Friday, November 3, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Irreconcilable differences

How do we know we’ll be able to view DVDs 20 years from now? With the technology changing at lightning speed, what makes us think that audio and video formats won’t change numerous times before those images become memories? Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “Over the last 15 years, we’ve had 5-and-a-quarter-inch disks, 3-and-a-half-inch disks, zip disks, CDs, and now USB drives. Each of them has provided an order of magnitude increase in storage. That also means that when—not if, but when the disk fails, that much more material will be lost. And notice here, I haven’t even begun to address the issue of software compatibility—or, rather, software incompatibility.”

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

Battling the bug

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend vaccination against influenza since flu season can begin as early as October and last as late as May. Symptoms of influenza include high fever, sore throat, dry cough, runny or stuffy nose, muscle aches, extreme tiredness, and nausea and vomiting, although stomach symptoms are more likely in children than adults. The MTSU School of Nursing will work with Health Services to offer flu shots to faculty, staff and students from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Nov. 7, 8 and 9. Injections of flu vaccine will be administered in Room 109 of the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building for a fee of $23 each payable by cash or check.

Contact Linda Lawrence for an appointment at No phone calls, please.

Older and wiser

The Adult Services Center, the Older Wiser Learners (OWLs) student organization and the Pinnacle Honor Society will pay tribute to adult learners with several events during National Nontraditional Student Week Nov. 6-10. “At MTSU, we figure approximately 10,000 of the 22,800 students are nontraitional students—married, with families, working full-time and attending classes as well,” Baily says. Events on tap include a Night Owls Open House from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Nov. 6, 7, and 8 at the Adult Services Center in Room 320 of the Keathley University Center. Additional events that week include informational tables and a traditional potluck holiday dinner.

For more information, contact Baily at 615-898-5989.
cabaily@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

WELCOME HOME!--This year’s homecoming football game will pit MTSU against Florida Atlantic at 2:30 p.m. SATURDAY at Floyd Stadium. One of the new homecoming events this year is a 9:30 a.m. mixer SATURDAY with a “tent city” atmosphere. Alumni will receive a free continental breakfast, pay $10 for a beverage band and watch the parade from the Alumni House lawn at 2259 Middle Tennessee Blvd. For Shane Fortner, SGA homecoming director, “one of the main focuses was to include groups that haven’t previously participated (in homecoming) and small organizations. We also want to have a good mix of competitive and noncompetitive events.” Contact 1-800-533-MTSU or visit http://www.mtalumni.com for details of the alumni schedule.
Contact Fortner at 615-898-2433 for more information about the student events.

FORE!—The Homecoming Golf Tournament presented by Wilson Bank & Trust will begin with registration and lunch at 11 a.m. TODAY at Indian Hills Golf Course, followed by a noon shotgun start. Entry fees are $100 per player or $400 per team. The tourney is hosted by the MTSU Alumni Association. For registration information, contact the Alumni Relations office at 615-898-2922 or visit http://www.mtalumni.com.

DYNAMISM AND SENSITIVITY--Masaaki and Chikako Tanaka, two distinguished Japanese artists, will display their word through TODAY 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.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN--While President Dwight Eisenhower gets much of the credit for the creation of the interstate highway system because it happened during his administration, frequently overlooked is U.S. Sen. Albert Gore Sr.’s co-authorship of the Federal Highway Act of 1956, the legislation that made the interstates possible. Dr. Tony Badger, Paul Mellon Professor of American History at Cambridge University and Master of Clare College, Cambridge, will deliver a formal presentation on “Albert Gore Sr., the Interstate Highway Act, and the Modern South” at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. Badger also is writing a biography of the elder Gore. Dr. Lisa Pruitt, director of the Albert Gore Research Center at MTSU, says, “The late Senator Gore’s papers are a rich source of historical documentation on the highways.” Contact Pruitt at the Gore Center at 615-898-2632 or lpruitt@mtsu.edu