Friday, August 29, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

TODAY’S RESPONSE WILL TAKE THE LABOR DAY HOLIDAY OFF AND WILL RESUME ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2008.

McCain’s disdain is easy to maintain?

The Democrats put the wraps on their quadrennial nominating party last night in Denver with a gala acceptance speech by their nominee, Barack Obama. All week long, prospective running mates for Obama’s presumptive Republican opponent, John McCain, have been vying to raise their profiles. McCain is slated to announce his choice today at a rally in Dayton, Ohio, and it will be interesting to see how he responds to an address that has received overwhelming praise for being inspirational, specific on policy issues, tough enough to show evidence of a fighter, and responsive to the concerns of blue-collar white “Reagan Democrats.” Dr. Robb McDaniel, political science, observes, “To this point, the McCain campaign has had one central theme—Barack Obama is an America-hating celebrity who wants to surrender in Iraq. The GOP attacks have been relentless, and, breaking with custom, have continued even during the Democratic convention.”

Contact McDaniel at 615-904-8245.
rmcdanie@mtsu.edu

Haven’t these people ever seen “The Incredibles?”

Nine-year-old pitcher Jericho Scott has been told he can’t play Youth League Baseball in New Haven, Conn., because he’s too talented. Curiously, league officials didn’t tell the child he had to go until the playoffs began. He had stymied batters with his 40-mile-per-hour fastball all season long. Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, says, “This is an issue that should have been handled earlier in the season. When it became apparent to parents and coaches that this youngster … was too talented for his peers …, his parents should have been notified ‘back then’ that he needs to find a more competitive league. But at the time it was determined that he was ‘too talented’—at the playoffs—was profoundly unfair to the youngster.”

Contact Anshel at 615-898-2812.
manshel@mtsu.edu

The coveted crown

MTSU student Duanisha Mathews of Nashville will compete in the 2008 Miss Black Tennessee Scholarship Pageant this Sunday, Aug. 31, at the Sheraton Music City Hotel, 777 McGavock Pike in Nashville. Bearing the theme “Remembering Our Legacy, the event is slated to start at 5 p.m. Contestants will compete in five categories—personal interview, health and fitness, talent, evening gown and question-and-answer. The winner will advance to the Miss Black USA national competition in June 2009.

For more information, go to http://www.missblacktennessee.com/.

TR EXTRA

A LONG AND SUCCESSFUL RUN--MTSU track and field coach Dean Hayes will be inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCA) Hall of Fame on Wednesday, Dec. 17, at the USTFCCA convention in Phoenix, Ariz. Hayes, who has been at MTSU since 1965, has led the Blue Raiders to 29 Ohio Valley Conference titles, 14 Sun Belt championships, and 18 NCAA Top 25 finishes. He has been named OVC Coach of the Year 15 times and Sun Belt Coach of the Year 12 times, including a run of 10 straight titles from 1977 to 1986. His fellow coaches voted him NCAA Outdoor Coach of the Year in 1981. In addition to coaching at the World University Games and other international events, Hayes worked as an assistant at the Summer Olympics in Seoul in 1988 and a referee at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Contact MTSU Athletic Communications at 615-898-2968.

CLAP FOR THE WOLFEMAN--The late Dr. Charles K. Wolfe, professor emeritus of English at MTSU and cultural historian, will be inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame at an Oct. 2 ceremony at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Wolfe, who passed away in 2006, was a respected scholar of both country music and bluegrass and the author of more than a dozen books, including The Music of Bill Monroe, co-authored with Neil Rosenberg and published in 2007. Wolfe also was one of the faculty members who came up with the idea for a Center for Popular Music at MTSU. Paul Wells, director of the center, says of Wolfe’s induction, “It’s a well-deserved honor. Charles really made some great contributions to the history and literature of bluegrass music. … He wrote about what he loved, and he loved what he wrote about.” Contact Wells at 615-898-2449 or pwells@mtsu.edu.

A RAD-ICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. every Thursday beginning Sept. 4 through Oct. 9 in the MTSU Public Safety training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. 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. RAD is a comprehensive course for women that begins with awareness, prevention, risk reduction and avoidance and progresses to the basics of hands-on defense training. RAD is the largest women’s self-defense system in the United States. Enrollment is limited. Contact Officer David Smith at 615-898-2424.

“I’LL BE THE ROUNDABOUT/THE WORDS WILL MAKE YOU OUT AND OUT”—JON ANDERSON AND STEVE HOWE--A new traffic roundabout at the intersection of MTSU Boulevard and Blue Raider Drive allows motorists from each direction to loop around to continue on their desired route after yielding to any vehicles already in the loop. The change is part of the four-phase $80 million traffic master-plan construction project designed to improve traffic flow, safety and access around campus. MTSU’s roundabout is the first of its kind at a Tennessee public university, and it is accentuated by pieces of limestone columns that originated at the old Tennessee State Capitol. Contact Ron Malone, assistant vice president for events and transportation services, at 615-898-5002 or rrmalone@mtsu.edu.

TARNISHED MEDALS?--The United States track and field team collected 23 medals, including seven golds, at the Summer Olympics in Beijing. However, the high-profile failures, including the dropping of the batons by the men’s and women’s 4-by-100 meter relay squads, prompted television commentators to call the track and field team’s performance a “failure of leadership.” Dr. Andrew Owusu, assistant professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympic athlete, says, while it’s not unusual to hear that, “There’s only so much the coaches or the technical stuff can do because once the athletes get out there, everything rests on how they perform. … At some point, the athletes have to bear some responsibility for their performance, but I am sure there will be some changes at the top.” Owusu will discuss the Olympics at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Aug. 31, on “MTSU on the Record” hosted by Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

LISTENING IN--MTSU Audio Clips is a service for radio stations to supplement their news and information programs with sound and radio-ready stories that broadcasters can access on the Internet and download at their convenience. The latest collection of audio stories includes perspectives on the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing from Dr. Andrew Owusu, associate professor of health and human performance and a three-time Olympian; two MTSU students who helped found a new chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, the political activist group best known for its opposition to the Vietnam War in the 1960s; and a commentary by Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, on the expansion of governmental secrecy. You can access MTSU Audio Clips by going to http://www.mtsunews.com/, your online location for MTSU information, and clicking on “MTSU Audio Clips” on the right side of the page. Contact Gina Logue at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu with questions or comments.