Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“We are each entitled to our own opinion, but no one is entitled to his own facts.”—Daniel Patrick Moynihan

The rhetoric of this election year has Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, thinking about the numbers of partisans who discuss the opposition candidate with absolute certitude. One person Burriss encountered was convinced that Barack Obama is a traitor on the basis of what he heard on conservative TV and radio programs. Burriss says he has similar concerns about liberals who think their sources are telling them the truth about John McCain. “One hundred fifty or so years ago, John Stuart Mill, in his book On Liberty, argued that every idea should be explored and that we should take some ‘what if’ time to examine the other side of a debate,” Burriss says. “He argued that one of the best ways to strengthen your side is to assume that it might be wrong and to explore their side. I know it might be too much to ask, but why not take some time to listen to the other side and assume, just for a moment, that they might be right?”

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

Read man walking

A partnership among MTSU, the Tennessee Department of Correction and the Great Books Foundation, enabled prisoners at three area lockups a chance to participate in a nine-week program titled “Great Books in Middle Tennessee Prisons.” The program’s weekly book discussions, which began in late March, were conducted at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility and the Tennessee Prison for Women. Dr. Phillip E. Phillips, associate professor of English, and other English faculty volunteers, guided the inmates through readings by such authors as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Frederick Douglass, Alexis de Tocqueville and Joseph Conrad, among others. Phillips says, “My colleagues and I were very much impressed with the dedication and interest demonstrated by all our students.”

To request an interview with MTSU faculty who participated in the Great Books program in Tennessee prisons, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.
lrollins@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

GOING STRAIGHT TO THE SOURCE--A grant of $300,000 to the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation will provide Tennessee educators with opportunities to access some of the most important historical documents of the American experience. The money comes from the Library of Congress through its Teaching with Primary Sources program. Some of the primary sources available through the Library of Congress include the complete papers of Abraham Lincoln and the complete papers of Thomas Jefferson. The Age of Jackson, the Civil War and Reconstruction period, the Depression Decade and World War II, and the Civil Rights Movement will be the first four eras on which the center will focus, says Dr. Stacey Graham, research professor at the Center for Historic Preservation and project coordinator. “Those are points in Tennessee history that are also important in American history,” Graham says. Contact Graham at 615-494-8783 or sgraham@mtsu.edu.

ATTACK THE TAX!--The MTSU College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning and the Tennessee Department of Revenue will offer a Tennessee Business Tax Seminar from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesday, July 16, at the DoubleTree Hotel in Murfreesboro. Continuing Education and Distance Learning Director David Foster says, “This seminar is extremely valuable and pertinent to anyone who prepares or pays taxes. In this economic environment when we all have to tighten our belts, we want to make sure we’re paying our legal obligations but no more. One idea from here could save thousands of dollars.” Online registration is $155, a savings of $10 per registrant over other methods. Registration includes all materials, breakfast, lunch and refreshments. For more information or to register, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/learn.
Contact Foster at 615-898-5033 or dfoster@mtsu.edu.

THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT--You can spend part of your summer examining the fascinating Native American history and prehistory of the Southwest and get geography or history credit for it at MTSU! The class is titled “Geography of Native Americans” and will be conducted for the 15th consecutive year by Dr. Doug Heffington, professor of historical geography and director of the Global Studies Program. “The class focuses on the examination of the human/land relationships between the native peoples of New Mexico and their natural environment,” Heffington says. “Most of our base camp is in the small colonial village of Truchas, which dates to the mid-1700s with its blend of Genizaro, Mestizo and Hispano cultures. The trip/course starts July 21st and takes about nine days to complete.” The cost is approximately $400 per student and includes transportation, two meals a day, lodging and entry fees. Contact Heffington at 615-898-5978 or jheffing@mtsu.edu.

DAD, TAKE THE LAMPSHADE OFF YOUR HEAD WHILE THE CAMERA’S ROLLING!--Working with perhaps the most technology-savvy generation of young adults ever, Dr. Lorne McWatters, history, will teach a class titled “Genealogy and Documentary Film: Doing Your Own Family History in Film” to undergraduates for the first time at MTSU this fall. “The fall class will have 15 students, and each student will make a film about 10 minutes long on either some aspect of his/her family (genealogy) or some aspect of the history of MTSU,” McWatters says. “In speaking to students about the class, I found the undergraduates to be very enthusiastic, much more so than the graduate students, in general.” Contact McWatters at 615-898-5805 or dmcwatte@mtsu.edu.

A FOGGY DAY IN MUSIC CITY--Charles Fogg is the first African-American criminal court judge in Nashville history, but his climb up the ladder of jurisprudence isn’t an easy one. Fogg dispenses justice and wisdom as his personal life crumbles under the expectations of power and wealth in the decadent 1980s. This is the basis of Judge Fogg, a novel by Randy O’Brien, News Director for MTSU’s public radio station, WMOT-FM. Steven Womack, Edgar Award-winning author of Dead Folks Blues, says, “Judge Fogg is compelling and engaging and I guarantee you, if you’ll just read the first chapter, you won’t be able to put it down. It’s not only a page-turner, but a page-turner that makes you think and moves you profoundly.” O’Brien will discuss and sign copies of Judge Fogg at Davis-Kidd Booksellers, 2121 Green Hills Village Drive in Nashville, at 7 p.m. on Thursday, July 10. Contact O’Brien at 615-898-2800 or robrien@mtsu.edu.

ROCK THE HOUSE!--Bolstered by an all-time record enrollment of 90 participants, the sixth annual Southern Girls Rock & Roll Camp will shake up the MTSU campus July 14-19. As usual, the camp will culminate in a powerful showcase concert when the girls will form nearly 20 bands and show off their talents at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 19, in the Boutwell Dramatic Arts Building. Girls ages 10-17 will receive instruction in guitar, keyboards, drums, bass, vocals, hip-hop and electronic music. In addition, they will learn about songwriting, recording, music “herstory,” DIY arts and crafts and zine making in workshops. Independent female performers slated to lend their expertise include Michelle Malone, Anne McCue, Kelly Shay Hicks and Caitlin Rose. Admission to the Saturday night showcase is $8 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m. Concert begins at 7 p.m. The camp is a flagship program of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities, a nonprofit organization. Contact the camp office at 615-849-8140 or
sgrrc05@gmail.com.

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.

THE BIG DIG--Dr. Tom Nolan, director of MTSU’s Laboratory for Spatial Technology, will lead the way in conducting a geospatial archaeological survey this month to recover and map artifacts from the Battle of Stones River and create a permanent spatial record of their locations for future study. Dubbed the Harding House Civil War History Survey, the project will be conducted this month on the area around the Harding House site where Brig. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan’s Union division held up the Confederate advance during the first day of the Battle of Stones River on Dec. 31, 1862. “Basically, what I’ve proposed is to conduct a surface archaeology survey using metal detectors on the Harding House tract,” Nolan says. NOTE TO EDITORS AND REPORTERS: The dates for work on this project are the weekends of July 12-13 and July 19-20. However, the dates are for media planning purposes only, not for dissemination to the public at large. Thank you. For interviews with Nolan, contact Lisa L. Rollins in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919 or lrollins@mtsu.edu.

ON THE TUBE--The July installment of “Middle Tennessee Record,” a monthly TV magazine produced by MTSU’s Office of News and Public Affairs, will feature Dr. Bob Pondillo, professor of electronic media communication, who discusses his latest independent movie. Student entrepreneur Chris Purifoy unveils a new social networking Website designed especially for the music industry. With the Summer Olympics in Beijing on the horizon, Dr. Andrew Owusu, assistant professor of health and human performance, reflects on his experience as an Olympic athlete and introduces us to MTSU track star Sarah Nambawa. Dr. Kim Sadler, director of the Center for Cedar Glades Studies, takes us on a tour of a globally unique ecological habitat. “Middle Tennessee Record airs on Rutherford County cable channel 9 daily at 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Central time and on NewsChannel5+ Sundays at 1:30 p.m. Central time. For a complete schedule, go to http://www.mtsunews.com/. For more information, contact John Lynch, producer, at 615-898-5591 or jlynch@mtsu.edu.