Monday, July 27, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“Inspiration and genius—one and the same.”—Victor Hugo

In a recent article in The Tennessean, publisher Shelton Smith asserted that only the 1872 King James Bible is inspired. Dr. Phil Oliver, philosophy, takes issue with this opinion. “So, inspiration happened once in all of recorded human history?” Oliver asks rhetorically. “It simply falls to you and me to salute and genuflect and defer and shut up? Socrates and Emerson (and Twain and Nietzsche) had a lot to say about that benighted suggestion. Why are you and I here at all if not to enjoy ‘an original relation to the universe’? But Smith says simply: ‘There’s what I think, and then there is what the Bible says. I’d rather go with what the Bible says.’ I’d rather think about it myself, thanks all the same.”

Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050.
poliver@mtsu.edu

“They can make me do anything, Ben, can’t they? Anything.”—Laurence Harvey in “The Manchurian Candidate”

We all know that computers can be hacked into, but can someone actually hack into your brain? Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “In 2007 and 2008, hackers broke into epilepsy support Web sites and uploaded flashing pictures that triggered seizures in some photo-sensitive patients. And the dangers don’t necessarily come from the outside. Some neural devices are already wireless, and scientists fear some patients who have deep brain stimulators may try to alter the programming to elevate mood or other neural centers. Such a scenario was envisioned as far back as 1972 by Michael Crichton in his prophetic book The Terminal Man. Of course, we know that any electronic device not only receives signals—it also acts as a transmitter. So it may also be possible for a receiver to pick up your neural signals, leading to all sorts of privacy concerns.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

Cyberspace and classroom space

The MTSU College of Continuing Education and Distance Learning is bringing the popular Adult Degree Completion Program (ADCP) to the new Middle Tennessee Education Center in Shelbyville, making the attainment of a college degree even more convenient. Beginning with the fall 2009 semester, MTSU will offer a new hybrid course (PRST 3010) for those interested in earning undergraduate college credit for prior learning. “Hybrid courses offer the best of both worlds,” says Lance Ikard, an instructor for the course. “It combines the convenience of online education and the comfort of a few face-to-face class meetings.”

For more information, contact Molly Culbreath at 931-685-4444.
mculbrea@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

NO ENRGY CRISIS HERE!--The MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth will sponsor Camp ENRGY, a five-day camp designed for youth with physical disabilities, Aug. 3-7. Camp ENRGY (Excellence ‘N’ Recreation and Games for Youth), which is free for its youth participants, will be conducted from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily on and off the MTSU campus with many activities taking place in the university’s recreation center, says Dr. Don Morgan, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance. “We hope that this summer camp will become a template for other camps for physically challenged youth here in Tennessee and throughout the nation,” says Morgan. Media are welcomed to cover this inaugural event.
For more information about Camp ENRGY, contact Sandy Stevens at sstevens@mtsu.edu
or Jenny Hutchens at jgs2a@mtsu.edu. Call Morgan at 615-898-5549.

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU--Hundreds of cowboys and cowgirls will don their finest Western duds to “Saddle Up for Project Help” at the 2009 fundraiser set for Thursday, July 30, at Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium on the MTSU campus. The fun will get underway at 6:30 p.m. with event registration. A barbecue dinner will be served at 7 p.m., followed by live music and dancing. Silent and live-auction bidding will close at 8:15 p.m., and auction checkout will be at 8:30 p.m. Founded in 1983, the nonprofit Project Help provides early intervention and family support services with disabilities and developmental delays up to age 3. Project Help currently serves 48 children with special needs. The staff includes more than 150 student volunteers each semester. For more information, call 615-898-2458 or go to www.mtsu.edu/projecthelp.

INTELLIGENCE ON DISPLAY--The MTSU McNair Program will present its 10th annual symposium from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Wednesday, July 29, and from 9 a.m. to 12 noon on Thursday, July 30 in the Tom H. Jackson Building. The McNair Program is designed to give low-income/first-generation and underrepresented undergraduate students the support they need to prepare for and successfully complete a doctorate degree in their chosen fields. McNair scholars will make oral presentations of their 2009 summer research. Their research posters also will be on display. Topics include “Blowing Up the Ballot Box: The Political Violence of the Election Cycle;” “How World War I Affected Poor Tennessean Citizens and Their Experiences;” “Playing Doctor: Assessing Future Professionals’ Attitudes Toward Child Sexual Behavior;” and “Prevention and Treatment of Acute Low Back Pain: Physical Therapy and Other Non-Surgical Methods.” Contact the McNair Program at 615-904-8462.

THE I-24 CONNECTION--The newly formed Dual Admission Program between MTSU and Nashville State Community College (NSCC) is designed to make it easier to earn a four-year degree. To apply for dual admission, a student must plan on pursuing a bachelor’s degree, meet the admission criteria for NSCC, have 29 or fewer college-level semester hours and, if a transfer or current student at NSCC, have a GPA of 2.0. A student must also complete all required high school courses to qualify for transfer to MTSU. Once enrolled in the dual-admission program, a student must maintain a 2.0 cumulative GPA and must have earned an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Science in Teaching degree. A formal signing of the agreement between the two schools is scheduled for Wednesday, July 29, at MTSU. Contact Tom Tozer at MTSU 615-898-2919 or Brent Young at Nashville State Community College at brent.young@nscc.edu.

SOLID AS A ROCK BLOK—Registration is open now for this fall’s Rock Blok workshop at MTSU. Young musicians ages 10-17 can learn music, make friends and form a band at the workshop, which is slated to begin September 5th. “When a student signs up, he or she is assigned to a band with other students,” says Ryan York, executive leader of Youth Empowerment through Arts and Humanities (YEAH!) and workshop leader. “Each band has two professional musicians as volunteer teachers. The students then spend two hours each Saturday learning music, working up a set list, making merchandise for their band, recording an album and writing music.” At the conclusion of the workshop, the bands will perform in concert. The fee is $40 a month ($120 total). For more information, go to http://www.yeahintheboro.org/, send an e-mail to info@YEAHintheBoro.org, or call 615-849-8140.

PRESSING ON--The legacy of MTSU’s working replica of an 18th century printing press will be explained through photos and prints as part of an exhibit at the main branch of the Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St., through Sept. 27. The exhibit is titled “Telling the Story: Letterpress Printing and Community.” The university’s segment will include the story of letterpress printing at MTSU. The works of current MTSU art students; alumni; visiting artists; faculty; elementary, middle- and high-school teachers and students who printed on the James E. Walker Library’s unique device will be highlighted. A reproduction of the English common press used by Benjamin Franklin in the early 1700s, the printing press was handcrafted in 2004 and 2005 out of chestnut and white oak wood from a 100-year-old house in Virginia. Contact Kristen Keene at 615-898-5376 or kkeene@mtsu.edu.