Wednesday, September 19, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

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. Thursday, 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.
womenstu@mtsu.edu

In like Flynt

This Saturday, the Lobos of Sul Ross State University will play their 2007 home opener against East Texas Baptist University. It will be the first home game in decades for 59-year-old Mike Flynt, who tried out for and made the roster of the Division III football team as a linebacker. Prior to this season, he hadn’t played college football since 1970. Can a 59-year-old take the hits? Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, says, “Not as many, nor at the same intensity, but, yes, as long as there is no pre-existing injury and damaged tissue, we can go on far longer than many of us thought.” (Sul Ross State is 2-1 on the season thus far. Flynt missed the first two games with a slight groin injury.)

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

Breaking up is hard to do.

According to one report in The New York Times, researchers have said that about 60 percent of all marriages ultimately come to an end during the first decade of marriage. However, per the same study, when it comes to college graduates, the divorce rate for this group during the first 10 years of marriage has dropped to just 16 percent for those who married between 1990 and 1994; that’s down from 27 percent of those who wed between 1970 and 1975. Dr. Janet Belsky, psychology, is not surprised. “As a lifespan teacher, I always take a poll to see what percentage of my (college) students have had parents who divorced or have grown up in a single-parent family because it’s typically about 50 percent,” she says. “(My students) are well aware of the depressing divorce statistics, and they’re vitally interested in how they can choose the right person.”

Contact Belsky at 615-898-5935.
jbelsky@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.

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.

TRIO TRILLS--The Verdehr Trio, a violin-clarinet-piano trio in residence at Michigan State University, will open MTSU’s 2007-2008 Presidential Concert Series at 7:30 p.m.today, Sept. 19, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall in the Wright Music Building. According to one Washington Post story, “The Verdehr Trio is a first-rate chamber group with a difference—the three have been winning celebrity over 30 years for creating a new niche in world music, commissioning 170-plus works by an international bevy of composers … impeccably matched phrasing and contrasting tonal colors as clearly etched as Mozart’s operatic characters.” All events in the Presidential Concert Series are free and open to the public. Contact Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493 or tmusselm@mtsu.edu.

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. tomorrow, 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 tomorrow, 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.