Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Flipping the Burger Court

Will the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice John Roberts overturn the precedents set by the high court under Chief Justice Warren Burger? David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says the “Lemon test” might be the first to go. The Burger Court’s decision in Lemon v. Kurtzman (1971) established a three-pronged test for whether a statute violates the establishment clause of the First Amendment. “If (Justice Samuel) Alito, who succeeded (Justice Sandra Day) O’Connor, votes differently than O’Connor did on church-state separation cases, much establishment-clause jurisprudence hangs in the balance. This could mean that Lemon is living on borrowed time.”

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1600.
dhudson@fac.org

A run-of-the-play contract

Why is the divorce rate slowing down? Dr. Janet Belsky, an expert on lifespan development and professor of psychology at MTSU, says the overall age of the population might be one answer. “For instance,” she says, “while my students still want to find their passionate soul mate, they really understand that passion wanes after the first few years. They also understand that you have to marry someone who shares your values, and it’s important to find a person who is together and knows how to love. Plus, when you get married in your late 20s or 30s, you are more likely to stay with a partner simply because you have had ample time to have those horrible dating experiences—you don’t have a fantasy about who or what is waiting out there in terms of the single life.”

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

Bali Hai may call you

Dr. Derek Frisby, who is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm, will accompany students on an exploration of the Central Pacific World War II battlefields of Guam, Iwo Jima and Pelelieu in the spring 2009 semester. This MTSU study abroad course not only will give students a chance to earn college credit. While in the Pacific region, students will film portions of a documentary honoring MTSU veterans. Additionally, Frisby and his group will honor those Tennesseans who fought in the three engagements under study, including the three known MTSU fatalities. Frisby will talk in detail about this extraordinary opportunity on “MTSU On the Record,” a 30-minute public affairs program hosted by Gina Logue, at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 3, on WMOT-FM (89.5 or wmot.org).

Contact Frisby at 615-494-8620 or dfrisby@mtsu.edu.
For more information about “MTSU on the Record,” contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

TR EXTRA

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.

“A POLITICIAN IS A STATESMAN WHO APPROACHES EVERY QUESTION WITH AN OPEN MOUTH.”—ADLAI STEVENSON--Has a particular turn of phrase in a politician’s speech caught your ear and made you wonder why he or she chose those particular words? What is the speaker really saying? How do the candidates get their messages across to the voters? To figure all this out in this presidential election year, students can sign up for “Political Communication,” a class to be taught this fall at MTSU by Dr. Russell Church, speech and theatre professor. Participants will take on questions of whether race and gender are still issues, who votes and why, whether candidates are now more important than parties, whether the media now call all the shots, the power of interest groups, and how parties can increase turnout. The class will take place on Mondays and Wednesdays from 2:20 p.m. to 3:45 p.m. Contact Church at 615-494-7958 or rchurch@mtsu.edu.

TO THE “NTH” DEGREE—A projected 832 degree candidates will graduate during the 96th annual summer commencement ceremony at MTSU. The single-ceremony graduation will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, in Murphy Center with Dr. Kevin E. Smith, professor for the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the current MTSU representative of the Tennessee Board of Regents’ Faculty Subcouncil, delivering the commencement address. At 8:30 a.m., Aug. 9, Murphy Center doors will open for the commencement ceremony. Candidates are expected to be in their assigned areas, dressed in their caps and gowns, no later than 9 a.m. Officials report that students who are not in their assigned places at the proper times will not be allowed to participate in the ceremony. Because commencement rehearsals are no longer conducted, timely attendance is mandatory for students to receive important instructions. Contact the Records Office at 615-898-2600 or go to http://www.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm.

THE SOUNDS OF SYRIA AND SAUDI ARABIA (AND MORE) --You can be transported to fascinating locales this fall without ever leaving home. Explore the fascinating, diverse “Music of the Middle East” in a new course at MTSU. Dr. David B. Pruett will take you on a “trip” through various Middle Eastern cultural soundscapes, including the relationship between folk, classical and popular musical traditions. Students also will examine music’s role in religious expression in the region. The class will take place from 6-9 p.m. on Mondays in Room 205 of the Saunders Fine Arts Building. Contact Pruett at 615-904-8354 or dpruett@mtsu.edu.

STAND AND DELIVER--The ninth annual MTSU McNair Symposium will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow and Thursday, July 30 and 31, in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and under-represented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2008 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics to be addressed by the scholars include “A Mystery on Our Plate: Beliefs about Agriculture from a College Peer Group;” “Benefits of Physical Therapy from the Patients’ Perspective;” “Perceptions of Campus Crime Prevention Activities;” and “From Fright to Fight: The Evolution of the Female Action Hero.” Contact Cindy Howell at 615-904-8462 or chowell@mtsu.edu.