Tuesday, September 5, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

I want what used to be my MTV!

The reviews of the latest MTV Music Video Awards are in, and they’re not flattering. Critics are suggesting that the cable channel has lost its edge and has become too tame. Nekesa Mumbi of the Associated Press says, “Somewhere along the way, the MTV Awards seemed to have morphed into the Grammys.” Dr. John Dougan, recording industry, who watched some of the ceremony, says what he saw was more Grammy-like than in the past. He says the lack of raucousness is odd “considering that the target audience for the broadcast (15-to-25-year-olds) would probably prefer it being more outrageous and irreverent.”

Contact Dougan at 615-898-2578.
jdougan@mtsu.edu

She’s a whiz with the fizz!

One of the hottest videos on the Internet for the past several months has shown a rhythmically coordinated spray of Diet Coke high into the air from several two-liter bottles. The effect was achieved by dropping Mentos candies into the bottles and awaiting the fizzy reaction. Taking their cue from this entertaining video, Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) will conduct a Diet Coke/Mentos contest TONIGHT outside McHenry Hall. Each of five teams will compete to create the most imaginative carbonated display. Of course, the chemistry of the event will be discussed, as well. The WISE meeting is slated to begin at 6 p.m. Media welcomed.

Contact Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross at 615-904-8253.
jiriarte@mtsu.edu

Calling occupants of interplanetary craft

Why all the fuss about Pluto? The International Astronomical Union has declared that Pluto really isn’t a planet, after all, sending millions of K-12 teachers scrambling to revise their lesson plans. Does it really matter how many planets are in the solar system? Dr. Chuck Higgins, physics and astronomy, says, “It makes no difference how many planets are in the solar system; the strain is that most people want Pluto to remain a planet, but most astronomers want a more clear definition of a planet. The definition is more clear than before, but there are still skeptics who don't like this definition and will fight to overturn it. I think this debate is good for astronomy and for science!”

Contact Higgins at 615-898-5946.
chiggins@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. TOMORROW 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

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.

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