Thursday, July 2, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

TODAY’S RESPONSE WILL BE ON VACATION TOMORROW, JULY 3, 2009, A UNIVERSITY HOLIDAY. TODAY’S RESPONSE WILL RETURN ON MONDAY, JULY 6, 2009.

Make a joyful noise

Aficionados of traditional American gospel music will attend Ben Speer’s Stamps-Baxter School of Music on the MTSU campus July 12-24. Dr. Stephen Shearon, professor of music, will provide details about this unique singing school on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 7 a.m. this Sunday, July 5, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). “Of all the shape-note singing schools, this is the most professionally oriented,” says Shearon. “Many of the faculty (members) have professional performing careers in the Southern gospel and contemporary Christian music fields, and some of them are regulars on the Bill Gaither ‘Homecoming’ videos, which are quite popular among this culture.

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

The rockets’ red glare

Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, sees July 4th as a perfect opportunity to talk about the chemistry of fireworks. MacDougall says, “In most cases, the color in a pyrotechnic device does, in fact, come from a salt. For instance, barium-containing salts, similar to those you may have swallowed or taken in at the other end prior to a gastrointestinal X-ray, are embedded along with an explosive mixture to give a bright green starburst. Immediately above barium on the periodic table, strontium is the key ingredient for the bright reds in a pyrotechnician’s palette. In its elemental form, there would be a high danger of premature explosion, so salts such as strontium carbonate are blended instead. For the blues, take copper salts.”

Contact MacDougall at 615-898-5265.
pmacdoug@mtsu.edu

O’er the land of the free press

Do all of the technological changes that have occurred in America over the last 233 years make us a better informed people than our Founding Fathers? Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism professor and First Amendment expert, has his doubts. “All of those new technologies only expand the reach of the speaker,” he says. “Back in 1776, anyone with something to say could stand on the street corner and make his appeal. He could make a reasoned, logical argument, or he could lie and distort—just like bloggers today. You see, despite all of the technological marvels we have devised over the last 233 years, the main point of the media is still the same—someone with something to say has the opportunity to say it. In fact, the diversity that has occurred in media has been marvelous, as almost every viewpoint imaginable, from the most centrist to the most extreme on the right and left, has an opportunity to be heard.”

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

TR EXTRA

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.

CLEAN AND GREEN--How can Middle Tennessee gain nearly 15,000 new jobs? A report from the University of Massachusetts asserts that a $150 billion national investment in a green economy could not only boost the employment picture. It could provide pathways out of poverty for many low-income workers. Dr. Sekou Franklin, political science, is a volunteer for a Nashville-based task force on green jobs. He says mass transit is an important part of the equation. “We need a broader public transportation system that links Nashville to Murfreesboro to Cookeville so that low-income workers can get to work and also to reduce fossil fuels, to reduce people using cars, spending money on gas (and) oil that are released into the environment.” Hear Franklin’s other comments and read the radio-ready stories that accompany them in the latest edition of MTSU Audio Clips at www.mtsunews.com. Click on “Audio Clips” on the right side of the page. Contact Franklin at 615-904-8232 or franklin@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. No tours will be given tomorrow, 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.