Friday, October 31, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Was Bradley treated badly?

The much-discussed Bradley Effect is the great unknown hovering over the presidential election. Do some white people lie to pollsters about the likelihood of voting for a black candidate? Do some tell their peers they won’t vote for a black candidate but do so anyway? Will some whites and blacks vote for a black candidate just to be part of history regardless of the issues? Dr. Jason Reineke, journalism professor and associate director of the MT Poll, says, “We’re not really going to even begin to know for sure until after it’s all over and we can get a look at some of the exit polling and try to figure out what happened. At this point, I would say there are enough arguments to be made on all sides that I wouldn’t worry about it skewing the election one way or another too much.”

Contact Reineke at 615-494-7746.
jreineke@mtsu.edu

It’s the economy, stupid—again.

Almost every poll indicates that the economy has overtaken the war in Iraq as the paramount issue on voters’ minds in this presidential election year. Dr. Jim Burton, dean of the MTSU College of Business, provides some advice for voters in the latest edition of “Tennessee’s Business.” Burton writes, “Consider carefully which candidate can deal with the unintended consequences that will most certainly arise from the economic changes already made. Consider carefully which candidate is proposing additional change that makes economic sense—change that you want and that you can pay for. Which candidate’s priorities are aligned with yours across the broad spectrum of critical issues to be faced in the next four years?”

Contact Burton at 615-898-2764.
eburton@mtsu.edu

Wag the audience, wag the electorate?

The depictions of presidents in the movies have changed dramatically over the past several decades. Dr. Mark Byrnes, associate dean of the College of Liberal Arts and political science professor, attributes this partly to scandals and partly to rougher discourse throughout American life. “The general coarsening of American culture has meant that Hollywood now feels free to depict in great detail fictional escapades of presidents, that sex and violence and drug use and all the characteristics that used to be implied in movies are now being shown,” Byrnes says. “And if you can highlight that in the movies—instead of having to put two and two together, you see it right there, is that going to affect the way that people think about the president? … I wouldn’t argue that we need to be rosy and happy and automatically assume the president is right. I think we’ve gone too far the other way.”

Contact Byrnes at 615-898-2351.
mbyrnes@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

JEWELS RULES--In an effort to raise funds for an MTSU senior and Dean’s List honoree from Romania, Karen Case, advisor in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences, will host a costume jewelry giveaway from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today, Oct. 31, in the lobby of Jones Hall. Due to rules surrounding her job as a dorm tutor, she cannot obtain a second job on campus, and, as an international student, she cannot work off-campus. Donations will be accepted gratefully to help cover this student’s fees for this semester. All donations will be directly deposited into her student account at the Business Office. For more information, contact Case at 615-427-9411 or kcase@mtsu.edu.

THE PLACE FOR POLITICS--With the campaign season winding down, Dr. Robb McDaniel, associate professor of political science and winner of a 2008 Outstanding Faculty Award from the MTSU Foundation, will analyze the upcoming election one more time on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 2, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). McDaniel will break down the electoral map, including the battleground states, and the possible impact of the presidential campaigns on the balance of power in the Congress. In addition, he will take stock of the candidates’ tones, their gaffes, their ideological tacks and the enormous tasks facing the next President of the United States. Contact Logue at 615-898-5081; Contact WMOT at 615-898-2800.

PEOPLE POT PIES--MTSU Opera, under the musical direction of Dr. Raphael Bundage, MTSU choral and opera coordinator, will present three performances of the Stephen Sondheim stage musical, Sweeney Todd, at 7:30 p.m. tonight, Oct. 31, and again at 2 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 1, in the Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. In addition to the three main performances, a matinee will be performed today, Oct. 31, for several local school groups. “I couldn’t think of a more appropriate time to mount such a production as over the Halloween weekend,” Bundage says. The title character, Sweeney Todd, is the “Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” a vengeful man who tries to murder as many people as he can. Together with his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, they successfully sell the victims in meat pies. General admission is $10 per person. Tickets also will be available at the door. For more information, call Tim Musselman at 615-898-2493 or tmusselm@mtsu.edu.

NO NEED FOR THE TIM RUSSERT MEMORIAL DRY ERASE BOARD (FLORIDA! FLORIDA! FLORIDA!)—MTSU students will prepare and broadcast their own election night roundup live on MTTV, Channel 10, from 8 p.m. to 11 or possibly later, on Election Night, Tuesday, Nov. 4, depending on how close the tallies are. “It becomes more than just an organizational exercise, which is important,” says Dr. Bob Pondillo, who teaches “Electronic Media Production: Election Night News Coverage.” “However, it’s one thing to know how to make great television, but it’s quite another to know how to engage the community.” Although arrangements are subject to revision at a moment’s notice depending on the circumstances, the class is planning on three bases for live shots. The percentages in each race will be displayed at the bottom of the television screen through a black box Associated Press interface device. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 or pondillo@mtsu.edu.

A WORD IS WORTH A THOUSAND PICTURES--“4 Women 4 Views with Text,” a new art exhibition in MTSU’s James E. Walker Library, features the creativity of three MTSU professors and an MTSU graduate in combining visual and verbal elements, treating visitors to an experience that is at once visceral and intellectual. The works of Assistant Professors Noel Lorson and Kim Dummons, Professor Janet Higgins and alumna Nance Cooley will remain on display through Thursday, Nov. 13, in the Special Collections area on the fourth floor of the library. Viewing is free and open to the public from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Susan Hanson, a specialist with the library, says the works on display are individual entities that emerged from the creative spark of the collaborative experience. “It starts with a word, and it begins to take on a life of its own,” Hanson says. Contact Hanson at 615-904-8503 or shanson@mtsu.edu.