Friday, June 12, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The horror of the Holocaust

The suspected gunman in Wednesday’s fatal shooting of a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., has a long history of anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial. Why, in the face of overwhelming evidence, do some people still insist that the Holocaust never happened? Dr. Nancy Rupprecht, history professor and chair of the Holocaust Studies Committee, says the proof includes, but is not limited to “Photographs and Visual Media: Eisenhower and the Allied commanders took thousands of photographs and shot nearly as many rolls of film to document the fact of the camps at liberation; Official Documents: Tons of captured German records are available in the National Archives and elsewhere to anyone who cares to look. Almost all of the Nuremberg documents are available online as are the trial transcripts.”

Contact Rupprecht at 615-898-2645.
nrupprec@mtsu.edu

The elephant in the room

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania is now a Democrat. Most respondents in a recent poll see Rush Limbaugh as the voice of the Republican Party. If it isn’t Limbaugh, is it Sarah Palin? Mitt Romney? Newt Gingrich? Can the minority party regain its footing in time for the 2010 Congressional elections? Should Republicans emphasize the conservative values of their base or attempt to expand the base by moderating their positions? Dr. Robb McDaniel, associate professor of political science, will discuss the search for leadership and direction in the GOP on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 7 a.m. this Sunday, June 14, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). To hear last week’s program on the CSI camp slated for June 16-19, go to http://frank.mtsu.edu/~proffice/podcast2009.html and click on “June 7, 2009.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

Deal or New Deal?

Dr. Kris McCusker, history professor, will present “’But Mr. Roosevelt was gonna save us all’: The New Deal and the South” at 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 16, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. This lecture, which is free and open to the public, will be about the effects of the New Deal on Murfreesboro and Tennessee and will include a presentation on selected American life histories and slave narratives. McCusker’s presentation is part of a series of programs sponsored by Linebaugh Library System in conjunction with “Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story,” a new television documentary about the Federal Writers’ Project. The documentary is being produced by Spark Media and will be broadcast on the Smithsonian Channel HD later this year.

For more information, contact Linebaugh Public Library in Murfreesboro at 615-893-4131 or go to http://www.linebaugh.org/soul.htm.

TR EXTRA

GOING THROUGH CUSTOMS--Running through late July, incoming MTSU students and their families will start familiarizing themselves with their new academic home through the CUSTOMS orientation process. “So many parents and students comment on how friendly folks are and how comfortable they feel about their choice of coming to MTSU,” says Gina Poff, director of New Student and Family Programs. “Although CUSTOMS is a lot of work for the staff and the new students, it really pays off in the end. It is a great way to start off the new journey into MTSU, and the freshmen really get a sense of what it is like to be part of the MTSU community.” Poff says officials expect 50 to 75 more students at each session this summer than in previous years. Contact Poff at 615-898-2454 or gpoff@mtsu.edu.

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. Plenty of openings remain for all of June and July. No tours will be given July 3 because the university will be closed for that holiday. 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 or maarnold@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

THE REV’S RECORDINGS--Martin Fisher, Manager of Recorded Music Collections at MTSU’s Center for Popular Music, is playing a major role in preserving the legacy of the Rev. Lonzie Odie Taylor for the Center for Southern Folklore in Memphis. The new online exhibit “TAYLOR MADE: The Life and Work of the Rev. L.O. Taylor” is accessible at www.southernfolklore.com. The minister was a Renaissance man whose talents as a photographer, filmmaker, writer, recording artist and producer—all from his home “studio”—made him an invaluable chronicler of life in the African-American community of Memphis. Fisher’s role in the preservation of artifacts in the exhibit was to transfer 90 audio lacquer disc recordings produced by Taylor to a digital format. Contact Fisher at 615-898-5509 or wmfisher@mtsu.edu.

TELL A VISION--The June edition of “Middle Tennessee Record” includes features on the job market for graduates, a student’s charitable work for ill and abused children, national plaudits for a couple of top-notch alumni, educational opportunities for older learners, a student’s 10-week internship in Bangladesh, the work of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center, and the future of online degrees and distance learning. The monthly television program is available for viewing on NewsChannel5+ and Murfreesboro Cable Channel 9, as well as 16 different cable TV outlets in the region. Check your local listings or watch the show at www.mtsunews.com. The stories also have been posted to YouTube. For more information or to obtain a DVD, contact John Lynch at 615-898-5591 or jlynch@mtsu.edu.