Monday, April 12, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Even Stevens

U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has announced that he will retire from the bench at the end of this term. Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College and a constitutional law scholar, says this “hardly comes as a surprise, but, after the bruising battle over health care, President Obama might well have wished that Stevens had waited another year before opening the door to partisan controversy. … The Senate rejects almost a fourth of presidential nominees for the Senate, and Obama will undoubtedly carefully vent anyone he is thinking of nominating before naming the individual publicly.” The Associated Press quotes an unnamed White House source as saying President Obama is considering about 10 people to replace Stevens. The source did not name names, but among those believed to be on the list are federal appeals court judges Merrick Garland of Washington and Diane Wood of Chicago.

Contact Vile at 615-898-2598.
jvile@mtsu.edu

“I just rent ‘em. It’s cheaper that way.”—Louisiana Gov. Earl K. Long when told his brother, Huey, had bought the state legislature

Bribes, kickbacks, favoritism, tax evasion, fiscal mismanagement, and that age-old favorite of the tabloids, sex—these are just some of the ways governmental officials can betray the public trust. Dr. Stephen Morris, chair of the Department of Political Science, will teach “Advanced Studies in Comparative Politics: Political Corruption” (Political Science 4850) this summer. He taught the same course in the fall 2009 semester. In many parts of the world, corruption is almost more the rule than the exception. This course will focus on the growing study of political corruption and explores the causes, consequences and dynamics of corruption. The focus will be broadly comparative, but it will include attention to United States politics.

Contact the Department of Political Science at 615-898-2708.

The one that I want

The Wesley Players will present “Grease” from April 14-18 at the Wesley Foundation at MTSU, 218 College Heights Ave. in Murfreesboro. Performances on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday will start at 8 p.m., and a dinner theatre performance is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 17. A special matinee performance will be presented at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 18. Tickets are $5 for students and $10 for adults. Dinner theatre tickets are $20 each. The Wesley Foundation is the United Methodist student center for MTSU.

Contact the Wesley Foundation office at 615-893-0469.
wesleyfoundation@comcast.net

TR EXTRA

ON THE GROW--MTSU students who take the ABAS 3600 course (“Horticulture in Our Lives”) will conduct their annual plant sale at the Horticulture Center located on Blue Raider Drive across from the Tennessee Livestock Center. The schedule is 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on April 15-16, April 22-23, and April 29-30. The students raised the plants themselves. Funds are used for scholarships. The plants available for purchase include bedding plants, tomatoes, peppers, okra, squash, cucumbers, petunias, salvia, snapdragons, wax leaf begonias, dragon wing begonias, zinnias, geraniums, impatiens, double impatiens, million bells, million golds, periwinkle, Dusty Miller, celosia, coleus, and much, much more. Geraniums are $3 for each six-inch pot. All hanging baskets and flats are $12. Contact the College of Agribusiness and Agriscience at 615-898-2523.

NORMANDY NOTES--“World War II in Normandy: History and the Duty of Memory,” an illustrated lecture by Marie-Pierre Besnard, is scheduled for 12:40-1:35 p.m. today, April 12, in Room 100 of MTSU’s James Union Building. Besnard is visiting faculty in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures during the spring 2010 semester. She is chair of the Communications and Networks Department at the Institut Universitaire de Technologie in Saint Lo, France. She teaches courses in art history and is a specialist of historical 3D reproductions and virtual reality. Her current research involves the virtual reconstruction of a Saint Lo church destroyed during World War II. This event is free and open to the public. Contact the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at 615-898-2981.

“IS THIS HEAVEN?” “IT’S IOWA.”—DWIER BROWN AND KEVIN COSTNER IN “FIELD OF DREAMS”--Dr. Greg Heath, chairman of the Department of Health and Human Performance at the University of Tennessee, Chattanooga, will present “Physical Activity and the Built Environment: If You Build It, Will They Come … And Use It?” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 14, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. “Dr. Heath’s talk will address how the physical design of our communities can play an important role in reducing childhood obesity and providing children and families with greater opportunities to lead an active lifestyle,” says Dr. Don Morgan, professor of health and human performance and director of MTSU’s Center for Physical Activity and Health in Youth. This event is free and open to the public. Contact Morgan at 615-898-5549 or dmorgan@mtsu.edu.

DIGGIN’ UP BONES--Dr. Kathy Reichs, producer of the Fox television series “Bones” based on her work and related novels, will visit MTSU as the featured speaker of the Legends in Forensic Science Lectureship at 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 14, in Murphy Center. The lecture, titled “From Crime Lab to Crime Fiction,” is free and open to the public. Reichs, known as “Dr. Bones,” has career experience ranging from teaching FBI agents how to detect and recover human remains to separating and identifying commingled body parts. Her novels include Deja Dead, Monday Mourning and 260 Bones. Reichs will sign books following her lecture, and copies of her titles will be available for sale in Phillips Bookstore, located in Keathley University Center, prior to her talk. For more information, contact the Forensic Institute for Research and Education at 615-494-7713.

MTSU MOVIEMAKERS--The initial public viewing of “The New, True Charlie Wu,” the fourth independent film from Dr. Bob Pondillo, electronic media communication, and a crew of MTSU students and alumni will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 17, at Premier 6 Theater, 810 N.W. Broad St. in Murfreesboro. In addition, there will be multiple special nighttime showings from 7-10 p.m. that evening on the first floor of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. The short movie follows the title character, a young accountant who is disenchanted with his job, on a trip into his subconscious mind, where his overbearing boss and a gospel choir compete for his soul and his future. “Charlie Wu” already has received the Remi Award out of more than 2,400 entries at the 43rd annual Worldfest, the oldest independent film festival in the country, in Houston, as well as “Best Comedy Short” awards from the Smogdance International Film Festival in Pomona, Calif., and the Fifteen Minutes of Fame Film Festival in Palm Bay, Fla. Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465 or pondillo@mtsu.edu.

LULLABY AND GOOD NIGHT--In March 2006, Jaz’s Jammies was created to collect new pajamas for sick children in hospitals to help them feel appreciated and loved while staying extended periods of time. Jaz’s Jammies has collected nearly 3,000 pairs of pajamas. Originally, it was the Girl Scout project of MTSU student Jasmine Gray, a young woman who had experienced dozens of surgeries for a facial disorder and had spent up to three months in the hospital at a time. You can help Jaz’s Jammies spread love by donating during the 2010 Pajama Drive through April 29. Drop off your children’s PJs at the University Honors College, the John Bragg Mass Communication Building, the Business and Aerospace Building or the second floor of the Keathley University Center. If you’re off-campus, you can set up a drive for your community organization, business or school. For more information, send an e-mail to jazsjammies@yahoo.com.

GOING TO SEE THE CANDIDATES ORATE--MTSU, in cooperation with the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, will play host to a gubernatorial forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 29, in Murphy Center. Doors will open at 6 p.m. Free tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis, starting with MTSU students, followed by faculty, staff and the general public. MTSU students with valid IDs may pick up tickets now. All other university personnel and the general public may pick up tickets in advance at the MTSU Ticket Office, located at Gate 1A at Floyd Stadium on Faulkinberry Drive. For all ticket and general information, call the MTSU Ticket Office at 1-888-YES-MTSU (1-888-937-6878).