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More than half of North Carolinians are unaware that state laws exist to allow public access to government records, according to the latest ������Ƶ Poll, but nearly all respondents feel democracy is best when it operates openly.

From AIG and the mortgage meltdown to Bernie Madoff’s greed, everyone, it seems, is talking about ethics in business. ������Ƶ faculty harnessed that interest Tuesday in a panel discussion that debated what role morals should have in the business world, regardless of economic climate.

Kristen Rectenwald, a senior in the Department of Religious Studies, gave a paper titled "From Divine Judgment to Medical Diagnosis: Tracking Disease in British Consciousness" as part of the undergraduate research section of the American Academy of Religion and Society of Biblical Literature southeast regional meeting in Greensboro, N.C., on March 14.

The Purple Crown: The Politics of Martyrdom, a book by Tripp York in the Department of Religious Studies, was recently voted one of the best books of 2008 by the magazine The Mennonite.

The ������Ƶ Mock Trial Team completed the 2009-2010 season with a breakthrough performance at the American Mock Trial Association’s 2009 Opening Round Championship Tournament from March 13-15 in Easton, Pennsylvania. This tournament marked the first time in the six-year history of ������Ƶ Mock Trial that the team advanced beyond the Regional Tournament round of competition.

Through the first five official weeks of RecycleMania 2009, ������Ƶ has collected nearly 44,000 pounds of material, which, like most university campuses taking part in the contest, is slightly lower than at the same point in last spring's nationwide contest.

Pamela Winfield, an assistant professor of religious studies, presented a paper, "Religion and the State in Japan: The Case of Shinnyo-en," and served as moderator and panel respondent to a panel on Orientalism and "The Pull of the East" at the annual SECSOR / regional AAR conference in Greensboro, N.C., from March 13-14.

Nancy Mairs, a contemporary nonfiction writer whose works have received national acclaim, visits ������Ƶ on March 17 for a 7:30 p.m. lecture in Whitley Auditorium sponsored by the Liberal Arts Forum. Mairs will also spend part of her visit to ������Ƶ working with students in a creative writing/nonfiction class.

In another sign of its commitment to teaching ethical values, the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business has formally adopted the Principles of Responsible Management Education, which connects the university with an international group of business schools that encourage social responsibility in the creation of a sustainable global economy.