Monday, May 21, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Your magnetic personality

Have you ever wondered why you are asked to make sure you have no magnetic objects on your person prior to undergoing an MRI? Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says, “People have been killed by flying metal objects that were pulled into the static vortex of the machine’s powerful magnetic field.” After all, MRI stands for “magnetic resonance imaging.” “These instruments use radio waves to map the chemical environments of the trillions upon trillions of hydrogen atoms among our chemical makeup,” MacDougall says. “As proof that spin doctors of the unscientific kind also infect the world of science, even though an MRI uses nuclear magnetic resonance to measure its perception of you, the ‘N’ word was dropped from the instrument name because of how the public perceives anything nuclear.”

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

That’s a take!

Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration begins today for another recording workshop for children ages 12-17 at MTSU. The workshop will be conducted from June 21-July 15 in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building under the tutelage of Ryan York, who also teaches guitar, bass and drums at Chambers Guitars and Musical Instruments in Murfreesboro. For a fee of $125 per student, York will introduce the youngsters to cassette four-track recording, digital eight-track, computer recording and electronic music. The workshop is sponsored by the Youth Culture and Arts Center, a project of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, a nonprofit organization.

For more information, or to enroll, contact York at bororecording@gmail.com

Mama’s got the blues.

Actress Brooke Shields is supporting legislation that would call for more federal funding for education, detection and treatment of postpartum depression. Why do some new mothers experience this problem? Dr. Kimberly Ujcich-Ward, psychology, says we don’t know for sure. “What research suggests is that, in fact, many more new moms than we think probably experience symptoms of depression but don’t recognize it as such,” Ujcich-Ward says. “Many of the symptoms of postpartum depression are the same as common activities or events that follow a birth (e.g., changes in sleeping and eating patterns, tiredness, fluctuations in mood). Stress is often a trigger for depression, as well, and new mothers experience a variety of stressors, not the least of which is ‘losing’ their identity—that is, who they were before they were ‘mommy.’”

Contact Ujcich-Ward at 615-898-2188.
ujcich@mtsu.edu


TR EXTRA

ROCK ON!--Registration will run through May 31 for the fifth annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC), a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17 slated for July 16-21 on the campus of MTSU. Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. The girls will learn about other aspects of the music industry through workshops in subjects such as photography, music journalism, recording, DIY arts and crafts, and songwriting, as well as panel discussions with industry insiders. Throughout the week, campers will form their own bands, write songs, and practice two hours each day with volunteer band managers. At the end of the week, the girls will show off their talents in a Saturday night showcase in Tucker Theatre. For more information, visit http://www.sgrrc.org, call 615-849-8140, or send an e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.

ACCORDING TO CUSTOMS--CUSTOMS, the summer orientation for new MTSU students and family members, will begin a two-month run May 30-31 and will continue until July 31. CUSTOMS is a two-day session to aid the transition of new undergraduate students to the university, prepare them for educational opportunities, and to initiate the integration of new students into the intellectual, cultural and social climate of MTSU. College of Basic and Applied Sciences and College of Mass Communication majors may attend CUSTOMS May 30-31, June 8-9, June 19-20, July 10-11, July 24-25, and July 30-31. College of Business, College of Education and Behavioral Science and College of Liberal Arts majors may attend June 5-6, June 12-13, June 22-23, July 19-20, and July 30-31. For more information, visit http://www.mtsu.edu/~customs, e-mail customs@mtsu.edu or call 615-898-5533. For questions about admission status, call 615-898-2111.

THE GRIDIRON GIRLS, WHOSE THEME SONG IS “THANK YOU FOR BEING AN END”--MTSU Head Football Coach Rick Stockstill and the MTSU football staff invite you to join them for the 2007 Ladies Football Clinic on Saturday, July 14 in Murphy Center. The clinic, which will feature seminars on strategy, equipment, training and rules, will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. with registration slated to start at 8 a.m. Ladies will be encouraged to take part in coaches’ drills and demonstrations. The goal is to provide a fun learning experience. Participants will receive commemorative T-shirts and lunch will be provided. The cost of the clinic is $25 dollars. For the children, the Rick Stockstill Youth Camp for rising 1st through 8th graders will be held June 4-7. For more information, contact Danny Lewis at 615-898-2311.

SPRING FLING--Spring Fling, the postseason competitions of the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association’s member schools, will take place May 21-26 at various Rutherford County venues. Track and field events, some tennis matches, and Class AAA and all championship baseball games are slated to be held at MTSU, according to the organization’s Web site (http://www.tssaa.org). A study on the local impact of Spring Fling 2006, completed by Dr. David Penn of the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center, found that Spring Fling created a total effect of approximately $3.4 million on the local economy. For more information, contact the Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610 or Mona Herring, vice president, Rutherford County Convention & Visitors Bureau, at 615-278-2014.