Friday, June 29, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

From Sudan to salvation

John Awan is not trying to climb the corporate ladder to capitalistic glory. That is never how he envisioned his life after his December 2006 graduation from MTSU. Awan, a native of war-torn Sudan, has five relatives in Kapanguria Refugee Camp and four in Kakuma Refugee Camp, both in Kenya. In 2001, with the help of the United Nations, John resettled in the United States. At MTSU, he co-founded the South Sudanese Student Organization, joined GLOBAL and the African Student Organization, and majored in political science. “I think the reason I like it (political science) is some time it will give you the opportunity to help people,” John says. “You end up being in public service; then you have the ability to correct where you believe people need correction.” In the same month John graduated college, he became a naturalized American citizen in a ceremony in Nashville.

To interview John Awan, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

It’s the grown-up thing to do.

The new Adult Degree Completion Program at MTSU gives adults who left college prior to graduation a chance to earn degrees. Dr. Mike Boyle, dean of the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning, says, “New technologies and alternative methods of earning credit have facilitated an environment in which someone who’s willing to work at it can complete a degree while continuing to meet work and family responsibilities. With MTSU entering this arena, it has greatly reduced the cost for most employees and employers compared to the for-profit or private-school alternatives. Our goal is to allow students to get a degree as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

For more information, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/adcp or call 615-848-2177.

Computer crackdown

Many Internet radio stations, possibly your favorite, were silent online Tuesday. The so-called “day of silence” was called to protest an increase in radio royalty rates that is slated to take effect July 15 and will be made retroactive to January 1, 2006. The U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia has been asked for an emergency stay. Ken Sanney, recording industry, says, “In 2002, the Library of Congress attempted the same short-sighted hike in royalty rates—hikes that were then, as they are now, aimed at “weeding out” the smaller competitors from the internet market. Such actions, both then and now, amount to governmental attempts to stifle competition, expression, and innovation.”

Contact Sanney at 615-456-6502.
ksanney@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

ROCK YOUR LOCKS--The Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) invites you to update your look for a worthy event with a haircut from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, June 29, at Urban Image Style Studio, 200 W. Burton St., in Murfreesboro. With each haircut, regularly valued at $40 or more, patrons at the SGRRC Beauty Benefit will be encouraged instead to make a $20 donation to the camp. The fifth annual SGRRC, which is slated for July 16-21 on the campus of MTSU, is a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17. The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. No appointment is necessary for haircuts during the 3-7 p.m. period on June 29. Contact the Urban Image Style Studio at 615-896-9700, call the Murfreesboro office of Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp at 615-849-8140, or send an e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.

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.

ROCK, ROLL, AND RECORD—It’s that time again! Registration runs through July 13 for the latest recording workshop for children ages 12-17 at MTSU. The workshop will be conducted by MTSU student Ryan York in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building July 19-Aug. 12. 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.

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The hubbub over Hilton

NBC recently denied offering $1 million for the rights to Paris Hilton’s first post-incarceration interview, which Larry King conducted last night on CNN. But NBC recently paid a fee in the low seven-figures (reportedly) for the rights to air the Princess Diana memorial concert, which Princes William and Harry plugged on an interview with Matt Lauer. Ethically, what's the difference? Chris Harris, electronic media communication, says, “For years, one of the skeletons in NBC's closet has been the fact that the Today Show is technically NOT a news show, but rather has been produced, from its inception, by the entertainment division. Journalism is a special commodity ... one that demands that interviews not be paid for. It appears that the ‘bean counters’ of owner General Electric see only dollar signs, whereas there are ethical tenets of journalism that can not allow that to happen.”

Contact Harris at 615-898-2841.
crharris@mtsu.edu

Readin’, writin’, and runnin’ the schools

Susan Wilson, Teacher of the Year and educator for McFadden School of Excellence in Murfreesboro, and Karen Blooding, the 2006 Tennessee Teacher of the Year and Homer Pittard Campus School teacher, will visit the classroom of Dr. Terry Goodin, assistant professor of educational leadership, today from 8-9:30 a.m. in Room 158 of Kirksey Old Main Building. Goodin’s class is titled “Organization and Administration of Public Schools.” Wilson and Blooding are the latest in a long lineup of professionals who have spoken to the class this semester. Regarding the information they share, Dr. James Huffman, chairman of educational leadership, says, “This type of insight is only gained through experience and as these speakers share what they have learned in the practice of their profession. I think our students will gain significant understanding of leadership concepts as they are applied in the field.”

Members of the media are invited with advance notice of attendance. Contact Lisa L. Rollins at 615-898-2919 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu

Rock, roll, and record

It’s that time again! Registration runs through July 13 for the latest recording workshop for children ages 12-17 at MTSU. The workshop will be conducted by MTSU student Ryan York in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building July 19-Aug. 12. 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

TR EXTRA

ROCK YOUR LOCKS--The Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) invites you to update your look for a worthy event with a haircut from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, June 29, at Urban Image Style Studio, 200 W. Burton St., in Murfreesboro. With each haircut, regularly valued at $40 or more, patrons at the SGRRC Beauty Benefit will be encouraged instead to make a $20 donation to the camp. The fifth annual SGRRC, which is slated for July 16-21 on the campus of MTSU, is a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17. The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. No appointment is necessary for haircuts during the 3-7 p.m. period on June 29. Contact the Urban Image Style Studio at 615-896-9700, call the Murfreesboro office of Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp at 615-849-8140, or send an e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.

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.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The hubbub over Hilton

NBC recently denied offering $1 million for the rights to Paris Hilton’s first post-incarceration interview, which Larry King will conduct tonight on CNN. But NBC recently paid a fee in the low seven-figures (reportedly) for the rights to air the Princess Diana memorial concert, which Princes William and Harry plugged on an interview with Matt Lauer. Ethically, what's the difference? Chris Harris, electronic media communication, says, “For years, one of the skeletons in NBC's closet has been the fact that the Today Show is technically NOT a news show, but rather has been produced, from its inception, by the entertainment division. Journalism is a special commodity ... one that demands that interviews not be paid for. It appears that the ‘bean counters’ of owner General Electric see only dollar signs, whereas there are ethical tenets of journalism that can not allow that to happen.”

Contact Harris at 615-898-2841.
crharris@mtsu.edu

Readin’, writin’, and runnin’ the schools

Dr. Pedro Garcia, director of Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, will visit the classroom of Dr. Terry Goodin, assistant professor of educational leadership, today from 8-9:30 a.m. in Room 158 of Kirksey Old Main Building. Goodin’s class is titled “Organization and Administration of Public Schools.” Garcia is the latest in a long lineup of professionals who have spoken to the class this semester. Regarding the information they share, Dr. James Huffman, chairman of educational leadership, says, “This type of insight is only gained through experience and as these speakers share what they have learned in the practice of their profession. I think our students will gain significant understanding of leadership concepts as they are applied in the field.”

Members of the media are invited with advance notice of attendance. Contact Lisa L. Rollins at 615-898-2919 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu

Rock, roll, and record

It’s that time again! Registration runs through July 13 for the latest recording workshop for children ages 12-17 at MTSU. The workshop will be conducted by MTSU student Ryan York in the John Bragg Mass Communication Building July 19-Aug. 12. 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

TR EXTRA

ROCK YOUR LOCKS--The Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) invites you to update your look for a worthy event with a haircut from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, June 29, at Urban Image Style Studio, 200 W. Burton St., in Murfreesboro. With each haircut, regularly valued at $40 or more, patrons at the SGRRC Beauty Benefit will be encouraged instead to make a $20 donation to the camp. The fifth annual SGRRC, which is slated for July 16-21 on the campus of MTSU, is a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17. The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. No appointment is necessary for haircuts during the 3-7 p.m. period on June 29. Contact the Urban Image Style Studio at 615-896-9700, call the Murfreesboro office of Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp at 615-849-8140, or send an e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.

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.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Truth in labeling

The Free Speech Coalition has proposed a domain name that will indicate which Web sites are “kid friendly.” In March, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers considered and rejected a proposal to let porn Web sites voluntarily adopt triple-x domain names. Some observers say that such labels would amount to censorship, but Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, would beg to differ. “All the label does is tell you what the content is,” Burriss says. “It says absolutely nothing about what the content ought to be. … Labeling is a way for the public to get more information about what it consumes. And the more accurate and descriptive the label, the better served the public will be.”

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

A poor report card

A recent report by the Commonwealth Fund grades states on the basis of health system performance. Tennessee is one of the five lowest-performing states in the area of premature death. Overall, Tennessee ranks 40th with grades of “D” in the categories of “avoidable costs” and “healthy lives,” a “C” in “equity,” and “Bs” in “access” and “quality.” Dr. Judy Campbell, associate professor of nursing, says, “This should be a worrisome problem for all of the citizens of Tennessee. We have a major problem with high rates of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes in this state. One of the major concerns we face is educating the citizens on the value of prevention and health promotion. Unfortunately, low income residents, minority residents, residents living in rural areas and residents with low literacy levels are all at greater risk for seeking and receiving health promotional care.”

Contact Campbell at 615-898-5729.
jcampbel@mtsu.edu

Pseudo-twister

MTSU officials have authorized a tornado-alert drill TODAY sometime between 9 a.m. and noon. The campus tornado siren will sound, and an e-mail alert will be sent to specific people in every building who have been designated as “building runners.” Building runners will notify every office and classroom in their assigned area and ask occupants to go to the safest area in their particular building. “We will look at how well the building runners perform their task and how students, staff and faculty respond to the alert and head for shelter,” says Buddy Peaster, director of MTSU’s Office of Public Safety. “And we will certainly want their feedback so that we can iron out any wrinkles and make the plan run as smoothly as possible.”

Contact Peaster at 615-898-2424 or Tom Tozer, Office of News and Public Affairs, at 615-898-2919.

TR EXTRA

ROCK YOUR LOCKS--The Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) invites you to update your look for a worthy event with a haircut from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, June 29, at Urban Image Style Studio, 200 W. Burton St., in Murfreesboro. With each haircut, regularly valued at $40 or more, patrons at the SGRRC Beauty Benefit will be encouraged instead to make a $20 donation to the camp. The fifth annual SGRRC, which is slated for July 16-21 on the campus of MTSU, is a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17. The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. No appointment is necessary for haircuts during the 3-7 p.m. period on June 29. Contact the Urban Image Style Studio at 615-896-9700, call the Murfreesboro office of Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp at 615-849-8140, or send an e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.

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.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Teach your children

State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), who represents the 16th District, will address the students of Dr. Terry Goodin’s class from 8-9:30 a.m. today in Room 158 of the Kirksey Old Main Building at MTSU. Goodin, an assistant professor of educational leadership, says Tracy, a member of the Senate Education Committee, will discuss “the … forces that drive political change in Tennessee.” Tracy is only the latest in a lineup of individuals who have spoken to Goodin’s students this semester. “By addressing their own role in Tennessee’s system of education and current issues of importance to students, teachers and parents, these special speakers bring their own insights and problem-solving experience to MTSU graduate students who will someday fill school leadership roles,” says Goodin.

Members of the media are invited and encouraged to attend the guest speaker sessions with advance notice. Contact Lisa L. Rollins at 615-898-2919 or via e-mail at lrollins@mtsu.edu

Use your heads

In response to a University of North Carolina study of retired NFL players that connected concussions with depression, the NFL announced that players will be allowed to report anonymously when they are pressured to play too soon following a concussion. But longtime tight end Ernie Conwell told The New York Times, “Guys will say, ‘Hey, man, be careful, you don’t want to say anything about getting dinged because they might rip you out of the game, or you might be labeled as a guy with a soft head.’” Dr. Helen Binkley, health and human performance, says, “The playing and winning at all costs mentality has to be able to be modified to protect the individual when the individual may not be able to protect themselves for fear of losing their job or their income.” (Many NFL critics blame the dementia of Hall-of-Fame tight end John Mackey on concussions.)
Contact Binkley at 615-904-8192.
hbinkley@mtsu.edu

Even parasites matter

A parasite that infects the gills of ornate eagle rays off the coast of northern Australia recently was established in a brand new scientific genus, or group of animals, by Dr. George Benz, biology, and his colleagues. Why does that matter? “Well, for one, parasites themselves are important, as they can affect the health and well-being of their hosts (in this case, a species of stingray),” says Benz. “We would also have to admit that stingrays are important, as they are eaten by people in many places, and they play an important role in the marine realm as predators of smaller fishes and invertebrates such as shrimps, lobsters, crabs, and clams. Secondly, the small act of finding a new species that requires us to establish a new group of animals to hold it points to just how little we know about the organisms inhabiting our planet.”

Contact Benz at 615-898-5021.
gbenz@mtsu.edu


TR EXTRA

ROCK YOUR LOCKS--The Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) invites you to update your look for a worthy event with a haircut from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, June 29, at Urban Image Style Studio, 200 W. Burton St., in Murfreesboro. With each haircut, regularly valued at $40 or more, patrons at the SGRRC Beauty Benefit will be encouraged instead to make a $20 donation to the camp. The fifth annual SGRRC, which is slated for July 16-21 on the campus of MTSU, is a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17. The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music. No appointment is necessary for haircuts during the 3-7 p.m. period on June 29. Contact the Urban Image Style Studio at 615-896-9700, call the Murfreesboro office of Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp at 615-849-8140, or send an e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.

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.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

TSSAA, BA, and SUPCO

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday ruled unanimously that the Tennessee Secondary Schools Athletic Association had the right to limit the kind of contact coaches from its member institutions may have with potential recruits. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor at MTSU and a research attorney at the First Amendment Center in Nashville, says, “Brentwood Academy claimed that TSSAA violated its First Amendment and due process rights when it punished the football power for alleged violations of the recruiting rules. The school had success in these arguments in the lower federal courts, but the Supreme Court saw it differently. ‘The anti-recruiting rule strikes nowhere near the heart of the First Amendment,’ wrote (Justice) John Paul Stevens for the court. Surprisingly to some, he relied on an attorney advertising case involving lawyer solicitation as his primary precedent.”

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1600.
dhudson@freedomforum.org

Rock your locks

The Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp (SGRRC) invites you to update your look for a worthy event with a haircut from 3-7 p.m. on Friday, June 29, at Urban Image Style Studio, 200 W. Burton St., in Murfreesboro. With each haircut, regularly valued at $40 or more, patrons at the SGRRC Beauty Benefit will be encouraged instead to make a $20 donation to the camp. The fifth annual SGRRC, which is slated for July 16-21 on the campus of MTSU, is a week-long music day camp for girls ages 10-17. The camp is a program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH), a nonprofit arts organization. Volunteers will tutor the campers in vocals, keyboards, drums, guitar, and electronic music.

No appointment is necessary for haircuts during the 3-7 p.m. period on June 29. Contact the Urban Image Style Studio at 615-896-9700, call the Murfreesboro office of Southern Girls Rock & Roll camp at 615-849-8140, or send an e-mail to sgrrc05@gmail.com.

Veggie tales

Most restaurants have special menus for kids, but are those menus offering healthy choices? Many offer little more than chicken strips, French fries, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, or hamburgers. With more and more restaurants offering adults healthy alternatives, why aren’t the kids brought into the fold? Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences, says when her now-25-year-old daughter was little, “… she always requested the steamed veggie medley in place of the fries or baked potato at full-service restaurants. Of course, the server always looked at her like she was odd for making such a request and eating them all! The problem with these new options is education more parents on the availability and getting the children to ask for them. That’s where we as educators and the media need to step in.”

Contact Colson at 615-898-2091.
jcolson@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Skull session

Many human remains are not found by law enforcement. Frequently, they are found by average citizens in the course of their normal activity. Dr. Hugh Berryman, forensic anthropologist and MTSU faculty member, says of citizen discoveries, “Most of the time, if the skull is there, then it’s reported. If there’s no skull there, it may or may not be reported, especially if there’s no clothing. … I suspect there have been infants found that have never been reported because people didn’t recognize what they were.” Berryman helped to form the Forensic Anthropology Search and Recovery Team, a group of undergraduate and graduate students that assists law enforcement in skeletal crime scene location, documentation, and recovery.

Contact Berryman at 615-494-7896.
berryman@mtsu.edu

Internet isometrics?

Since anyone can put information on the Internet, is it safe for dieters and exercisers to depend upon it for the information they need to improve their health? Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, says, “I do not think the use of the Internet will result in poor or invalid information—at least, not any more than most articles and books that are published. Any means of communicating the need for exercise and providing exercise instruction to the public is a good thing. Some people are more responsive to the Internet than others. But the Internet is unlikely to lead to any revolution of exercise techniques and habits. The Internet keeps us sedentary, in fact, so the more we are moving around, the better.”

Contact Anshel at 615-898-2812.
manshel@mtsu.edu

Narrowing the field

Why are radio talk show hosts like Rush Limbaugh and G. Gordon Liddy so successful? They’re not broadcasting, they’re “narrowcasting,” says Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication. “The audience demos that these air personalities reach (mostly older, angry white men) are tiny compared to TV, but there’s a lot of money in niche broadcasting. Why try to appeal to everyone when you can pinpoint your target audience, ‘super-serve’ them, and make a ton of money? The (Don) Imus incident is a good example of niche-specific media meeting mainstream media after a blogger posted Imus’ racist remarks on the Internet. And why did the mainstream go with the story? Because it pandered to the most consistently used journalistic convention in media: the conflict frame. Oh, what irony.”

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Post-mortem privacy

The relatives of Seung Hui Cho have given Virginia Tech permission to turn over his mental health records to a special panel examining the April 16 shootings. Previously, the school had argued that federal privacy rights protect the individual even after death. (Cho committed suicide.) Ken Sanney, in addition to being an adjunct professor of recording industry, also is an attorney who has dealt with legal issues involving the mentally ill. He says he believes Virginia Tech’s initial argument was correct. “The policy reasoning behind this type of rule can easily been seen in the example of the death of any famous individual,” Sanney says. “If the right to privacy did not survive the death of the movie star, politician, or other individual of note, then some in the news media would likely publish all sorts of details about the medical history after their passing.”

Contact Sanney at 615-456-6502.
ksanney@mtsu.edu

Oh, what a tangled Web they weave!

A study by the OpenNet Initiative finds that China, Iran, Myanmar, Syria, Tunisia and Vietnam have the strictest censorship of political Web sites in the world. The same study finds that Iran, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen have the most stringent social controls. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “What is particularly interesting is that the researchers who conducted the project did not look at North Korea or Cuba. The reason: they were afraid people in those countries would be prosecuted by talking about Web censorship. The study did not examine how effective the controls are, and there is a kind of arms race between those seeking to control the Web and those working around the controls.”

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

The year of the khat

The latest challenge to drug enforcement agents is khat, a plant grown in the Horn of Africa and imported by African immigrants. Khat is chewed to alter one’s state of consciousness, much the way coca leaves are chewed by South American natives. Dr. Doug Winborn, health and human performance, says, “Problems with these substances are limited until enterprising chemists begin to isolate the active ingredients in each of the substances. Caffeine is isolated and becomes the active ingredient in ‘stay awake’ pills, dietary aids and, currently, energy drinks. Coca leaves have the active ingredient extracted, and we have cocaine. Khat has two active ingredients, cathinone and cathine. Cathinone acts in ways similar to caffeine only more powerful SO LONG as it is fresh (as in home-grown). Otherwise, the potency diminishes.”

Contact Winborn at 615-898-5110.
jwinborn@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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.

LEARN ABOUT IT--Educational leaders from throughout the region are returning to the college classroom this month to take part in helping prepare a group of MTSU graduate students for their futures within education. Dr. David Sevier, a research analyst and policy adviser for the Tennessee State Board of Education, will speak today, June 20. Sevier’s talk and all of the slated educational lectures will be held from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in Room 158 of the Kirksey Old Main Building. “I am especially grateful to these professionals who are taking their time to come and speak to my students about the expectations that are placed upon them in their jobs in the field of education and about special topics or issues that they confront on a regular basis,” says Dr. Terry Goodin, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership. Members of the media are invited and encouraged to attend the guest speaker sessions, but advance notice of attendance is requested. Contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu. Contact Goodin at tgoodin@mtsu.edu.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Ain’t that a kick in the head?

A study of more than 2,500 retired NFL players by the University of North Carolina disputes the NFL’s long-time assertion that concussions in football have no long-term effects. The study finds that 20.2 percent of those who remembered having three or more concussions said they had been diagnosed with depression—three times the rate of players who have not sustained concussions. Dr. Helen Binkley, health and human performance, says, “The problem that the NFL, specifically team owners and franchises, have is that it is a business and the bottom line takes precedence more often than not. When an athlete misses a game, it could affect the revenue of the company and the salary or earnings of the player. … This may lead the athlete who has sustained a concussion to return to play prior to appropriate healing taking place and increase the risk for long-term effects.

Contact Binkley at 615-904-8192.
hbinkley@mtsu.edu

Learn about it

Educational leaders from throughout the region are returning to the college classroom this month to take part in helping prepare a group of MTSU graduate students for their futures within education. Dr. David Sevier, a research analyst and policy adviser for the Tennessee State Board of Education, will speak Wednesday, June 20. Sevier’s talk and all of the slated educational lectures will be held from 8 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. in Room 158 of the Kirksey Old Main Building. “I am especially grateful to these professionals who are taking their time to come and speak to my students about the expectations that are placed upon them in their jobs in the field of education and about special topics or issues that they confront on a regular basis,” says Dr. Terry Goodin, assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership.

Members of the media are invited and encouraged to attend the guest speaker sessions, but advance notice of attendance is requested. Contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.
Contact Goodin at tgoodin@mtsu.edu.

Progress with parasites

A unique form of parasite discovered off the coast of northern Australia in 1997 has led Dr. George Benz, biology, to create a new genus (scientific category) for their classification. “The specimens were found infecting the gills of several stingrays … namely, ornate eagle rays,” Benz says. “The parasites were each approximately an inch-and-a-half long, darkly colored, and very thin. Upon examining them in the laboratory, it dawned on me that they not only represented a new species, but a quite different new species at that—so different, in fact, that it would require the establishment of a new higher animal group to contain them.” Benz and his colleagues completed their work last year at MTSU. The parasites are named “Janinecaira darkthread” to honor Dr. Janine Caira of the University of Connecticut for her contributions to the field of parasitology.

Contact Benz at 615-898-5021.
gbenz@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

What’s wrong with Mommy?

Legislation that would increase federal funding for education, detection and treatment of postpartum depression is pending in Congress. Dr. Kimberly Ujcich-Ward, associate professor of psychology and mother of three, says, “Dealing with the emotional impact of the new role (of motherhood) can be a trigger for depressive symptoms. Women and families need to be educated about how to identify these symptoms and how to get help if/when they occur. Medication is one way to help alleviate some depressive symptoms, but psychotherapies such as cognitive-behavioral and interpersonal therapies can help new mothers effectively learn to handle both the physical and emotional changes associated with their new roles.”

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

Chinese checklist

The Center for Science in the Public Interest says some Chinese restaurant food can be bad for your waistline and blood pressure. Not even vegetables are exempt. A serving of eggplant in garlic sauce has 1,000 calories and 2,000 milligrams of sodium. “Unfortunately, Chinese food American style is no different than the American versions of Italian or Mexican food,” Dr. Lisa Sheehan-Smith, human sciences, says. “These foods are delivered to customers in large portions, often fried and covered with rich sauces. Simple and nutrient-rich foods like vegetables and lean meats end up high in calories, fat and/or sodium. … Planning ahead and watching the portion sizes are key pointers to follow to ensure that eating out fits into a healthy lifestyle.”

Contact Sheehan-Smith at 615-898-2090.
lsheehan@mtsu.edu

A work of genus

During an expedition to northern Australia in 1997, Dr. George Benz, biology, encountered two new kinds of parasites. He determined that these creatures required the establishment of a new genus, a scientific category below a family and above a species, with which to classify them. Benz started that work while he was working at and director of the Tennessee Aquarium Research Institute, but he could not finish his work there. However, he managed to complete his work at MTSU this past year. Hence, we have “Janinecaira darkthread,” parasites that infect the gills of ornate eagle rays in the Beagle Gulf. They are named for one of Benz’s colleagues, Dr. Janine Caira of the University of Connecticut. Benz and his collaborators published their findings in the Journal of Parasitology.

Contact Benz at 615-898-5021.
gbenz@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

WELCOME TO THE WORLD--As part of International FolkFest 2007, a free performance of the music of India is slated for 1:30 p.m. today in front of the James E. Walker Library at MTSU. A presentation of the International Folkloric Society, “The festival, which began in 1982, was responsible for bringing musical and dance groups from over 50 countries to Rutherford County,” according to http://www.mboro-international-folkfest.org/. The event, which will continue through June 17th, will conclude with day-long festivities on the north side of the public square in Murfreesboro and the circle around the Rutherford County courthouse. For more information, contact Steve Cates at 615-896-3559 or Appdancer@aol.com or Scott McCurley at 615-885-2631 or Boomer322@aol.com.

GETTING TEENS TO READ AND WRITE--The Tennessee Center for the Study & Treatment of Dyslexia at MTSU will sponsor the Adolescent Literacy Institute on Friday, June 15, in the Business and Aerospace Building. This institute is designed for middle and high school teachers (teaching language arts, English, ESL, resource reading, special education, and the content areas) who are interested in fostering and improving adolescent literacy. Dr. Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professor of Literacy at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the keynote address on “Teaching Writing to Adolescents: Specifically-Supported Practices” at 8:15 a.m. Workshop topics include “Making the Reading and Writing Connection Effective and Fun” and “Vocabulary: Building Word Consciousness.” For more information, contact M. Tara Joyce, Ed.D., Adolescent Literacy Institute Director, at 615-494-8880 or ali@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 runs through June 15 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.

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.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Welcome to the world

As part of International FolkFest 2007, free performances of international music are slated for 1:30 p.m. today and tomorrow in front of the James E. Walker Library at MTSU. Today’s featured country is the Netherlands, and Thursday’s featured country is India. A presentation of the International Folkloric Society, “The festival, which began in 1982, was responsible for bringing musical and dance groups from over 50 countries to Rutherford County,” according to http://www.mboro-international-folkfest.org. The event, which will continue through June 17th, will conclude with day-long festivities on the north side of the public square in Murfreesboro and the circle around the Rutherford County courthouse.

For more information, contact Steve Cates at 615-896-3559
Appdancer@aol.com
or Scott McCurley at 615-885-2631.
Boomer322@aol.com

Nip it in the bud

Dr. Valentin Fuster, former president of the American Heart Association, and Humana, an insurance agency, are collaborating on a study of 6,000 high-risk patients to gain a better understanding of how they can be persuaded to integrate preventive medicine measures into their lifestyles. “In the late 1970s and 1980s, a new concept emerged known as the wellness movement or health promotion,” says Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences. “Organizations like the American Heart Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Cancer Society were among the leaders who promoted health. Insurance companies want people healthy, too—it’s cheaper to pay for preventative measures and education than to pay the thousands spent on a heart attack or stroke.”

Contact Colson at 615-898-2091.
jcolson@mtsu.edu

¿vas a venir a la ceremonia de mi graduación?

The National Council of La Raza, the largest national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, is pushing for a new version of the “No Child Left Behind” law that would hold schools accountable for graduation rates, not just test scores. Dr. Ellen Slicker, psychology, says, “… especially in the Hispanic population, leaving school to get a job and help with family finances is a significant deterrent to graduation from high school. Co-op placement where students can be employed and receive high school credit for this employment is one solution. Learning trades that make them employable and gaining apprenticeships in marketable skills could enhance students’ motivation to continue in school.”

Contact Slicker at 615-898-5966.
eslicker@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

GETTING TEENS TO READ AND WRITE--The Tennessee Center for the Study & Treatment of Dyslexia at MTSU will sponsor the Adolescent Literacy Institute on Friday, June 15, in the Business and Aerospace Building. This institute is designed for middle and high school teachers (teaching language arts, English, ESL, resource reading, special education, and the content areas) who are interested in fostering and improving adolescent literacy. Dr. Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professor of Literacy at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the keynote address on “Teaching Writing to Adolescents: Specifically-Supported Practices” at 8:15 a.m. Workshop topics include “Making the Reading and Writing Connection Effective and Fun” and “Vocabulary: Building Word Consciousness.” For more information, contact M. Tara Joyce, Ed.D., Adolescent Literacy Institute Director, at 615-494-8880 or ali@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 runs through June 15 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.

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.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The assault on intelligence?

A recent column by Dana Milbank in the Washington Post takes Al Gore to task for sounding too intellectual and erudite for his audience (Gore was promoting his book The Assault on Reason at George Washington University). Milbank cites as evidence Gore’s mentions of Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations and Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Greg Simerly, speech and theatre, says, while Gore is very smart, “Generally, it’s the smart ones that are able to use the most important public speaking skill—audience analysis. In other words, know your audience, and know how to tailor your message to them. Al Gore can do that. The alternative, as someone once said, is this—no one ever lost an election by talking down to the American people.”

Contact Simerly at 615-898-5607.
gsimerly@mtsu.edu

Keep it cordial, but not conjugal

Relationships have boundaries, and professional boundaries when dealing with criminals are highly important, says Dr. Gloria Hamilton, psychology. “When people are in a criminal justice institution, you, coming in to see them, become the center of their world,” Hamilton says. “There’s nobody as important as you. Why is it that often young females—social workers, psychologists—why is it that they end up sometimes falling in love with a male prisoner? … Because they will never get the attention and fixation and intensity in the outside world that they get from that man who’s incarcerated. … To him, she is everything.” Hamilton says a professional who slips through the boundaries can get into a situation that’s over her/his head.

Contact Hamilton at 615-898-5745.
ghamilto@mtsu.edu

Savoring science

Is the Internet creating a more science-savvy America? Perhaps so, says Dr. Saeed Foroudastan, associate dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences. “Although the convenience of researching scientific material via the Internet has undoubtedly spurred an increase in the ability of the lay person to understand science, I also believe that media plays a large role in this increase of ‘science-savvy’ individuals,” Foroudastan says. “If a story is conveyed in an interesting manner, whether by description, illustration, animation, or video, people are more apt to understand it better or look it up on the Internet due to curiosity. Hit television series such as “ER”, “CSI,” “Gray’s Anatomy,” etc., may also correlate with science’s rising popularity among the American population.”

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

TR EXTRA

GETTING TEENS TO READ AND WRITE--The Tennessee Center for the Study & Treatment of Dyslexia at MTSU will sponsor the Adolescent Literacy Institute on Friday, June 15, in the Business and Aerospace Building. This institute is designed for middle and high school teachers (teaching language arts, English, ESL, resource reading, special education, and the content areas) who are interested in fostering and improving adolescent literacy. Dr. Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professor of Literacy at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the keynote address on “Teaching Writing to Adolescents: Specifically-Supported Practices” at 8:15 a.m. Workshop topics include “Making the Reading and Writing Connection Effective and Fun” and “Vocabulary: Building Word Consciousness.” For more information, contact M. Tara Joyce, Ed.D., Adolescent Literacy Institute Director, at 615-494-8880 or ali@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 runs through June 15 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.

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.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Didn’t the USFL teach them anything?

Bill Hambrecht, founder of WR Hambrecht + Company, and Tim Armstrong, a senior executive at Google, are creating a “rival to the National Football League—the United Football League—along with Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “While Cuban believes the market desires more professional football, the UFL’s potential for success seems limited. A national television contract would be a must to create exposure to build the league, and the UFL would have to overcome perceptions that it is second-rate football compared to the NFL.” The backers of the UFL are putting up $2 million each of their own money, and they’ve hired a chief executive officer and a chief operations officer from the National Basketball Association.

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

Geezers gone wild

When law enforcement personnel talk about curbing violence, they usually don’t talk about the 55-plus demographic being a particular problem. And network television executives don’t exactly covet the 55-plus demographic for their ratings. But research shows that the most heavily exposed to television, and, therefore, to TV violence, are viewers over 55, says Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication. “This cohort watches four hours and 18 minutes of TV per day,” Pondillo says. “If the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) or Congress believes in a powerful, causal link between the heavy viewing of violence on TV and violent behavior, perhaps we should hide the next time we see a person over 55 walking toward us.”

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

The sensitivity and science of sand

The poet William Blake once wrote, “To see a world in a grain of sand/And a heaven in a wild flower/Hold infinity in the palm of your hand/And eternity in an hour.” Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says Blake definitely was on to something. “Sand is mostly made out of silica, a compound of silicon and oxygen with the chemical formula SiO2,” MacDougall says. “If you examine a small grain with a magnifying glass, you will notice that it is transparent, and that its differently sized faces join at various angles, some rather acute. While your magnifying glass is still handy, examine a grain of salt. It is also transparent, but the shape is quite different—that of a simple cube.”

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

TR EXTRA

GETTING TEENS TO READ AND WRITE--The Tennessee Center for the Study & Treatment of Dyslexia at MTSU will sponsor the Adolescent Literacy Institute on Friday, June 15, in the Business and Aerospace Building. This institute is designed for middle and high school teachers (teaching language arts, English, ESL, resource reading, special education, and the content areas) who are interested in fostering and improving adolescent literacy. Dr. Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professor of Literacy at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the keynote address on “Teaching Writing to Adolescents: Specifically-Supported Practices” at 8:15 a.m. Workshop topics include “Making the Reading and Writing Connection Effective and Fun” and “Vocabulary: Building Word Consciousness.” For more information, contact M. Tara Joyce, Ed.D., Adolescent Literacy Institute Director, at 615-494-8880 or ali@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 runs through June 15 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.

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.

Friday, June 8, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Get teed off

Meet coaches and administrators from MTSU and enjoy a great round of golf on Monday, June 11, at the 2007 Greater Nashville Blue Raider Golf Scramble sponsored by Atmos Energy. The event will take place at Temple Hills Golf Club, 6376 Temple Road, in Franklin. All proceeds will benefit the Blue Raider Athletic Association (BRAA) and will help fund 250 scholarships for deserving student-athletes. You may form your own team for this four-person scramble. The post-June 1 entry fees of $150 per person or $550 per team (payable in advance or at check-in) include golf and cart, range balls, lunch, beverages, snacks, a gift and a goody bag.

For more information, go to http://www.goblueraiders.com. Entry forms may be faxed to the BRAA at 615-898-5056. The number for the Temple Hills Golf Club is 615-646-4785.

Getting teens to read and write

The Tennessee Center for the Study & Treatment of Dyslexia at MTSU will sponsor the Adolescent Literacy Institute on Friday, June 15, in the Business and Aerospace Building. This institute is designed for middle and high school teachers (teaching language arts, English, ESL, resource reading, special education, and the content areas) who are interested in fostering and improving adolescent literacy. Dr. Steve Graham, Currey Ingram Professor of Literacy at Vanderbilt University, will deliver the keynote address on “Teaching Writing to Adolescents: Specifically-Supported Practices” at 8:15 a.m. Workshop topics include “Making the Reading and Writing Connection Effective and Fun” and “Vocabulary: Building Word Consciousness.”

For more information, contact M. Tara Joyce, Ed.D., Adolescent Literacy Institute Director, at 615-494-8880.
ali@mtsu.edu

WaterWorks! is a winner!

MTSU has been selected as winner of the 2007 Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Award in the Green Schools Higher Education Category. It will be presented today during the Governor’s Environmental Stewardship Awards ceremony at the Ed Jones Auditorium in the Ellington Agricultural Center in Nashville. MTSU and its Center for Environmental Education were nominated for their WaterWorks! Program. Funded in part by the Department of Agriculture Nonpoint Source Program and by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation’s used oil program, WaterWorks! Promotes individual responsibility through “easy-to-learn and do” habits.

Contact Karen Hargrove at 615-898-2660.
khargrov@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 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.

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.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

What are friends for?

One of the latest promotional tactics is to pay people to do what they formerly did for free—word-of-mouth advertising. Folks you know will work a plug for a product subtly into their everyday conversations with you—for a fee. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, finds this odious. “Fortunately, this kind of chicanery has attracted the attention of the Federal Trade Commission, which last December said the people who are paid to endorse products have to disclose who they are working for,” Burriss says. He thinks this kind of advertising ultimately will backfire. “People are going to learn to say to their friends very quickly, ‘Look, I don’t want to hear about what you’re trying to sell me.’ Sure, a lot of friendships are doing to be lost, but I bet the advertisers will get the message pretty fast that this kind of thing isn’t appreciated.”

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

Ironing it out

“Tennessee Iron Furnace Trail,” an informational video in digital-video disc (DVD) format, garnered a Bronze Award at the 28th Annual Telly Awards. The DVD was a collaborative effort between MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation (CHP) and the university’s Audio/Visual Services. According to the CHP Web site, “The Tennessee Iron Furnace Trail interprets the remnants of the historic iron industry that operated in counties along the Western Highland Rim in the early nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Furnace stacks, buildings, dams, museums and oral traditions from Stewart to Decatur counties tell the stories of people—black, white, free, enslaved, men, women, and children—who worked on these nearly forgotten industrial plantations.”

For more information about the Tennessee Iron Furnace Trail, contact Caneta Hankins, assistant director of the CHP, at 615-898-2947.
chankins@mtsu.edu

The Muslim connection

For Americans to think of Muslims as “other” doesn’t quite pass historical muster. “From the beginning, Muslims played a crucial role in European history, shaping the location, culture, size, and industries of Europe’s settlements in the Americas and later the nations of the Western hemisphere,” writes Dr. Sean Foley, history, in “Muslims in the History of the Atlantic Basin,” a paper he presented last year at the annual meeting of the National History Center in Affiliation with the American Historical Association. Foley notes that “the Muslim presence in the United States and the wider Atlantic basin predates Jefferson by centuries. Muslims were present in the Americas in the fifteenth century, if not earlier.”

Contact Foley at 615-904-8294.
sfoley@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 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.

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.

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The consumption conundrum

There’s nothing Andrew Speaker can tell Dr. Preston MacDougall about testing for tuberculosis. Last year, the MTSU chemistry professor was informed that one of his students at the time carried a form of TB that was being treated successfully. “Not only did I not notice any symptoms, but neither did the patient, and they stopped taking their medication—prematurely, it turned out, because the bacteria showed up during the student’s next check-up,” MacDougall says. A health department nurse “said that I should get a TB skin test, which tests to see if my immune system recognizes harmless chemical derivatives of purified proteins that are common to all known TB bacteria,” he adds. “My skin would have ‘bubbled’ if I had a positive immune response. It didn’t. Even if it had, and lung X-rays had shown spots of growing TB bacteria, antibiotics would have completely cured me, as they have since cured the student.”

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

For adults only

MTSU has a new Adult Degree Completion Program (ADCP) to enable adults who have left college prior to completing a degree track to earn a degree quickly and affordably. It’s applicable to any degree offered by the College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning. “There are more than 60,000 Tennesseans who have completed at least 30 hours of college and who can benefit tremendously from completing their degrees,” says Lance Ikard, ADCP director. “The average worker with a bachelor’s degree earns nearly $240,000 more during his or her career than those without one.” Students have the choice of taking courses online, on campus or in combination. The program is individually customized so that each student works with the ADCP director and his or her academic advisor to select the most appropriate program.

Contact David Foster at 615-898-5033.
dfoster@mtsu.edu

Pain at the pumps

What impact will higher gas prices have on consumer spending in the region? According to MTSU’s latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index, “When asked about gas prices, 60 percent of consumers said that they expect to reduce their overall level of consumer spending in the next six months because of the recent increases in gas prices,” says Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the Office of Consumer Research. “This is an increase from May, where 53 percent of consumers expected to reduce their spending because of higher gas prices. As more time passes without a significant reduction in prices, a greater number of consumers will feel the pinch in their budgets from the high price of gas.” The poll was conducted among 274 randomly selected adult residents of Davidson, Rutherford and Williamson counties.

Contact Graeff at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 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.

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.

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

TB or not TB?

Do Andrew Speaker’s now infamous journeys give Dr. Preston MacDougall pause? Well, he doesn’t think it’s any reason to panic. The MTSU chemistry professor points out that many varieties of tuberculosis can be cured by antibiotics, and the varieties that are resistant to antibiotics are relatively few and occur only rarely. This is a far cry from the situation only 100 years ago. “At the beginning of the 20th century, about one in seven North Americans died of tuberculosis, or TB,” MacDougall says. “TB had long been grouped with other wasting diseases and called ‘consumption’ before biologists identified the contagious bacteria that causes the disease and gave it its name. There are different varieties of tuberculosis bacteria, and they continue to evolve as all organisms do. Our immune system has built defenses against the disease, and many people are carriers of the bacteria but don’t show any symptoms, such as the persistent coughing.”

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

“It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine.”—R.E.M.

Are We Rome? The Fall of an Empire and the Fate of America, a new book by Cullen Murphy, asserts that there are parallels between American society today and ancient Rome right before the fall of the great empire. Dr. Louis Haas, history, says, “The decline and fall of the Roman Empire has been a favorite topic of study for any political entity or people for eons and is always seen in the light of a political entity as a living being—birth, maturity, decline, death. We always wonder about ourselves—where do we fit in there? And we always presume that for ourselves there will be some magic saving grace that will prevent us from going the way of Rome … if we just acted on it. … We have been here before then with this model, but I have always found it overdrawn.”

Contact Haas at 615-898-5828.
lhaas@mtsu.edu

Good buy or good-bye?

Consumer confidence in the region has sunk to its second lowest level since 2000, according to the latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index conducted by MTSU’s Office of Consumer Research. Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the office, says, “The only time that the … index was lower than its current level was in the beginning of 2003 following a year of news reports of corporate accounting scandals and uncertainty about the war in Iraq.” The index fell 26 percent from 278 in April to 206 in May. The percentage of consumers saying that business conditions nationwide are good declined from 36 percent in April to 33 percent. And those saying that business conditions in Middle Tennessee will be better six months from now fell from 35 percent to 27 percent.

Contact Graeff at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 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.

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.

Monday, June 4, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

No kidding? Broccoli a la mode?

Are restaurants revamping children's menus as they add leaner, healthier items to their offerings for the grownups? Or are the kids still being offered mostly chicken fingers with French fries, pizza, and burgers? Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences, says, as a mother, she notices the kids’ menus. She says many restaurants are realizing that parents want better choices for their children. “Most restaurants have always allowed parents to substitute milk or juice for the soft drinks … which is an improvement,” she says, adding that water has always been an option for any beverage. “Now, more and more are giving choices for the fries. McDonald’s allows apple slices, and Wendy’s has the mandarin orange slice(s) option. KFC provides baked chip products and a low-fat granola bar in all kids’ meals.”

Contact Colson at 615-898-2091.
jcolson@mtsu.edu

They shoot! We score!

The Nashville Predators are on the block, and Canadian businessman Jim Balsillie intends to buy them. However, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman says the Preds will stay in Nashville. “The challenge for the new ownership of the team will be the same faced by the previous owners: converting liking of the team into ticket sales, especially in the business community,” Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says. Roy conducts the Middle Tennessee Sports Affinity Survey, which suggests that nearly 10 years as an NHL market has led to greater interest in hockey in Nashville. “Among teams, the Predators had the second highest Affinity Score of any professional or collegiate team, second only to the Tennessee Titans,” Roy says of the latest survey results.

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

Don’t bug me!

What causes the decomposition of a dead body? One factor is the number of insects that work their way into the corpse. Insects are “nature’s little clean-up crew,” says Dr. Hugh Berryman, forensic anthropologist and MTSU faculty member. “You tend to think clothing protects,” Berryman says. “But if there are flies there, and the insects get underneath that clothing, it keeps them out of direct sunlight. They don’t like direct sunlight. It (clothing) keeps them shaded. It keeps them in a moist area, and it really speeds things up. … There’s one thing out there that can remove the tissue from the skull better than a maggot, and that’s an anthropologist!” And what does Berryman use to remove the tissue from the bone? Warm water and Biz laundry detergent!

Contact Berryman at 615-494-7896.
berryman@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 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.

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.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“It was 40 years ago today Sgt. Pepper’s blew us all away.”—Paul Fischer, with apologies to The Beatles

“Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” was released on this day in 1967, and it since has been acknowledged as a landmark event in the history of rock ‘n’ roll. “Some of the songs captured the fun spirit of earlier Beatle works,” Dr. Paul Fischer, recording industry, says, “but their newly adult political, cultural and introspective preoccupations were also on display for listeners to ruminate upon. With this record, The Beatles realized new levels of sophistication in their music and the art of recording same without losing their mass appeal. This record brought new topics of interest and concern to millions while still being entertaining.”

Contact Fischer at 615-898-5470.
pfischer@mtsu.edu

A mighty wind

A recent article by Peter N. Spotts in the Christian Science Monitor states that plumes of dust and soot from Asia “represent some of the largest pollution events on Earth, researchers say.” Why is all this air pollution wafting across the Pacific to North America, and what causes it? Dr. John DiVincenzo, chemistry, says, “North America has always received dust from deserts like the Gobi. Storms with severe winds kick the fine-grained sands into the atmosphere and the prevailing winds carry them across the Pacific to North America. The difference is that now it is mixed with pollution mainly originating from the growing coal-burning industries of China. The impacts are still poorly understood.”

Contact DiVincenzo at 615-904-8251.
jdivince@mtsu.edu

For the health of it

The panel investigating the April 16 Virginia Tech massacre is seeking access to the shooter’s mental health records. Is this an extraordinary step? Ken Sanney, adjunct recording industry professor, also is a lawyer and a military veteran who has had experience with unstable people with commitment issues. He says, “There are specific federal rules that allow the use and disclosure of health information for judicial, administrative, and law enforcement proceedings. (See 45 C.F.R. 164.512(e), (f).) This would require a subpoena or an order of a court or administrative tribunal. If the State of Virginia were to give the panel investigating the shootings subpoena power, the panel could obtain these records without court intervention. Otherwise, the panel would have to seek the assistance of the courts.”

Contact Sanney at 615-456-6502.
ksanney@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THAT’S A TAKE!--Don’t wait to give your child an exciting, fulfilling way to spend part of his or her summer! Registration runs through June 15 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.

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.

WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT, ALFIE?--Grades, standardized tests and a reward/punishment system of behavior modification can be hazardous to your child’s educational development. That’s the belief of education reform activist Alfie Kohn, who will speak at MTSU’s inaugural Positive Behavior Support Conference for teachers only June 2. “Kohn is a sometimes controversial and often irreverent speaker, but he always challenges us to look beyond the façade to the important issues affecting children and the quality of their education today,” Dr. Connie A. Jones, chairwoman of the Department of Elementary and Special Education, says. Kohn’s four-hour workshop, titled “Beyond Bribes and Threats: Realistic Alternatives to Controlling Students’ Behavior,” will begin at 8 a.m. in Room 221 of the Learning Resources Center. Other education sessions will be held up to the event’s scheduled 3:30 p.m. conclusion. Teachers may learn more and register by contacting Linda Copciac at 615-898-2680 or at lcopciac@mtsu.edu.

GET IT WRITE!--Thanks to generous matching grants totaling $90,000, MTSU soon will embark upon its third annual Middle Tennessee Writing Project (MTWP), an on-campus writing institute for select teachers of kindergarten through college students, on June 4-29, and three Youth Writer’s Camp sessions, which are two-week intensive writing camps held Mondays through Thursdays for students from Rutherford and other local counties. Michael Shoulders, author of V is for Volunteer, a book about Tennessee, will be the guest author at all three youth camps. The MTWP is one of 185 sites of The National Writing Project, a federally funded program launched in 1974 by professors at the University of California at Berkeley. For more information about the MTWP, including the Youth Writer’s Camp, access its Web site online at http://www.mtsu.edu/~mtwp. For youth camp registration information, contact coordinator Marcy Pfleuger of Eagleville School by calling (615) 274-6320.

FIT FOR LIFE--MTSU faculty and staff will be heading back to work this summer—work on their bodies and their lives in the third incarnation of the MTSU Faculty-Staff Wellness Program slated for June 4 through August 17. Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, says overweight or obese employees should participate and, if they already exercise, their strength and cardiovascular fitness and cholesterol numbers should still see some improvement. The 100 participants will undergo fitness and flood testing during the week of June 4. In addition, they will have individual 30-minute consultations with a registered dietitian and a life skills coach on examining the barriers to improving a healthy lifestyle and ways to address those barriers. Post-program testing is scheduled for the week of August 13. Contact Anshel at 615-898-2812 or manshel@mtsu.edu.

HOME ON THE ROAD--The Middle Tennessee Association of Realtors has donated $1,000 to the Habitat for Humanity Bike Challenge in sponsorship of MTSU student Chris Sterling. Chris will ride the northern route form New Haven, Conn., to Seattle, Wash., this summer. Claire Covic and Morgan Goepel, also from MTSU, will ride the southern route from New Haven to San Francisco, Calif. Each route is 4,000 miles long. Riders are slated to begin on both routes and a central route June 2. Each student is being asked to raise $4,000. “Every night, the riders will give presentations and answer questions in churches and community centers, trying to increase Habitat's visibility, stimulate the formation of new chapters, and encourage donations,” according to http://www.habitatbike.org. Profiles of Chris, Claire, and Morgan are accessible at that Web site. For assistance in locating the students, contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.