Monday, April 14, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The sounds of silence

The British political philosopher Edmund Burke once said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, is calling on people to shed political correctness and make a not-so-joyful noise when they see something that needs changing. “It is obvious that those who stand for justice and the worth of everyone outnumber those who are evil; yet far too often those who practice evil seem to prevail,” Burriss says. “This is because too many people stand on the sidelines and do not speak up. … If good wins, they join in the celebration though they did nothing to produce the victory. If evil wins, they will complain long and loud, though their own apathy helped produce the undesirable result.”

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

Grease for peace

Oil prices rose by $1.09 to $111.23 a barrel in electronic trading this (Monday) morning. With prices so volatile and Canada supplying 15 percent of U.S. energy, would renegotiating NAFTA really be such a good idea, even though American laborers believe it has hurt their leverage? Dr. Steven Livingston, political science, says, “The U.S. is guaranteed access to Canadian oil and natural gas through NAFTA’s ‘proportionality clause.’ Whether the Canadian government could or would revoke that clause if the U.S. demands to renegotiate the NAFTA treaty is the question.” Canadian Federal Trade Minister David Emerson has said the proportionality clause would be “on the table” if the U.S. tries to renegotiate NAFTA.

Contact Livingston at 615-898-2720.
slivings@mtsu.edu

The journalism superhighway

“Changing Technologies, Evolving News” will be the topic of Chris Clark’s speech at 1 p.m. tomorrow, April 15, in the Keathley University Center Theater. This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies. Clark retired from WTVF-TV in Nashville after 41 years as a news anchor. As news director of the station, he led the stations’ conversion from film to electronic coverage. As chair of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Freedom of Information Committee, he played a key role in convincing the Tennessee Supreme court to allow an experiment with cameras in the court, a move that persuaded the justices to permit cameras in state courts.

Contact Beverly Keel at 615-898-5150.
bkeel@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THE FIGHT AGAINST VIOLENCE--To generate awareness of the ongoing problem of violence against women, the June Anderson Women’s Center will present the annual Clothesline Project today through Thursday, April 14-17, and “Take Back the Night” tomorrow, April 15, on the MTSU campus. The Clothesline Project is a display of T-shirts decorated to symbolize fear, anger or other emotions associated with sexual assault. These T-shirts will be displayed Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the KUC Knoll. “Take Back the Night,” which is slated for 6-9 p.m. tomorrow, April 15, is an evening rally that will feature concerned members of the campus community and the community at large speaking their minds on the issue of violence against women during an open microphone segment. The rally will be followed by a brief march on campus and a candlelight vigil. For more information, contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

RAD-ICAL!--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge every Thursday through May 1 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in the MTSU police training room located at 1412 East Main Street. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. Enrollment is limited. For more information or to enroll, call MTSU RAD Instructor David Smith at 615-692-2424.