Thursday, October 15, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

MTSU Poll—No consensus on health care

Tennesseans don’t find it any easier to agree on health care reform than Congress does, according to the latest MTSU Poll. Sixty-three percent consider the issue “very important” or “extremely important.” But 48 percent say they oppose the current legislative proposals, 36 percent support the proposals, and 17 percent are undecided. Dr. Ken Blake, poll director, says, “As they are at the national level, these attitudes are highly partisan here in Tennessee, with Democrats far more likely than Republicans both to support the current health reform proposals generally and to favor specifics like a government-created health insurance plan and a requirement that all Americans buy health insurance. Independents tend to land between the two and also tend to be more undecided.”

Contact Blake at 615-210-6187.
kblake@mtsu.edu

MTSU Poll—No shortage of party poopers

The latest MTSU Poll shows that neither major political party can register a plurality of people who will identify themselves as members. Twenty-eight percent self-identify as Democrats; 32 percent identify themselves as Republicans; 36 percent say they are independent. But one area in which partisanship rears its head is in opinions of President Obama’s performance. Dr. Jason Reineke, assistant director of the poll, says, “Consistent with the results of the spring poll, fall approval breaks starkly along party lines: 80 percent of Tennessee’s Democrats approve of Obama, while 84 percent of Republicans disapprove. A plurality of 49 percent independents approve of Obama, while 43 percent disapprove.”

Contact Reineke at 615-494-7746.
jreineke@mtsu.edu

MTSU Poll—No recession relief

Seventy-one percent of respondents to the latest MTSU Poll say the recession has hurt them financially. That’s an increase from 66 percent in the spring survey. Dr. Bob Wyatt, MTSU Director of Communication Research, says, “Income is the best predictor of being hurt by the recession with 82 percent of Tennesseans with a family income of $15,000 or less hurting, followed by 78 percent with incomes between $15,000 and $40,000, and 68 percent making more than $40,000. About equal percentages say the recession has hurt a great deal (50 percent) or only some (49 percent). Spring figures were 52 percent hurting a great deal and 46 percent only some, a statistically insignificant difference.”

Contact Wyatt at 615-477-8389.
rwyatt@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

FASCINATING RHYTHM—Pinpoint synchronization, dynamic themes and entertaining costumes will be in evidence when the Office of Greek Affairs, the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs and the National Pan-Hellenic Council present their Step Show at 7 p.m., Friday, Oct. 23, in Murphy Center. Teams from MTSU fraternities and sororities will compete for prizes of $1,000 for first place and $500 for second place with an additional $500 awarded for the best overall performance. “I like it because it represents our African-American heritage,” says organizing co-chair Ashlee Gray. “I take pride in telling our story through step dancing.” Admission is $10 in advance at the Murphy Center ticket office or $15 on the day of the show. Only cash will be accepted. For more information, contact Angela King at 615-898-5812 or Valerie Avent at 615-898-2718.

VIEWS YOU CAN PERUSE--The Todd Gallery at MTSU is hosting a joint exhibit of artworks by Steve Prince and Boris Zakic through Oct. 22. Eric Snyder, gallery curator, says of Prince’s works, “Steve richly embeds layers of symbolism, cultural icons and biblical references in his work. He deals in themes of social and racial justice and visually explores a biblical response to the problems consuming today’s urban communities. Of Zakic, Snyder says, “A constant theme in his paintings is the integration of text, usually a single word often represented as a figure. He believes that words have no intrinsic meaning—they function as indicators with layers of possible meaning. He also signifies images, but not by the words generally associated with them.” The Todd Gallery is open 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and closed on state and university holidays. Admission is always free. Contact Snyder at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.

ROCKS AROUND THE CLOCK--MTSU’s Department of Geosciences will sponsor the campus celebration of Earth Science Week with a diverse array of activities that are free and open to the public this week. Undergraduate geosciences students will provide free geochemical analyses of drinking water for the campus community throughout the week. Dr. Melissa Lobegeier and Heather Volker will present “Geoscience as Green Science” at 4:20 p.m. today, Oct. 15, in Room 452 of Kirksey Old Main. At 1:50 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 16, in Room 452 of Kirksey Old Main, Dr. Jonathan Gilligan of Vanderbilt University will discuss the scientific and human impact of climate change. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Abolins at 615-594-4210 or mabolins@mtsu.edu.

THE TOOTH, THE WHOLE TOOTH, AND NOTHING BUT THE TOOTH--Dr. Lowell Levine, DDS, one of the top dental experts in the United States, will deliver a lecture at 7 p.m. tonight, Oct. 15, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. Levine, a forensic odontologist, is director of the New York State Police Medicolegal Investigations Unit. He has been a consultant to the POW/MIA Accounting Command—Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. Dr. Levine also was a forensic consultant to the U.S. House of Representative’s Select Committee on Assassination Investigation regarding the death of President John F. Kennedy. He testified in the case of serial killer Ted Bundy, identified the remains of Nazi doctor Josef Mengele, identified the remains of slain civil rights leader Medgar Evers, and was a member of the team of scientists who examined the remains of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family. This event, presented by MTSU’s Forensic Institute for Research and Education (FIRE), is free and open to the public. Contact FIRE at 615-494-7896 or rsnow@mtsu.edu.

IT’S FALL, YOU ALL--The October edition of “Middle Tennessee Record” is on the air and on the Web. Featured this month: the MTSU virtual tour, which allows anyone with access to a computer to wander around the campus without actually being there; Camp ENRGY, an innovative way to help children with physical disabilities participate more confidently in home- school- and community-based physical activities; interviews with Dr. Gerhard L. Weinberg, professor emeritus at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and Whitwell Middle School Principal Linda Hooper, initiator of the Paper Clip Project, two attendees at MTSU’s Holocaust Studies Conference later this month; and a look at True Blue TV through the eyes of host and creator Steven Mizell. To find out where “Middle Tennessee Record” airs in your area, or to watch it online, go to www.mtsunews.com. Contact producer John Lynch at 615-898-2919 or jlynch@mtsu.edu.

GET THE PICTURE?--“Relics,” an exhibit by Brad Temkin, is on display at the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in MTSU’s Learning Resources Center (LRC) through Oct. 22. Temkin says of his work, “My approach builds on the sculptural foundation that integrates the object and the landscape. Remnants of humanity are abandoned amidst vast, empty and anonymous landscapes. These forms exude an energy that transcends originating intention, becoming beautiful and monumental ‘earth works’ in their own right.” Exhibitions are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu.