Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

ATTENTION, EDITORS: The MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs has moved from Room 209 in the Cope Administration Building to the Tom H. Jackson Building just off Middle Tennessee Boulevard between Kirksey Old Main and the Voorhies Industrial Studies Building. Our phone numbers and e-mail addresses remain the same, but our post office box number for “snail mail” on campus is now Box 72. Please continue to visit www.mtsunews.com for MTSU information.

The “A” word

Abortion continues to be a hot button issue in Tennessee. According to the latest MTSU Poll, 53% of state residents favor some restriction on abortion. Just under one in five think it should be legal “under any circumstances.” About a quarter think it should be “illegal in all circumstances.” Dr. Ken Blake, director of the poll, says, “Tennesseans who fall middle-to-left on the political spectrum are less supportive of restricting abortion than Tennesseans who fall middle-to-right. Behind political orientation, education becomes important, with 12% of Tennesseans with no college experience favoring unrestricted access to abortion compared to 21% of those with at least some college education. And, among the college-educated, support for restricting abortion increases with evangelical Christian identity.”

Contact Blake at 615-210-6187.
kblake@mtsu.edu

A shot in the arm

A report from the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases finds that most adults don’t know which diseases they can prevent with a simple inoculation, save for the flu. Relatively few adults, for example, are getting vaccines against shingles or whooping cough, and only 44% have gotten a tetanus shot in the last 10 years. Have we ignored the need for adult inoculations as we emphasize the importance of certain shots for kids? Dr. Suzanne Prevost, chair of the Department of Nursing, says, “Yes, absolutely! Most adults are very aware of the need to immunize children, and most parents are aware of the Recommended Pediatric Immunization Schedule. However, very few adults realize that the Centers for Disease Control also publish a Recommended Adult Immunization Schedule.”

Contact Prevost at 615-898-5957.
sprevost@mtsu.edu

The Selling of the Candidate 2008

Political candidates have brands just as surely as toothpaste, toys and trash bags do. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “Hillary Clinton has positioned her campaign on the experience she garnered as First Lady and more recently as U.S. Senator. Barack Obama has positioned his campaign on one word: change. … The outcome of the Democratic race will come down to which candidate positioned more effectively. A position must resonate with the target market, which is why the ‘change’ position of Obama has been so powerful to this point. … Clinton may have more experience and be better prepared for the presidency, but that is not the point. What matters is whether voters can be persuaded to accept the positioning strategy of a candidate and take action where it matters most: the ballot box.”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

ON TRIAL AND ON TOP--An MTSU mock trial team consisting of attorneys Daniel Vaughan, Natalie Schneider and Nick Lee, witnesses Lani Lester, Rachel Harmon and Austin Purvis, and timekeeper Ben Winter placed third at a regional competition in Birmingham, AL in February. In addition, Lani Lester and Emily Petro each won Top 10 witness awards. The third-place showing qualifies the group for a national tournament to be held in Memphis on March 14, 15 and 16. Dr. John Vile, chair of the Department of Political Science and mock trial coach, says if MTSU’s teams can make the top three in Memphis, they will then qualify for the National Championship Tournament in St. Paul, MN. In 19 years of participation, MTSU has qualified for a national mock trial tournament every year except one. Contact Vile at 615-898-2596 or
jvile@mtsu.edu.

SHRIMP BOATS ARE A’COMIN’—Activist Diane Wilson, author of An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters,, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas, will visit MTSU today and tomorrow, March 12 and 13, to speak with classes and deliver a free public lecture. Wilson’s talk, titled “Diane versus Goliath: Taking on Politicians and Corporations to Protect Family and the Environment” will get underway at 6:30 p.m. tonight, March 12, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building with a book signing to follow. Wilson, a fourth-generation shrimp boat captain and mother of five, learned that she lived in the most polluted county in the U.S. and then decided to fight back by launching a campaign against a multibillion-dollar corporation. For more information, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

FEMINIST—NOW AND ALWAYS--Visual depictions of feminists, words of wisdom from women in science and visits from dynamic activists are part of the observance of National Women’s History Month, which kicks into high gear at MTSU in the month of March with the theme of “Feminist Now.” Watching the progression of the first response to being called a feminist to the reaction now makes me feel good about the future,” says Terri Johnson, co-chair of the MTSU National Women’s History Month Committee and director of the June Anderson Women’s Center. “When people are educated, they want to work and fight for change,” Johnson says of the opportunities for enlightenment offered during National Women’s History Month. “And even though I know there are challenges ahead, there’s a comfort in knowing we are all in this together.” For the complete MTSU National Women’s History Month Calendar of events, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

RIGHTS TALK—Beverly L. Watts, executive director of the Tennessee Human Rights Commission, will be the featured speaker at the International Women’s Day Luncheon slated for 11:30 a.m. today, March 12, in the Hazlewood Dining Room of the James Union Building. Considered a human rights expert on state, national and international issues, Watts also is the immediate past president of the International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies and a past chair of Women Executives in State Government. Contact Kippy Todd at 615-898-5756 or ktodd@mtsu.edu.

SHE BLINDED ME WITH SCIENCE--Dr. Donna J. Dean, national president of the Association for Women in Science, will speak on “Networking and Mentoring: Keys to Success in Science” at 7 p.m. tomorrow, March 13, in Room 102 of Wiser-Patten Science Hall. “She’s earned many honors and awards in recognition of her work in research and science policy at the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration,” says Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, professor of chemistry. For more information, contact Iriarte-Gross at 615-904-8253 or Randy Weiler in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.