Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

A forum that looks like America

A roundtable of MTSU faculty experts will discuss “Gender, Race and Politics” from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 27, in the Keathley University Center Theatre. This event, which is sponsored by the Women’s Studies Program, is free and open to the public, and student participation is encouraged. “It is essential to give students an opportunity to understand contemporary issues from a scholarly perspective and to participate in an intellectually invigorating exploration of these issues,” says Dr. Newtona “Tina” Johnson, director of the Women’s Studies Program. The scheduled participants include faculty from political science, business communication and entrepreneurship and electronic media communication. Media welcomed.

Contact the Women’s Studies office at 615-898-5910 or Johnson at 615-898-2705.

Half a league, half a league, half a league onward

This Friday will be the 154th anniversary of the Charge of the Light Brigade, the Crimean War battle made famous in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s epic poem. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says this was the first war in which “live” reporting from the scene was possible via telegraph. “It was the reporting of William Howard Russell that led to Tennyson’s poem, and some historians credit Russell’s news stories with leading to the resignation of the British government,” Burriss says. “And, in many ways, newspapers lead public opinion in the United Kingdom and France as never before. Russell’s report about the Charge of the Light Brigade showed up in the morning paper only three weeks after the event.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
mailto:615-898-2983.lburriss@mtsu.edu

Green eggs and ham actors?

MTSU Theatre & Dance will present the fantastical, magical, musical extravaganza known as “Seussical the Musical” at 7:30 nightly tonight, Oct. 22, through Friday, Oct. 25, on the stage of the university’s Tucker Theatre. Based on the zany and endearing characters and stories of Dr. Seuss, the musical will include appearances by some of his most famous characters from Cat in the Hat and Horton the Elephant to the Whos of Whoville. “Working on ‘Seussical the Musical’ has been an absolute joy!” says Dr. Jette Halladay, professor of speech and theatre and director of the production. “In its simplest form, the script focuses on integrity and kindness, yet that simplicity is portrayed in strong images, stirring music and zany Seuss characters.” Tickets are $10 for general admission; $5 for MTSU staff and K-12 students; free for MTSU students with valid ID.

School group matinees also are slated for 9:30 a.m. Oct. 24 and Oct. 30-31. Call 615-494-8810 or visit the department’s Web site at www.mtsu.edu/theatre for more information.

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. today, 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 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. today, 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. today, 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 today, 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.

“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. tomorrow, 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 or phollowa@mtsu.edu.