Monday, April 23, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Requiem for a Hokie

Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, lends his voice to the national chorus of support for the grief-stricken students, faculty, staff, and administrators of Virginia Tech. He singles out for acknowledgement a fellow scientist, Romanian-born engineering professor Liviu Librescu, whose body was laid to rest in Israel last week. Librescu, MacDougall says, “specialized in materials designed for unsteady aerodynamics, survived the Holocaust, and escaped a brutal Communist dictatorship. But, in what might have been his most heroic moment, his body’s life force was spent dissipating the chaotic whirlwind of hate that has sent shockwaves all around the world from the campus of Virginia Tech.”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

Sayonara, Sensei.

MTSU’s busiest one-man cultural and educational exchange society will have a somewhat smaller “to do” list as of June 2. Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, professor of economics and finance and director of the Japan-U.S. Program, will be feted at a retirement roast at 5 p.m. Monday, April 23, in the Tom Jackson Building. Kawahito is personally responsible for bringing Music from Japan, an exclusive annual tour of the finest practitioners of traditional Japanese music, to MTSU year after year. Not the least of his many contributions to the campus community is the establishment of partnerships with universities in Japan, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.

Contact Jennifer Campbell, director of International Education and Exchange, at 615-898-5179.
jjcampbe@mtsu.edu

Willie, we hardly know ye.

Today is the 443rd anniversary of William Shakespeare's birth. But a report by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni says only 15 or 70 institutions it studied require English majors to take a course on Shakespeare. The president of the council, Anne Neal, calls earning a bachelor's degree in English without the study of Shakespeare "tantamount to fraud." Dr. John McDaniel, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and an old buddy of The Bard, says he would echo Neal’s sentiments by quoting Polonius: “’Tis true, ‘tis pity, and pity ‘tis ‘tis true.’ And if that observation is not familiar to our students—along with so many more that make Shakespeare the spokesman not only for an age, but for all time—well, that’s a pity, too. One of the Bard's most ardent admirers, acclaimed critic Harold Bloom, has maintained that Shakespeare has given us not only the language, but also the psychological apparatus that uniquely ‘contains’ us as humans--indeed INVENTS us as humans, providing so much more than is dreamt of in our quotidian philosophies. Not required reading for all students claiming to be English majors? Pity.”

Contact McDaniel at 615-898-2534.
mcdaniel@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

BLACK AND WHITE AND SHADES OF GRAY--Bruno Marcotulli and Brian Sparks, the fathers of the families in the 2006 FX television channel reality series "Black.White," will speak about their experience at 7 p.m. Monday, April 23, in Tucker Theatre. In the series, two American families--one black and one white--lived together under the same roof in Los Angeles. Makeup was applied to each participant to make white participants appear black and vice versa. Their observations about how they were treated in society as members of another race made for provocative and compelling viewing. "Black.White," which has been rescheduled from an earlier date, is free and open to the public. This event is sponsored by the Black History Month Committee, the Student Government Association, and the National Panhellenic Council.Contact the Student Government Association at 615-904-8231.

SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT--Your musically talented youngster could produce his or her own CD before he graduates high school. Ryan York, a 21-year-old MTSU student and teacher of guitar, bass and drums lessons, continues his recording workshops for kids ages 12-17. For a fee of $125 per student, the kids will be introduced to cassette four-track recording, digital eight-track, computer recording, and electronic music. All proceeds will help pay for the equipment. The next workshop classes are slated for May 10 through June 17 on Thursday evenings and Sunday afternoons in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building at MTSU. Registration for these classes is in progress and will continue through April 30. The recording workshops are sponsored by the Youth Culture and Arts Center, a function of Youth Empowerment Through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!), a nonprofit Murfreesboro-based organization. For more information about the workshops, contact York at bororecording@gmail.com. To learn more about the Youth Culture and Arts Center, go to http://www.youthculturecenter.org.

“DIVERSE TALES FOR DIVERSE TOTS”--The Diversity Subcommittee of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women is requesting donations of children’s books about any aspect of diversity now through April 27. The books could be old or new and for any age group. Gift certificates from your favorite bookstore also are welcome. These donations will be presented to MTSU’s Project HELP Program to help build up its new Dede Rucker Memorial Library collection. You can drop off your donations at several on-campus locations, including the Sociology and Anthropology mailroom (Room 335 in the Todd Building), the Upper Division English office (Room 323 in Peck Hall), the June Anderson Women’s Center (Room 206 of the James Union Building), and the Study Abroad office (Room 103A of Peck Hall. For more information, contact Dr. Ida Fadzillah at 615-904-8275 or ifadzill@mtsu.edu.