Thursday, October 8, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

How does your garden grow?

First Lady Michelle Obama will open up the White House Kitchen Garden to the public on Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18. At one time, family gardens produced a truly abundant harvest across the country. Dr. Jan Leone, history, recently lectured on “The American Home Front During World War II.” Leone says, “The government called on citizens to plant victory gardens to make up for shortages due to rationing. An estimated 20 million gardens produced 9-10 million tons of fruits and vegetables. Families were encouraged to can and preserve their own produce to save commercial canned goods for troops. In 1943, families bought 315,000 pressure cookers compared to 66,000 in 1942. The government considered the preservation effort a huge success.”

Contact Leone at 615-898-5580.
jmleone@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. on Thursday, 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.
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.
jlynch@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

A TRIPLE PLAY--The Epsilon Tau Chapter of Alpha Delta Pi sorority at MTSU will sponsor the inaugural “Alpha Delta Pi-athlon: A Unique Triathlon Challenge” starting at 8 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11. Participants will compete in a 300-meter swim, a 10-mile bicycle race and a 5K (3.14 miles) run. The swim will take place at the MTSU Health, Wellness and Recreation Center. The 5K run will happen on campus. The bike race will start and end on campus, but the bulk of the course will be off-campus. “Teams comprised of three people (one for each event) must enter under a team name,” writes Laura Cooper, the sorority’s philanthropy chair. “The teams may be comprised of both male and female participants.” All proceeds from entry fees will benefit the Ronald McDonald House and the Alpha Delta Pi Scholarship Program. Pre-registration is available at www.active.com (keyword: Pi-athlon). Day-of registration will start at 6:30 a.m. at the Recreation Center. For more information, contact Cooper at adpiathlon@gmail.com.

“VIOLENCE IS THE LAST REFUGE OF THE INCOMPETENT.”—SALVOR HARDIN IN ISAAC ASIMOV’S “FOUNDATION” SERIES--October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. The June Anderson Women’s Center is making purple ribbons available across the MTSU campus for people to wear. On Monday, Oct. 12, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., the Women’s Center will sponsor the Silent Witness Project in the second floor lobby of the Keathley University Center. This exhibit will feature blood red T-shirts displaying true local stories of women, men and children who have been victims of domestic violence. The stories are printed across the busts of the T-shirts. This powerful exhibit promotes peace, healing, education and awareness. The Silent Witness Project is free and open to the public. Contact the June Anderson Women’s Center at 615-898-2193 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

ORDER IN THE COURTYARD--Randy O’Brien, director of News and Public Affairs for WMOT-FM, will discuss his first published novel, Judge Fogg, at the 2009 Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. O’Brien will speak from 3-4 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 11, in Room 29 of the Legislative Plaza building in downtown Nashville along with fellow authors Scott Pratt and Peggy Ehrhart. Inspired by Shakespeare’s “Othello,” Judge Fogg tells the fictional story of the first African-American criminal court judge in Nashville, his rise to power as a youthful corruption fighter and his downfall. O’Brien will sign copies of his book in the courtyard following the panel discussion. Free and open to the public. Contact O’Brien at 615-898-2800 or robrien@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.