Friday, July 9, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

A wise Hibernian woman

Dr. Jan Hayes, MTSU professor emeritus of educational leadership, will chat about her second children’s book, Wise Oonagh, at 8 a.m. this Sunday, July 11, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Inspired by the William Butler Yeats version of a classic Irish folktale, Wise Oonagh is the story of a woman who uses her ingenuity to save her husband from a fight with Cuhullin, the largest and strongest giant in Ireland and Scotland. The book is filled with vivid illustrations by Bobby Dawson, who also illustrated Hayes’ first folklore book for children, a Japanese tale titled The Split Tongue Sparrow. To listen to last week’s program about how the death of his father transformed the music of Dr. Joseph Akins, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/podcast/podcast2010.shtml and click on “July 4, 2010.”

Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

A word on the censorship of words

John Seigenthaler, chairman emeritus of The Tennessean, will interview Dr. Bob Pondillo, associate professor of electronic media communication, on “A Word on Words” at 10:30 a.m. this Sunday, July 11, on WNPT-TV (Channel 8 in the Nashville/Middle Tennessee viewing area). Pondillo will discuss his new book, America’s First Network TV Censor: The Work of NBC’s Stockton Helffrich, which tells the story of NBC’s first content czar. From 1946 to 1960, Helffrich established the tone for advertising, entertainment and even news programming on the Peacock Network, dictating terms of communication about race, sex, violence, hygiene products and even more hot button issues. Pondillo’s book puts Helffrich’s career into cultural perspective, examining it in the context of an America that was stifled by Cold War paranoia, racial and sexual oppression and sexual tension.

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

Mother Nature’s bounty

The MTSU Plant and Soil Science Club’s weekly summer farmers’ market is slated for 1-3 p.m. today, July 9, at the MTSU Horticulture Center. Sweet corn will be available for $2 for six ears or $3.50 for a dozen ears. In addition, the market will offer yellow squash, crookneck squash, onions, cabbage, potatoes, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, Anaheim peppers, jalapeno peppers, Hungarian hot wax peppers, purple hull peas and snap beans. Some of the first cantaloupes of the season grown by the students also will be available. Landscape plants will be for sale, including Knockout roses, boxwoods, forsythia, monkey grass and much more. Gallon-size plants are priced at $3 each. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the MTSU Farm Laboratories and the Plant and Soil Science Club.

Contact Dr. Nate Phillips at 615-494-8985.
nphillip@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

THEIR TRUTH IS MARCHING ON.--This summer’s “Between the Lines: Reading about the Civil War” group will focus on The Good Men Who Won the War: Army of the Cumberland Veterans and Emancipation Memory, a new book by Dr. Robert Hunt, MTSU history professor. Beginning at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 15, the group’s participants will embark on a discussion of the award-wining title, which touches on the region’s local history within a larger context, during the club’s meeting at Murfreesboro’s Heritage Center, 225 West College St. The following week, at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 22, Hunt will join the group for a question-and-answer session at the same location. Both sessions are free and open to the public. “The Good Men Who Won the War is an excellent study of Union army veterans who had fought right here in Middle Tennessee, among other places,” says Antoinette van Zelm, historian for the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area. Contact van Zelm at 615-217-8013 or avanzelm@mtsu.edu.

“A HEALTHY STATE ENCOURAGES MANY VOICES—AND LOTS OF LISTENING.”—HHS SECRETARY KATHLEEN SEBELIUS--Expressions of confidence, faith, defiance, togetherness, satire and sobriety characterize the second edition of Voices We Haven’t Heard, a publication of MTSU’s June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students. The latest Voices is larger than last year’s edition, and it includes feminist poetry and prose nestled between glossy, colorful covers. Center Director Terri Johnson says the magazine empowers students by providing them with a creative outlet for their observations on racism, sexism, classism, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Voices We Haven’t Heard is free and available from the June Anderson Center in its new home, Room 320 of the Keathley University Center. For more information, call 615-898-5989 or go to www.mtsu.edu/jac.

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.

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.