Thursday, January 25, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The Lovie and Dungy Show

When Super Bowl XLI is played Feb. 4 in Miami, Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith and Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy will become the first two African-American head coaches to lead their teams in the annual NFL championship game. But that won’t necessarily mean the advertising in this year’s broadcast of the game will necessarily be any more targeted to African-Americans, says Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing. “Most advertisers already have plans in place for their Super Bowl commercials, often using the event to launch new products or new ad campaigns,” Roy says. “The value of Dungy and Smith as product endorsers will likely rise as a result of their teams' success, although coaches usually are not hired as endorsers as often as players.” (Dungy is already seen in a Motorola commercial, but his quarterback, Peyton Manning, is a much more visible TV pitchman.)

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

All night long

Teams of students will stay awake from 7 p.m. FRIDAY through 7 a.m. SATURDAY at the Campus Recreation Center for Up ‘til Dawn, a charity fundraiser for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Actually, the 71 teams have been working since May 2006 to raise $95,000 for the hospital. The finale will feature a beachy “Lifesaver” theme that will include games, live entertainment and free food for the teams and participants. During the finale, participants will have an opportunity to meet the children and families that St. Jude serves. The public may attend from 7 p.m. until midnight for $5 per person. Media welcomed.

Contact the Up ‘til Dawn office at 615-904-8270.

Prime time for crime

“Crime—Causes, Detection, Punishment, Fact and Fiction” is the theme for the Spring 2007 Honors Lecture Series. Each talk will take place at 3 p.m. each Monday from Jan. 29 through April 9 in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. Dr. Phil Mathis, dean of the Honors College, says, “Today, crime is an unwelcome growth industry: correction facilities, law enforcement officers, lawyers, detectives and crime laboratories continue to grow in number.” The opening topic this Monday will be “The Sociology of Crime and Punishment” and will be presented by Dr. Andrew Austin, associate professor of social change and development chair of sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Contact Mathis or Associate Dean Scott Carnicom at 615-898-2152.

TR EXTRA

DON’T GET MAD—GET RAD--The Rape Aggression Defense system is a program of realistic, self-defense tactics and techniques. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, while progression on to the basics of hands-on defense training. The class will start TODAY and will run through Thursday, March 1. Classes will be held from 6-8 p.m. for six consecutive sessions. The program is offered free of charge to all MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public. Classes will be held at the MTSU Public Safety Training Room at 1412 East Main Street. Contact Instructor David Smith at 615-494-8855.

RELIEF FOR ROYCEANNE--RoyceAnne Miller, a former secretary for the MTSU Art Gallery, is fighting for her life at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, the victim of a murder attempt. On Jan. 8, Miller’s husband, James Morris, fired a shotgun at Miller, striking her in the lumbar (lower back) region. Morris turned the gun on himself and committed suicide as police arrived on the scene. To raise money to pay for Miller’s medical expenses, the Department of Art will hold an art sale from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. TODAY at the Todd Gallery. The works of art available will be donated by MTSU faculty and student artists. All proceeds will benefit the RoyceAnne Miller Contributions Fund at Bank of America. For more information, contact Wendy Koenig, assistant professor of art history, at 615-898-2014 or wkoenig@mtsu.edu

TO BE FEMALE AND KURDISH--The Women’s Studies Research Series will present “Women’s Rights, Media, and Sharia Law in Kurdish Iraq” at 3 p.m. TODAY in Room 100 of the James Union Building. The speaker will be Clare Bratten, assistant professor of electronic media communication and producer of a documentary on Kurdish immigrants in Nashville. Bratten says the U.S. government is not likely to support Kurdish separatism in northern Iraq because of the neighboring Turks’ fears that their own Kurdish population would rise up to claim autonomy. “Generally, most are grateful to the U.S. for eliminating Saddam Hussein’s government. … However, they are wary about the extent of the U.S. commitment to their cause since the U.S. has abandoned them in the past,” Bratten says. For more information, contact the Women’s Studies office at 615-898-5910.

THRILLS AND TRILLS--The seventh annual MTSU Flute Festival will be held THIS SATURDAY with registration beginning at 8 a.m. in the Wright Music Building lobby and concluding with a 4 p.m. concert in Hinton Hall, also in Wright Music Building. Guest flutists include Erik Gratton, Ann Richards and Normal Rogers, all from the Nashville Symphony. Each guest artist will teach a master class. The final rounds of the high school and junior-level competitions, which are open to the public, will be held from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Winners will be presented at the evening concert with other student flutists and area professionals. Admission is $15 to register for the day as a participating flutist. The general public may register as guests for all or one of the public concerts and public competitions for a one-time charge of $5. Contact Deanna Little, assistant professor of flute, at 615-898-2473, or go to http://www.mtsu.edu/~drhahn and click on the Flute Festival link.

THE SIGHTS AND SOUNDS OF PEACE--Internationally acclaimed documentary filmmaker Lilly Rivlin will visit MTSU Wednesday, Jan. 31, to show her 2006 film “Can You Hear Me? Israeli and Palestinian Women Fight for Peace.” The viewing, which is free and open to the public, will be from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the SunTrust Room of the Business Aerospace Building. Rivlin will present the film and will be available afterward to answer questions. Directed, written, and produced by Rivlin and narrated by actress Debra Winger, “Can You Hear Me?” focuses on how dialogue, even among those who have profound disagrements, can bring about positive and significant change. Contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director, Middle East Center, at 615-494-8809 or ahibbard@mtsu.edu or Dr. Sonja Hedgepeth at 615-898-2280 or shedgepe@mtsu.edu.