Friday, July 20, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Show us your stuff!

The fifth annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp will culminate in the big Saturday night showcase tomorrow night, July 21, at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. The campers, girls ages 10-17, will show off their talents in a parade of band performances following a week of musical instruction and collaboration. The doors will open at 6 p.m., and the show will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are $7 at the door with all proceeds going to the camp, a program of the nonprofit arts organization Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH). Audience members will have a chance to win great raffle prizes, including a Squire Stratocaster guitar and a Squire Telecaster guitar from Chamber’s Guitars, a Ludwig Custom Elite snare drum, plus goodie bags and gift certificates to restaurants, beauty salons and more!

Contact the camp office at 615-849-8140.
sgrrc05@gmail.com

The cheese stands alone.

Some stores in Texas are either refusing to sell Tylenol PM or restricting its sales because it has been used to create a new street drug called “cheese.” Dr. Doug Winborn, health and human performance, says, “Cheese is a combination of heroin and Tylenol PM. The Tylenol PM tablets are crushed and mixed with a small amount of heroin. Users then snort the ‘cheese’ in order to obtain a recreational high. A single dose of cheese costs about $2.00.” The Associated Press reports that cheese has killed at least 23 teenagers in the Dallas area since January 2005. U.S. Sen. Jon Cornyn (R-Texas) is sponsoring legislation that would include cheese among the drugs targeted by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s media campaign.

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

High def

Facilities used by students in electronic media communication courses are undergoing a $1 million upgrade to prepare students for the high-definition video world. “I don’t know of a more state-of-the-art facility dedicated to teaching students of television production and television journalism in the United States,” Dr. Bob Spires, department chairman, says. The project includes upgrades in the TV studio, central machine room, studio control room and audio control room. HD TV provides theater-quality pictures and CD-quality sound, and because of its higher-resolution formatting and digital technology, it requires more specialized training to properly present media. “There will definitely be a learning curve for students and faculty,” says Marc Parrish, director of technical systems for the department. “When we’re up and running, we’ll definitely be a leader in the industry.”

Contact Spires at rwspires@mtsu.edu or Gina E. Fann in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5385.

TR EXTRA

CREATIVE KIDS--Generation for Creation (GFC), a nonprofit visual and performing arts program founded in 2001, is based in Murfreesboro and housed in the local Boys and Girls Club facility. GFC’s founder, Monica Johnson, is a 1996 MTSU graduate with a B.S. in psychology and minors in speech and theatre and biology. Johnson says she created GFC to help talented children reach their artistic dreams with encouragement and positive motivation. GFC’s annual Children’s Benefit Talent Show, featuring children in the categories of art, dance, drama, music and modeling, will get underway at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at MTSU’s Tucker Theatre. Miss USA 2000, Columbia native Lynette Cole, will host the event. Tickets are $10 each with discounts available for groups. For more information, call GFC at 615-890-7116. To request interviews with Johnson or with child participants, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

GRISSOM AND WILLOWS, CALL YOUR OFFICE--For the first time, MTSU is introducing the CSI experience on campus. “CSI: MTSU” is a three-day program designed for eighth-grade students in Rutherford County and its surrounding area July 25-27. The goals of “CSI: MTSU” are to allow students to explore the many unique career possibilities in forensic science, to provide a “real life reason to tackle higher level math and science courses, and to develop skills in team work, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking, and presentations. The camp is co-sponsored by the Forensic Institute for Research and Education (FIRE) and MTSU’s College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning. Due to space considerations, we are limited to 30 student investigators. The cost is $195 per student. Meals are included. Camp hours are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. Students are to report to Room 313 in the Keathley University Center. To register or for more information, contact Eve Shockley at 615-898-2462 or eshockle@mtsu.edu.

UNCLE DAVE’S DAYS--With a focus on paying tribute to the beloved old-time music festival known as Uncle Dave Macon Days, the staff of The Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County recently unveiled an exhibit titled “Uncle Dave Macon Days: Celebrating Old Time Music in Rutherford County.” Melissa A. Zimmerman, heritage programming specialist with MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation, said the two-panel display offers viewers a bit of history, photographs and quotes from the earliest years of the festival to the present day. Located at 225 W. College St., the history-laden center also features photographs of Uncle Dave and his home as part of its newly opened display, “Entering the Modern Era: Murfreesboro’s Jazz Age.” Open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. each Monday through Friday, admission to the center is always free. For more information, call the center at 615-217-8013. Please direct any inquiries for jpegs for editorial use to the center’s staff or by e-mailing mzimmerm@mtsu.edu.