candidate, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have opened a "Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity." Housed in the law school, the center will be directed by Edwards, a newly minted "university professor," and will include an advisory committee of senior UNC faculty from multiple disciplines. A UNC Chapel Hill news release asserted that the center would be a "nonpartisan initiative." According to The Daily Tar Heel, the student newspaper, university trustees had been briefed on negotiations with Edwards and "voiced their wish that the initiative be nonpartisan."...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Former Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards (news - web sites) will head a University of North Carolina center that will study ways to lift people out of poverty. Edwards, a 1977 graduate of UNC's law school, will be director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, the university said Friday. He will hold a part-time, two-year faculty position, funded by private gifts to the university. Edwards served one term in the Senate and pursued a presidential run last year before being picked as John Kerry (news - web sites)'s running mate. While in the...

AP) — At the University of North Carolina, three incoming freshmen sue over a reading assignment they say offends their Christian beliefs. In Colorado and Indiana, a national conservative group publicizes student allegations of left-wing bias by professors. Faculty get hate mail and are pictured in mock "wanted" posters; at least one college says a teacher received a death threat. And at Columbia University in New York, a documentary film alleging that teachers intimidate students who support Israel draws the attention of administrators. The three episodes differ in important ways, but all touch on an issue of growing prominence on...

Campuses and Crawlspaces ... where all manner of creepycrawlies live. With the tendency, post Nov 2, to assign red or blue colors to every segment of American society, no locale is more universally “blue” than the college campus. If you find an admitted Conservative on a college campus you can bet he’s either attending a football game or repairing a faulty Xerox machine. BobLee takes some comfort in this territorial absolute. Here in North Carolina, we are almost solidly red. You are probably thinking that John Edwards likely carried his home precinct. Heck no, John’s home precinct went 80% Red....

BY ERIC FERRERI, The Herald-Sun December 2, 2004 11:25 pm CHAPEL HILL -- The whole vice president thing didn't quite work out, and the "senator" title will only apply for another month. So how does "Professor John Edwards" sound? It sounds pretty good to officials at UNC, who would love to bring the soon-to-be unemployed Edwards back to the Chapel Hill campus, where he and his wife earned their law degrees. And, in fact, Edwards has made at least one somewhat indirect mention of his interest in returning to UNC's law school in some capacity. Law School Dean Gene Nichol...

In our nation's cultural dialogue we frequently hear the words "tolerance" and "acceptance." They are often used as if they mean the same thing, when in fact they are quite different. Tolerance is when you disagree with others on a particular issue but respect their right to have their opinion and to live according to their beliefs. You may feel uncomfortable about their beliefs, but you can live together in a pluralistic society. Acceptance, on the other hand, is when you agree with others and share their position on an issue. While both tolerance and acceptance are good, they are...

UNC-CH survey finds that nonreligious teens more likely to believe in psychics, astrology - RALEIGH- A national ongoing study on teenagers and their religious practices found that Mormon youths are least likely to believe in psychics and fortune tellers, while Catholic or nonreligious teens are most willing to believe in them. According to the National Study on Youth and Religion, Catholic and nonreligious teens also show higher rates of belief in astrology and communication with the dead than do other religious denominations. The data were culled from a survey of 3,000 Americans between ages 13 and 17, and is part...

Discrimination against white male found By George Archibald THE WASHINGTON TIMES An English professor at the University of North Carolina illegally subjected a student to "intentional discrimination and harassment" because he was "a white, heterosexual Christian male" who expressed disapproval of homosexuality, the U.S. Education Department's Office of Civil Rights has ruled. Professor Elyse Crystall violated student Timothy R. Mertes' civil rights, the agency said, by improperly accusing him of "hate speech" in an e-mail sent to students after a class discussion in which Mr. Mertes said he was a Christian and felt "disgusted, not threatened" by homosexual behavior. "The...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., August 25, 2004 A federal lawsuit was filed today against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) by Alpha Iota Omega (AIO), a Christian fraternity that was denied recognition by UNC because it would not agree to open its membership to students of different faiths. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE), which is fighting on behalf of AIO in its conflict with UNC administrators, is now joined by the Alliance Defense Fund (ADF), which brought the suit against the university. "For too long, UNC has denied religious groups the basic rights that all...

When I recently learned that UNC officials had ordered the funds of a Christian fraternity frozen just because they refused to admit non-Christians, I was shocked.  When I found out later that the funds never even belonged to the state I was outraged. The idea that the state of North Carolina could freeze the privately raised funds of a Christian fraternity made me wonder whether UNC equated Christian student groups with terrorist networks like al-Qaeda.After I made that very suggestion to my friend Jon Sanders at the Pope Center for Higher Education Policy in Raleigh, he showed me that I...

Christian Frat Rejected by UNCA Christian student group that refused to sign a non discrimination policy has been denied official recognition by the University of North Carolina.Alpha Iota Omega would not follow university policy requiring membership to be open to all, because it wanted only those with similar beliefs to join in.Without official recognition, the frat cannot recieve student fee money.

Columnist Demands Accused UNC Official's Resignation By Jim Brown (AgapePress) - Just days after denying recognition to a Christian student group, the man at the center of a religious freedom controversy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill is being accused of playing a role in the 1996 theft of a conservative student newspaper. At the UNC campus that year, someone stole 1,500 copies of The Carolina Review, a conservative student publication. Now Jon Curtis, UNC's assistant director for student activities and organizations, is being accused of helping liberal students steal the newspapers in an effort to influence the outcome...

UNC administrators had better stock up on Maalox because it’s going to be a long week in Chapel Hill. Just last week the university was exposed for de-recognizing a Christian group without due process for an unthinkable transgression; they wanted to limit membership in the Christian group to people who are actually Christians. Now, information has surfaced, which implicates the administrator who de-recognized the Christian group in the theft of a student newspaper in 1996. And wouldn’t you know it; the stolen newspaper was the Carolina Review, the only conservative newspaper on campus.The theft of the student newspapers took place...

For the second time in less than two years, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) has denied recognition to a Christian group, claiming that the group's desire to limit its membership to Christians constitutes "discrimination." "A Christian group has a right to be Christian, a Muslim group has a right to be Muslim, and a Jewish group has a right to be Jewish," said David French, president of the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). "It seems absurd that anyone in a free society would have to make this argument, but time and time again FIRE...

In my career as a professor, I have noticed that college administrators often try to do things in private that they could never defend in public. That is why publicity is usually the best remedy when college administrators abuse their authority. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis probably put it best when he said that “Sunlight is the best disinfectant.” But Louis Brandeis never met the current administration at UNC Chapel Hill. After being sued and embarrassed in the court of public opinion in 2003, there is now credible information indicating that the administration at UNC is waging a new underground...

CHAPEL HILL -- Scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have discovered key steps involved in regulating nerve growth and regeneration that may have implications for spinal cord research. The new research, published in the June 24 issue of the journal Neuron, for the first time describes how nerve growth factor (NGF) stimulates a sequence of proteins – a molecular pathway – that promotes nerve growth. "It is the first study to show the link between NGF and the building blocks that form the axon," said Dr. William Snider, professor of neurology and cell and molecular physiology...

Program director says courses will appeal to “sexual minorities” CHAPEL HILL—This fall the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will offer a new minor program: “sexuality studies.” The program will be offered as an interdisciplinary program, similar to nearly 15 others on campus. Students who complete 12 hours’ worth of courses can receive a minor in sexuality studies. According to the program’s web site, the program is “designed for students who want to explore the study of sexual/gender identities — such as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual.” Some of the courses being taught in the fall semester include...

(AgapePress) - Conservatism, once believed to be quashed in the land of academia, has been steadily making a comeback on college campuses across the United States. But not without a fight. The most recent evidence is a poll conducted by the Education Research Institute showing that among college freshmen, 21 percent refer to themselves as conservative, while 24 percent hold liberal views. The vast majority of students prefer to sit in the middle of the political road. While the number of liberal students is still greater than conservatives, consider this: According to the poll, the percentage of students holding strict...

While it may look like a spontaneous uprising, recent complaints of "liberal bias" on local college campuses fit into a well-funded national strategy of the right For weeks, the 33 students in Elyse Crystall's "Literature and Cultural Diversity" class at UNC-Chapel Hill had been tackling sticky issues like racism, sexism and various forms of privilege. Discussions were lively and respectful, students recall, even when they touched on emotional subjects. On this particular day in February, talk turned to why some straight men feel threatened by gay men. There was the usual back-and-forth, with people expressing a range of views. Someone...

Feds Investigate 'Hate Speech' Incident at UNC-Chapel Hill By The Associated Press Federal authorities are investigating UNC-Chapel Hill after a February incident in which an English instructor singled out a conservative student for "hate speech." The probe will analyze whether the teacher's actions amounted to harassment and whether the school reacted appropriately. A letter from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced the decision last week. Education department spokesman Rodger Murphey says several people filed complaints about the incident with his department. School faculty members passed a...

CHAPEL HILL -- UNC-Chapel Hill is under investigation by federal authorities for an incident in February in which an English instructor singled out a student for "hate speech" after the student spoke out against homosexuality. The university was notified of the investigation in a letter March 22 from the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights. "Specifically OCR will be investigating whether an e-mail sent by a teacher on or about Feb. 6 ... constituted harassment based on race or sex and whether the university responded appropriately," the letter said. "Our review will include whether any similar incidents had...

This article by David Horowitz and the two following (Sarah Habel's "Students for Academic Freedom: A New Campus Movement" and Stanley Fish's "Voice of the Opposition") all appeared in The Chronicle of Higher Education. They represent the ongoing debate over Horowitz's Academic Bill of Rights and fight for intellectual freedom in our institutions of higher learning - The Editors. *I am the author of the Academic Bill of Rights, which many student governments, colleges and universities, education commissions, and legislatures are considering adopting. Already, the U.S. House of Representatives has introduced a version as legislation, and the Senate should soon...