Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Clean and green

The MTSU Career Development Center will hold its inaugural Green Expo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. today, April 21, on the Keathley University Center knoll. The exposition will showcase sustainability projects, carbon-footprint reduction efforts and environmental awareness programs. Various on-campus and off-campus organizations are partnering with the career center in this Earth Day week event. The groups include the MTSU Center for Environmental Education, Students for Environmental Action, the Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, the MTSU Recycling Program and more. Some vendors will tie in career opportunities and internships with the expo.

Contact Karen Austin at 615-898-5732.
kaustin@mtsu.edu

Concerted care

The Rho Omicron chapter of Alpha Omicron Pi will host the “Rock Out Arthritis” band benefit at 1 p.m. in MTSU’s Walnut Grove this Saturday, April 24, to raise awareness and proceeds for the Arthritis Foundation. Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit will headline along with AutoVaughn. Other acts slated to perform include The Last Straw, Static Revival, Incredible Heat Machine, Boroughs, The Only Sons, Oblio, Details Details and special DJ duo Stress. Tickets are $10 and will be sold on site or may be purchased in advance. There will be a raffle to win the chance to meet Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit as well as various gift certificates. Live art and Bad Bob’s championship barbeque will be available, and attendees are encouraged to bring chairs, blankets and pets. The event will take place regardless of weather conditions, and multiple tents will be set up for coverage.

Send advance ticket requests to rockoutaoii@gmail.com.

Tea totally

Dr. Rami Shapiro, adjunct professor of religious studies, attended the Murfreesboro Tea Party this past Friday and chatted with folks from a group called “Act! for America.” Shapiro says they claimed that all Muslims are Islamofascists because Islam promotes Sharia law, and Sharia law is incompatible with American values. Shapiro, playing devil’s advocate, responded, “If American democratic values are all about the freedom of the individual to be whatever s/he wants within the limits set by Ayn Rand, then Sharia law is a problem. But then so is Jewish law (Halacha), Catholic law, and the rules that Southern Baptists, Church of Christ and other Protestant denominations place on people. Freedom is freedom, and most religions are agin’ it. So, I suggested the problem wasn’t just Islam, but all religion. We ought to end religion now. No one agreed with me, so I moved on to the next table.”

Read Shapiro’s blog at http://rabbirami.blogspot.com
rabbirami@gmail.com

TR EXTRA

SHEAR GENIUS--The 2010 Tennessee Sheep Shearing School, which will be held April 30 and May 1 at the Tennessee Livestock Center, 1720 Greenland Dr., in Murfreesboro, is still taking applications for participants. Headline instructor for the school is Bill O’Conner, who will offer his refined technique to any student with some sheep-handling experience. Assisting O’Conner will be Mark Powell of the Wilson Farmers’ Co-op and Dr. Warren Gill, chair of the MTSU Department of Agribusiness and Agriscience. The sheep-shearing school is limited to the first 20 applicants who pay the $50 registration fee. The Tennessee Sheep Producers Association encourages participation by senior 4-H (high school) members, and scholarship assistance is available. Contact Gill at 615-898-2523 or wgill@mtsu.edu.

“THE CLOSEST TO PERFECTION A PERSON EVER COMES IS WHEN HE FILLS OUT AN APPLICATION FORM.”—STANLEY J. RANDALL--Members of the University Writing Center staff will offer a one-day, writing-focused event, including a free resume workshop, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, April 24, in Room 325 of MTSU’s Peck Hall. Organizers of the free and open event say the tutorial will be especially beneficial to those in the local community who may have been affected by the poor economy and are in need of one-on-one assistance with resumes, cover letters or curriculum-vita development, as well as help with college and scholarship applications or assistance completing materials related to job hunting or returning to schools. In addition, the event will feature an hourlong workshop, “Keeping Your Resume Out of the Trash and Your Name in the Loop,” by Nancy Stubblefield, a coordinator with MTSU’s Career Development Center, beginning at 10 a.m. Call the center at 615-904-8237 or uwc.career@gmail.com.

HUAN YING! (WELCOME!)--MTSU will celebrate the grand opening of the Confucius Institute (CIMTSU) on campus by welcoming a delegation from the People’s Republic of China and a performance by traditional Chinese entertainers today, April 21. At 7:30 p.m., faculty and students from Hangzhou Normal will perform “An Oriental Monsoon” in MTSU’s Wright Music Hall. This event is free and open to the public, but early attendance is advised due to limited seating. MTSU cemented a relationship with Hangzhou Normal University on Dec. 1, 2009, when President Sidney A. McPhee and Hangzhou’s president, Dr. Ye Gaoxiang, signed a partnership agreement. The pact covers the development of Chinese language classes, student and faculty exchanges, cultural exchanges, outreach programs to area K-12 schools, the training of educators to teach Chinese as a foreign language and research about contemporary China, among other mutual interests. Contact Dr. Guanping Zheng at 615-904-8365 or Yvonne Elliott in the Confucius Institute at 615-494-8696.

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. 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.

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.