Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

High school recreational

The Israeli education ministry recently announced that students in 100 high schools across the country will be offered the chance to major in fitness education. How common is it for American secondary schools to offer fitness education or physical education as a major? Dr. Mary Lou Veal, health and human performance, says, “In most American senior high schools, physical fitness is an important part of physical education, but it’s not the only focus. … In the United States, most states require at least a year of high school physical education, so it is still a viable profession for those interested in teaching high school physical education. In many cases, physical educators are also coaches.”

Contact Veal 615-898-2888.
mveal@mtsu.edu

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home …”—Eleanor Roosevelt

“Rac(e)ing Human Rights: The Role of Jim Crow in Shaping the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights” is the title of a lecture to be delivered by Dr. Carol Anderson, associate professor of history at the University of Missouri, at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 23, in MTSU’s State Farm Lecture Hall. “Defenders of racism in the United States resisted efforts to strengthen the U.N. Declaration,” says Dr. Pippa Holloway, MTSU history professor, “while the NAACP pushed the United Nations to investigate segregation and lynchings in the U.S.”Anderson, the Strickland Distinguished Visiting Scholar in History, will be at the university through Oct. 30. This event is free and open to the public.

Contact Holloway at 615-898-2536.
phollowa@mtsu.edu

Dirty deeds done dirt cheap?

Australia’s AC/DC just released “Black Ice,” the group’s first studio album in eight years. But the band refuses to join the iTunes generation by allowing fans to download individual songs online. AC/DC has chosen corporate behemoth Wal-Mart to be its exclusive retail partner for the album, which is not exactly compatible with its rebellious reputation. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “According to the band, the decision is all about market penetration. Wal-Mart is certainly the choice if you are looking to maximize your points of distribution. It is an interesting choice for Wal-Mart, too, as the rough-and-tumble image of heavy metal rock is in contract to the folksy, small town picture Wal-Mart has painted for years.”

Contact Roy at 615-904-8564.
droy@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM--Candidates for the state House of Representatives and Senate in Tennessee will participate in a forum on higher education from noon to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 22, in Cantrell Hall in MTSU’s Tom H. Jackson Building. This event is free and open to the public. “Since many of our students are first-time voters or have moved here from other parts of the state, they have never met the local candidates for state representative and senate,” says Dr. Jim Williams, director of MTSU’s Albert Gore Research Center and coordinator of the American Democracy Project, which sponsors the forum. There will be informal question-and-answer periods of 30 minutes before and 30 minutes after the forum for discussions on other topics. Media welcomed. Contact Williams at 615-898-2632 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu.

THE KEY TO YOUR HEALTH--The June Anderson Women’s Center will present a Breast Cancer Keychain/Educational Awareness Workshop in observance of Breast Cancer Awareness Month from noon to 1:00 p.m. today, Oct. 21, in the Hazlewood Room of the James Union Building. Participants will assemble key chains to take home with them. The bead sizes on the key chains represent the various sizes of lumps found in mammograms and breast self-examinations. The key chains are offered by the Breast Health Initiative, a program of the Student Community Health Coalition at the Vanderbilt Center for Health Services in Nashville. The program is funded partially by the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation, the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center and the Tennessee Commission on National and Community Service. For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

THE SHOT THAT HITS THE SPOT--With the cold and flu season fast approaching, MTSU Health Services will offer flu shots to the campus community at multiple locations on campus. This year, flu shots will be available from 8:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. tomorrow, Oct. 22, in the conference room on the second floor of the Cope Administration Building; and from noon to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 23, in Room 318 of the Keathley University Center. Only cash and checks will be accepted at these locations. From 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21, Wednesday, Oct. 22, and Thursday, Oct. 23, shots will be available in the atrium of the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. In the atrium, patients may pay by cash, check, Visa, MasterCard, RaiderFunds, or students may charge their shots to their MTSU accounts. The cost is $15 for students and $20 for faculty and staff. No appointment is required. For more information, contact MTSU Health Services at 615-898-2988.

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.

THE GOSPEL TRUTH--Local gospel choirs who want to reach a wider audience are invited to try out for a role in a new independent movie, “The New, True Charlie Wu,” written and directed by Dr. Bob Pondillo, professor of electronic media communication at MTSU. Auditions are slated for tomorrow, Oct. 22, and Friday, Oct. 24 from 6-10 p.m. each evening in Studio C on the first floor of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. “”We’re looking for exciting, uptempo, soulful singers who can project a lot of energy,” Pondillo says. Pondillo is the creative force behind three independent award-winning short films, two of which were accepted at the internationally prestigious Cannes Film Festival in France. To make an appointment for an audition or for more information, contact Veronica Privett at 615-752-7024.

PROMOTE THE VOTE--MTSU students who want to participate in early voting in the 2008 election will be provided with free transportation to the Rutherford County Election Commission Office at One Public Square South in Murfreesboro via Raider Express on six different dates this month. “The American Democracy Project (ADP) registered nearly 1,000 MTSU students to vote in Rutherford County this fall, so now we are shifting our attention to education all our students about the candidates in this election and making sure that everyone who needs a ride to vote has one,” says Dr. Jim Williams, coordinator of the ADP. The schedule for the free rides, all of which embark from in front of the James Union Building, is online at www.mtsu.edu./~amerdem.For more information, contact Williams at 615-898-2632 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu.