With the spring semester at UNC-Chapel Hill behind me, I am turning to tasks for the summer. One of the items on my to-do list is to update the stylebook journalism school and move it to WordPress.

The stylebook is a supplement to The Associated Press Stylebook. Its focus is the university, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area and North Carolina generally.

For example, the revised edition of the stylebook will have an updated entry on the name for the journalism school. It will no longer be the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Say hello to the School of Media and Journalism.

A new entry is inspired by a conversation this week on Twitter. It will address an important topic in North Carolina: barbecue. The entry will be a deviation from the AP stylebook, which describes “barbecue” as a noun or verb, as do most dictionaries.

In North Carolina, using “barbecue” as a verb is the mark of an outsider. To say, “let’s barbecue this weekend” will bring about puzzled looks and heavy sighs. Here, “barbecue” is a noun, but not elsewhere.

I asked Elizabeth Hudson, editor of Our State, how her magazine handled the word for her North Carolina readership. Here’s her reply:

@andybechtel @DerekMedlin @mtdukes @OurState the most important question I’ll be asked all day! Def noun. And spelled with a “c” not “q.” — Elizabeth Hudson (@elizahudson) May 19, 2015

That works for me. Here’s how the entry will read in the j-school’s stylebook when it is posted this summer:

Do not use as a verb. In North Carolina, barbecue typically refers to a pork dish, although it can be prepared with other meats or even tofu.

Yes, purists will insist that “barbecue” is pork and pork only. I’d ask them to try the turkey plate at The Pit and get back to me.

UPDATE: Based on comments here and on social media, I have deleted the entry’s reference to tofu. A win for carnivores!