Thursday, July 16, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

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.

Reasonable expectation of privacy?

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that New Mexico school officials were wrong to strip-search a 13-year-old girl they suspected of bringing ibuprofen to class in violation of school rules. Dr. John Vile, University Honors College Dean at MTSU and Constitutional law scholar, says, “In contrast to a number of recent cases that have reduced students’ rights, in Safford Unified School District v. Redding the Court decided that school officials did not have reasonable suspicion to conduct a search. Although the Court divided on the issue, a majority of justices, led by outgoing David Souter, decided that precedents were ambiguous enough that school officials should have qualified immunity against being sued individually. Significantly, however, only Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the search was itself justified. This is consistent with other decisions in which he has taken a very restrictive view of students’ rights.”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Girls just want to have a future.

Girl University will come to the MTSU campus on Saturday, July 18, for a one-day series of workshops designed to help young women and their parents get a head start for planning for life after high school. Open to girls in grades 9-12, GU is a program sponsored by Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee designed to provide young women and their parents with access to information and professionals who can assist in making important decisions. “The event is designed to give girls a jump-start in preparing for college,” explains Lynn Palmer, MTSU’s admissions director. “Girls and parents will attend classes led by college experts and business professionals. They will get information to make informed decisions and plan for life after high school.”

Contact Megan Davis, program supervisor for Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee, at 615-460-0216.

TR EXTRA

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.

“OH, SING TO THE LORD A NEW SONG; SING TO THE LORD, ALL THE EARTH!—PSALMS 96:1--Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music, based in Nashville, will provide instruction in the performance of Southern Gospel music through July 24 on the MTSU campus. Subjects for daily classes include theory, harmony, songwriting, sight singing and ear training. Private lessons are offered in voice, piano, guitar and bass guitar. Electives include classes on how to lead congregational singing and how to build a successful career in gospel music. “The Stamps-Baxter Publishing Co. was, in its day, the premier publisher of Southern Gospel music,” says Dr. Stephen Shearon, MTSU professor of music. The Gaither Vocal Band, Allison Durham Speer, Greater Vision, Ivan Parker, Little Roy Lewis, Earl Scruggs and The Florida Boys are among the artists who have performed free concerts at the school in the past. For more information, go to http://stampsbaxterschool.com/ or contact Shearon at 615-898-5984 or sshearon@mtsu.edu.

SEA HUNT (MINUS LLOYD BRIDGES)--MTSU sophomore Terrance Adams and his fellow representatives of the Diving with a Purpose program will travel to Washington, D.C., today and tomorrow, July 16-17, to accept the “Take Pride in America” award in the Public-Private Partnership category from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Diving with a Purpose (DWP) is a program that trains young African-American divers. “I went to a party one time, and everybody knew how to swim except me,” says Adams, a journalism major from Madison. “I’ve been told by my peers that black people don’t scuba dive or swim. But how can you let a color determine who you are?” Divers in DWP have helped the National Park Service, a division of the Interior Department, to identify and research a number of sunken shipwrecks and develop professional site plans for historical and archaeological sites in Biscayne National Park in Florida. For more information and/or a photo of Terrance Adams, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

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.

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 July. 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.