Thursday, September 27, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Courage

MTSU Theatre will present its first outdoor theatrical experience with the classic drama “Mother Courage and Her Children” by Bertolt Brecht. The production will play at 7:30 nightly Sept. 28-29 and Oct. 3, 5 and 6 on the south lawn of the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building’s Tucker Theatre. The play’s storyline takes place amid a 30-year war in which Mother Courage, a canteen woman, continues to profit from the war. Her business is the war, and the wagon she pulls is her only possession. Her three children—Eilif, Swiss Cheese and Kattrin—have no father and no home. There is no charge for admission, and spaces are on a first-come, first-served basis starting at 7 p.m. prior to each performance. Donations are appreciated.

For more information, please visit MTSU Theatre online at http://www.mtsu.edu/~theatre.

A confidence job

The latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index indicates that consumer confidence is on the rise. The index jumped from 206 in May to 242 in a poll of 400 randomly selected adult residents of Davidson, Rutherford and Williamson counties. Dr. Tim Graeff, director of the Office of Consumer Research at MTSU, says, “Recent cuts in interest rates by the Fed have contributed to the increasingly positive feeling among local consumers. With lower interest rates, consumers with adjustable rate mortgages should see a reduction in their monthly payments and an increase in the amount of money available for other purchases. Similarly, the large gains in the stock market in response to the rate cuts also provide consumers with a feeling of being wealthier.”

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

Does it give you wings?

Some beverage companies, knowing that teens drink a lot of nonalcoholic energy drinks, are marketing alcoholic energy drinks to teens, as well. Do parents know the difference, or are there so many new beverages on the market that they don’t really know the difference between Liquid Charge and Red Bull? Dr. Doug Winborn, health and human performance, says, “This is nothing new. Joe Camel was created to target children. Spuds McKenzie was created to target children as were the ‘Bud-Wis-Er’ frogs and other crafty methods of marketing drugs. Beverage companies are just doing what product/sales companies do—all they can to move more product.”

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

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.

LET’S GIVE ‘EM SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT.--Vanderbilt University professor and author Dr. Bruce Barry will deliver a lecture titled “Will Work Leave You Speechless? The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace” today, Sept. 27, in the Keathley University Center at MTSU. The 9:45 a.m. event is free and open to the public. In his new book, Speechless: The Erosion of Free Expression in the American Workplace, Barry examines the history of free expression in the workplace, how and why Americans have come to take free speech for granted and how employers can legally punish employees for speaking their minds. Barry’s presentation is co-sponsored by the Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies and MTSU’s American Democracy Project. Contact Beverly Keel at 615-898-5150 or bkeel@mtsu.edu.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT--To mark the convergence of two religious holidays, Hillel, the Jewish student organization at MTSU, will provide a meal for the Muslim Students Association at 7 p.m. today, Sept. 27, on the Keathley University Center (KUC) knoll. The meal will be an opportunity for Muslim students who have been engaged in Ramadan, a month-long observance during which Muslims fast in the daylight hours, to break their fasts. The Jewish students will celebrate Sukkot, which commemorates the 40-year period during which the Jews wandered in the desert, living in temporary shelters. The students will build a tabernacle called a sukkah on the lawn in front of the KUC. Media welcomed. Contact Dr. Lon Nuell at 615-898-2505 or lrnuell@mtsu.edu
or Dr. Saleh Sbenaty at 615-898-2966 or ssbenaty@mtsu.edu.

THERE’S STILL A CHANCE--Openings remain for girls in grades 5-8 to register online to attend the 11th annual Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science through the registration deadline of Oct. 1. EYH will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at sites across the MTSU campus. About 100 openings remain for the girls in grades 5-8. There is a $12 registration fee, but scholarships are available. For the first time, high-school girls will participate with a separate EYH event. As of Sept. 24, about 20 openings remained. Their registration fee is $15. EYH is a hands-on science and math conference. Participants will learn more about science and math careers from MTSU faculty and off-campus professionals. To register, visit mtsu.edu/~eyh. For more information about the girls in grades 5-8, call Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross at 615-904-8253 or Dr. Rebecca Zijlstra at 615-898-5776. For more information about the high-school girls, call Karen Claud at 615-504-8587.

MONEY MATTERS--Dennis P. Lockhart, 14th president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, will be the keynote speaker at the 15th annual Economic Outlook Conference at MTSU tomorrow, Sept. 28. Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the Jennings A. Jones College of Business, says the conference is targeted especially to bankers, business owners and managers, community officials and leaders, as well as business and economics faculty and students. Continuing its tradition of providing substantive information, the conference also will feature Dr. David Penn, director of MTSU’s Business and Economic Research Center, who will provide a midstate/regional economic update. Visit http://business.web.mtsu.edu for more information.