Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Madame Justice Kagan?

President Obama has chosen Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his next nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court. Kagan, if confirmed by the Senate, would become the fourth woman in history on the high court and would bring the total number of women justices serving currently to three, the most ever at one time. The former dean of the Harvard Law School has no experience on the bench, but Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College and Constitutional law scholar, says that’s not a dealbreaker. Vile says, “Academics have long argued as to whether Supreme Corut justices need prior judicial experience, but some of the nation’s most esteemed justices (including Chief Justices John Marshall and Earl Warren) had no such experience prior to being appointed to the Supreme Court.”

Contact Vile at 615-898-2596.
jvile@mtsu.edu

Blowing up in our faces?

Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon says the Israeli air force is primed for attacks on Iran, if necessary. Reuters reports that Yaalon told a conference of military officers and experts that the air force had acquired the expertise through attacks on guerrillas in Lebanon and in Palestinian territories. Some Americans think military action is the way to bring Iran around on the nuclear issue. Dr. Sean Foley, history, says, “Iran is the type of state that tends to bring out fears on both the left and the right (in America). Oftentimes, many on the left kind of treat Iran as the 51st ‘Red State’ in a lot of ways. In reality, it’s a lot more complicated issue. Bombing Iran, which a lot of people still want to call for, is a very dangerous option. The Iranians have multiple options they could do the next day. With anybody who advocates bombing Iran, the response is, ‘What happens the next day?’”

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

“As you get older, it is harder to have heroes, but it is sort of necessary.”—Ernest Hemingway

Mark McGwire’s tear-stained admission in January 2010 that he used performance-enhancing drugs during his playing days with the St. Louis Cardinals was a blow to diehard, longtime Cards fans like Dr. Phil Oliver, philosophy, who grew up rooting for Redbirds players like Bob Gibson and Lou Brock. Oliver asks, “Were these guys really better heroes than the scandal-ridden Steroids Era players, McGwire and (Sammy) Sosa, et.al.? Or were we, are we—meaning we fans of many decades—just naïve? And does it matter? Can we appreciate athletic excellence for its own sake, on the field, without worrying about what kinds of persons, with what ‘enhancements,’ are wearing the uniforms? This mirrors an issue we raise in philosophy class: Does the character and the biography of the philosopher matter? Does it matter that Heidegger was a Nazi, that James was prone to depression, that Nietzsche had trouble relating to women?”

Contact Oliver at 615-898-2050.
poliver@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

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/.

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.