Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The selling of 9/11

If you were offended at the way the fifth anniversary of 9/11 was used to sell everything from television shows to bric-a-brac, you’re not alone. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “The historian Daniel Boorstein once wrote about what he called ’pseudo-events.’ These are events such as anniversaries that are created simply for the purpose of having an event; they are intended to be reported, rather than really mean anything; they have limited connection with real events; and they tend to be self-fulfilling.” Burriss notes that the expression “God bless America” was plastered on everything from T-shirts to ash trays shortly after 9/11. “Somehow, though,” Burriss observes, “the phrase seems to have slipped from the public consciousness, except when invoked by politicians trying to show they are more patriotic and religious than their opponents.”

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

Mega-mortality

According to the United Nations, there were 280 million people living in mega-cities (urban areas with populations of 8 million or more) in 2000. By 2015, that number is expected to increase to 350 million. Unfortunately, many mega-cities are in disaster-prone areas where the rate of death in a natural disaster (hurricane, earthquake, tsunami, etc.) would outpace the availability of disaster services. “Unfortunately, the ones with the most rapid growth are those in less industrialized or non-industrialized nations, which, of course, don’t have the money, don’t have the technology, … don’t have the infrastructure to deal with natural hazards,” says Dr. Clay Harris, geosciences.

Contact Harris at 615-904-8019.
cdharris@mtsu.edu

Lace ‘em up!

There is more than one reason to lace ‘em up for this Sunday’s Veterans Memorial 5K Run/Walk at MTSU—and there’s still time to sign up! Awards and prizes will be issued for team entries of registered groups of five or more and individuals in each age division. Drawings will be conducted for door prizes totaling more than $1,000 in value. The Tennessee Titans and Nashville Predators are among the sponsors who have donated items for the runners. T-shirts are guaranteed to all pre-registrants on a first-come, first-served basis on race day. Not only will the runners and walkers win prizes. All proceeds will benefit the construction of an on-campus memorial to MTSU faculty, administrators, staff and students who perished while serving their country in the military.

Contact Maj. Chuck Giles at 615-898-2470.
cgiles@mtsu.edu
For a color jpeg photo of MTSU alumni serving their country in Operation Iraqi Freedom, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu


TR EXTRA

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

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. TOMORROW 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

A LITTLE “FRESH AIR”--One of the media’s premier interviewers, Terry Gross, host of National Public Radio’s “Fresh Air with Terry Gross,” will lecture at 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. The talk is free and open to the public. “I think it’s a great opportunity to have a nationally recognized award-winning interviewer come here to talk,” Marc J. Barr, EMC professor, said. “She has come to be one of the best interviewers, if not the best interviewer, out there in media.” While the Tuesday night lecture is free, tickets are required for admission. Tickets that were issued for the original April date are good for Gross’ upcoming appearance, and those individuals will be allowed first entry. No new tickets will be issued. However, non-ticket holders will be allowed entry after ticket-holders based on available seating. For more information, contact Barr at 615-898-5118 or mjbarr@mtsu.edu