Friday, July 18, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Long live rock!

The sixth annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp will present its showcase concert at 7 p.m. tomorrow, July 19, in Tucker Theatre in MTSU’s Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building. The girls, ages 10-17, have been honing their musical skills all this week, receiving instruction in guitar, keyboards, drums, bass, vocals, hip-hop and electronic music. They will form nearly 20 bands and show off their talents. In addition, they learned about songwriting, recording, music “herstory,” DIY arts and crafts and zine making in workshops. Admission to the Saturday night showcase is $8 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. The camp is a flagship program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating and supporting programs that encourage young people’s involvement in and appreciation of the arts.

Contact the camp office at 615-849-8140.
sgrrc05@gmail.com

A different approach to the war on drugs

Government policy on illegal drugs continues to be a hot button issue with many people. Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, advocates a re-examination of the current drug laws. He says, “First, I value all personal freedoms, even though I would not choose to use drugs that are currently illegal. Secondly, I have faith in education. If students can be taught the quantum mechanical mechanisms by which CO2 absorbs and emits radiation, then they can be taught not to abuse drugs.” MacDougall also explains that a Tennessee State Trooper, the husband of one of his former students, was killed by drug dealers on their way to make a deal in Nashville. “In the carbon wars, whether our target is carbon dioxide or psycho-active carbon-containing compounds, instead of demonizing inanimate molecules, let’s tax them,” he says.

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

This land is your land.

Property owners sometimes set aside tracts of land for conservation easements, transferring certain property rights to nonprofit groups or government agencies without giving up legal title. For example, owners can enter into easement agreements to prevent the land from being developed, thereby preserving the environmental or historic value of their property. In a paper printed in Real Estate Issues, Dr. Doug Timmons, economics and finance, and Dr. Lara Daniel, business law, note that there is a price to pay. They write, “You and I as taxpayers, and therefore government at all levels, should care about how conservation easements are created and managed. Although most easements are donated by private landowners to private land trusts, they almost always result in public subsidies in the form of income tax deductions to the easement donors. Also in many cases, a further subsidy comes in the form of reduced estate and property taxes. Additionally, much of the funding used to purchase conservation easements is increasingly coming from public money.”

Contact Timmons at 615-898-5750.
jtimmons@mtsu.edu
Contact Daniel at 615-898-2439.
lwdaniel@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

BOB GOES BACK TO ‘BAMA--After nine years at MTSU, Dr. Bob Glenn, vice president for student affairs and vice provost for enrollment management, is leaving to assume the presidency of Athens State University in northern Alabama. As an administrator, Dr. Glenn led MTSU through a period of tremendous growth,” MTSU President Dr. Sidney A. McPhee notes. “Through his able leadership and management of that growth, the needs of the students remained priority number one, and the quality of our programs and integrity of the university’s mission were never compromised.” Glenn will reflect on his years at MTSU and look to the future on “MTSU On the Record” with host Gina Logue at 7 a.m. this Sunday, July 20, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and at www.wmot.org.) Contact Glenn at 615-898-2440 or rglenn@mtsu.edu. To find out more about “MTSU On the Record,” contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

WAR AND REMEMBRANCE--An MTSU history professor will accompany students and members of the community on an exploration of the Central Pacific World War II battlefields of Guam, Iwo Jima and Pelelieu in the Spring 2009 semester. Dr. Derek Frisby, who is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, says the trip is part of MTSU’s Study Abroad program (MT Abroad) and will offer students college credit for studying in international settings. Participants will study the World War II Pacific campaigns in the presence of surviving American and Japanese veterans. They will tour the War in the Pacific National Historical Park, hike through the jungles of Pelelieu and meet on Guam with American and Japanese historians and Iwo Jima veterans. Participants who choose not to enroll in the course may still join the expedition. Additional information can be found at http://www.mtsu.edu/~dfrisby. Contact Frisby at 615-494-8620 or
dfrisby@mtsu.edu.

LEND A HAND--Have you checked out the new gizmo in the MTSU ID office? It utilizes hand-geometry technology in bringing identification cards up to date. When you get a new ID, you place your hand into the outline on the hand scanner, which reads your own distinctive silhouette (not fingerprints or palm prints). The device turns the silhouette into an alphanumeric template, which will be linked in the system to an “M” number. That’s a personalized ID number that will be used instead of a Social Security number. Hand readers also will be installed on the turnstiles at the Campus Recreation Center, which will help folks who forget their ID cards. By this fall, each student, faculty and staff member will have a new BlueID and a “Hand Reader” scan in the system. Contact the BlueID office at 615-898-5523. If you want to know more about hand-geometry technology, visit www.biometrics.gov/Documents/HandGeometry.pdf.

TOWER OF EMPOWERMENT--An educational video produced for a program administered through MTSU’s Center for Environmental Education has won a coveted Silver Telly Award. “The Empower Hour” was made for WaterWorks!, a program designed to educate the public about how to protect water quality. The 13-minute video featured students from Brentwood High School and the Nashville School for the Arts. It was distributed to high schools, public access channels, and other outlets to enlighten viewers about the environmental impact of automotive fluids and the proper ways to recycle or dispose of them. The video was chosen from among approximately 13,500 entries and judged by more than 40 video, advertising and TV industry professionals. Broadcast Media Group of Starkville, Miss., produced it in conjunction with Nashville-based Bill Hudson & Associates. For more information about WaterWorks!, call 615-898-2660 or visit http://www.tennesseewaterworks.com.

HOMETOWN HEROES--“Revisiting and Re-visioning the Hometown” is a unique opportunity for MTSU Honors students to learn more about the history, people, traditions, and future of their respective hometowns. The class, which is scheduled for Mondays and Wednesdays in the Fall 2008 semester, will require students to write journal entries and finished essays. They will make contacts in their communities, forming partnerships with schools, senior centers and other socially important groups or entities. Under the guidance of Dr. Ron Kates, English, each student will synthesize what he or she has learned in other classes to create a suitable and effective approach to the topic. Participants will create and refine the history-making and re-visioning processes as they learn while teaching others. Contact Kates at 615-898-2595 or rkates@mtsu.edu.

THE NAME GAME--Place Names of Rutherford County, the newest exhibit at the Heritage Center of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, explores the history and folklore of how communities and geographic landmarks earned their names. The exhibit provides information on topics such as who Walter Hill was and why Murfreesboro’s major river is called the Stones River. Melissa Zimmerman, heritage programming specialist for the center, says, “Rutherford County has a rich and diverse history, and its place names serve as markers for the people who passed through or settled in the area.” MTSU students Heather Bailey and Kevin Cason, both Ph.D. candidates in the university’s public history program, created the exhibit. Contact the center at 615-217-8013. To request interviews, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

BLAST FROM THE PAST--Some 40-50 artifacts were recovered July 12 near the Stones River Battlefield on the first day of the Harding House Civil War History Survey, a geospatial/archaeological project that is being conducted this month on land slated for development this summer. Dr. Tom Nolan, director of MTSU’s Laboratory for Spatial Technology, along with archaeologist Zada Law, led the all-volunteer team on its first day of the survey, which yielded Civil War-era artifact finds such as lead shot, a minie ball and a canister shot, among other battle-related discoveries. “Once the area is developed, this historic record will be gone for good so it’s vital that we work to recover historically significant artifacts and identify the location of the Harding house and any outbuildings to further an existing GIS study on regimental positions and movements during the Battle of Stones River,” Nolan says. To request interviews, contact Lisa L. Rollins at 615-494-8857 and lrollins@mtsu.edu.