Monday, November 1, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

The silly season

Are you ready for Election Day? Are you ready for all those negative ads to disappear, at least until the next election cycle? Dr. Larry Burriss, journalism, says, “I knew we were in trouble when every candidate and commentator in the country became obsessed with whether or not a 19-year-old did or did not date a woman who claimed to be a witch 10 years ago. Then managers for the Republicans, Democrats, Tea Partiers and every fringe party said they weren’t really trying to stage-manage media coverage. They were enhancing the coverage by making sure there was precious little opportunity to cover dissident factions. And how much did we learn from the campaign ads? Well, the high point was the office pool based on how fast the candidates would respond to each other’s attack ads.”

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

Breaking with tradition

Would you return to college after age 40? Mary Richard, an office management major admits she found it “very intimidating” at first. In her essay for Nontraditional Students Week (Nov. 1-5), Richard wrote, “I developed a plan to work ahead so that I could have time with my son. I brought my homework with me so that in between working I could sneak some study time. I left the job that I had and became a student worker, which proved to be easier for me. I took advantage of fall and spring breaks.” Richard’s story is not uncommon. Nontraditional students who have children and other adult responsibilities make all kinds of sacrifices to juggle their educational lives and the rest of their lives.

Contact the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students at 615-898-5989.
jawc@mtsu.edu

Stephen Hawking vs. Billy Graham

In a recent issue of USATODAY, Dr. Jerry Coyne, a professor at the University of Chicago, argued that science and religion are fundamentally incompatible. Dr. Rami Shapiro, adjunct professor of religious studies and an ordained rabbi, takes issue with Coyne’s position. Shapiro says, “Dr. Coyne reduces religion to superstition. To the extent that religions are tied to superstitions and demonstrable falsehoods, they should free [themselves] from these. That is how science can benefit religion. But the opposite is also true: the extent to which science is blind to realities uncovered by contemplative practice, or closed to the notion that meaning and value can be found in the human condition, or that the human condition is as much rooted in narrative as in physics, science needs to open its eyes.”

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

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.

A TOUCH OF GRAY--Nontraditional Student Week at MTSU, Nov. 1-5, will be a celebration of the adult learner who realizes it’s never too late to expand one’s intellectual and professional possibilities. Dr. Judith Iriarte-Gross, professor of chemistry, will conduct a presentation on nontraditional careers from 12-1 p.m. today, Nov. 1, in Room 320 of the Keathley University Center. For more information, contact the June Anderson Center for Women and Nontraditional Students at 615-898-5989 or jawc@mtsu.edu.

TALKING TRASH--Dr. William L. Rathje, an expert on the archaeology of modern garbage, will speak at MTSU’s Undergraduate Social Science Symposium at 6 p.m. tomorrow, Nov. 2, in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building. His topic will be “Our Garbage Dilemma from the Perspective of an Anthropologist.” This event is free and open to the public. A professor at the University of Arizona, Rathje is also founder and director of The Garbage Project, which conducts archaeological studies of modern refuse. For more information, contact Dr. Brian Hinote at 615-494-7914 or bhinote@mtsu.edu.

A WEIGHTY MATTER--Dr. David Bassett, professor in the Department of Exercise, Sport and Leisure Studies and Director of the Center for Physical Activity at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, will speak at 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4, in the State Farm Lecture Hall of MTSU’s Business and Aerospace Building. Bassett will speak about “Packing on the Pounds: Time Trends in Physical Activity and Diet in American Children.” This address is free and open to the public and is presented by the MTSU Center for Physical Activity and Health. For more information, contact Dr. Don Morgan at 615-898-5549 or dmorgan@mtsu.edu.

SIZE MATTERS--Doug Tatum, associate professor in the MTSU Department of Business Communication and Entrepreneurship, will shed light on the topic “Too Big to be Small, Too Small to be Big: Navigating No Man’s Land” in a panel discussion before the Young Presidents’ Organization at 3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, in Austin, Tex. Along with experienced CEOs, Tatum will provide insight on how to avoid hurdles during the time in a company’s development when its payroll grows from fewer than 20 employees to more than 100 workers. To talk to Tatum about entrepreneurship in today’s economy, contact him at 615-898-2785 or dtatum@mtsu.edu.

KEEPING IT COOL--Journalist, activist and political analyst Bakari Kitwana will lead a town hall meeting on the intersection of Islam, hip-hop and identity among a new generation of American youth with a panel discussion and viewing of the documentary film “The New Muslim Cool” at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, in Room 221 of MTSU’s Learning Resources Center. The 2009 film follows Puerto Rican rapper Hamza Perez as he steers away from his former life as a drug dealer and embraces Islam. Following the screening, Kitwana will moderate an interactive panel discussion about the film with Perez and Nura Maznavi, staff attorney with Muslim Advocates, a San Francisco-based nonprofit organization. Kitwana is Senior Media Fellow at The Jamestown Project, a think tank based at Harvard University Law School. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Dr. Felicia Miyakawa at 615-904-8043 or miyakawa@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 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.

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.