Thursday, February 4, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

“I’m out on the border/I’m walking the line”—Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Glenn Frey

Should the U.S. intervene in Yemen’s border dispute with Saudi Arabia? Dr. Sean Foley, history, says America should not rush to judgment. “That border is one of the most disputed regions in the Middle East,” says Foley. “Its desert and vast open spaces assist smugglers transporting various consumer goods, weapons, illicit drugs, and illegal immigrants. Al-Qaeda has reportedly brought weapons and explosives into Saudi Arabia from Yemen and trained operatives in the country, such as Umar Farouk Abdul Mutallab, the Nigerian man who sought to destroy a U.S. airliner on Christmas Day 2009.” Foley’s latest book, The Arab Gulf States: Beyond Oil and Islam, is due to be published in March by Lynne Rienner Press.

Contact Foley at 615-904-8294.
sfoley@mtsu.edu

Someday your prints will come.

The Todd Hall Art Gallery will present “PRINTS: Through the Collector’s Eyes,” an exhibition that brings together a wide variety of original prints, Feb. 16 through March 4. An opening reception for the show will be held one day prior to its official opening, 6-8 p.m. Monday, Feb. 15, in the campus-based gallery. The public is encouraged and invited to attend this free event. Among the works that will be displayed are wood engravings, etchings, lithographs and screen prints, all of which are primarily from area collectors. “Included are prints from the 17th to the 21st centuries with work by famous artists as well as those who are less known,” says Christie Nuell, exhibit curator and MTSU art professor. The gallery is open 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m.-noon on Fridays.

Call Eric Snyder, gallery curator, at 615-898-5653.
esnyder@mtsu.edu

Dungeons and decisions

According to a Jan. 25 decision from the Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, prisoners no longer have a First Amendment right to play Dungeons & Dragons behind bars. Wisconsin inmate Kevin Singer had played D&D for years until a prison official got a tip that Singer and others were forming a “D&D gang.” That’s when the ban was imposed. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says, “Singer mounted an effective legal attack, compiling 15 affidavits from people saying that D&D was rehabilitative, not a threat, no gangs were being formed. Even the 7th Circuit referred to Singer’s collection as ‘an impressive trove of affidavit testimony.’ Prison officials countered with one affidavit from a prison official with gang expertise. In the world of prison litigation, the word of one prison official apparently carries far greater weight than the word of 15 people, particularly when several of them are inmates.”

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1342.
dhudson@fac.org

TR EXTRA

“CELLULOID HEROES NEVER REALLY DIE.”—RAY DAVIES--Two MTSU students who are semifinalists in the second annual “Oscar Correspondent Contest” will discuss their video entry and their aspirations in the television business at 8 a.m. this Sunday, Feb. 7, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Nicki DeCroce, a junior journalism major from Nashville, and Tony Holt, a senior electronic media production major from Maryville, combine for one of ten teams hoping to win a chance to interview the stars on the red carpet at the 82nd annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 7, in Los Angeles. The video DeCroce and Holt made can be viewed at http://oscars.mtvu.com. Visitors to the Web site may vote for their favorite teams once each day through the deadline of Wednesday, Feb. 10.
Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

THE COLOR OF MONEY—Earl Graves Sr., founder and publisher of Black Enterprise magazine, will speak at 11 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 8, in the Tennessee Room of MTSU’s James Union Building. Graves is a nationally recognized authority on black business development. He also has served as a director of Aetna, DaimlerChrysler, Federated Department Stores and American Airlines. Graves’ appearance is in celebration of Black History Month at MTSU, which is based on the theme of “The History of Black Economic Empowerment.” This event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Black History Month Committee, the Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence, the Distinguished Lecture Fund, the School of Journalism, and the Office of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs. Contact Vincent Windrow at 615-898-2831 or vwindrow@mtsu.edu.

TEA TIME--The Association of Faculty and Administrative Women (AFAW) and the June Anderson Women’s Center will honor MTSU Associate Athletic Director Diane Turnham with the 2010 King-Hampton Award at a high tea from 3-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 16, in the Hazlewood Dining Room of the James Union Building. The award, which was established in 1990, is named for Miss Jeannette Moore King, a member of the first Middle Tennessee Normal School faculty, and Miss Martha Hampton, the first woman administrator at MTSU. The award is presented to an individual from the MTSU community who has made an outstanding contribution to improve the status and equality of women on the campus. The cost for the reception is $7.00 for members of AFAW and $9.00 for non-members. Please register by Friday, Feb. 5. For more information, contact Christy Groves at cgroves@mtsu.edu.

APPLAUSE FOR THE PLEAS AWARD--Dr. Dwight E. Patterson, associate professor of chemistry at MTSU, has been named as the 2010 winner of the John Pleas Faculty Recognition Award as part of the university community’s celebration of Black History Month. A reception in honor of Patterson will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 10, in the Tom Jackson Building’s Cantrell Hall on the MTSU campus. Presented since 1996, the Pleas honor is given to a minority faculty member who has made significant contributions to the university and community. He or she must have excelled in research, instruction, publications and/or service to the university. The recipient also must have demonstrated a commitment to MTSU’s African-American students. Contact Dr. Adonijah Bakari, director of African-American Studies, at 615-898-2536 or abakari@mtsu.edu.

HOME IS WHERE THE ART IS.--“Ramblings and Dwellings,” a joint exhibit of work by husband-and-wife artists Ken and Libby Rowe, is on display in MTSU’s Todd Art Gallery now through Tuesday, Feb. 9. An award-winning figurative sculptor, Ken’s “Ramblings” feature small-scale ceramic sculptures with a narrative bend and a whimsical nature. “His sculptures rely on a strong sense of humor and are often viewed as sardonic and quirky,” says Eric Snyder, gallery curator. In “Dwellings,” Libby’s current photographic work, she explores the emotional state of dwelling through the construction and photographing of small sculptural houses. The exhibit is free and open to the public. The Todd Gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Admission is free. Call Snyder at 615-898-5653 or esnyder@mtsu.edu.

HOME IS WHERE THE VOLUNTEERS ARE.--MTSU students are building a second Habitat for Humanity home for a Rutherford County resident. Building dates will include Wednesdays, Fridays and some Saturdays. There will be two shifts per day—in the morning from 8:30 a.m. to noon and in the afternoon from noon until 4 p.m. The home dedication is tentatively scheduled for Thursday, March 25. The Office of Leadership and Service is rounding up volunteers from student organizations for this humanitarian effort. The future resident’s family also will be helping to build their home, and Central Middle School and Jason’s Deli are pitching in. Media welcomed. Good photo opportunities throughout the construction process. For more information, contact Jackie Victory at 615-898-5812 or mtleader@mtsu.edu.