Friday, July 21, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Oh, I believe in yesterday.

In the midst of the latest intense fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, one is prone to forget that the Israeli-Lebanese border was once one of the most peaceful in the Middle East. Dr. Sean Foley, who will start teaching history at MTSU this fall, says, “Between the years 1949 and 1967, the Israeli-Lebanese border experienced far less violence than did Israel’s border with Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Of the armistice agreements Israel reached with its four neighbors in 1949, the only agreement fully operative when the 1967 Arab-Israeli war broke out was with Lebanon. The border was so secure that Isareli foreign minister Golda Meir reported to President John Kennedy in 1963 that ‘cows occasionally wander over the border from Lebanon and are sent back. Girls in the Israeli Army may get lost and wander across the Lebanese border, but they are very politely returned.’”

Contact Foley at sfoley@mtsu.edu

Goodies galore!

Those who attend the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) showcase at 8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 5 at Wright Music Hall will get more than fabulous music performed by up-and-coming young women. The items to be raffled off include a Fender Stratocaster, a one-night stay and dinner for two from Loew’s Vanderbilt Hotel in Nashville, plants from Rogers Nursery, two gift certificates from Demo’s Steak and Spaghetti House and a gift bag from Bumpus Harley-Davidson. All proceeds will benefit SGRRC, which is slated from July 31-Aug. 5 at MTSU. The annual summer day camp offers girls ages 10-18 a positive place to develop their musical skills, collaborate with other girls and enhance their self-esteem.

Contact SGRRC founding mothers Kelley Anderson, Anna Fitzgerald and Courtney Wood Sharpe at the camp office at 615-849-8140 or sgrrc05@gmail.com.

Drinking and dating

The link between alcohol consumption and sexual assault is very disturbing. Chief Carl “Buddy” Peaster, director of the MTSU Department of Public Safety, says one survey suggests that the average age of alcohol intake in the U.S. is 13 years of age, with an average age for first consensual sexual intimacy of 14 years of age. “Sexual assaults can vary greatly in shape, form and fashion, but there are some common traits many times,” Peaster says. “Most sexual assaults for people between the ages of 17 and 24 involve the use of alcohol—usually excessively by at least one or both of the parties—as well as drug use and familiarity, meaning that the victim actually knows the offender.”

Contact Peaster at 615-898-2929.
cpeaster@mtsu.edu


TR EXTRA

A CENTURY OF BEAUTY--Beautiful bonsai trees will be on display at the Middle Tennessee Regional Bonsai Show Saturday, July 29 and Sunday, July 30 in Room 322 of the Keathley University Center. The show is co-sponsored by the Nashville Bonsai Society and the Japan-U.S. Program of MTSU. “Unlike ikebana (arranged flowers), bonsai trees have a long life, often more than 100 years, and require not just love but much physical and mental commitment on the part of the grower,” Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, director of MTSU’s Japan-U.S. Program, said. Bonsai Master Warren Hill, former supervisory curator for the U.S. National Bonsai Collection, will conduct a demonstration at 2 p.m. on Saturday. The tree he sculpts will be auctioned off during the demonstration. Admission both days is free. Media welcomed. To register for the show or for more information, contact Barbara Walton at 615-337-4728 or 615-449-6693 or cuchem@charter.net.

RAISING MONEY FOR ROCK ‘N’ ROLL—SATURDAY--The Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) will sponsor a fundraising night of music at 9 p.m. Saturday, July 22, Cutthroat Junction, Juan Prophet Organization, and SGRRC founding mother Anna Fitzgerald will perform at The Boro, 1211 Greenland Dr. in Murfreesboro. Admission is $5. Persons aged 18 and over only. All proceeds will go directly to the Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp, slated for Friday, July 31 to Saturday, Aug. 5 at MTSU. For more information, contact SGRRC at 615-849-8140 or sgrrc05@gmail.com.

GET ACCUSTOMED TO IT--Nine sessions of orientation for new students, called CUSTOMS, will be offered in July for freshmen and transfers on a first-come, first-served basis. Students pursuing majors in the colleges of Basic and Applied Science and Mass Communications and undeclared majors will have CUSTOMS July 24-25. Students pursuing majors in the colleges of Education and Behavioral Science, Liberal Arts and Business and undeclared majors will be held TODAY. Transfers may complete CUSTOMS online and be cleared by their advisers to register for fall classes. For more information, call the Office of New Student and Family Programs at 615-898-5533 or visit http://www.mtsu.edu/~customs.

HEAD FOR THE MOUNTAINS!--Some 16 MTSU alumni and several faculty members have contributed to the newly published “Encyclopedia of Appalachia.” The title has more than 2,000 entries which provides ready reference to information about the people, culture and history of Appalachia. MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation was contacted by scholars at East Tennessee State University’s Center for Appalachian Studies and Services about collaborating on the project. CHP Director Dr. Carroll Van West says he agreed to participate because of his interest in southern architecture and because the Applachian region suffers from stereotyping. Contact the Center for Historic Preservation at 615-898-2947.