Carolina Alumni Review - November/December 2007

SARAH MCCART Y ARNESON ’ 96

UNC’s 2007 summer reading selection about the death penalty inspired “vigorous community discussion.”

Foothills Club
Joins Discussion
of ‘Innocents’

In putting together a community book discussion tied to the reading selection for this year’s incoming Carolina freshmen, The Death of Innocents by Sister Helen Prejean, the Foothills Carolina Club wrestled with race, religion, the government and opinions on the death penalty that changed in the span of two hours.

“Many people said they haven’t been this excited about reading a book in a long time,” said Rebecca Inglefield ’ 78.

“The event lasted two hours,” Inglefield said. “We could have stayed longer, but the library was closing at 9.”

Held in August at Hickory’s Patrick Beaver Memorial Library before local freshmen were en route to Chapel Hill, the discussion drew a diverse group of 15 attendees, ranging from community members to a few Federal Communications Commission employees.

“It was a mix of races,” Inglefield said. “Men and women, black and white. It was a vigorous community discussion with various religious backgrounds.”

The group mainly discussed U.S. Supreme Court issues in the book, and handouts were provided on recent developments in North Carolina regarding the death penalty.

While no students joined the discussion, the goal was to take UNC’s push for intellectual stimulation and infuse that passion into the surrounding communities.

“We continue to send out e-mails about the death penalty in North Carolina and activities at UNC on the issue,” Inglefield said. “We’ve decided to do a freshman book discussion every year.” ■

— Stephanie Newton

Carolina Centerfor

Jewish Studies

Album quilt made for Eleanor Israel Solomons (1794–1856), private collection. photo: college of charleston library, special collections. visit online exhibition, “a portion of the people: three hundred years of southern jewish life,” at www.lib.unc.edu/apop

“In its first four years, the Carolina Center for Jewish Studies has grown from a great idea to an exciting interdisciplinary hub of teaching, research and public activities. With your help we will add more faculty and aspire to become the best Jewish studies program in the nation.” HOLDEN THORP, Dean of the

College of Arts and Sciences

“Carolina’s interdisciplinary Jewish studies courses have been outstanding. I have taken modern Judaism with Yaakov Ariel, History of the Holocaust with Christopher Browning, and this semester I am reading prominent Israeli authors in the original Hebrew. I feel so privileged to have such incredible intellectual opportunities at Carolina.”

DIANA GERGEL,’09

ccjs.unc.edu

Engaging our Students The Center offers an undergraduate minor with more than 30 courses enrolling over 1,000 UNC students each year.

Building our Faculty In order to move from an undergraduate minor to a comprehensive major in the College of Arts and Sciences, the Center seeks to create new faculty positions.

Involving the Community We invite the public to hear leading international scholars, musicians, artists, filmmakers, and public intellectuals we bring to campus. Our faculty travel throughout the state, to urban communities and rural areas, to lecture on Jewish life, history, culture, and religion. All are welcome to attend.

Join us Contact us at ccjs.unc.edu to view our public lecture series schedule and to learn more about the Center and how you can get involved.