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A s a top research univer-sity, UNC should offera top-notch summerundergraduate research pro-gram. And while the SummerUndergraduate ResearchFellowship has a reputation of being educational, it falls shortin comparison to other univer-sities programs.

While the SURF program hasexperienced many success sto-ries, it seems that theres a lot of opportunity for students to getconfused during the process.

One student says hes barely heard from his mentor about hisresearch project and hes sup-posed to leave the country in a few weeks to start his research.

Another student says shereceives very little instructionin the lab each day and doesntfeel secure in her project.

This comes from very littlestructured direction. SomeSURF students are largely lefton their own with their proj-ect. And some may not know exactly what theyre doing.

UNC should consider orga-nizing the SURF program ina similar way to the Research

Experiences for Undergraduates or REU programs, likethe one for animal behavior atIndiana University.

The SURF program admira- bly allows students enrolled atthe University to find their ownmentor, create and conducttheir own research project.Students can attend trainingat the Writing Center at theend of January to learn how to write a research proposal, work on developing their own planand then submit an applicationin mid-February.

If selected, they receive a $3,000 stipend to conducttheir research during thesummer. SURF projects arelargely science-related, butfellowships are also offered tostudents in humanities, arts orsocial science departments.

It should be noted that UNCalso has a REU program calledthe Summer UndergraduateResearch Experience, but itsonly offered for biological sci-ences.

In contrast, the REU pro-gram at Indiana University is very structured. Each stu-dent applies to work under a particular mentor, who givesthem a specific project to work on. Upon arrival this year,students received an itinerary,

which laid out a schedule of events to attend.

While REU programs likethe ones at Duke University and Indiana University dolimit creativity students aretypically given projects to work on rather than creating theirown they do receive moreinstruction, which may helpthem learn more about theresearch process.

Whats more, since the men-tors create the project andcarefully oversee the students who work with them, it seemstheres a better chance the proj-ects will yield useful results.

REU programs are funded by the National ScienceFoundation, while SURF isfunded through the University,outside contributors anddonors. While the process to become a federally-fundedREU program might be tooinvolved, SURF could at leastlook into structuring itself toresemble such a program.

SURF should maintainsome of its key components such as offering a programspecifically to UNC studentsand allowing students to havesome say in their projects. Butif it hopes to produce betterresults more consistently, itneeds more structure.

Reforming the research

Kvetching boardkvetch:v.1 (Yiddish) to complain To the girl who wears jeansand takes my Zumba classrom outside Rams: Am I notworth $40 to you? And pleasedont die o heat stroke. Please.Wow, there are so many wittykvetches this summer! Said noone ever.Since inding out that booksare 50 cents at the PTA Thri tStore, my ear o ending upon Hoarders: Buried Alivehas drastically increased. To the girls on my ha ll: Imbeginning to suspect that

you have a medical conditionthat keeps you rom smilingor being riendly. To my overly ca eina tedroommate who plays NickiMinaj on repeat: Starshipswere meant to ly. And Imgoing to put you on one andsend you to Pluto.O.K., I really just dont believethat everyone in summerschool is having such a law-less summer that they haveNOTHING to kvetch about. To all the radio st ations ever:I dont want to set ire to therain, roll in the deep or indsomeone like you. For thelove o God, stop playingAdele on repeat. To the lady at the DMV: Imglad to hear that youvetaken in two stray cats, butcould you debate nameswhen I havent been waitingin line or three hours?CTOPS kids, we have crosswalks here. Learn to usethem now. To all the high sch ool grad u-ates: Welcome to the grind.HBO, why you no have longershows? #season inaledespairGo ahead and buy an unlim-ited meal plan. Im sure youllwant to eat in Lenoir all thetime.WHAT?! Its the apocalypse!#nomorepokeysticksDont worry about the MLK roadwork, Chapel Hill. I didntwant tires on my car anyway. To the new student s withresh CCI laptops: Id envy

your getting a new computerbut my battery only has15 minutes le t. Cant inishkvetch.All o these body image col-umns make me want to eatPokey Sticks. Oh, wait.Nothing can be iner than tobe at Carolina in the morn-ing except during threedays o thunderstorms anddarkness.

Send you r one-t o-two sen-tence entries to

opinion@dailytarheel.com,subject line kvetch.

The games have begun, thematches have beengreat and we cantwait to see more.Pick a team andcheer them on

Euro Cup 2012 is the per ectway to warm up or the Olym-pics in July.

Weekly QuickHitsSo we wont be getting our

beloved PokeySticks at 4 a.m. inthe morning any-more. But lets aceit, the pizza was

really bad. And i were aboutto get a Mellow Mushroom intown, li e will be okay.

Gumb c o gEuro Cup 2012

OpinionTh rsday, J ne 14, 2012 The Daily Tar Heel8

Re re g rom eore e e wer

TO THE EDITOR:If you missed Orrin Pilkeys

latest dog and pony show tosell his new book on sea levelrise, you avoided a colossal waste of time.

What was billed by the N.C.Coastal Federation as a primeron climate change degeneratedinto little more than a screedagainst those who disagree with him.

At one point, Pilkey charac-terized Durham as an oasis of intellectuals surrounded by ananti-intellectual movement.

The last time such hubris was on display, Galileo wasthreatened with excommu-nication for suggesting theearth was not the center of theuniverse.

With a de gree fromFlorida State, Pilkey hasparlayed himself into a self-proclaimed expert in geology,coastal engineering, beacherosion, climate control andmeteorology.

As one o f the firs t to hija ck the environmental movementto further a social agenda,his mission in life is to vali-date his radical science; hismantra is to retreat from theshoreline.

Gov. Bev Perdue, DukeUniversity, the N.C. CoastalFederation and the Coastal Area Management Act haveexalted him to an academicpinnacle without equal.

For this achievement,Duke is eternally grateful notonly for the prestige but alsofor the millions in successfulgrants.

There is nothing propheticin his outrageous apocalyptictactics, yet no one holds himaccountable.

Extinction of piping plover,coquina, mold crabs, ghostcrabs, sea turtles, seafoodestuaries have been used for30 years to further retreatfrom the shoreline, while thespecies not only survive, they thrive!

His tactics are a blueprint forenvironmental fringe groupslike the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService and the Nicholas Schoolfor the Environment.

In the firm belief you canfool some people all of thetime, Pilkey sells Pilkey likeProcter and Gamble sell soapsuds. Unlike Pilkey, however,soap suds do have socially redeeming value.

Joe Exum Executive Director Emeritus

Bogue Banks Environmental Stewardship

Corporation

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

EDITORIAL CARTOON By Drew Sheneman, The Star-Ledger

The war on womenrages on

L ast year, a provision ban-ning Planned Parenthood by name in NorthCarolinas budget was overturned

by a court order. But this year,N.C. House Republicans havesuggested a new measure toeliminate state funding for theprogram.

The new measure pro-hibits contracts between theDepartment of Health andHuman Services and family plan-ning services outside of localhealth departments in other words, Planned Parenthood.

With the renewed debate, last years provision and an abortionlaw mandating an ultrasound before the procedure, many claimRepublicans are waging a waron women. Democrats in theHouse have filed bills to reverselast years budget provision andrevoke the ultrasound law.

As a college-age female,

Im familiar with the servicesPlanned Parenthood offers. ButI wanted to brush up on thespecifics of Planned Parenthoodprograms to make sure that Imon the right side of the war on women.

Although Ive never gone toPlanned Parenthood, many of my close friends have. One friend, a senior here at UNC, told me she went there to buy the genericform of Plan B, an oral emer-gency contraceptive.

It is a lot cheaper there, shetold me. Im in college. I donthave a job. I couldnt afford thename-brand st uff.

Another UNC student addedthat the Chapel Hill HealthCenter was the place she felt mostcomfortable buying emergency

contraceptives.Planned Parenthood is hereto help with things like gettingemergency contraceptives. Iknew I wouldnt be judged there.I felt like I would be labeled a slut if I just went to a pharmacy.

Planned Parenthood is a valu-able resource for women like me women looking for an inex-pensive and safe place to expressconcerns about their reproduc-tive health.

I understand the conservativequalms over abortion. But thatsnot enough to prevent funding.Planned Parenthood is muchmore than abortion. Surely theGeneral Assembly isnt againstoffering low-cost birth controland emergency contraception to women who may not be able to

afford it like college studentson a budget.Do these representatives

have a problem with inexpen-sive health screenings? PlannedParenthood health centers pro- vide gynecological exams, along with testing and treatment forsexually transmitted diseases. InMay, the Planned Parenthoodin Fayetteville offered low-cost breast exams and PAP screeningsin response to local support fortheir programs.

Perhaps if our state supportedPlanned Parenthood, we could benefit from more programs likethis.

Surely, our state politiciansresponsible for crafting the budget individuals who claim they arenot engaged in a war on women

do not want to prevent fundingof local peer education programssuch as Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina, whichprovides information and trainingabout reproductive health.

Apparently, the N.C. General Assembly holds these problemsagainst Planned Parenthood. Andall of these services and programsempower individual women tomake informed decisions abouttheir health and sexuality.

I was born and raised here inNorth Carolina. Ive always beenproud to say its one of the moreprogressive southern states.

I want to proudly claim thatmy home state is pro-woman,pro-reproductive rights and pro-health. But measures like theones currently being debated in

the legislature make me hesitate.

EDITORIAL

Summer UndergraduateResearch Fellowshipsshould be reformed.

Clarke TugwellEditorial Board member

Senior political science major romGreenville, N.C.Email: tugwell live.unc.edu

COLumN

Country singer Carrie Un-derwood de iedstereotypes andcame out or mar-riage equality thispast week. Heres

hoping more people in thecountry music business dothe same.

C rr e U erwoo

QuOTE OF THE DAY This is a bigger problem than African- American Studies and a bigger problem thanUNC. Sam Pride, on lax academic standards at Division 1 universities with com-petitive athletic programs

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COLumN SERIES: HEAvY ISSuES

This column is part of a sum-mer series that will focus oncollege-aged men and womens perceptions of beauty and bodyimage issues.

A s a fitness instructor, I amconstantly barraged withquestions that associatefitness with thinness, by people who fail to recognize that the two

are by no means connected.I learned this lesson the hard way the kind of way that leaves you in serious bodily pain for a solid week and your brain shat-tered from shock and disbelief.

Two years ago, while work-ing as a fitness instructor ata YMCA in Asheville, N.C.,I heard tales of a legendary instructor who could bothdestroy and rebuild you in 30minutes with her nearly impos-sible workouts.

I got to her next class early inanticipation and scanned the roomfor a woman that could embody such physical prowess.

As class started, a woman withunkempt hair and glasses emergedfrom the group, defied my every expectation and changed my life.

She was no Jillian Michaels. Infact, she wasnt a Michelle Obama or even a Jennifer Hudson. But sheput me through the wringer in the

Colleen DalyUNC ftness instructor

Senior Global Studies major rom

Asheville, N.C.Email: csdaly email.unc.edu

most uplifting way I have ever hadthe pleasure to endure and is now one of my closest friends.

While shes the first to admitthat numbers would suggestshes unhealthy, numbers are noteverything. Bodies are built toperform.

Fitness isnt about what your body looks like. Its about what itcan do. Those thunder thighs theyre what power you throughstadiums, across soccer fields andstudios and propel you in jumps.

Your strong shoulders andarms might be the result of intense dedication to swimming, yoga or dance.

This is not limited at all to

athletics. The areas of the body women complain about mostare also the most important forhealthy motherhood. Appreciate

your body for what it is capableof and treat it with respect.

Our obsession with numberson the scale has overshadowed theimportance of leading a healthy lifestyle. Rather than making it your goal to lose 10 pounds, chal-lenge yourself to finish a 5k, swima mile, try a new fitness class orget out and walk. Talk with a nutritionist at the UNC Wellness

Center and see what foods fit with your tastes and your needs.Truly healthy and sustainable

lifestyles, in which we are bothproperly nourished and active,allow our bodies to find theirnatural happy place. Key word:sustainable. Health is aboutreaching equilibrium.

More importantly, while physi-cal health is important, its only half the battle. I was plagued by over-exercise disorder for years. At my lowest point, numbers would tell you that I was as phys-ically fit as they come. But I wastrapped in mental anxiety anddistress that prevented me fromtruly living. I abused my body because I refused to accept whatit was built for. I now know how to use it to do what I love.

My butt is big because I cantake you in squats. Someday, Ill be that legendary instructor frizzy hair, glasses, booty and all.

Think about what your body can do, not what it looks like.

Finding equilibrium