Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Sonia and the Supremes

The Senate Judiciary Committee is slated to begin hearings on Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court on July 13. But pundits are speculating on whether Monday’s 5-4 ruling by the high court in the Ricci v. Destefano affirmative action case will have an impact on her confirmation. The Supreme Court’s decision in the case overrules a lower court decision by a three-judge panel that included Sotomayor. Dr. John Vile, Dean of the University Honors College and a Constitutional law expert says, “The fact that she (Sotomayor) is Hispanic apparently did not tilt her own judgment toward Hispanic litigants. Moreover, Justice David Souter, who she has been nominated to replace, was in the Supreme Court’s four-person minority, suggesting that her appointment would not have made a difference to the outcome of the case.”

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

Our agrarian roots

Since MTSU will be closed on Friday, July 3, for the Independence Day holiday, the Plant and Soil Science Club will cancel the summer Student Farmer’s Market for that day only. However, the veggies won’t wait. So the students will continue picking fresh produce. They have a special table set up in the lobby of the Stark Agricultural building on the MTSU campus with veggies available on the “honor” system with prices posted. Just pick up the veggies and leave the money in the main office today, July 1, between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The veggies available include tomatoes (slicing, roma and grape), hot peppers (jalapenos, cayennes and habaneros), baby cabbage, onions (red and white), twinkle eggplant, green beans and okra.

Contact the Department of Agribusiness and Agriscience at 615-898-2523.

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., today, July 1, 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.
kkeene@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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 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.