Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Spring has sprung

Openings remain for the MTSU Spring Preview Day, which is scheduled for this SATURDAY. J. Christopher Fleming, associate director of admissions, says students and parents or guardians interested in attending the first of two Spring Preview Days are being directed to the Office of Admissions’ new registration system, Book-it-Now. Prospective students can schedule a visit at http://www.mtsu.edu/~admissn/tour by clicking on the “Schedule Campus Tours” hotlink. The second preview day will be Saturday, April 21.

For more information, call 615-898-5670.

“I’m king of the world!”—James Cameron

James Cameron, director of the movie “Titanic,” stirred up a lot of fuss with his Discovery Channel documentary titled “The Lost Tomb of Jesus.” The film purports to reveal that Jesus Christ, Mary, and Mary Magdalene were laid to rest in a first-century Jewish burial cave, which would dispute the Christian belief that Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says controversy over religion in the media is nothing new. “In the 1980s, author Salmon Rushdie had to go into hiding after Islamic leaders threatened him with death because of his book The Satanic Verses,” Burriss says. “The 1988 film ‘The Last Temptation of Christ’ was banned around the world. In 2004, Mel Gibson found himself both praised and condemned, often by members of the same dominations, for his film ‘The Passion of the Christ.’”

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

Science-savvy?

According to a Michigan State University study, 28 percent of Americans knew enough about science to understand reports in major newspapers in 2005. That’s up over the 1988 figure of 10 percent. But Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, associate dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, finds little cause for celebration. “Advances in the science and technology industries are so detailed that trying to explain them in simple terms is extremely difficult,” Foroudastan says. “To abridge these ideas for the lay audience is a great goal; however, most Americans have probably either forgotten or never understood the basics in the first place. Therefore, I believe the people who understood the concepts in 1988 are probably the same ones who understood them in 2005 with little variance in the amounts of people who now understand.”

Contact Foroudastan at 615-494-8786.
sforouda@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THE SLAVERY INDUSTRY--Activists who have dedicated themselves to combating human trafficking and the sex slave trade will participate in a free and open panel discussion at 6 p.m. WEDNESDAY in Room 108 of the Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building. Featured speakers will include Amber Beckham, Network of Emergency Trafficking Services (NETS) coordinator for World Relief; Elena Dering, an independent activist against human trafficking; and Colette Bercu, founder and president of Free for Life Ministries, a Nashville-based nonprofit organization. The U.S. Department of State estimates that between 18,000 and 20,000 victims are trafficked into the U.S. every year, usually from Asia, Central and South America, and eastern Europe. Contact Dr. Andrei Korobkov, political science, at 615-898-2945 or
Candi Nunley of GLOBAL at
or Americans for an Informed Democracy President Angie Feeney at

THE DAVIS DIG--A group of MTSU students has won an Award of Excellence from the Tennessee Association of Museums (TAM). Dr. Brenden Martin, history, says graduate students in his Museum Management Seminar class spent last semester planning and constructing the award-winning exhibit titled “Recovering Their Story: African Americans on the Davis Plantation, 1850-1925.” The project now is a permanent exhibit at the Sam Davis Home in Smyrna. “Interpreting artifacts uncovered in a 2004 archeological dig, the exhibit tells the story of free and enslaved African Americans who lived on the plantation,” says Martin. The professor and his students will receive their award during the 2007 TAM Annual Conference, which will be held WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY at the Double Tree Hotel in Murfreesboro. For more information, contact Martin at 615-898-2643 or

READY FOR DENNYBALL?--Denny McLain, whose pitching brilliance propelled the Detroit Tigers to the 1968 World Series championship, will deliver the keynote address at MTSU’s second annual Conference on Baseball in Literature and Culture Friday, March 30, in the James Union Building. McLain, the last Major League pitcher to win more than 30 games in a season, chalked up 31 victories in 1968, capturing the league’s Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards. His life took a tragic turn with federal convictions on racketeering and extortion charges in the 1980s and money laundering, conspiracy and theft charges in the 1990s. His forthcoming book is titled I Told You I Wasn’t Perfect.Contact Warren Tormey, assistant professor of English, at 615-494-7878 or tormey@mtsu.edu.

THAT’S CHOW, NOT CIAO!--An array of mouthwatering delights from all around the world is on the menu for this year’s International Banquet Saturday, March 31, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. Attendees will have the opportunity to dine on Irish stew, vegetable stir-fried rice, shrimp coconut curry, tandori chicken (marinated in Indian spices and roasted), German pork schnitzel with brown sauce, beef fajitas, Asian cole slaw, spring mix salad with dressing, sushi, and assorted pastries. Tickets are $16 for adults, $14 for children age 12 and under, $14 for students from other colleges or schools, and $10 for MTSU students. The doors will open at 4:30 p.m. for viewing of cultural exhibits. The meal will begin promptly at 5 p.m. For further information, call 615-898-2238, or go to Room 124 of MTSU’s Keathley University Center.

WOMEN GET THE JOB DONE.--The President’s Commission on the Status of Women’s Student Issues Subcommittee will sponsor the “Women Make the Difference” Organization Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. TODAY in Tom Jackson Hall (formerly Alumni Center). The purposes of the fair are to celebrate how women are making positive changes in our community, to explore the different service projects in our community, to learn about various student organizations and how they are making a difference, to promote organizations and help them recruit new members, and to network with others who share similar interests. Refreshments will be provided. The commission thanks the National Women’s History Month Committee for its generous contribution. Contact Michelle McDaniel at mmcdanie@mtsu.edu.

FREEDOM ON DISPLAY--"Free at Last! Emancipation and Reconstruction in Tennessee," an exhibit created by the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area (TCWNHA), will travel throughout middle Tennessee this spring and summer. The two-panel exhibit, which is on display now through March 30 at the Roy Bailey African-American History Center in Lebanon, emphasizes the significance of emancipation as a result of the Civil War, says Antoinette van Zelm, historian for the TCWNHA. "Freedom for former slaves was a key outcome of the Civil War, and it was the slaves themselves who made it happen," van Zelm said. "They took advantage of the presence of the occupying Union army to break down the bonds of slavery." For a complete list of tour stops, contact Laura Holder, manager of the TCWNHA, at 615-898-2947 or via e-mail at lholder@mtsu.edu.

BRICK BY BRICK--Each and every brick to be laid in the MTSU Veterans Memorial will represent the support of an entire community for the enlightenment and inspiration of future generations. The bricks may be reserved by all those who wish to honor a veteran or active-duty service member or merely acknowledge their support for the construction of a permanent on-campus memorial to MTSU faculty, students, staff and administrators who perished while serving their country. The bricks will be integrated into the overall memorial design. All proceeds will help to pay for the memorial, which will be an outdoor classroom that includes a wall with the names of the military personnel. To purhcase a brick with a memorial message, send a tax-deductible check of $150 payable to “MTSU Foundation—Veterans Memorial,” to P.O. Box 109, Murfreesboro, TN 37132. Credit cards also are accepted. Address any questions about brick purchases or donations to Robyn Kilpatrick at 615-898-5223 or rkilpatr@mtsu.edu.

GET INTO THE SWIM OF THINGS--The works of Kenda North are on display through April 19 in a photography exhibit titled “Urban Pools” at MTSU’s Baldwin Photographic Gallery. This exhibit is comprised of color Iris prints ranging in sizes up to 33” x 47”. The images were photographed underwater with a Nikonos 35mm camera. The original color negatives have been scanned and worked through Photoshop. North will give a slide show/lecture on her work at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 2, in Room 221 of the Learning Resources Center. A reception will follow in the gallery. Baldwin Photographic Gallery is located in the center. The gallery will be open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Exhibitions and lectures are free and open to the public. This exhibit is co-sponsored by the National Women’s History Month Committee. Contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu.