Friday, October 13, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Why did Cory crash?

The tragic plane crash that claimed the life of New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor, Tyler Stanger, on Wednesday remains a mystery. The aircraft that slammed into a Manhattan high-rise, a Cirrus SR20, was equipped with a parachute that enabled it to float down in the event of a crisis. However, Lidle’s plane might not have been high enough to accommodate the deployment of that parachute. Dr. Wayne Dornan, aerospace, says Lidle, who bought the plane with fewer than 400 hours of flight time under his belt, did the right thing by not attempting the long flight to Nashville by himself. “The very disappointing thing is that he was with a flight instructor” when the accident occurred, Dornan says. However, Dornan adds that Lidle should have filed a flight plan instead of opting to fly under visual flight rules given the overcast skies in New York that day.

Contact Dornan at 615-898-5832.
wdornan@mtsu.edu

To your health

What causes depression and suicide? What are the triggers and the physical signs? What can you do for a friend or family member who is depressed or having thoughts of suicide? Mental health professionals will answer these important questions in a satellite videoconference aimed at students in grades 7-12 at 9 a.m. THIS TUESDAY. The instructors will be P.J. Davis, Statewide Education Coordinator, Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee; Kim Rush of the Middle Tennessee Mental Health Institute; and Scott Ridgeway of the Tennessee Suicide Prevention Network. This is a prerecorded videoconference—no field trips or call-in questions. This enrichment program is transmitted through the Satellite Videoconferencing Center at MTSU.

For more information, contact Jenny Marsh at 615-898-2737 or vmoxley@mtsu.edu

What’s love got to do with it?

To dramatize how dating violence traumatizes the lies of young aults, the June Anderson Women’s Center and Women 4 Women, a student organization, will present “It’s Love, Isn’t It?” from 4:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 25, in the Keathley University Center Theatre. The original play, written and produced with ABC grants from Allied Arts of Chattanooga and the Tennessee Arts Commission and directed by Dr. Ayne Cantrell, professor emeritus, follows the travails of a female college freshman whose boyfriend has jealousy and anger management issues. “It’s Love, Isn’t It?” is free and open to the public and is part of Domestic Violence Awareness Month at MTSU.

For more information, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@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 X161, Murfreesboro, Tenn. 37132. REGISTRATION DEADLINE HAS BEEN EXTENDED TO TODAY. For more information, contact Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross at 615-904-8253 or eyh@mtsu.edu or jiriarte@mtsu.edu

DYNAMISM AND SENSITIVITY--Masaaki and Chikako Tanaka, two distinguished Japanese artists, will display their word from Monday, Oct. 16 through Friday, Nov. 3 in the Todd Gallery at MTSU. Receptions for the Tanakas are slated for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 16 an from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 28, in the gallery. The receptions are free and open to the public. “(Masaaki Tanaka) is a master in the use of the paper stencil technique of screenprinting, the process by which colors and shapes are layered onto paper and coalesce, after many applications, into the finished image,” Dr. Lon Nuell, professor of art, says. By contrast, Nuell says Chikako Tanaka’s work is “fanciful, ethereal in some instances, suggesting the dream-like imagery of the surrealists.” Contact Nuell at 615-898-5653 or 615-898-2505 or lrnuell@mtsu.edu

A WHOLE NEW WORLD--Your children can be transported to Japan, China and Indonesia without flight reservations. A new exhibit at the Discovery Center enables youngsters to play dress-up with sarongs and kimonos, view animated superhero Astro Boy or learn about Japanese folklore on a 20-inch DVD player, construct their own colorful kites, make origami figures, work challenging tangram puzzles, stage their own hand puppet theatre and hold Japanese tea parties. The interactive exhibit is made possible by generous donations from Toshiba, Nissan, the Foreign Ministry of Japan and the Japan-U.S. Program of MTSU. The Discovery Center is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 for anyone age 2 and up. Contact Steve Hoskins at the Discovery Center, 502 SE Broad Street, Murfreesboro, at 615-890-2300.

BE OUR GUEST!--Register now for the Nov. 11 Fall Visit Day. Prospective students can register for the tour and meetings with student services departments such as financial aid, housing, admissions and academic representatives from various colleges by going online to http://www.mtsu.edu/~admissn. Click “Prospective” and then “Campus Tour.” Or you can call 1-800-331-6878 or 615-898-5670. Both Saturday tours will start at 10 a.m. Central time and will begin in the lobby of the Cope Administration Building. Prospective students and their parents or guardians also may schedule a tour and campus visit during the week Monday-Friday except for Oct. 13, Oct. 16-17 (fall break), and Nov. 22 (day before Thanksgiving). For more information, contact Christopher Fleming at 615-898-2237.

“FIT FOR THE FUTURE”--Find out how to ensure a healthier experience at school for your children at the Tennessee School Health Coalition “Fit for the Future” conference Oct. 16 and 17 at MTSU. Musician Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, who heads an anti-bullying movement called Operation Respect, will deliver his message in music and words at 8:30 a.m. Oct. 17 at Tucker Theatre. Yarrow’s appearance will be free and open to the public. Other sessions scheduled for the conference include discussions of “How Schools Can Provide Daily Physical Education,” “Keeping Sales Up with Fat and Sugar Down,” and “School Health Services—It’s More than Just the Nurse.” Media welcomed. For more information, contact Dr. Doug Winborn, health and human performance, at 615-898-5110 or jwinborn@mtsu.edu