http://web3.unt.edu/news News for UNT en-us Copyright 2002, University of North Texas rwolper@unt.edu cbunata@unt.edu http://web3.unt.edu/news/story.cfm?story=11513 Hundreds of fans of Michael Jackson have gathered outside the pop stars rented home in Los Angeles, at his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and other locations to mourn Jackson, whose death was announced last Thursday. Some fans have also launched Internet tributes to him.The outpouring of public grief around the globe is reminiscent of the collective grief experienced by many in September 1997 at the death of Princess Diana. Dr. Bert Hayslip, University of North Texas Regents Professor of psychology, is available to discuss grief over the death of a celebrity such as Jackson and actress Farrah Fawcett, who also died last Thursday. Hayslip says Jackson and Fawcett, as well as many other deceased celebrities, touched an entire generation through their accomplishments and were symbols of attractiveness, success and talent. For most people, he says, the amount and intensity of grief they experience at the death of celebrities is a function of centrality  how much they identify with the individual.If youve internalized a celebrity as a part of your childhood  maybe you fantasized over being with Farrah when you were a teenager or grew up listening to Jacksons music  then a part of you dies when that person dies, Hayslip says. You usually feel the least grief for someone that you didnt personally know, but if the celebrity was important to you, it may be more difficult to process the persons death.He notes that identification with a particular celebrity, such as fighting cancer as Fawcett did or having a family member die from cancer, also determines intensity of grief.Those who grew up with backgrounds similar to Michael Jacksons  in poverty  and then became successful enough to leave poverty behind would identify more with him than others and probably grieve more. Professional musicians may also grieve more, he said.A death of a celebrity that was unexpected because the person was not elderly and not reportedly fighting an illness  as was the case with Jackson  may also take more time for many people to process and may impact intensity of grief, he says. But he doesnt believe that a celebrity death necessarily reminds people of their own mortality.I think that the death of your parents is more salient in bringing up mortality, because you realize that you will be the next generation in your family to die, Hayslip says. Still, the death of a celebrity from cancer may lead to you going ahead and having that suspicious lump checked out, or the death of a celebrity from substance abuse may cause you to change your lifestyle.Hayslip may be reached at his UNT office at 940-565-2675. http://web3.unt.edu/news/story.cfm?story=11492 On Monday (June 8), the U.S. military reported that about 10,000 Marines have arrived in Afghanistan as the first wave of about 21,000 additional troops that President Barack Obama ordered to Afghanistan this year. The troops' mission is to help Afghan security forces stanch an increasingly violent Taliban insurgency. The Taliban have become entrenched in the province of Helmand on the Pakistan border because of a lack of international and Afghan troops there. http://web3.unt.edu/news/story.cfm?story=11486 DENTON (UNT), Texas  More than 35 million Americans live in regions threatened by Atlantic hurricanes, according to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday it expects a near normal year for hurricanes.  Hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through November 30.  NOAA forecasters are expecting 9 to 14 named storms, of which 4 to 7 could become hurricanes, including 1 to 3 major hurricanes (Category 3, 4 or 5).