Thursday, August 31, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Brain power

The Student Activity Fee funds are making possible two free workshops that can provide students with the necessary tips to earn better grades. Plymouth, Mich.-based Jamie Nast, a nationally acknowledged expert on helping individuals organize their thinking, will lead the “Mind Mapping” sessions from 1-4 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14 in the Hazlewood Dining Room of the James Union Building. In 1998, Nast and her husband founded NastGroup, a consultancy organization specializing in optimizing mind potential. Her first book, Idea Mapping: How to Access Your Hidden Brain Power, Learn Faster, Remember More, and Achieve Success in Business, is slated for publication Sept. 20.

For more information, contact Dr. Carol Ann Baily, Adult Services Center director, at 615-898-5989.
cabaily@mtsu.edu

The eight planets

If you’ve been intrigued by the recent declassification of Pluto’s status as a planet, the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s first Star Party of the academic year should be an eye-opener. Titled “What is a Planet?,” the party will last from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. TOMORROW in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Building. A 30-45 minute public lecture will be followed by outdoor telescope observation (weather permitting). The Star Party is FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. There will be free parking behind Wiser-Patten after 4:30 p.m. Please park only in areas designated for parking.

For more information, contact Donna Wolke with the Department of Physics and Astronomy at 615-898-5946.
dwolke@mtsu.edu

Mother Earth in a bad mood

Ernesto proved not to be so much of a threat, but Hurricane John is bearing down on the Mexican coast. Why, with enormous advances in meteorology and geology, is the human race still plagued and perplexed by natural disasters? The Fall 2006 Honors Lecture Series at MTSU will strive to answer that question and many more. Titles range from “The Role of the Military in Natural Disasters” to “New Media and Natural Disasters” to “Natural Disasters: A Public Health Perspective.” All lectures are free and open to the public. Lectures are held on Mondays (except Labor Day, Sept. 4) from 3 p.m. to 3:50 p.m. in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building.

For more information, contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.


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

THE SWEET SMELL OF SCIENCE--Registration is open for the 2006 Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science. The conference for girls in grades 5-8 will be held from 8 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, across the MTSU campus. Open to the first 300 girls who register, EYH will be celebrating its 10th anniversary on campus. To register, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/~EYH. Look for the registration button on the left side. Complete, print out, and mail the form to: Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, c/o MTSU EYH, P.O. Box 161, Murfreesboro, Tenn. 37132. For more information, contact Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross at 615-904-8253 or jiriarte@mtsu.edu

PROTECT YOURSELF--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge beginning Thursday, Sept. 7 through Thursday, Oct. 12, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the MTSU Public Safety Training Room, located at 1412 East Main Street. The classes will be open to all MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. Enrollment is limited. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training. For information or to enroll, call Officer David Smith at 615-494-8855.

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

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 TOMORROW. 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.