Monday, August 21, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Shhh! Someone’s listening!

The Bush Administration promises to appeal Thursday’s U.S. District Court decision in ACLU v. National Security Agency, in which Judge Anna Diggs Taylor of Michigan struck down the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program. Dr. John Vile, chair of the Department of Political Science and a constitutional scholar, says Taylor “relied fairly heavily on the Steel Seizure Case of 1952 in arguing that presidential powers are especially limited when they conflict with congressional laws. Taylor also limited the ‘state secrets privilege’ by pointing out that Bush had already admitted to skirting existing law without, therefore, necessitating further disclosure of state secrets.”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Age is for wine and cheese.

What age would you prefer your doctor to be? Your lawyer? Your therapist? A study by two MTSU professors and a graduate student found that people between the ages of 18 and 24 don’t want the service professionals they hire to be much older than they are. The young people’s preferred mean age was 35 for a physician, 35 for a lawyer, 35 for a therapist--and 34 for a college professor! The study was conducted by Drs. Kevin Breault and Ron Aday, sociology and anthropology, and Lori Farney and published in the trade publication “Educational Gerontology.”

Contact Aday at 615-898-2693 or raday@mtsu.edu
Contact Farney at Lorifarney@aol.com

I approved this message.

Although the primaries are over, voters will have to live with about three more months of campaign ads. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says the evidence indicates that the public doesn’t learn much about candiates’ positions from these paid messages. Burriss says, “All those great campaign commercials we've seen recently have produced a lot of smoke and sparks, but not much illumination and light. And if we didn't learn very much about the candidates or the issues through the media, we sure learned a lot about their power toshape the message--the (Marshall) McLuhan notion that the medium is the message. What we need is more one-on-one debate by the candidates and less posturing on the part of everyone.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

RUN FOR THE VETERANS--Pay tribute to the MTSU faculty, staff, alumni and students who lost their lives while serving in the armed forces by taking part in the MTSU Veterans Memorial Run/Walk at 2 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17. There will be individual and team awards for top finishers in all age and gender divisions. Each pre-registered entrant will receive a race T-shirt. Early registration is $15, and online registration will close at 8 p.m. Central time Friday, Sept. 15. All proceeds will go towards construction of an on-campus memorial to military personnel. Media welcomed. For more information, contact Maj. Chuck Giles at 1-888-682-7682 or cgiles@mtsu.edu

GET A HEAD START ON TAILGATING--Football weather has not arrived yet, but plans are in the works for the upcoming football season. This year, the MTSU Rutherford County Alumni Chapter’s annual Pigskin Pregame will be held from 7 p.m. unil 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 26. Tickets will be $20 if purchased by Tuesday, Aug. 22, or $25 at the door. The ticket price includes an exclusive preview of Murfreesboro’s newest restaurant, Kirkenburt’s Smokehouse Grill, wine, beer truck, soft drinks, music, door prizes and more. Parking will be available at Central Middle School. All proceeds from Pigskin Pregame will benefit the Rutherford County Chapter Scholarship Fund. Media welcomed. Contact the MTSU Alumni Office at 1-800-533-MTSU (6878) or visit http://www.mtalumni.com.

FAIR ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE--Memorabilia and free goodies will be available at MTSU’s booth at the Wilson County Fair through Aug. 26 at the James E. Ward Agricultural Center in Lebanon. The fair is regarded as the top fair in the state and is listed in the Top 20 Events in August by the Southeast Tourism Association. Wilson County alumni and personnel from MT athletics, athletic marketing and the alumni office will be staffed starting at 5 p.m. on weekdays and virtually all day on Aug. 26. The fairgrounds are located one mile off Interstate 40. Festival goers should take I-40 to exit 239B, then U.S. 70 West. Contact the MTSU Alumni Office at 1-800-533-MTSU (6878) or visit http://www.wilsoncountyfair.net.

BAKE IT AND TAKE IT--The Blue Raider Bake Off and Blue Raider Bash are slated for 5:45 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 29 next to Cummings Hall. Members of the campus community will enter delicious desserts for a chance to win a tailgate party to feed 15 people. There are two categories—one for students and one for staff, faculty and administration. There will be a winner in each of the two categories. The applications are available at http://www.mtsu.edu/~nsfp. Click on Welcome Week, then Big Fat Blue Raider Bake Off, then application. Fill it out and turn it in to Keathley University Center, Room 326. MTSU student athletes will be on hand and there will be plenty of barbecue. All the eats are FREE, and the event is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Media welcomed. Contact Rob Patterson, coordinator, New Student and Family Programs at 615-898-2454 or rpatters@mtsu.edu

AGRARIAN ART—“The Upper Cumberland Collection: The Plateau Years” is on display at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in the McWherter Learning Resources Center through Sept. 8. These photos are by Jack Stoddart, who began his career photographing a disappearing culture between 1971 and 1974. The gelatin silver images became a mainstay of future exhibits chronicling the last vestiges of an agrarian lifestyle that still existed in rural north central Tennessee. There will be a lecture by Stoddart at 7:30 p.m. on Wed., Sept. 6 in Room 104 of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. A reception will follow in the gallery. Exhibitions are free and open to the public Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and Sat. Noon-4 p.m. For more information contact Tom Jimison, curator, at 651-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu

FAT ISN’T PHAT--Greg Critser, author of Fat Land, will be MTSU’s University Convocation speaker at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 27 at Murphy Center. Fat Land, which investigates why 60 percent of Americans are now considered overweight, is this year’s summer University reading selection. The book examines the many factors involved in American life—from supersizing to Super Mario, from high fructose corn syrup to the high cost of physical education in schools. The annual convocation welcomes new students into the MTSU learning community with faculty marching in regalia, dramatic music played by the university band, and explanations of MTSU traditions and rituals. Free and open to the public. Media welcomed. (Listen to a radio interview with Greg Critzer on “MTSU On the Record” at 7 a.m. Sunday, August 20 on WMOT, 89.5 on your FM dial..) Contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or news@mtsu.edu

DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE, DOUBLE YOUR FUN—Enjoy Japanese hospitality and learn more about the Asia-related courses offered at MTSU as the Japan-U.S. Program welcomes new Japanese students, their friends and all students enrolled in Japan-related courses at TWO parties Friday, Sept. 1. The first event will take place from 5-6:30 p.m. in the SunTrust Room of the Business Aerospace Building. The follow-up party, or niji-kai, will take place at the home of Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, 202 Eventide Drive in Murfreesboro, at 7 p.m. Guests will include exchange students from partner institutions in Japan, Korea and the Philippines. But Kawahito says, “ … many returning Japanese students take this as a ‘welcome back party’ for them and as a great occasion to eat good foods—as much as they want. During the second party, I keep cooking, cooking and cooking.” For further information, especially about directions and parking, call the Japan-U.S. Program at 615-898-2229 or send an e-mail to japan@mtsu.edu

BLOOD SPORT--MTSU vs. Tennessee Tech: It’s the Thursday, Sept. 14 football game and Sept. 12-13 blood drive. MT athletics and the Student Government Association arefully behind the Red Cross blood drive that will be held from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. both days. Anyone 17-and-over with a valid ID can participate. MTSU will compete against its longtime Ohio Valley Conference rival to see which school can “pump up” the most blood. For more information, call Jennifer Kirk, KUC event coordinator, at 615-898-2590.