Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

You’re not the boss of me!

In his new book, Packing the Court, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian James MacGregor Burns asserts that the President of the United States should refuse to submit to the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court if the justices strike down his legislation as unconstitutional. Dr. John Vile, Constitutional law scholar and dean of the University Honors College, says Burns’ position is “misguided.” Vile says, “Over the last 200-plus years, the U.S. has worked out a finely balanced system of separation of powers. Burns’ suggestion would upset this balance. In the 1930s, the U.S. Senate wisely rejected a plan by New Deal liberals to ‘pack’ the Supreme Court so as to overturn its judgments. In the 1950s and 1960s, ‘conservatives’ urged the people to defy Supreme Court judgments on racial desegregation, and the people again wisely rejected the suggestion.”

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

“The next voice you hear will be your own.”—Jackson Browne

Lines and images of assertion, anger, ennui, yearning, reverie—these are the contents of “Voices We Haven’t Heard,” a new collection of student art and literature compiled by the June Anderson Women’s Center at MTSU. The inaugural edition is the first of many annual editions to come if Terri Johnson, the center’s director, has anything to say about it. “I think it’s a wonderful way for students to express themselves in a creative, artistic forum,” says Johnson. The works between the beige covers serve as the students’ rebuttal to the racism, sexism, harassment and homophobia they see in the world around them, both on-campus and off-campus. Johnson says she already has had tremendous feedback from parents and prospective students at CUSTOMS and elsewhere. She adds she had heard remarkable interest from those who wish to contribute to the next edition.

Contact Johnson at 615-898-2193.
trjohnso@mtsu.edu

Ups and downs

In the week ending July 11, seasonally adjusted weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance in Tennessee were 12,213, up from a revised 9,972 in the previous week. Seasonally adjusted initial weekly claims have averaged 13,144 since January 1, 2009. The four-week moving average continues to decline gradually, however. Actual claims, before seasonal adjustment, climbed sharply to 15,993 during the week. Continued claims for unemployment insurance (insured unemployment) increased to 110,194 from a revised 108,985 in the previous week. The four-week moving average continues to drop gradually. Continued claims have averaged 109,147 since January 1.

Contact the MTSU Business and Economic Research Center at 615-898-2610.

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. tomorrow, 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 tomorrow, 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 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.