Monday, November 2, 2009

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Pin the tail on the Taliban.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says the U.S. presence in Afghanistan “is not an open-ended, never-ending commitment.” But why should we stay there and continue to fight? Dr. Karen Petersen, political science, warns that leaving Afghanistan in the hands of the Taliban, “even partially, would be disastrous. First, for the people of Afghanistan who have not known security in my lifetime, the United States offers the first real hope of post-conflict normalcy. Discussions that equate Soviet activity in Afghanistan with the U.S. presence there are flawed in many respects, not the least of which is methodology. Second, for the rest of the Indian subcontinent caught up in the tensions brought about by the near-meltdown of Pakistani governing authority, an American presence in Afghanistan may be the last buffer between managed chaos and a fundamentalist regime with nuclear weapons.”

Contact Petersen at 615-494-8662.
kpeterse@mtsu.edu

I’ll grant you that.

The MTSU President’s Commission on the Status of Women is offering three grants of $1,800 each to faculty members who want to integrate the experiences and perspectives of women into the curriculum. The grants are intended for use in the summer of 2010. The 2009 winners include Dr. Gretchen Webber, sociology, for her new undergraduate course “Gender, Work and Family in the 21st Century; Dr. Meredith Huey Dye, sociology, for her special topics course “Women in Prison;” and Dr. Tricia Farwell, journalism, for her “Advertising and Social Media” course. The deadline for faculty to submit applications for the 2010 grants is Jan. 19.

For more information, contact Dr. Samantha Cantrell at 615-494-8751.
scantrel@mtsu.edu

Eighty candles

Help Homer Pittard Campus School celebrate its 80th birthday from 8 a.m. to noon Friday, Nov. 6, at the school at 923 East Lytle Street in Murfreesboro. The school is a public school operated jointly by MTSU and Rutherford County Public Schools. It continues to be a laboratory school—K-6 grades—for students in the teacher education programs in MTSU’s department of Elementary and Special Education. There will be a light breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by a program with music at 9 a.m. Starting at 10 a.m., there will be tours of the building and classrooms and information on Campus School history through the decades. At 11 a.m., there will be a boxed lunch for $10 per person. To register for lunch, send an e-mail to peaybrain@juno.com.

For more information, call Campus School at 615-895-1030.

TR EXTRA

PICTURES OF YOU, PICTURES OF ME--A different take on the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is on display in Stan Strembicki’s exhibit “Memory Loss/Lost Library” in the Baldwin Photographic Gallery in the Learning Resources Center at MTSU. Strembicki has been photographing the streets, people and events of New Orleans since 1984. Returning after Katrina, he was drawn to photograph not the ubiquitous crushed homes or overturned cars, but the subtler tragedy of washed-away personal ephemera in the debris of the Lower Ninth Ward. “Memory Loss/Lost Library” will be on display until Dec. 9. Exhibitions are free and open to the public. Strembicki, a professor of photography at Washington University in St. Louis, will deliver a free and open lecture at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9, in Room 103 of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building with a reception to follow. For more information, contact Tom Jimison at 615-898-2085 or tjimison@mtsu.edu.

WEEKEND WARRIORS AND WARBLERS--Two opportunities to see “Ragtime,” the MTSU School of Music’s presentation of the Tony Award-winning musical, and the Blue Raiders’ home game against Florida International University are highlights of the Nov. 6-7 Family Weekend. “Ragtime,” starring Shawn Lewis and Scott Willis, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, and Saturday, Nov. 7, in Tucker Theatre. Saturday’s events include registration at 11:30 a.m. and a silent auction in Walnut Grove. While the silent auction is underway, the “Blue Raider Lunch, Tailgating and Fun” is set from noon to 2:30 p.m. in Walnut Grove and other activities are planned. The Raider Walk, a pregame tradition, is slated for 1:15 p.m. The football game is scheduled to start at 3:30 p.m. in Floyd Stadium. For more information, call the Office of New Student and Family Programs at 615-898-2454.

MICKEY MAKES A SCHEDULE CHANGE--The date of the Disney Keys to Excellence Conference hosted by MTSU’s Jennings A. Jones College of Business at the Sheraton Downtown Nashville has been changed to Tuesday, Dec. 1, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This is a rare opportunity to take an exclusive look at the "business behind the magic" from Walt Disney World© insiders, who will share the successful business practices and unique philosophies that have made the Disney name synonymous with creativity, quality, and innovation the world over. Also, the special free 90-minute session on leadership on campus for MTSU personnel only will be held on Wednesday, Dec. 2, from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in the Tom Jackson Building. Those MTSU personnel who have already registered need do nothing further. To learn more and to register, go to www.keysnashville.com or call 877-544-2384.

DESIGNING STUDENTS--The juried work of graphic design students at MTSU is on display through Thursday, Nov. 5, at the Todd Art Gallery. The purpose of the exhibition is to showcase the department’s largest segment of declared majors and to promote the making and understanding of Graphic Design’s role in our academic culture and the community at large. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. The Todd Art Gallery closes only on state and university holidays. For more information, contact Eric Snyder, gallery curator, at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.