Monday, October 18, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

War weariness

Tennesseans have mixed feelings about the war in Afghanistan. The latest MTSU Poll indicates that 50 percent believe in the U.S. involvement in the conflict while 39 percent say the war is a mistake. Dr. Jason Reineke, assistant director of the poll, says, “Attitudes about the war in Afghanistan are predictably determined by perception of how that war is going. Only two percent of poll respondents think that the war is going ‘very well,’ but among these individuals 80 percent say that the war was the right decision, and among the 30 percent of poll respondents overall who say the war is going ‘moderately well,’ 75 percent way the war was the right decision. A plurality, but not a majority, of the 34 percent of all respondents who say that the war is going ‘moderately badly’ still think the war was the right decision. But among the 25 percent who say the war is going ‘very badly,’ 70 percent say it was a mistake.”

Contact Reineke at 615-494-7746.
jreineke@mtsu.edu

Financial fretting

Economic worries still dominate Tennesseans’ minds. The latest MTSU Poll shows that 80 percent of respondents are either very worried (38 percent) or somewhat worried (42 percent) about the direction of the national economy. Dr. Ken Blake, director of the poll, says, “About as many (84 percent) rate the state’s economy as either only fair (54 percent) or poor (30 percent). Fewer, but still a 62 percent majority, say they are either very worried (20 percent) or somewhat worried (42 percent) about their own family’s financial situation. Seventy-three percent say the recession has hurt them. And of those, about half say the recession has hurt them ‘a great deal.’ … Worry about the national economy tends to break along political lines with Republicans and independents expressing more worry than Democrats. Worry about one’s family finances, though, appears more directly a function of income with poorer Tennesseans expressing more worry than wealthier ones.”

Contact Blake at 615-210-6187.
kblake@mtsu.edu

The body beautiful

Check your local newsstands next month for the November issue of Self magazine. It features an interview with Dr. Mark Anshel, professor in the Department of Health and Human Performance at MTSU. An interview with Anshel will be in the magazine’s monthly Fitness Feature. He answers the question “Do men worry less than women do about what others think of their bodies?” and discusses two conditions, “body self-image” and “social physique anxiety.” Anshel is a board member of the Journal of Sport Behavior and is the author of Applied Exercise Psychology: A guide for consulting exercise participants (Springer, 2006). He holds a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University, a master’s degree from McGill University and a doctorate from Florida State University.

Contact Anshel at 615-898-2812.
manshel@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

EXPLORE THE WAR--After two excursions to the South Pacific to expose students to some of the critical sites of World War II, an MTSU historian prepares to embark on a tour of some of the pivotal sites of the European Theater of Operations for his “Warfare and Public Memory in Western Europe” class (HIST 3070). Dr. Derek Frisby, associate professor of history, will escort students across the continent May 19-June 3, 2011, in tracing the war’s “Great Crusade.” The 16-day tour will include an examination of Normandy; Bastogne; Dachau; Operation Market Garden, a campaign fought in Germany and the Netherlands; and the “Eagle’s Nest,” Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler’s retreat in the mountains above Berchtesgarden. Students also will follow the route of the 101st Airborne Division’s “Band of Brothers.” Tours of Omaha and Utah beaches, Arnhem and the “Battle of the Bulge” site are on the itinerary, as well as the Bayeaux Tapestry, Paris, Verdun and Waterloo. For more information, contact Frisby at 615-904-8097 or dfrisby@mtsu.edu. Financial aid is available. Apply as soon as possible. Contact the Office of Education Abroad and Student Exchange (MT Abroad) at 615-898-5179 or mtabroad@mtsu.edu.

BODY AND SOUL--Women in Action, an MTSU student organization, will present “Love Your Body Day” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 21, on the Keathley University Center knoll on the MTSU campus. The purpose of the event is to encourage women to love themselves inside and out. Students and faculty will be asked to participate in physical activities, including jumping rope, hula hoops and jogging in place, for prizes. Vendors, including Curves, Renfrew Center for Eating Disorders, MTSU Health Services, VOX-Voices of Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Studies Student Organization, will distribute information. For more information, contact Courtney Clardy at 615-995-0680 or cac5y@mtmail.mtsu.edu.

A RADICAL IDEA--A series of six Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) classes will be offered at no charge from 6-8 p.m. each Thursday from Oct. 21 through Dec. 2 at MTSU police headquarters, 1412 East Main St. in Murfreesboro. The class will be open to all female MTSU students, faculty and staff, as well as to the general public. A workbook/training manual will be provided to each student. Enrollment is limited. For more information or to enroll, contact MTSU RAD instructor Sgt. David Smith at 615-692-2424 or 615-494-7858.

COMING HOME--MTSU Student Government Association Homecoming events include T-shirt Swap Days Oct. 20-22; Horseshoe Competition, Oct. 21, 5 p.m., Recreation Center; Chili Cook-off and Corn Hole Competition, Oct. 22, 5 p.m., Murphy Center; NPHC Step Show, Oct. 22, Murphy Center; and Fight Song, Oct. 20, Murphy Center “Forest.” The homecoming parade will begin at 11 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 23, at the intersection of Maney Avenue and Main Street and will end at the Tennessee Livestock Center on Greenland Avenue. It all leads up to the homecoming football game against Louisiana-Monroe at Floyd Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23. For more information, contact Donald Abels at 615-898-2537 or sgahome@mtsu.edu.

SING “HAPPY BIRTHDAY”--MTSU’s Center for Popular Music will celebrate its 25th birthday this month. Items from its collections are on display in the atrium of the James E. Walker Library. A 25th birthday gala, complete with cake and all the trimmings, is slated for 12:30-2:00 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, at the center, which is located on the first floor of the John Bragg Mass Communication Building. This event is free and open to the public.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS--It’s time again for “Operation Christmas Care,” the project that sends holiday cheer to wounded warriors. The service, which was started in 2006 by Lee Ann Newton, executive aide for the Tennessee Mathematics, Science and Technology Education Center, has sent more than 20,000 Christmas cards to hospitalized military personnel. “Unfortunately, our soldiers’ individual support systems often dwindle after the life-threatening danger has passed,” says Norton, “and yet their painful daily regiment toward recovery continues. E-mails are nice, and they’re appreciated, but a colorful card or letter with a heartfelt message of support and encouragement can beam from the walls of their hospital rooms until they leave.” Contact Newton at 615-904-8573 or lnewton@mtsu.edu.