Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Her cup runneth over

Tonya Freeman, a nurse at a Mississippi hospital, invited her supervisor to the premiere of an independent film, “Tragic Flaw,” in which Freeman starred. The movie was about two lesbians who tried to hire a hit man to kill the sadomasochistic husband of one of the women. Freeman’s coffee cup, which had the name of her hospital on it, was displayed in a scene. The supervisor reported this to her supervisor, who fired Freeman. In a federal lawsuit, Freeman claimed her First Amendment rights had been violated because she was trying to bring the issue of domestic violence to light through the film. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says the judge denied her claim because the coffee cup was not necessary to further that message. “Moreover, even if Freeman somehow could show that including the mug amounted to treating a matter of public concern, (the judge) said her First amendment claim would fail for another reason—that the hospital had a valid reason for disassociating itself from the film,” Hudson says.

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1600.
dhudson@fac.org

The learning power of PISA

The future is in the hands of Finnish children. Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rates 15-year-old Finnish students ahead of all others in the world in proficiency at solving scientific problems. They are tied with Chinese and Korean students for the lead in mathematics. In 2004 and 2005, Finland led the world in economic competitiveness. MacDougall says, “If we assume that Finland’s surge in economic competitiveness (which is largely based on their high-tech sector) is correlated with the learning power of PISA success in math and scientific problem-solving, then we can at least identify where our next ‘surge’ needs to be. It needs to be in math classrooms and science laboratories all across the country.”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

American writes

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Philip Roth has his own unique vision of the conundrum that is America, a vision that he has brought to life in his novels, including The Human Stain, American Pastoral, and The Plot Against America. Dr. Robb McDaniel, political science, has written about Roth and how his characters struggle with concepts of freedom and virtue. “Like the self, a nation’s identity is always a narrative to be constructed from the interplay of memory, choice, and expectation,” McDaniel writes. “But the plot unravels when, haunted by ghosts we thought buried, the myths of our own goodness turn into monsters of our own making.” Indignation, Roth’s latest novel, is about a Jewish boy from Newark who moves to the Midwest to escape his father’s fears that he’ll be drafted into the Korean War. But Marcus discovers there are some things he just can’t escape.

Contact McDaniel at 615-904-8245.
rmcdanie@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

A WORK OF ART--The works of MTSU art professors John Donovan and Erin Anfinson are on display at the Tennessee Arts Commission Gallery in Nashville through Friday, Dec. 12. Anfinson’s encaustic paintings and Donovan’s ceramic sculpture have been on display since Nov. 6. Both artists view this exhibition as an opportunity to connect what they teach in the classroom with their own creative studio practices. Their students will have the opportunity to view and enjoy the work and to better understand the effort that goes into an active and successful creative career. The gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, call Julie Roberts at 615-532-9798 or julie.roberts@state.tn.us.

THE BEST WET YET--Water is often called the most essential nutrient. Why is it so important? How much do we really need? Is bottled water really safer than tap? Why are chemicals like fluoride and ginseng added to some waters? Exactly how much water do athletes need? Find out answers to these questions and more in “Water, Water Everywhere … But Which Type is Best to Drink?”, an interactive program for students in grades 7-12 offered through MTSU’s Satellite and Webcasting Center today, Dec. 2, from 9-10 a.m. CST (10-11 a.m. EST). The discussion leaders will be Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences, Daniel Vaden and Mark Crowell. For more information, call 615-898-2737 or send an e-mail to vmoxley@mtsu.edu.

GET YOUR KICKS ON ROUTE 66.--Noted photographer Tom Mallonee’s exhibit, “Evidence of Passing: Vanishing Points along an American Road,” will be displayed until Thursday, Dec. 4 in the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in MTSU’s McWherter Learning Resources Center. Tom Jimison, electronic media communication professor and gallery director, says Mallonee “has pursued large-format black-and-white work since 1979 and often has chosen subjects which stray from conventional notions of western landscape, yet still embrace decisive composition and meticulous printing techniques such as this 14-year project of bypassed sections of Route 66.” Exhibitions are free and open to the public. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, from noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and from 6 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. on Sundays. For information, call 615-898-2085.

PASS THE PEPPER, PLEASE--The MTSU Police Department will offer a free pepper spray class for women. The class is part of the Rape Aggression Defense system and will teach basic self-defense techniques to supplement women’s ability to survive dangerous confrontations. The class will be available to MTSU students, faculty and staff as well as the general public and will take place Thursday, Dec. 4 from 6-8 p.m. in the MTSU Police Department training room, 1412 East Main Street in Murfreesboro. Topics to be covered include product selection, psychological and physical effects of the “fight or flight” syndrome, legal issues and retention and deployment techniques. For more information or to enroll, contact Officer David Smith at 615-692-2424 or 615-494-8855.

STRAIGHT FROM THE SOURCE--Dr. Stacey Graham, research professor with MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation, will present “Engaged, Empowered and Excited: Teaching with Primary Sources,” a professional development program for teachers, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. CST (4:30-5:30 p.m. EST), on Thursday, Dec. 4, through the Satellite and Webcasting Center. This session will introduce the Library of Congress “Teaching with Primary Sources” program. The millions of digitized source items available from the library’s Web site can enrich students’ learning experiences across the curriculum. Special focus will be made on the Age of Jackson (1820s-1830s) with lesson planning ideas and primary source suggestions. This presentation targets K-12 librarians and teachers, especially teachers of American and Tennessee history. For more information, call 615-898-2737 or send an e-mail to vmoxley@mtsu.edu.