Friday, May 15, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The tour du jour

MTSU’s Office of Admissions will offer student-led campus tours at 10 a.m. every Monday, Wednesday and Friday (excluding holidays) through July 31. The tours are by reservation only. The tours slated for May 18, May 22 and May 27 are full. Plenty of openings remain for all of June and July. No tours will be given May 25 (Memorial Day) and July 3 because the university will be closed for those holidays. To make a reservation, call 615-898-5670 or visit mtsu.edu/admissn/tour_admissn.shtml and click on “Schedule Campus Tours.”

For more information, contact Michelle Arnold at 615-898-5280.
maarnold@mtsu.edu

Spring ahead or fall behind?

The Career Development Center has some information to impart that sheds light on the influx of college students entering the job market. Employer job postings through the center include experienced hire (alumni), entry-level hire (graduating student), student employment off-campus (part-time job), student employment on campus (part-time job), and internships. Compared to Spring 2008, the number of entry-level positions posted for Spring 2009 was down 52 percent. The number of student employment off-campus positions posted was down 52.7 percent. The number of experienced-hire positions posted was down 15.6 percent. Career fairs hosted by the center experienced a steady decline in employer participation as the year progressed. The center hosted or co-sponsored 11 fairs throughout the 2008-2009 year.

Contact Bill Fletcher, center director, at 615-898-2501.
bfletch@mtsu.edu

The Souter legacy, part one

David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says departing U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter generally supported limits on campaign contributions. “Souter wrote the Court’s opinion in Nixon v. Shrink Missouri Government (2000), in which the majority upheld Missouri’s limits on political contributions in state races,” Hudson says. “In his majority opinion in Shrink, Souter contended that the test for whether a limit on political contributions was constitution was ‘whether the contribution limitation was so radical in effect as to render political association ineffective, drive the sound of a candidate’s voice below the level of notice, and render contributions pointless.’”

Contact Hudson at 615-741-1600.
dhudson@fac.org

TR EXTRA

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL--A Tennessee General Assembly measure that would have prohibited students from being admitted to public higher education institutions unless they can establish U.S. citizenship or lawful residence has been tabled until 2010. Dr. Laura Blackwell Clark, associate professor of educational leadership, says such proposals are counterproductive for education, the economy and the society as a whole. She’ll discuss her views at 7 a.m. this Sunday, May 17, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Clark appeared before a House subcommittee last month to testify against the proposal. She said, “My belief is when we block educational access to any of the residents, any citizens, any non-citizens, any people who are part of our American community, we do our community a disservice in the long term.” Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

MAZEL TOV!—Congratulations to WMOT-FM News Producer Shawn Jacobs, who won three Honorable Mention honors in the latest round of the statewide Tennessee Associated Press Broadcasters Association Awards. Jacobs was acknowledged in the “Best Radio Newscast,” “Best Radio Enterprise,” and “Best Radio Public Affairs” categories. WMOT-FM is the 100,000-watt public broadcasting service of MTSU. Turn to 89.5 on your FM dial or listen in real time at www.wmot.org. For more information, call the station at 615-898-2800.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS--“People are shouting too many philosophies of health and happiness at us,” notes a commentator on the recent explosion of interest in a topic of vital interest to us all—our own perceived well-being. But long before the shouting began, philosophers like Aristotle, Epicurus, Montaigne, Spinoza, Mill, Hume and James were carefully considering the question of how to get happy and stay that way. Dr. James Oliver will lead students through an examination of this subject in “The Philosophy of Happiness,” a class slated for Tuesdays and Thursdays this fall at MTSU. “In this course, we’ll survey older philosophical ideas about happiness, the new approach in psychology, and some of the best fictional literature,” says Oliver. ”Our approach will be calm, reasonable and interdisciplinary, with no gratuitous shouting.” Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050 or poliver@mtsu.edu.

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.