Monday, March 24, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The Wright stuff?

The latest Gallup Poll shows that U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) got a slight bump from the speech he delivered on race relations in America last week. Obama now leads U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) 48% to 45%, reversing a week-long slide that saw Clinton up by as many as seven points. But political analysts say lingering questions about Obama’s relationship with controversial pastor Jeremiah Wright will not go away anytime soon. Dr. Russell Church, speech and theatre, says, “… the speech probably diminished Obama’s credibility for at least some segments of the American public. Barack’s elegance could not compete with the grainy images of Wright’s speech in his raspy loud voice while he pounded the podium. Obama’s condemnation of Wright’s words seemed too little, too weak and too late.”

Contact Church at 615-494-7958.
rchurch@mtsu.edu

The crucifixion of ideas

The spate of religious-themed movies on television this past Easter weekend reminded Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, that some countries are far less tolerant of a diversity of religious expression than the United States. “Just last week, … a Web site in the Netherlands was shut down because some people were offended that it promoted an as-not-yet released film about the Koran. Last month, YouTube was inaccessible around the world for several hours after Pakistan blocked the site because it allegedly contained comments reflecting badly on Islam. … It seems to me that if any idea really wants to be accepted, it must be able to stand up to criticism, analysis and questioning without the fear that those who disagree will be shot or beheaded. Indeed, it must be able to stand up to being laughed at and made fun of.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

Mp3 is not as easy as A-B-C.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) technology, which was created to protect copyrighted works from piracy, has run into some problems. Consumers sometimes face obstacles in using it on multiple mp3 players, and it has impeded competition. Will the removal of DRM and the marketing of music by Wal-Mart and similar retailers mark the end of traditional record labels? Ken Sanney, adjunct recording industry professor and practicing attorney, doesn’t think so. “You will always have thieves in any market. Shoplifting was going on in places like the now-defunct Tower Records long before the first mp3 was downloaded. Security devices were used to combat this practice, but those security devices did not limit or interfere with a legitimate law-abiding consumer’s lawful use of their purchased music.”

Contact Sanney at 615-456-6502.
ksanney@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

HOLY LAND—MTSU’s Middle East Center will present “The Simulacrum of Jerusalem: Manufacturing the Religious Sublime in the Holy Land Experience Biblical Theme Park” from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. today, March 24, in Room 100 of the James Union Building. This lecture by Dr. Bill Levine, English professor, will offer a comparison between the Floridian religious sublime, as represented in the Holy Land Experience Biblical Theme Park in Orlando, and the work of the 18th century visionary artist (and sometime faith healer and Kabbalist) Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg. The presentation will include visual examples. For more information, contact the Middle East Center at 615-494-7906.

OH, I HAVE SLIPPED THE SURLY BONDS OF EARTH—Vernice G. Armour, the first African-American female pilot in U.S. military history, will speak at 6 p.m. today, March 24, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building in celebration of National Women’s History Month. For more information, contact Valerie Avent at 615-898-2718 or 615-898-2987.

BASSOON TUNES--Guest bassoonist Christin Schillinger will perform in a free and open concert at 8 p.m. today, March 24, in the T. Earl Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building on the MTSU campus. Schillinger will perform John Steinmetz’s Goodbye, Old Paint: a cowboy song for bassoon and piano; Robert Schumann’s Five Pieces in Folk Style, Opus 102; Marcel Farago’s Phantasy, Opus 40a; and Henri Duteilleux’s Sarabande et Cortege. For more information, call 615-898-2493 or visit http://www.mtsumusic.com/.

ART FOR ART’S SAKE--The Todd Gallery at MTSU will present “Domenic Cretara: The Large Drawings,” a 19-piece exhibit by the California-based artist, through Friday, March 28, in Todd Hall on the MTSU campus. The show, which is free and open to the public, will feature works by the contemporary realist that were created in some of his preferred media—charcoal, pastels (chalk and pencil) and chalk. The Todd Gallery is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. weekdays.

TRIALS, BUT NO TRIBULATIONS--An MTSU mock trial team placed second among 26 teams at the American Mock Trial Association National Tournament at Memphis over the weekend (March 14-16) and was one of three teams at the tournament to qualify for the National Championship tournament to be held in Minneapolis/St. Paul in April. This marks the 18th time in 19 years that MTSU has qualified for the nation’s most elite tournament. A team consisting of Daniel Vaughn, Natalie Schneider, Nick Lee, Julian Kissner, Lani Lester, Rachel Harmon and Austin Purvis compiled a record of six wins, one loss and one tie in rounds against Ohio State, Kennesaw State, Furman and Georgia State. In addition, Vaughn captured a Top Ten attorney award, and Lester won a Top Ten witness award. The University of Texas won the tourney with an 8-0 record while Washington and Lee University came in third with a 6-2 record. The MTSU team is coached by Dr. John R. Vile and Patrick Chinnery of the Department of Political Science and by former alums Brandi Snow and Jamie Kidd. Contact Vile at 615-898-2596 or jvile@mtsu.edu.

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS—MTSU Habitat will host a different activity each day through Thursday, March 27, to raise awareness and funds for Habitat for Humanity. Today, March 24, students will display a cardboard village on the Keathley University Center (KUC) knoll to dramatize the poor housing conditions that Habitat seeks to alleviate. A few students will spend the night in these buildings. Tomorrow, March 25, Habitat will raise money by providing a dilapidated car for individuals to bash with a sledgehammer. On Wednesday, March 26, Habitat will sell tickets to a nacho sale for five dollars each at the KUC. On Thursday, March 27, Habitat will provide a nine-hole miniature golf course, a basketball hoop game and a DJ. On Friday, March 28, Habitat members will participate in a local build. For more information, call 615-943-1644 or send an e-mail to mtsuhabitat@gmail.com or wws2b@mtsu.edu.