Thursday, September 20, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

A sound decision

Check out MTSU Audio Clips on the Web at http://www.mtsunews.com. Click on “MTSU Audio Clips” on the right side of the page to read radio-ready stories, and click on the mp3 files to listen to the accompanying sound. Topic One is the upcoming Presidential Prism Gala Concert slated for Oct. 4 to benefit hurricane-ravaged Southern University at New Orleans. Topic Two is the rediscovery of a bit of hidden history by MTSU graduate student Sarah Elizabeth Hickman, who is writing her master’s thesis about Harness Racing Hall-of-Famer and Tennessee native Edward Franklin “Pop” Geers. Audio Clips are fashioned for radio professionals to use in their newscasts by simply cutting and pasting.

For more information, contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

Should I take Fred or Barney today?

ConsumerLab.com singles out 11 multivitamins to avoid. They say that more than half of the 21 multivitamins they tested have too much or too little of certain vitamins or have been contaminated with dangerous substances such as lead. Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences, says, “My advice to confused consumers is to stay away from supplements that are a single vitamin. Select supplements that don’t exceed 100 percent of the DRI (dietary reference intakes). And many supplements are gender- and age-specific. Children, women of child-bearing years, postmenopausal women, young active men, sedentary old men, etc., all have slightly different nutrient needs.

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

Gone with the winds

The MTSU Wind Ensemble will open its 2007-2008 season with a combination of standard wind repertoire and new works in a free and open concert at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow night, Sept. 21, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. The concert will begin with David Dzubay’s Ra!, followed by Suite Francais by Milhaud, the world premiere of Concerto for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble by Robert Bradshaw, and Samuel Hazo’s Ride. The MTSU Wind Ensemble is the premier performing ensemble for wind, brass, and percussion students at the university. Members are selected through audition each semester and comprise the best musicians at MTSU.

For more information, call 615-898-2493 or visit http://www.mtsumusic.com.

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.

THE CREATIVE COMMUNITY--“Colleagues: A Community College Art Faculty Exhibition” is the title of the upcoming diversity-rich art exhibit that is being presented through Oct. 4 in the Todd Gallery on the MTSU campus. “This exhibition recognizes the talented faculty who serve students enrolled in community colleges across the state that are often far removed from major population centers,” says Lon Nuell, professor of art and gallery curator. Nuell says each of the participating artists work and teach in traditional studio areas such as painting, photography, printmaking, drawing, ceramics and sculpture, and graphic design and visual communication. The Todd Gallery, located on the first floor of the Todd Building, is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays. Admission is always free, and the exhibit is open to the public. For more information, please contact Eric Snyder, gallery assistant, at 615-898-5653.

DON’T GET MAD, GET RAD!--The Rape Aggression Defense system is a program of realistic self-defense tactics and techniques. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance, while progressing to the basics of hands-on defense training. Classes will begin Tuesday, Sept. 25, and will run through Tuesday, Oct. 30. Classes will be held from 6-8 p.m. for six consecutive sessions. The class is offered free of charge to all MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as the general public. A workbook/training manual is provided to each student. Classes will be held at the MTSU Public Safety Training Room located at 1412 East Main Street. For information or to enroll, call RAD instructor David Smith at 615-494-8855.

VISITORS WELCOME--Limited space remains available for prospective students to register for the Saturday, Sept. 22, Fall Visit Day. MTSU can accommodate up to 400 prospective students and their families, but only 59 spots remained open as of Sept. 13. Attendees on Sept. 22 can arrive as early as 9 a.m. CDT at the Cope Administration Building to register. The second Fall Visit Day will be held starting at 9 a.m. CDT Saturday, Nov. 3, and plenty of openings remain for that date. Daily tours are Monday through Friday throughout the fall, usually at 10 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. No tours will be held Oct. 12/Oct. 15-16 (fall break), Nov. 14-16 (admissions staff at a conference), and Nov. 21-23 (Thanksgiving holiday). Prospective students and their parents or guardians can register online at http://www.mtsu.edu/admissn by clicking on “prospective students” and then “campus tours” or by calling 615-898-5670.

GET A JOB--Almost 200 top name employers and graduate school recruiters will be available to MTSU students at the annual Career Day on campus from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, Sept. 20. The fair will include representatives from nationally known and regionally based companies including Hospital Corporation of America, Federal Express, Dell, and SunTrust Bank, as well as graduate school recruiters from Belmont, Vanderbilt, the University of Alabama, and the University of Tennessee, among others. The 26th annual fair will be held on the Murphy Center track. Students are asked to bring their IDs for admittance, and professional dress is recommended for all seniors. For more information, contact the Career and Employment Center at 615-898-5732 or go to http://www.mtsu.edu/~career.

PROOF POSITIVE--“Positive Behavior Supports: What Is It and How Can It Help Schools Improve Student Behavior?” is the title of a professional development program for teachers to be offered by MTSU’s Satellite and Webcasting Center today, Sept. 20, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. CST. Dr. Zaf Khan, elementary and special education, will give participants an overview of PBS and will learn how this “systems-change” model can improve school climate and reduce office discipline referrals significantly. This workshop will discuss the three levels of positive behavior interventions as delineated by researchers George Sugai and Rob Horner: primary, secondary and tertiary interventions. This program is for teachers and administrators, grades K-12. For more information, call 615-898-2737 or send an e-mail to vmoxley@mtsu.edu.

BAREFOOT AND PREGNANT, BUT GOOSE-STEPPING ALL THE WAY--The first presentation in the 2007-2008 Women’s Studies Research Series, “Daughters in the Fatherland: Behavioral Socialization of German Girls in Nazi Germany,” will be delivered at 3 p.m. today, Sept. 20 in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building. Dr. Nancy Rupprecht, professor of history, says she will discuss “the Hitler Youth Organization’s attempt to resocialize German girls to accept and embody the aggressive, male-oriented behavioral values of Nazi ideology, yet embrace the second-class citizenship designed for them as ideal German wives and mothers.” Topics for future lectures include women and war, elderly women in prison and the presidential quest of Hillary Clinton. For more information, contact the Women’s Studies office at 615-898-5910 or womenstu@mtsu.edu.