Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Privacy screen

Although the digital era has introduced many advantages and conveniences and opened whole new worlds to us, there are concerns about privacy rights. Dr. Tim Greer, computer information systems, says there are ways to protect your privacy online. He advises consumers to pay attention to each Web site’s privacy policies (although they are seldom read), establish a separate account for personal e-mail, clear the memory cache, make sure online forms are secure, reject unnecessary cookies, and monitor credit reports. Also, Greer suggests that computer users look for the TRUSTe seal on the Web sites they access. The TRUSTe program is consistent with government and industry guidelines for the use of private information.

Contact Greer at 615-904-8176.
tgreer@mtsu.edu

Scale the tower and feel the power of paintball.

Two physically and mentally challenging competitions open to the public as well as the MTSU community are slated for early next month to raise money for the MTSU Veterans Memorial. The Alpine Tower Challenge is scheduled for 1-5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1, and Friday, Nov. 2 behind the Campus Recreation Center. The National Guard Paintball Tournament is set for 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at Middle Tennessee Paintball in Spring Hill. There is no entrance fee for either event, but donations are encouraged. In the tower challenge, teams of two persons each will attempt to scale a 55-foot-high wooden structure by using climbing holds, four dangling poles, a wooden “corporate ladder” with several feet of space between the rungs and a cargo net ladder.

To learn more about the Alpine Tower Challenge, contact Josh Stone at the recreation center at 615-898-2104 or jrstone@mtsu.edu.
To learn more about the National Guard Paintball Tournament, call Staff Sgt. Julius Santini, Tennessee National Guard representative at MTSU, at 615-494-7682 or
julius.santini@us.army.mil.

Check your local listings.

The October 2007 edition of “MT Record” offers many interesting stories about the people and events that make MTSU special. Stories include features on an art faculty member’s work on a Civil War mural, a student whose groundbreaking research in forensic anthropology earned her a fellowship with the Smithsonian Institution, the MTSU Wind Ensemble’s trip to China, inside tips on getting ready to go to college and the latest edition of “Centennial Countdown.” “MT Record” is produced by John Lynch and Seth Alder from the Office of News and Public Affairs.

Go to http://www.mtsunews.com and click on “Middle Tennessee Record—TV Program” for the days and times “MT Record” airs in your area.

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.

IT DON’T MEAN A THING IF IT AIN’T GOT THAT SWING--WMOT-FM’s annual membership appeal and on-air fundraising drive continues through Oct. 18. It will benefit MTSU’s nonprofit public broadcasting radio station. This year also marks the station’s 39th anniversary and its 25th year as an all-jazz formatted station. “Those who listen to and enjoy WMOT must support it financially,” says Keith Palmer, the station’s director of development. “Pledge so that radio in Middle Tennessee keeps swinging.” WMOT-FM is located on the radio dial at 89.5 and online at http://www.wmot.org. Contact Palmer at 615-898-2800 or kpalmer@mtsu.edu.

PINK AND PURPLE POWER--The June Anderson Women’s Center at MTSU is distributing purple ribbons suitable for wearing in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. “The numbers are alarming and the violence continues to spread across the United States,” says Terri Johnson, director of the Women’s Center. Since October also is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the center is making available pink ribbons to promote the need for early detection and more research. “Being a woman is the major risk factor for breast cancer,” Johnson says. “It is crucial to have early detection and screening to lower your risks.” For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

HOW I PAID FOR MY SEMESTER ABROAD--Students who never thought they could afford a study abroad opportunity have a special monetary resource available to them. The Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program provides awards of up to $5,000 for U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad for up to one academic year. The deadline for spring 2008 is today, Oct. 9. Eligible students include but are not limited to: students with high financial need, community college students, students from diverse ethnic backgrounds, students with disabilities, and adult or non-traditional students. Applicants must be receiving a Federal Pell Grant at the time of application and can not be studying abroad in a country currently under a U.S. Department of State travel warning or Cuba. The Gilman International Scholarship Program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and administered by the Institute of International Education. For more information, contact Dr. Carol Ann Baily, director of Off-Campus Student Services or cabaily@mtsu.edu.

RULE OF THUMB--Dr. Beverly Butler will present “Rule of Thumb—A Historical Overview of Domestic Violence” at 4 p.m. today, Oct. 9, in Dining Room C of MTSU’s James Union Building. The event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by MTSU’s June Anderson Women’s Center in observance of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Butler works at Live Life, Inc., a nonprofit organization in Nashville. Live Life, which was formed in 1994 as a battered women’s shelter, recently has been restructured. “I want to show that the response to violence is due to centuries of behavior not only accepted but, in some cases, supported by law,” Butler says. “Society brings about the change.” For more information, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.