Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Stairway to the stars

Newspapers all across the country print horoscopes in each and every edition. But Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “The horoscope isn’t just harmless fun. It actually cheapens the human experience. I hate to think that we can put every person in the world into one of 12 categories based on the way the stars and planets were aligned a thousand years ago.” Burriss recalls an incident years ago in which an editor told a newspaper reporter to make up the daily horoscope. For one sign, the reporter wrote, “All the sorrows of yesteryear are nothing compared to what will befall you today.” The switchboard was jammed with frantic readers worried about their horrible horoscope. “Now, the proponents will tell you that we just need to be more open-minded,” Burriss says. “Well, this is a case where you can be so open-minded your brains drop out.”

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

Gutsy Gluck

Dr. Rochelle G. Saidel will lecture on her forthcoming book on Gemma LaGuardia Gluck at 4:30 p.m. TODAY in Room 109 of Peck Hall. Gluck, sister of the late New York Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, was held as a political prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp for women at Ravensbruck during World War II. Saidel’s lecture not only will address Gluck’s incarceration but also Mayor LaGuardia’s efforts to free his sister. Saidel is president of the Remember the Women Institute, a New York-based not-for-profit corporation that “conducts and encourages research and cultural activities that contribute to including women in history,” states its Web site. This National Women’s History Month event is free and open to the public.

Contact Dr. Elvira Casal, chair of the National Women’s History Month Committee, at 615-898-2668.
ecasal@mtsu.edu

Tenor and piano

Guest artist Randal Umstead (tenor) will be joined by MTSU faculty member Caleb Harris (piano) in a recital at 8 o’clock TONIGHT in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. The musicians will perform The Holy Sonnets of John Donne, Op. 35 by Benjamin Britten. “This set of nine songs will be the centerpiece of the program and include highly virtuosic writing for both tenor and piano,” Harris says. Also part of the program are Three Petrarch Sonnets by Franz Liszt. “These wonderful songs, which have become standards of the tenor repertoire, are beautiful examples of some of the most lyrical and passionate writing for voice and piano,” Harris says. The concert is free and open to the public.

Contact Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493.
tmusselm@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

IRAQ AROUND THE CLOCK--One of the nation’s foremost experts on U.S.-Arab Gulf relations, Dr. F. Gregory Gause III, will speak on “The Iraq War: Causes and Consequences” at 7 p.m. TODAY in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business Aerospace Building. Gause is an associate professor of political science at the University of Vermont and director of its Middle East Studies Program. He is the author of Oil Monarchies: Domestic and Security Challenges in the Arab Gulf States and Saudi-Yemeni Relations: Domestic Structures and Foreign Influence. Gause has testified before the Committee on International Relations of the U.S. House of Representatives and his articles have appeared in Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Middle East Journal, Security Studies, and other publications. This event, which is sponsored by MTSU’s Middle East Center, is free and open to the public. Media welcomed. Contact Dr. Allen Hibbard, director of the center, at 615-494-8809 or ahibbard@mtsu.edu, or Chantal Rich at 615-494-7906 or cfrich@mtsu.edu.

THE PATIENTS’ PERSPECTIVE--Sita Diehl, executive director of NAMI Tennessee, the state affiliate of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, will speak from 12:35 p.m. to 1:35 p.m. TODAY in Room 316 of the Keathley University Center. Diehl’s address, which is free and open to the public, is titled “A Closer Look at the Consumer and Ex-patient Movement for the Mentally Ill.” The recipient of master’s degrees in community psychology from Antioch University and social work from the University of Tennessee, Diehl has conducted research on public-managed behavioral health career and consumer-operated services, as well as a multi-year study of mental health services in Tennessee county jails. She also has developed curricula to cross-train mental health and criminal justice personnel. This event is sponsored by the Department of Political Science. Media welcomed. Contact Dr. Sekou Franklin at 615-904-8232 or franklin@mtsu.edu.

MONEY FOR SCHOOL--Applications for scholarships from the June S. Anderson Foundation are due TOMORROW. The foundation awards yearly tuition scholarships to full-time MTSU undergraduate women who are 23 years of age or older and who are preparing for careers in nontraditional fields for women. The scholarship award for enrollment is a minimum of $1,750 per semester. Each applicant must have a 2.0 GPA from the school most recently attended, must be pursuing an undergraduate degree, must be a full-time student, must not require out-of-state tuition, and must demonstrate financial need. Applications are available in the June Anderson Women’s Center in Room 206 of the James Union Building. Contact Stephanie Compton, student assistant for the June Anderson Women’s Center, at 615-898-2193 or jawc@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.