Friday, May 7, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Working women

The June S. Anderson Foundation will present the foundation scholarships for the 2010-2011 academic year to Katherine Anderson of Manchester and Rhonda Davidson of Martin, at a luncheon at 12 p.m. on Friday, May 14, at the MTSU Foundation House, 324 W. Thompson Lane in Murfreesboro. The foundation awards full tuition stipends annually to full-time MTSU undergraduate women who are 23 years of age or older and who are preparing for careers in nontraditional fields for women. Anderson (no relation to June Anderson) is pursuing an undergraduate degree in accounting and is on course to graduate in May 2011. From there, she plans to enter graduate school at MTSU and earn a master’s degree in business administration. Davidson, a 43-year-old single woman majoring in construction management, says she believes she will be able to find employment with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers when she completes her degree in 2012.

For more information, go to the foundation website at http://frank.mtsu.edu/~jsa/.

A Tinker’s darn

A federal district court in New Jersey has ruled that Bridgeton High School officials violated a student’s First Amendment rights by prohibiting her from wearing armbands and distributing fliers promoting her anti-abortion views. This case reaffirms the principle established by the U.S. Supreme Court in Tinker v. Des Moines Independent Community School District (1969) that students do not relinquish their free-speech rights at the schoolhouse door. David Hudson, adjunct political science professor and First Amendment Center scholar, says, “This ruling boosts student speech in America’s schools because it breathes life into the famous Tinker ruling that students are persons to be respected under the Constitution and that schools are not to be ‘enclaves of totalitarianism,’ as Justice Abe Fortas warned in his opinion so long ago.”

Contact Hudson at 615-741-1342.
dhudson@fac.org

Sex and “Schindler’s List”

At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, an Israeli brother-and-sister ice dancing couple’s “dirty dancing” routine to music from the movie “Schindler’s List” was deemed so offensive by NBC that the network refused to air it. Should NBC have let the viewers make up their own minds? How can people avoid culture clashes in artistic expression? Dr. Yang-Soo Kim, speech and theatre, says, “Even though we have a freedom of expression, we should be aware that we are not free to offend other parties. Cultural sensitivity needs to be promoted among artists, especially on a world stage such as the Olympics. If the artists/athletes want to send a message, there are other arenas because the spirit of the Olympics should be harmony and cooperation.”

Contact Kim at 615-494-8756.
yskim@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

DR. MCD.--A memorial service will be held today, May 7, at 2 p.m. at Woodfin Memorial Chapel in Murfreesboro for Dr. John N. McDaniel, Dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Visitation will be from 12-2 p.m. that same day. McDaniel, one of the most beloved members of the MTSU community, died Monday at Middle Tennessee Medical Center. A member of the faculty since 1970, McDaniel joined the English department as an assistant professor before ultimately becoming chairman in 1978. He was named Liberal Arts dean in 1987. “John McDaniel was the face and the heart of the College of Liberal Arts for the quarter-century he served as its dean,” says Dr. Mark Byrnes, associate dean. “His devotion to the college and the university was complete. Generations of faculty members, department chairs and students benefited from his steady leadership.” In lieu of flowers, donations in McDaniel’s honor may be made to the John N. McDaniel Teaching Excellence Award in care of Robyn Kilpatrick, MTSU, Box 109, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 37132.

TIGER, TIGER, BURNING BRIGHT--Dr. Jid Lee, associate professor of English, will discuss her memoir To Kill a Tiger (Overlook Press) at 8 a.m. this Sunday, May 9, with host Gina Logue on “MTSU on the Record” on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Lee seamlessly blends the story of five generations of a Korean family into the tortured history of her native country, including the Korean War and the government persecution of the Cold War. She also provides her unique perspective on America and the West through the eyes of a woman whose personality and self-awareness are products of both tradition and feminism. Lee came to the United States as an international student and became an American citizen in 1989. She holds degrees in English from Korea University, State University of New York at Albany, and the University of Kansas. Lee also is the author of the book From the Promised Land to Home. Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

CAPS AND GOWNS--More than 2,100 degree candidates are expected to graduate during MTSU’s 99th spring commence ceremonies. MTSU again will feature dual ceremonies and dual speakers beginning at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. Tomorrow, May 8, in Murphy Center. There are 1,804 undergraduates and 376 graduate students, including 278 master’s candidates, 88 education specialist recipients and 10 doctoral candidates. Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett will address the 9 a.m. ceremony for candidates from the colleges of Graduate Studies, Business, and Education. James C. Free, president and CEO of the Smith-Free Group, will address the 1 p.m. ceremony for candidates from the colleges of Basic and Applied Sciences, Liberal Arts, Mass Communication, and Continuing Education and Distance Learning. The doors will open at 8 a.m. for the morning ceremony and at noon for the afternoon ceremony. For more information, visit the Records Office website at www.mtsu.edu/~records/grad.htm.

BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL--MTSU’s James E. Walker Library will continue to observe later hours this week to serve students studying for final exams. Today, May 7, the hours are 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tomorrow, May 8, the library will be closed for commencement. In addition, the Starbucks café inside the library will observe longer hours, closing one hour before the library’s closing time this week. The schedule adjustment was made in response to a Student Government Association resolution which called for the library to be open 24 hours a day during the end-of-the-semester studying period. However, library officials say, in the absence of sufficient personnel to provide around-the-clock service, they believe the extended schedule will be helpful. Contact the library at 615-898-2772.

APRENDA CON ME--The University School of Nashville is hosting MTSU’s 2010 Summer Language Institute, where you can learn Spanish in a fun, low-stress environment. The methods employed are Total Physical Response (TPR) and Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling (TPRS). These methods mimic the way you learned your first language. Movement, games, songs and storytelling are all part of the instruction. Brian Roberts will teach Spanish I for ages 16 and up from July 19-23 at the University School and from Aug. 2-6 at the O’More School of Design in Franklin. Jason Fritze will teach Spanish II for ages 16 and up from July 19-23 at the University School. The cost for all language classes is $350 with a $20 materials fee due on the first day of class. Contact Dr. Shelley Thomas at 615-898-5757 or shthomas@mtsu.edu.

A FOREIGN AFFAIR--MTSU junior Aaron Shew will depart for Turkey around May 14 for study experiences that will enhance not only his education but his prestige and his portfolio. Shew, a double major in plant and soil science and international relations from Murfreesboro, will join students from other institutions in a conflict resolution course in Cyprus and Turkey at his own expense. Through June 9, Shew will question government diplomats on best practices for negotiating solutions to thorny issues between countries. From there, Shew will head back to Lucknow, India, where he studied in the summer of 2009 under a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) from the U.S. Department of State, for extensive instruction in the Urdu language. His summer studies will be funded with another CLS. The 2010-2011 academic year is covered under a fully endowed fellowship from the American Institute of Indian Studies. For an interview with Shew, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081 or gklogue@mtsu.edu.