Tuesday, August 24, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“Once you’ve spent two years trying to wiggle one toe, everything is in proportion.”—Franklin D. Roosevelt

Polio is making a comeback. The United Nations reports that the polio virus is spreading to children in Pakistan through infected Afghan refugees, and they’re not the only ones who are suffering. Dr. Preston MacDougall, chemistry, says, “Unfortunately, beginning in northern Nigeria in 2003, a new strain of the virus has now spread to at least 16 countries. … Indonesia has long been a producer of polio vaccine for the region and thought it had treated its last case of childhood polio in 1985. But that was before some Muslim leaders, for reasons that I cannot fathom, began spreading the big lie that the vaccine was created to spread AIDS among Moslems and sterilize Muslim girls.”

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

Homes sweet homes

In Nashville and Knoxville, home sales rose in the second economic quarter in Tennessee. The MTSU Business and Economic Research Center says that’s the first quarterly increase since 2005. According to the BERC’s Tennessee Housing Market, “Memphis area sales continue to drop. Sales of new and existing homes rose 6.4 percent in Nashville and 3.6 percent in Knoxville but fell in Memphis. Increased home sales can be attributed to a combination of factors including very low mortgage rates, increases in the loan limits from FHA-backed loans, lower housing prices, and the $8,000 tax credit for new home buyers.”

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

Figures lie and liars figure.

Sometimes the kind of math you see in the newspaper just doesn’t make any sense. Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “I was reading in the sports pages the other day that one football team was a five-and-a-half-point favorite. Now, just stop to think about that for a moment: five-and-one-half points. How in the world do you score half a point in football? Maybe the handicappers will allow you a half point if a field goal attempt bounces off the goal post. … In 1977, the year Elvis Presley died, there were 170 Elvis impersonators. There are now about 85,000. That means that by the year 2019 more than one-third of the world’s population will be Elvis impersonators. I can hardly wait.”

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

TR EXTRA

THE RAIDER WELCOME WAGON--If you never got around to having that yard sale this summer, or if you have those things left over from the yard sale you conducted, Raiders for Christ is ready to take those things off your hands. The MTSU student organization is collecting practical household items through today, Aug. 25, for international students. Members will distribute the items at the Raiders for Christ building, 1105 E. Bell St. in Murfreesboro, from 8 a.m. to 12 noon on Saturday, Aug. 29. Sarah Johnson, director of Women’s Outreach for the organization, says donations should be things that people would need to set up housekeeping. Some of the items the group is seeking include furniture, pots and pans, dishes, mattresses, sheets, towels, crockpots, rice cookers, trash cans, shower curtains, umbrellas, and computers. Donations also may be made at the back and side entrances of the Raiders for Christ house after hours. For more information, contact Johnson at 615-896-1529 or sarahfjohnson@yahoo.com.

YOUKOSO! (WELCOME!) -- Dignitaries from Fukushima University, led by Vice President Shuji Shimizu, will visit MTSU Aug. 29 through Sept. 3 to explore expanding the universities’ existing relationship through student exchange. In addition, the educators will discuss ideas for the long-term planning of Fukushima’s Faculty of Economics and Business and Administration (FEBA). MTSU’s comprehensive partnership with the Japanese institution formally began with the signing of an agreement in 1996. “Fukushima University is one of the oldest international partners of MTSU with much collaborative faculty research in the past, but there has been little student exchange,” says Dr. Kiyoshi Kawahito, Advisor to the President and the Provost on Asian Affairs and professor emeritus of economics and finance. Contact Gina Logue in the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.

WHEN YOU YEARN TO LEARN--MTSU professors, past and present, will serve as some of the tour guides for the 19th annual “Adventures in Learning,” an interesting educational experience for persons age 50 and older, on four successive Mondays, Sept. 14, 21, and 28, and Oct. 5, at First United Methodist Church, 265 W. Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro. Topics to be explored include recreation, literature, country music, genealogy, technology, ethnicity and history. Classes will last from 9:30-10:30 a.m. and 10:45-11:45 a.m. “Adventures in Learning” is made possible by a local interfaith coalition. The cost for all four weeks is $8 in advance or $10 after Sept. 2. Lunch reservations and payments must be made in advance of the classes. Lunch will be catered by Carolyn’s Creations, followed by forums on various items of civic interest. Contact Mary Belle Ginanni at 615-895-6072.

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.

FOOTBALL FESTIVITIES--The MTSU Rutherford County Alumni Chapter’s annual Pigskin Pre-Game will be held on Saturday, Aug. 29, to kickoff the football season. The event will be held at Marymont Mansion in Marymont Springs, 1140 Rucker Lane in Murfreesboro. “Last year, almost 500 people attended Pigskin and we were able to raise almost $10,000 toward the scholarship fund,” says Paul Wydra, assistant director in the Office of Alumni Relations. Tickets for the event, which will run from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m., will be $35. Attendees must pre-pay and reply by Wednesday, Aug. 26, to secure their tickets. The ticket price includes food, entertainment by Danny Lowe, beverages, door prizes and more. On-site parking will be available. Call 1-800-533-6878 for more information.

ART FROM THE HEART--The Todd Art Gallery at MTSU will present the art department’s 2009 biennial Faculty Art Exhibition Aug. 31 through Sept. 17. “This exhibit will feature works of art by faculty members as a way to introduce their work to art majors, the broader campus population and the community,” says Eric Snyder, gallery curator, who adds that the artworks represented will vary in media and styles—from representational, abstract and non-objective to traditional media in a straightforward manner and mixed media with a “twist.” An opening reception for art faculty will be held from 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 31, in the gallery. This event is free and open to the public. The gallery, which is located in the Todd Building on the MTSU campus, is open from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. each Monday-Friday and is closed on state and university holidays. Admission is always free. Contact Snyder at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.