Thursday, October 30, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

What would the Department of Homeland Security have done?

Tonight (Oct. 30) marks the 70th anniversary of what some call the greatest Halloween prank ever pulled—Orson Welles’ radio broadcast of H.G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds.” But Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, says it gets more attention than it deserves. While admitting that people in the Northeast panicked, thinking that Martians really were taking over the planet, he says the effect on others was limited to newspaper accounts. “It took about a month and some sources say there were more than 10,000 to 12,000 newspaper articles about it that flooded the nation,” Pondillo says. “Well, we later learned the ‘panic’ was not as big as it appeared and gave the newspapers a chance to label the relatively new medium of commercial radio as dangerous and irresponsible. … To me, not much has changed in this nation since 1938 in that regard.”

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

The wild blue yonder

Gov. Phil Bredesen will help celebrate the arrival of eight new Diamond DA40 planes with synthetic vision that will be part of the MTSU aerospace department training fleet by flying in one of the planes today, Oct. 30. The event, which starts at 10 a.m., will be held at the Murfreesboro Airport in the hangar recently named in honor of alumnus Donald McDonald. Bredesen, MTSU President Sidney A. McPhee and others will fly the planes from Nashville between 10 and 10:30 a.m. with a 30-minute program to follow. Dr. Wayne Dornan, chair of the aerospace department, says, “We now have the largest fleet of Diamond Aircraft of any school in the U.S. for training students. … The revenue we generate from our flight training department will enable us to purchase the latest technology in aircraft and simulation, which has a direct benefit on our students.” Media welcomed.

For more information, contact the Department of Aerospace at 615-898-2788.

Peach State politics

Early voting is up dramatically in a Southern state that has been solid red in recent elections. According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, more than 228,000 African-Americans have cast ballots already. Dr. Sekou Franklin, political science, says, “Many African-Americans have had some suspicions about early voting because they don’t really understand it, especially African-Americans in low-income areas. They think that, if you vote early enough through the mail, your vote might get lost or some shenanigans could take place. But the Barack Obama campaign has made a big huge push for early voting, particularly among inner city African-Americans. So this is a relatively big deal.”

Contact Franklin at 615-904-8232.
franklin@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. tomorrow, 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. 30, and tomorrow, Oct. 31, and again at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1, in the Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building. In addition to the three main performances, a matinee will be performed tomorrow, 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.

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 615-898-2633 or jhwillia@mtsu.edu.