Monday, September 10, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Housing hell

U.S. mortgage lenders are cutting thousands of jobs due to the current lending crisis. How did we get into such a mess with foreclosures higher than they’ve been in quite some time? Dr. Doug Timmons, economics and finance, explains, “It all started in 2001 when the U.S. Federal Reserve System dropped interest rate to a record low of one percent as a response to the 2000-2001 bursting of the tech-stock bubble. Rates were dropped to avoid a severe downturn in the economy. This encouraged easy and cheap borrowing and, thus, Americans started buying houses as the mortgage repayments were so cheap. Thus, the perfect situation was created in which low interest rates and rising property prices would cause the housing bubble which was experienced between 2001-2006. Wall Street was only too happy to conjure up high-yielding bond packages that were heavily invested in unsustainable subprime mortgages.”

Contact Timmons at 615-898-5750.
jtimmons@mtsu.edu

Give blood, give life

The first of the fall 2007 blood drives at MTSU is set for Tuesday, Sept. 11. Sponsored by the campus chapter of the Association of Secretarial and Clerical Employees, it’s scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Room 322 of the Keathley University Center. A record-setting hot, dry summer helped to dry up the local Red Cross’ supplies of blood, leaving it once again at crisis levels and forcing delays in elective surgeries across the community. Blood donors must be at least 17 years old, weigh at least 110 pounds, and feeling well and healthy enough for normal activities. Donors also must not have donated blood in the previous 56 days.

Contact 615-898-2590 for more information.

The boss and the law

Legislatures in at least four states are considering measures that would enable employees to sue their bosses for damages if their employer creates “an abusive work environment.” Dr. David Foote, management and marketing, says, “As a career military officer, I’ve had my share of [abusive bosses], and I had no choice but to stick it out and learn to work with them the best I could. Most of the people this legislation is aimed at can quit and get another job if the ‘abuse’ is too much for them to handle. So my first reaction is that they just need to get over it and stop being so thin-skinned.”

Contact Foote at 615-898-2022.
dfoote@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

BONJOUR!--Any student whose summer was no more exciting than spending endless hours lying by the pool frying to a crisp can prepare now for an unforgettable summer 2008. There’s no time like the present to register for the annual general education study abroad program in Cherbourg, France, which will run from June 2 to June 27. At this beautiful port town in the Normandy region of northwest France, students will experience the history, art and culture of the area. “With the general education program, a student can spend four weeks in Cherbourg and in Normandy, and they can begin studying French while they’re there if they choose to, but they don’t have to already know any French,” Dr. Anne Sloan, Assistant to the Provost for International Education, says. Contact Sloan at 615-898-5091 or asloan@mtsu.edu or Jennifer Campbell, Director of International Education and Exchange, at 615-898-5179 or jjcampbe@mtsu.edu.

IN THE DRAWING ROOM--Youngsters who want professional instruction in drawing can experience a first-class introduction to the art at a Youth Culture & Arts Center (YCAC) workshop for ages 12-17. The workshop will take place from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 15, in Room 117 of the Todd Building on the MTSU campus. The instructor will be Erin Anfinson, assistant professor of art at MTSU. “During this workshop, students will explore the media of charcoal, gesture drawing and working from a still life,” says Anfinson. She recommends that participants wear clothes they won’t mind getting dirty because “charcoal is a little messy.” Space for this workshop could fill quickly. The fee is $20 per person. To register, go to http://www.youthculturecenter.org. For more information, contact the instructor at anfinson@mtsu.edu.

WOMEN IN DEPTH--From prisoners to poetry and from Hitler to Hillary, the 2007-2008 Women’s Studies Research Series at MTSU will offer presentations on a diversity of provocative and thought-provoking topics this academic year. Each of the seven lectures is slated to take place at 3 p.m. one Thursday a month in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building. All lectures are free and open to the public. “The MTSU women’s Studies Research Series has something for everyone interested in women’s experience,” says Dr. Jane Marcellus, professor of mass communication. “By bringing together scholars from across campus, we touch on a wide variety of feminist viewpoints in an informal monthly gathering.” The first presentation will be “Daughters in the Fatherland: Behavioral Socialization of German Girls in Nazi Germany,” by Dr. Nancy Rupprecht, professor of history, Sept. 20. Contact Marcellus at 615-898-5282 or jmarcell@mtsu.edu.