Thursday, March 20, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The Barack Obama speech on race

The speech U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) delivered on Tuesday in Philadelphia is the talk of the political world, and analysts differ on its ramifications. Dr. Russell Church, speech and theatre, says, “As commentators and the American public ponder (the speech), it is interesting to note that some of the public will feel it was a speech for the ages, whereas others may be disappointed. Those who feel that the speech was one for the ages may have been impressed by his elegance and his ability to see all sides of the question.” Obama felt compelled to address the issue after tapes of inflammatory speeches by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright, surfaced on the Internet. “Wright was his preacher, a cherished leader of his church and a powerful voice in that community,” Church says. “On the other hand, Obama rejected the vociferous attack on what was viewed by Wright as a hateful and controlling white establishment.”

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

“Money, it’s a crime/Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie.”—Pink Floyd

A poll by the Associated Press and MTV indicates that only one percent of people ages 21 to 24 say money is the thing that gives them most joy, but they rank money as their fourth-highest source of stress. But do those findings mirror the academic research? Dr. Tom Tang, management and marketing, says, “For the past several decades, there has been a significant increase regarding the importance of money. For example, only 49.9% of American freshmen in 1971 indicated that the most important reason in deciding to go on to college is ‘to make more money.’ In 1993, that number increased to 75.1%. … The lack of money has become the number one cause of dissatisfaction among university students (out of 10 causes) for the most recent period (1997-2003), up from third (1990-1996) and the second place (1981-1987) of two earlier periods.”

Contact Tang at 615-898-2005.
ttang@mtsu.edu

Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself—title of a book by actor Alan Alda

The “conventional wisdom” is that people who talk to themselves must be crazy. If they hear voices in their heads, they must be paranoid-schizophrenics, right? Not necessarily, says Dr. Tom Brinthaupt, psychology. He says it’s not uncommon for “normal” people to have a sort of “self-talk” going on in their heads. Brinthaupt says this inner monologue (or dialogue) can serve several functions, including self-reward and self-punishment, reviewing and previewing social interactions, and planning and goal-directed behavior. He says research shows that frequent self-talkers show more obsessive-compulsive tendencies and a higher need for cognition than infrequent self-talkers. However, there are no gender differences when it comes to the frequency of self-talk. Possible variables that might affect the frequency of self-talk include one’s place in the birth order, novel or stressful situations, self-consciousness, sleep problems, age, introversion and perfectionism.

Contact Brinthaupt at 615-898-2317.
tbrintha@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

“I’LL SEE YOU ON THE BEACH!”(TOM HANKS IN “SAVING PRIVATE RYAN”)----The next presentation in MTSU’s Women’s Studies Research Series will highlight the work of the reporter who made it to the beach at Normandy on D-Day by stowing away on a hospital ship. “Postcards from the War: A Rhetorical Analysis of Authorship and Audience in Martha Gellhorn’s War-torn Travel Writing” will be the title of a lecture by Dr. Marcie Hinton, assistant professor of journalism, at 3 p.m. today, March 20, in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Jane Marcellus at 615-898-5282 or jmarcell@mtsu.edu.

YOU MAY BE WRITE—Poet Jeff Hardin, short story writer Tamara Baxter, Wyatt Prunty and William Gay will participate in the first “Gathering of Tennessee Writers” at MTSU today, March 20, at 4:30 p.m. in the State Farm Lecture Hall of the Business and Aerospace Building. This event, which is free and open to the public, will feature readings followed by a panel discussion and a question-and-answer period on such topics as sense of place, the imagination and the role of the writer in the global arena. For more information, contact Dr. Randy Mackin, assistant professor of English, at rtmackin@mtsu.edu.

THAT WASCALLY WABBIT!--Dr. Janet L. Bryant, research scientist and engineer, will speak on “A Multidisciplinary Approach to Science & Engineering at a National Laboratory (a/k/a The Life and Times of the ‘Bunny Slipper Bandit’)” at 7 p.m. tonight, March 20, in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Building. Bryant, a veteran of more than 26 years at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, will speak to the career flexibility afforded by technical degrees, the need for both a sense of focus and humor and how networking and mentoring truly make a difference in a technical career. This National Women’s History Month event is free and open to the public and is co-sponsored by Women in Science and Engineering (WISE). For more information, contact Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross at 615-904-8253 or jiriarte@mtsu.edu.

A VIEW FROM ABROAD—The new MT Abroad office will host an Open House today, March 20, from 9 a.m. to noon. Drop by and see the first stop MTSU students make before journeying around the world on study abroad programs. You can check out MT Abroad’s new Web site at http://www.mtsu.edu/~mtabroad. For more information, contact director Jennifer Campbell or coordinator Brandon Fisher at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.

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. 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.