Thursday, October 31, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The selling of the curricula

Downloading college textbooks from the Internet saves students lots of money. But these textbooks often are filled with ads for everything from restaurants to FedEx. If there can be the “State Farm Lecture Hall” and naming rights for stadia, would it be illogical to assume that ads in textbooks would be the next step? Dr. Robert Glenn, vice president for student affairs and vice provost for enrollment and academic services, says, “In the feeding frenzy of naming rights, I don’t think any of us should be surprised when we see a front cover that says ‘Economics 101: Brought to you by KFC.’ It may save some individual students money, but it will be a large waste of good paper. Being bombarded by advertising, however, is a part of our modern existence, and I really doubt it will have much impact on students or their buying habits.”

Contact Glenn at 615-898-2440.
rglenn@mtsu.edu

All aboard!

Discover some of the stories and historic sites connected with Tennessee’s Underground Railroad routes created during the nineteenth century. What dangers did escaping slaves and safe houses face? How did people pass along clubes and information? Students will examine images, legends and oral histories as they uncover Tennessee’s abolitionist history in “Flight to Freedom: Tennessee and the Underground Railroad.” This videoconference for students in grades 4-8, particularly Tennessee history, social studies and American history students, will take place from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. CST TODAY and will be hosted by Melissa Zimmerman, Heritage Programming Specialist, Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area, Center for Historic Preservation at MTSU.

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

All shook up

In her recent Honors lecture titled “Immediate and Delayed Psychological Responses to Natural Disasters,” Dr. Gloria Hamilton, psychology, advises those who find their lives turned upside down by the ravages of nature to establish coping routines. They including limiting exposure to news coverage of the trauma, using a support network and taking care of the body by getting plenty of sleep, food, fluids and rest. Hamilton also notes that recovery is a process that includes verbalizing feelings with a caring, trustworthy listener, practicing breathing and retelling the story “with eyes open and feet on the ground.” The individual’s level of traumatization is determined by the intensity of the experience, the extent of previous trauma, informal supports such as family and friends and belief systems, including those pertaining to spirituality or religion.

Contact Hamilton at 615-898-5745.
ghamilto@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

DYNAMISM AND SENSITIVITY--Masaaki and Chikako Tanaka, two distinguished Japanese artists, will display their word through FRIDAY in the Todd Gallery at MTSU. 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.