Friday, June 25, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Yes, I can in Japan!

How can you pursue a career in animation when you have a vision impairment? It helps if you have MTSU student Justin Bingham’s positive attitude. The electronic media communication major from Murfreesboro recently won a $3,000 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, with which he will attend the coming academic year at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan. Bingham says his interest in Japan was inspired by his next-door neighbors, who introduced him to their native country’s unique animation style. “Every day as I was growing up, I would hear them talk,” Bingham remembers. “I would borrow their Japanese TV videos. They were different and cool.” Because he was born three-and-a-half months ahead of his due date, Bingham suffers from retinopathy of prematurity, which limits his vision. “I want to show people that I can do whatever I want,” Bingham says.

For more information or for interviews, contact Gina Logue in the MTSU Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-5081.
gklogue@mtsu.edu

Preserving the past

How much of Tennessee’s archeological heritage was washed away in the May 2010 flood? Drs. Tanya Peres and Shannon Hodge and Aaron Deter-Wolf of the Tennessee Division of Archaeology will try to find out starting next week. With a Rapid Response Research Grant from the National Science Foundation, they will conduct emergency probes of more than 130 prehistoric sites. According to a statement co-written by Peres and Deter-Wolf, “The banks of the Cumberland River in the vicinity of Nashville have been home to human occupation since the end of the last ice age, approximately 12,000 years ago. Thousands of years of repeated human habitation along the river resulted in the creation of numerous deeply buried archaeological sites. The force of the May 2010 flood caused large sections of riverbank which contained these sites to erode away.”

Contact Peres at 615-904-8590.
tperes@mtsu.edu

When the will to win waned

Did a lack of will cost the Confederacy the Civil War? In Bitterly Divided: The South’s Inner Civil War, David Williams contends that the Rebels were undermined by cracks in their solidarity. Dr. Derek Frisby, history, says, “The Confederates never lost a battle due to a shortage of supplies and often fought and won battles against the odds. However, in a republic, the will of the citizens to support the conflict is a key factor in determining the outcome of the war, as well as the peace. While secessionists did manage briefly to paper over the South’s internal divisions, the Southern citizenry lost the will to continue the conflict as a result of resurgent internal divisions, a chaotic political system and a failure to achieve victory on the battlefield at crucial moments during the war such as Stones River and Gettysburg.”

Contact Frisby at 615-494-8856.
dfrisby@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SUPPORT SYSTEM--With an Access and Diversity Grant from the Tennessee Board of Regents and university matching funds, MTSU will create a Gen. Next Living Learning Community on campus for students from Rutherford and Davidson counties. Dr. Laurie Witherow, director of the Academic Support Center, and Vincent Windrow, director of Intercultural and Diversity Affairs, will discuss this innovation at 8 a.m. this Sunday, June 27, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). The goal of the project is to increase retention among freshmen and sophomores, increase progress to degree completion and quicker identification and declaration of appropriate academic majors. Officials hope that centering the students in a single dormitory will promote a fuller acclimation to campus life both academically and socially. Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

BATTER UP!--Sign up now for MTSU Alumni & Friends Days with the Nashville Sounds on Saturday, July 17. Come watch the Sounds take on the Omaha Royals at Greer Stadium (534 Chestnut Street) and meet alumni in the Nashville area. Game time is 6:35 p.m. The gates will open at 5:00 p.m. There will be fireworks after the game. The price is $20 per person, which includes the game ticket and an all-you-can eat buffet dinner. The meal will begin when the gates open and will run through 7:00 p.m. This event is pre-pay only. Please register and pre-pay by Wednesday, July 14. Call the Alumni Relations office at 800-533-6878, go online at www.mtalumni.com or send an e-mail to alumni@mtsu.edu.

KEYBOARD CAMPERS--“Partners for Innovation in Information Technology” at MTSU will be conducting summer computer camps for local area high school students July 12-16. Starting with rising ninth-graders, students will be invited to attend one of the three week-long (full-time, 40-hour) summer camps: the Alice camp, the Robotics camp and the Multimedia camp. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of computer science through experiences that have proven successful in advancing learning of high school students. The week-long camps will be free to attend, but seating will be limited. For more information and camp applications, contact the PIIT website at http://www.mtsu.edu/~piit.

THE CLUE CREW--The MTSU Forensic Institute for Research and Education will sponsor “CSI-MTSU,” a four-day program designed for students entering the 10th, 11th and 12th grades in Rutherford and surrounding counties through today, June 25. The student investigators will be presented with a re-creation of an actual crime scene. They will be divided into several teams. A professional will direct and coach each team as the students use math and science to solve the crime. Each student will be trained in the fundamental processes of collecting evidence, including DNA, fingerprints, hair and fibers, simulated blood spatter and shoe prints. Additionally, students will learn how to process the evidence, conduct interviews and formulate theories while working in a team environment. Snacks, lunches, T-shirts and baseball-style caps are included in the fee of $250. For more information, contact Eve Shockley at 615-898-5530, or go to http://www.mtsu.edu/fire/workshops.shtml.

I’M PLAYING WITH MY BOOKS, MOMMY.--“Books and Children in the 19th Century: A Small Portrait” is the theme of an exhibit on display now and throughout this summer in the fourth floor Special Collections area of MTSU’s James E. Walker Library. The purpose is to show the variety of ways children and the adults around them engaged with books in the 1800s and early 1900s. The works available for viewing are indicative of the children’s book as an object of moral and educational value. The idea behind the books is to teach values and build character. Entertainment techniques are employed strictly to attract the children and hold their interest. Highlights include several movable books, which are books that contain text or illustrations that the child can manipulate. Pop-up books are one such type of movable book. Many items in the display have never been exhibited previously. Call the James E. Walker Library at 615-898-2772.

ADOPT A VET--The Albert Gore Research Center is an official partner in the Library of Congress Veterans History Project. The center participates as part of its public service mission. Currently, the Gore Center has about 50 veterans of World War II and Korea on its list of those willing to be interviewed for the Veterans History Project at MTSU, but these vets are in their 80s and 90s. It is urgent that the Gore Center have funds in hand to record their stories in 2010. With each tax-deductible contribution of only $50, the Gore Center can fund one interview with a WWII, Korean War, Vietnam War, Persian Gulf War or Iraq/Afghanistan veteran, or a civilian who supported the war effort by working in war industries or volunteering for the USO, Red Cross or other support organizations. Your donation will pay for tapes and other supplies, transcription, permanent archiving and posting of the materials on a website. For more information, go to http://gorecenter.mtsu.edu/adoptvet.hem.

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.