Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.

The recent death of actress Barbara Billingsley, who portrayed June Cleaver on “Leave It to Beaver,” put Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, in mind of other early television programs. While vintage TV is thought of by younger generations as unsophisticated, Burriss points out that many of the themes embraced by early shows were actually quite progressive. “There was, for example, ‘Have Gun, Will Travel,’ reminisces Burriss, “a bang-bang, shoot-em-up Western. One of the recurring characters in the drama was a stereotypical Chinese man, Hey Boy, who would certainly be politically incorrect today. But, in one adventure, the star of the show, Paladin, deals with exploitation of Chinese workers, who, for all intents and purposes, were being sold into slavery to work on the railroad. He spends the half-hour program commenting on equality and the need for better working conditions for all people. And this was in 1958, years before equal rights and equal opportunity were fashionable.”

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps

How do Tennesseans feel about Wall Street after the scandals of earlier this year? According to the latest Middle Tennessee Consumer Confidence Index, they’re rather optimistic. Dr. Tim Graeff, director of MTSU’s Office of Consumer Research, writes, “Consumers were asked whether they expected the stock market to be higher 12 months from now, lower or remain about the same. Of those who responded, only 13 percent expect the stock market to decrease in value in the next 12 months. Almost half (49 percent) of consumers expect the stock market to increase in value in the next 12 months. This is a sharp increase compared to June, when only 36 percent expected the stock market to increase. And this could partly explain the increase in the percent of consumers who expect their personal financial situation to improve in the next 12 months.”

Contact Graeff at 615-898-5124.
tgraeff@mtsu.edu

A minor consideration

A recent decision by a California appeals court sends a message that juvenile trial courts should keep their probation restrictions very specific in the interest of fairness to juvenile defendants. A court had prohibited a juvenile from coming “within 25 feet of a courthouse” when he knows there are criminal proceedings that involve gang members, victims of gangs or witnesses in gang-related trials. David Hudson, adjunct professor of political science and First Amendment Center scholar, writes, “The appeals court noted that the trial court’s broad language could apply even when the minor went to other parts of a courthouse to attend different court proceedings. It could even apply … when he was in ‘adjacent buildings,’ and that (the minor) could violate the condition if a car or bus in which he is a passenger passes by such a building.’”

Contact Hudson at 615-727-1342.
dhudson@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.