Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Green is universal.

Water testing, computer demonstrations, and rock and fossil identifications are all part of MTSU’s celebration of Earth Day, tomorrow, April 22, with events in the Kirksey Old Main building. From 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., students in Dr. Warner Cribb’s Geology 4000 class will conduct 100 free geochemical analyses of metals in drinking water in the MTSU inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry lab. Dr. Clay Harris will identify fossils and rocks from 4-6 p.m. in Room 300. Also from 4-6 p.m., faculty members will explain the use of computers to identify environmental problems in the Global Information Science Lab (Room 308). The Oscar-winning documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” will be shown at 6 p.m. in Room 452. After the film, Drs. Jim Henry and Melissa Lobegeier will facilitate a question-and-answer session. All events are free and open. Media welcomed.

For more information, contact Dr. Mark Abolins at 615-494-4210.
mabolins@mtsu.edu

No wonder the cheese was so stringy.

What would you do as a pizza company president if two employees of one of your stores posted video on YouTube showing one of them sticking shredded cheese up his nose and then putting it into a sandwich? Domino’s Pizza President Patrick Doyle responded with a video of his own and a tweet on Twitter. Dr. Don Roy, management and marketing, says, “Some people have criticized Doyle’s response as scripted and calculated. While Doyle came across as a bit uncomfortable in the two-minute clip, Domino’s social media response should be commended. The very medium that put the brand in a bad light was used to set the record straight. The response was swift, and the use of tools like YouTube and Twitter allows Domino’s to listen to what consumers are saying about its brand.”

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

You’ll never walk a loan.

MTSU will participate in the Federal Direct Loan Program for Stafford and PLUS loans beginning in the fall 2009 semester. MTSU will no longer process Stafford and PLUS loans through lenders in the Federal Family Education Loan Program. “Our main reason for the change is to help guarantee the availability of loan funds and to help simplify the loan process for our students,” says Financial Aid Director David Hutton. “This year, several lenders have stopped processing loans, they have been late in delivering funds, or they changed guarantors without notifying their borrowers, which required students to sign additional promissory notes. With MTSU having over 12,000 student borrowing in excess of 90 million dollars each year, we do not want these problems to occur again next fall, so we examined the process and decided that now is the time to switch to Direct Lending.”

Contact Hutton at 615-898-2422 or David Chambers at 615-898-2246.
dhutton@mtsu.edu
dchambers@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

TAKE BACK YOUR LIFE--The late feminist author Audre Lorde said about sexual assault, “Your silence will not protect you.” That’s why MTSU students, faculty and staff will speak out through Wednesday, April 22, during the June Anderson Women’s Center’s annual Clothesline Project and Take Back the Night activities. The Clothesline Project uses T-shirts with messages that protest violence against women. These shirts will be displayed from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through April 22 on the Keathley University Center knoll. Take Back the Night is a multifaceted activity that will include a candlelight vigil, an open microphone and a march around campus. It will start on the KUC knoll tonight, April 21, and is slated to last from 6-9 p.m. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Women’s Center at 615-898-2913.

PEDAL PUSHERS--The 3rd annual Tour de Boro, a Century Cycling Event sponsored by the MTSU Department of Recreation and Leisure Services, is slated for Saturday, April 25. There are three routes—16.5 miles, 31 miles, and 57.5 miles. All routes are along scenic, low traffic back roads winding through southern Rutherford County. Onsite registration on the day of the event is $35 beginning at 6 a.m. For more information, contact Crystal Barnett at 615-491-4398.

GET A CLUE!--MTSU is expanding its popular CSI: MTSU four-day program for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties. This year’s event is slated for June 16-19. The goals of CSI: MTSU are: to allow students to explore many unique career possibilities in forensic science; to provide a “real life” reasons to tackle higher level math and science courses; and to develop skills in teamwork, seeing and understanding details, critical thinking and presentation skills. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. Each student is trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter, and shoe prints. For more information or to register, call 615-898-2462 or send an e-mail to eshockle@mtsu.edu.