Friday, September 1, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Pondering Pluto

Why did the International Astronomical Union declare that Pluto is not a planet after all? Dr. Chuck Higgins, physics and astronomy, says, “Planets are now defined to be orbiting the Sun, big enough to be round in shape, and it must have cleared the neighborhood in its orbit. Pluto fails the mark on the last part of the definition because it crosses the orbit of Neptune—thus, Neptune has cleared the neighborhood.” If you’d like to learn more, attend the Department of Physics and Astronomy’s First Friday Star Party from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. TONIGHT in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Building. The 30-45 minute public lecture titled “What Is a Planet?” will be followed by outdoor telescope observation (weather permitting). FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC. Media welcomed.

Contact Higgins at 615-898-5946.
chiggins@mtsu.edu

My big fat Greek home

Officers with the MTSU chapter of Pi Kappa Phi have signed a one-year lease with an option to renew for a second year at the former Kappa Sigma house on Greek Row. The brothers are in the midst of sprucing up the place with fresh paint, new locks on the doors and other repairs. House Manager Jimmy Miller, a sophomore from Phoenix, Ariz., says, “It will just be a lot of fun to live with the brothers and establish relationships with other fraternities.” The new digs also mean the Pi Kapps will have a home base from which to plan their community service activities, which include raising awareness of people with disabilities and the need to improve their quality of life.

Contact Gentry McCreary, director of Greek Life, at 615-898-5812.mccreary@mtsu.edu

Law and Order: Special Camera Unit

Hollywood recreations are neither necessary nor desired in trials in which the parties agree to allow cameras in the courtroom. In fact, there is no technological reason why more trials should keep out cameras, says Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication. “Television technology has been so miniaturized that TV cameras are no longer the large, intrusive devices they once were,” Pondillo says. “Excellent color pictures can be transmitted from a camera as small as a lipstick tube, and low illumination situations—which would prompt the placement of large, hot studio lighting—is no longer a problem.”

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@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

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 TONIGHT. 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.

MOTHER EARTH IN A BAD MOOD--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.

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 or cabaily@mtsu.edu