Tuesday, April 8, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Intelligence operations

Rear Admiral Tony Cothron, Director of Naval Intelligence, will discuss “U.S. National Security Policy and Decision Making: Insights on How and Why Our Nation is at War” at 10 a.m. today, April 8, in Room 227 of Peck Hall at MTSU. Cothron, a native of Greenbrier, Tenn., graduated from MTSU in 1977. A veteran of military operations around the globe, including Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, Cothron’s most recent assignments have included responsibilities for transforming the intelligence community in response to the global war on terrorism and supporting combat operations against Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His address, which is sponsored by the Department of History and the History Club, is free and open to the public.

For more information, contact Dr. Derek Frisby at 615-494-8856.
dfrisby@mtsu.edu

The real thing in mock trial

Longtime MTSU mock trial coach Dr. John Vile, chair of the Department of Political Science, was honored at the National Championship Tournament in St. Paul, Minn., this past weekend (April 4-6) as one of only two coaches inducted into the Coaches Hall of Fame. (In 2000, the American Mock Trial Association bestowed upon Vile the Congressman Neal Smith award for contributions to legal education.) This year, the team did not fare so well at nationals, losing two ballots to Michigan and splitting ballots with Stanford and Northwestern. However, Vile is especially encouraged by the potential of the talented freshmen and sophomores on the squad and is looking forward to next year’s contests. Two MTSU students have earned scholarships to John Marshall Law School in Chicago as a result of their performance in a National Diversity Mock Trial Tournament at that school. Nick Armes was on a team that placed second in the competition. Last year, Nicole Roerick was on the first-place team.

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Dr. Janet Belsky, psychology, believes that young people are not rushing into marriage as quickly as in the past. “One big change I see is that students now feel that it’s not appropriate to get married at a young age,” Belsky says. “I see college students expressing that you need to put ofrf marriage until you are well-established in your career. In other words, today marriage actually comes last as an adult transition and sometimes even well after a baby has arrived. When you elevate marriage as something to do after you ‘get your life together,’ I believe you actually make it more important. It’s then something that’s been carefully considered. You don’t just rush into a having a wedding for a wedding’s sake.”

Contact Belsky at 615-898-5935.
jbelsky@mtsu.edu


TR EXTRA

ASSALAM ALAIKUM—The Muslim Students Association (MSA) at MTSU continues its celebration of Islamic Awareness Week (April 7-10) tonight, April 8, with a lecture titled “Role of Women in Islam” at 6 p.m. in Room S316 of the Business and Aerospace Building. Tasneem Ahmed, the mother of an MTSU student, will present the lecture. Ahmed has presented numerous lectures at Vanderbilt University and the Islamic Center of Nashville. At 5:30 p.m. tomorrow, April 9, an episode of the F/X network television series 30 Days as a Muslim will be shown in Room 221 of the Learning Resources Center. These events are free and open to the public. To learn more and to find out about the rest of the week’s activities, contact Dr. Saleh Sbenaty at 615-494-7667 or ssbenaty@mtsu.edu or MSA President Nida Shirazi at nfs2c@mtsu.edu.

LOOKS AT BOOKS--The American Association of University Women, Murfreesboro Branch, will conclude its annual book sale today, April 8, from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Keathley University Center outside Phillips Bookstore. The proceeds of the AAUW book sale fund scholarships for two MTSU students each semester. Every dollar raised goes directly into the scholarship fund.

THE MIND BOGGLES--Sita Diehl, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness for the state of Tennessee, will speak on “A Closer Look at the Mental Health/Ex-Patient Movement in Tennessee” at 12:40 p.m. tomorrow, April 9, in Room 211 of Peck Hall. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Department of Political Science. For more information, contact Dr. Sekou Franklin at 615-940-8232 or franklin@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.

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 April 14-17 and “Take Back the Night” on Tuesday, 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. on Tuesday, 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.