Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Funny, you don’t look Stewish!

Rick Sanchez is trying to reclaim his career after CNN fired him for remarks he made on a Sirius/XM radio program. The former news anchor called Jon Stewart, host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, a “bigot” and said that the media is run by Jews like Stewart. Dr. Rami Shapiro, adjunct professor of religious studies and an ordained rabbi, calls himself “Stewish” and writes, “Do Stews control the media? No, but we used to. Now it’s controlled by some Australian guy. In Bible times, we dominated the media, which was the Bible, and only Jews could write for it. When we moved from print to movies, we dominated that as well, but we were careful to hire goyim like Charlton Heston to play all the best Stewish roles.”

Read Shapiro’s blog at http://rabbirami.blogspot.com.

See it now

The October 2010 “MT Record” includes stories on how MTSU makes new students feel welcomed. They include highlights on the We-Haul program, “Meet Murfreesboro,” and “University 1010.” “MT Record” can be viewed on local channel 9, Monday through Sunday at 7 a.m. and 5 p.m., and on NewsChannel5+ at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. It is also seen over several local cable outlets. The filming and editing of the program was done by Susan Nogues and Kelly Ford, graduate assistants in the College of Mass Communication with the assistance of MTSU Audio-Visual Services. To view any of the video segments, go to http://www.mtsu.edu/news/MTR/index.shtml and click on “Browse.”

For more information, contact the Office of News and Public Affairs at 615-898-2919.

Confusion over Confucius

Many people have heard some of the sayings of the great Chinese thinker Confucius. Some blame Confucianism for keeping China tied to the past for generations, but this is a limited and limiting way of looking at the philosophy. What is Confucianism? Dr. Yuan-ling Chao, history, writes, “Confucianism has been portrayed as the antithesis of the scientific tradition, backward-looking instead of forward-looking, with a focus on tradition rather than innovation, validation of truth based on ancient classics rather than objective proofs through experimentation. But, in traditional China, Confucian and Daoist scholars were deeply involved in the production of science, leading to a rich scientific tradition that at the elite level was mostly text-based, creating an orthodoxy tied to the philosophical tradition.”

Contact Chao at 615-898-2629.
ychao@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

SURVEY SAYS?--Dr. Ken Blake, director of the MTSU Poll, and Dr. Jason Reineke, associate director of the poll, will be guests on “OpenLine” on NewsChannel5+ from 7-8 p.m. Central time on Thursday, Oct. 14. Blake and Reineke also are slated to be on “This Week with Bob Mueller” on WKRN-TV (Channel 2) at 9 a.m. Central time on Sunday, Oct. 17. The fall MTSU Poll, which is slated for release this week, will focus on measuring Tennesseans’ attitudes toward Muslims, the Tennessee governor’s race, the Tea Party movement, and gun laws and ownership, among other issues. For more information, contact Blake at 615-210-6187 or Reineke at 615-494-7746.

COEXIST IS MORE THAN A BUMPER STICKER--“Pathways to Religious Freedom: Respecting and Promoting Religious Tolerance” is slated for 7 p.m. tonight, Oct. 12, in MTSU’s Wright Music Hall. This panel forum is co-sponsored by the Wesley Foundation, the Jewish Student Union and the Muslim Student Association. This event is free and open to the public.

SILENCE HURTS AS MUCH AS VIOLENCE--“An Evening of Expression and Empowerment,” a Domestic Violence Awareness Month event, is slated for 5 p.m. today, Oct. 12, in Cantrell Hall in the Tom H. Jackson Building on the MTSU campus. This event will give creative individuals an opportunity to give voice to the targets of domestic violence through poetry readings and the performing arts. The Silent Witness Project will be on display from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. today, also in Cantrell Hall. The true stories of women, men and children who have been targets of domestic violence will be printed across the busts of blood-red T-shirts. A large poster detailing the “15 Signs Someone Might Be Dangerous” will list the warning signals. Experts on domestic violence and sexual assault will talk about pertinent issues in a community dialogue from 1-3 p.m. For more information, contact the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students at 615-898-5989 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?--As a free community service during National Audiology Awareness Month, MTSU undergraduate communication disorders majors will test the hearing of students at John Pittard Elementary School, 745 DeJarnette Lane in Murfreesboro, from 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15. Using seven portable audiometers, the MTSU students will document the responses of children in second, fourth and sixth grades, as well as kindergarten. The youngsters will don headphones and raise their hands if they hear the tones emitted through the audiometers. In addition, the student clinicians will use two tympanometers to test for middle ear disease. Media welcomed. For more information, contact Elizabeth Smith at 615-898-2662 or elsmith@mtsu.edu.

FOR THE BEAUTY OF THE EARTH--Dr. Clay Harris, associate professor of geosciences at MTSU, will discuss “BP’s Crude Oil Disaster: Ancient Origins, Uncertain Future” from 4:20-5:15 p.m. today, Oct. 12, in Room 452 of Kirksey Old Main as part of Earth Science Week. Tomorrow, Oct. 13, from 3:30-4:15 p.m., Dr. Mark Abolins, associate professor of geosciences, will talk about “Urban Growth near Mobile Bay, Alabama: The ‘Other’ Threat to Gulf Coast Wetlands,” also in KOM 452. On Thursday, Oct. 14, Bob Sneed, Chief of the Water Management Section, Nashville District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, will talk about the May 1-2 Middle Tennessee flood from 6-7 p.m., again in KOM 452. All Earth Science Week 2010 events, including a catered barbeque dinner at the MTSU Mineral, Gem and Fossil Museum, 122 Ezell Hall, following Sneed’s lecture, are free and open to the public. For more information, contact Abolins at 615-594-4210 or mabolins@mtsu.edu.

WHY CAN’T JOHNNY READ?--A dyslexia information forum is scheduled for parents, teachers and other interested individual from 6:25-8:00 p.m. for Thursday, Oct. 14, on the second floor of the Linebaugh Public Library, 105 W. Vine St. in Murfreesboro. A panel of local teachers and personnel from Murfreesboro City Schools, along with school psychologists, professors and staff from the MTSU Department of Psychology and the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia will provide information about the learning disorder and will respond to questions from participants. The forum is being held in recognition of Dyslexia Awareness Month as designated by the International Dyslexia Association. For more information, contact Janet Camp at 615-896-5987 or jccamp41@comcast.net.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK/A WONDERFUL TOWN—MTSU’s Baldwin Photographic Gallery is proud to play host to “New York, September 11” by world-renowned photographic cooperative Magnum Photos through Oct. 18. This stunning exhibition of 39 rare photographs began touring the nation five years after the terrorist attacks on the United States. These pictures capture images as they happened—many from an intimate, street-level perspective. Also included are beautiful photos of the World Trade Center twin towers before their fall. The Baldwin Gallery is in the McWherter Learning Resources Center. Exhibitions are free and open to the public. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 12-4 p.m.

FUN AND GAMES—MTSU Student Programming will present Videogame Night from 4-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15, on the second floor of the Keathley University Center and Karaoke Night at 10 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 17, at the Cyber Café. For more information, contact Jenni McCray, Chair of Distribution, at mtdistribute@gmail.com or jlm7k@mtmail.mtsu.edu.

NUTS TO YOU--This is the final week to order Georgia pecans from ASCE. Three sizes are available this year: small pieces, medium pieces, and halves. Each size is $7 per pound. All orders and money must be submitted by noon on Friday, Oct. 15. For more information, contact Pansey Carter at 615-898-2508 or pcarter@mtsu.edu.

THE HUMAN TOUCH--The MTSU Department of Human Sciences will celebrate “100 Years of Human Sciences” at an open house from 3-6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 14, at the Ellington Human Sciences Building and Annex, 2623 Middle Tennessee Blvd. This event will feature interactive cooking demonstrations, student displays and a pumpkin-carving contest, among other activities. Human Sciences includes Textiles, Merchandising and Design; Family and Consumer Studies; Nutrition and Food Sciences; and Interior Design. For more information, contact the department at 615-898-2884.

GETTING YOUR CAREER ON TRACK---The MTSU Career Development Center will host its fall 2010 Career Fair from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. tomorrow, Oct. 13, on the track in Murphy Center. More than 90 organizations are registered to attend. More than 40 are open to all majors. More than 15 graduate/professional schools will be in attendance. Employers are recruiting primarily for full-time employment. However, some have indicated they have internships, co-ops and even part-time positions available. For more information, contact the Career Development Center at 615-898-2500.