Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The battle of the ballots

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Tennessee TODAY, but will the traditionally low turnout for midterm elections hold true this time? Dr. John Vile, chair of the Department of Political Science, reminds us that voting was a right once reserved only for “white, male, property-owning, professing Christians” and is now open to almost all U.S. citizens who are 18 years of age or older and are not felons (or ex-felons, in some states). “I rather think voting is a requisite to complaining,” Vile says. “I don't mind seeing bumper stickers saying ‘Don't blame me--I voted for Kerry,’ but I wouldn't be very sympathetic to one that said, ‘Don't blame me--I didn't know or care enough to vote in the last election!’”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Chicks and ducks and geese better scurry!

Curley, the handsome cowboy, and Jud, the hired farmhand, compete for the affection of the beautiful but hard-to-get Laurey. The plot is familiar to all fans of the American musical theatre. It’s “Oklahoma!,” Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic creation, as performed by MTSU students as part of the CenterStage Series. “It’s energetic entertainment perfect for the family, but most of all it is important that our students are introduced to a show that has greatly impacted the theater industry,” Dale E. McGilliard, professor of speech and theatre, says. “Oklahoma!” will run at Tucker Theatre at 7:30 each night Nov. 10-11 and Nov. 15-18. Tickets range from $4 to $8 and may be purchased at the door on the evening of the desired performance.

For more information, call 615-494-8810, or visit the Department of Speech and Theatre’s Web site at http://www.mtsu.edu/~theatre.

Name That Tuna!

A report commissioned by the federal government asserts that the benefits of eating fish each week are a greater priority than concern over possible health risks posed by mercury. Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences, says moderation is the key. “The consumption of two servings of ‘cold water fish’ that contains generous amounts of omega-3 fatty acids helps reduce disease risk in adults and many reports show benefits in brain functioning,” Colson says. “The amount of mercury in two servings per week will not cause mercury excess IF the right types of fish and seafood are selected. However, eating a generous serving EVERY single day might.”

Contact Colson at 615-898-2091.
jcolson@mtsu.edu


TR EXTRA

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 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

MERCURY RISING--On WEDNESDAY, Mercury will slide slowly across the face of the Sun during an event known as a transit. A transit of Mercury is relatively rare—there are only about a dozen in a century. The planet will be seen in silhouette against the Sun for the first time since 2003. Our next chance to observe Mercury transit the Sun will be in 2016. The Department of Physics and Astronomy, weather permitting, will have solar telescopes with special filters available for safe viewing of the transit, which will start at 1:12 p.m. CST. Come by the Uranidrome between 1:12 p.m. and 3 p.m. In case the weather doesn’t cooperate, checkout the Exploratorium’s Webcast of the entire event, a live five-hour, telescope-only feed beginning at 1 p.m. CST at http://www.exploratorium.edu/transit. Contact the Department of Physics and Astronomy at 615-898-5946.