Monday, May 11, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Ride on

A new MTSU student organization has been formed to advocate for the needs of students living off-campus. Ridin’ Raiders is an organization of commuting students who want to enhance their college careers and experiences and find ways to meet their specific needs as commuter students. The group’s goals include: developing a networking system for commuting students; providing online resources for commuting students; and establishing a supportive and cohesive group of commuting students through a variety of extracurricular activities. The annual dues for the organization are $20 per member.

To fill out an application for Ridin’ Raiders, go to: http://frank.mtsu.edu/~ocss/css/rraiders.htm and click on “Membership.” For more information, contact the Office of Off-Campus Student Services at 615-898-5989.

Taking the world to your classroom

Gabriel Zurita is a 24-year-old MTSU economics major from Chile who shares information about his culture with area K-12 students through Culture to Culture, a program of the Office of International Programs and Services. Zurita says he hopes “to help American students broaden their world views, specifically their views of developing nations. Zurita delivered his first Culture to Culture presentation in the fall 2009 semester at Riverdale High School in Murfreesboro. “I’ve had to present information to students before, but this is the first time I presented information about my own country,” Zurita says. “I decided to take an objective approach and to simply educate.” Culture to Culture presenters hail not only from Chile, but also Turkey, Spain, India and several other nations. This service is offered at no charge to the schools.

For more information, contact Dr. Tech Wubneh at 615-898-2238.
twubneh@mtsu.edu

Remember the zipper on the “Sticky Fingers” album cover?

Recording companies are missing a marketing opportunity by marginalizing cover art, which was a prominent part of attracting buyers in the age of the 33-and-a-third long-playing record album. So says Dr. Mike Alleyne, recording industry. Alleyne observes, “Neville Garrick, who designed most of Bob Marley & the Wailers’ covers for Island (record label), says that in vinyl’s heyday, groups sometimes sold records solely based on the strength of their cover image. By the ‘60s, covers had also become a crucial part of an artistic statement, a key element in a sensory stimulus package. The economic reference here is deliberate since the reduction in album graphics has arguably accelerated the devaluation of music to consumers. If it looks so bad why shouldn’t it be free?”

Contact Alleyne at 615-904-8336.
dr.mike.alleyne@gmail.com

TR EXTRA

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.