Thursday, October 2, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Lipstick on a bridge to nowhere

As Joe Biden and Sarah Palin prepare for their one and only vice presidential debate tonight, some Tennesseans question one of the most heavily reported aspects of Palin’s record. FactCheck.org asserts that she supported the so-called "bridge to nowhere" project initially, but rejected it only after Congressional support waned. According to the latest MTSU Poll, 39 percent say they don’t know whether Palin really turned down federal funding for the “bridge to nowhere” as governor of Alaska. Fourteen percent say her contention is “mostly false.” Ten percent say it is “entirely false.” Twenty-eight percent believe it is “mostly true,” while 10 percent think it is “entirely true.” Dr. Ken Blake, director of the poll, says, “About a quarter of Tennesseans say they’ve paid ‘a lot’ of attention to news about Palin’s assertion. About the same proportion say they’ve paid ‘some’ (28 percent), ‘not much’ (21 percent), or ‘none at all’ (23 percent).

Contact Blake at 615-210-6187.
kblake@mtsu.edu

It’s a corker!

U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) is scheduled to speak to three MTSU engineering technology classes (solar design, construction management and introduction to environmental science) from 2:30-4 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 3, in Room 121 of Cason-Kennedy Nursing Building. Corker is expected to discuss U.S. energy initiatives and gain “a sense of what our campus does in green energy and alternative energy,” says Dr. Kathy Mathis, associate professor of engineering technology. Corker will be given a portfolio of student and faculty involvement and then be taken outside, where he will be shown a BioBus and bio-golf cart, solar bike and Dr. Cliff Ricketts’ alternative fuel vehicles.

For more information, contact Mathis or Dr. Walter Boles at 615-898-2776.

The past is just a mouse-click away.

Dr. Stacey Graham, research professor at MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation, will talk about a grant of $300,000 to the center from the Library of Congress at 7 a.m. this Sunday, Oct. 5, on “MTSU on the Record.” The 30-minute public affairs program, hosted by Gina Logue, airs each Sunday morning on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). The funding will be used to give educators access to primary sources to bolster their teaching of history. Primary sources are original records from individuals or groups who were involved in or on-the-scene observers of actual events. Some of the primary sources available through the Library of Congress include the complete papers of Abraham Lincoln, the complete papers of Thomas Jefferson and the Continental Congress Broadside Collection, which contains material pertaining to the work of Congress from 1774 to 1788.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800. If you missed last week’s show, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2008.html and click on “September 28, 2008.”

TR EXTRA

GENTLEMEN, START YOUR RHETORIC.--The official timekeeper and line producer for all of the 2008 presidential and vice presidential debates, Paul H. Byers, will be the next guest speaker in the continuing fall lecture series, “Politics and the Press: The Relationship Between Government and the Fourth Estate,” presented by the University Honors College at MTSU. Byers will talk at 3 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, in Room 106 of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. Byers is director of the Center for Ethical Concerns at Marymount University in Arlington, Va., where he has taught in the Communications Department since 1988. His journalism experience includes nine years with Post-Newsweek Stations, 11 years with CBS News and two years at NBC News. He also has worked for Congressional Quarterly, WAMU-FM in Washington, D.C., and The Eastern Educational Radio Network, the forerunner of National Public Radio. For more information, contact the University Honors College at 615-898-2152.

THE HORRORS AT HOME--The June Anderson Women’s Center (JAWC) at MTSU will augment its constant concern for the health and safety of women and girls in October with observances of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Janine Latus, author of If I Am Missing or Dead—A Sister’s Story of Love, Murder and Liberation, will be the keynote speaker for Domestic Violence Awareness Month activities. Latus will deliver her address at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 7, in Tom H. Jackson Hall with a reception and book signing to follow. If I Am Missing or Dead chronicles Latus’ courage in breaking out of a repressive marriage only to learn that her younger sister, Amy, had been murdered by her boyfriend. Contact the JAWC at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu. This event is free and open to the public.

WHAT’S MY MOTIVATION?--Motivating unmotivated learners to become engaged in tasks across the curriculum is a challenge for many teachers. Dr. Zaf Khan, elementary and special education, will address this issue in “Motivation is an INSIDE JOB: Reaching and Teaching the Unmotivated Student,” a professional development program for educators offered via MTSU’s Satellite and Webcasting Center, at 3:30 p.m. CST (4:30 p.m. EST) today, Oct. 2. Khan will discuss the profile of an unmotivated learner—typically a low achiever who feels disenfranchised from his or her learning potential—and then focus on practical and theoretically based strategies that will rekindle the desire to learn in unmotivated students. For more information, call 615-898-2737 or send an e-mail to vmoxley@mtsu.edu.

AND NOW, THE STAR OF OUR SHOW…--Dr. Charles Higgins, physics and astronomy, will preside over the next First Friday Star Party at 6:30 p.m., tomorrow, Oct. 3, in Room 102 of the Wiser-Patten Science Building. Higgins will deliver a lecture on “Binary Stars” followed by outdoor telescope observation if the weather permits. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Higgins at 615-898-5946.

HABLAMOS ESPANOL--MTSU’s celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month is in full swing through Oct. 15 with numerous cultural and informational events on tap. On Monday, Oct. 6, Sidelines, the student newspaper, will feature a crossword puzzle with a Hispanic history theme. Prizes will be awarded in KUC Room 326 for the first five correct submittals. Also, ongoing Hispanic Poetry Periods and Latin music experiences will be conducted near the KUC Knoll, and special programming will be shown in dormitory lobbies. WMOT-FM (89.5) will air Latin jazz every Sunday. All events are free and open to the public. For additional information, contact the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs at 615-898-5812.

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.