Wednesday, November 8, 2006

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Reading, writing and rock ‘n’ roll

Local music artists Seth Moore, Bo Daddy Bo, Bent Fur and Cuttlefish will join forces from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. SATURDAY at the Boro Bar and Grill, 1211 Greenland Drive, in The Writing Center Rock Show, a fundraiser for the University Writing Center. Under the direction of Dr. Jimmie Cain, English professor and author, the center offers free writing instruction and support for those who seek their help, including online services such as a Grammar Hotline for quick questions and an e-mail drop box and chat room. Admission to the benefit is $5 per person at the door and any additional donations will be accepted inside the venue on the evening of the show.

For more information regarding the benefit, contact graduate writing assistant Sarah Hildenbrand via e-mail at skh2t@mtsu.edu or by calling 615-268-7011.

The truth is out there?

Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, says he disagrees with the Society of Professional Journalists’ tendency to preach that “the truth is out there,” to quote the old line from “The X-Files.” “We … know an objective truth is not out there,” Pondillo retorts. “If I, for example, were to dump a pile of facts onto the middle of the floor, CNN will interpret the ‘truth’ of those facts one way, Fox another. And that’s fine! Because the First Amendment does not protect truth … it protects argument! And I think a great democracy is served by lots of ideas, perspectives and arguments. All ‘truth’ comes with its own political, economic, cultural and social baggage. Despite what Bill O’Reilly says, there simply can not BE a ‘no spin zone.’”

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

May it please the court

The MTSU Mid-South Invitational Mock Trial Tournament, at which college students try their hand at playing attorneys and witnesses and adhering to rules of evidence and courtroom procedure, is slated for FRIDAY and SATURDAY. Seventy teams from 20 states will compete for trophies and recognition. The fictional case is a civil suit in which the parents of a youngster shot and rendered comatose by a police officer sue the make-believe police department, alleging a pattern of police brutality and excessive force. Local attorneys are invited to serve as judges in this unique and entertaining educational endeavor.

For more information or to participate as a judge, contact Dr. John Vile, chair of the Department of Political Science, at 615-898-2695.
jvile@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. TOMORROW 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--TODAY, 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.

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.