Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

This town ain’t big enough for the both of us.

Tomorrow, the 3-7 Dallas Cowboys, who traditionally play every Thanksgiving Day, will host the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints. The dismissal of head coach Wade Phillips by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and the elevation of Jason Garrett from the offensive coordinator position seem to have rejuvenated the team. But why do professionals who make millions of dollars need the right head coach to motivate them? Dr. Mark Anshel, health and human performance, says, “A team’s head coach sets the team atmosphere and provides the team with direction and organization. The coach sets the tone or team climate. The coach also organizes practices and makes the final decision about who plays and who sits.”

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

Our Confederate cousins

Dr. Shirley Farris Jones, author of The Un-Civil War in Middle Tennessee, will talk about her book on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue at 8 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 28, on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org). Jones, a retired professor of history at MTSU, compiled newspaper columns she wrote about the war and her ancestors’ roles in it in book form to help raise money for the Rutherford County Historical Society. In addition to interesting anecdotes about the branches of Jones’ family tree, the book examines the unorthodox roles of African-Americans, women and even dogs in assisting both the Northern and Southern causes.

For more information, contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

A new public option proposal for health care

You can count Dr. Rami Shapiro, adjunct professor of religious studies, as among those upset at the unpleasant choice presented to the flying public by the Transportation Security Administration, Travelers can submit to a full-body scan or be patted down by a TSA agent at the airport. Shapiro has two suggestions for making the procedure less odious. He writes, “First, increase the power of the scanners so that they are capable of identifying tumors and diseases, and have medical techs rather than TSA agents review them and inform me of my current health status. I’d be grateful for that procedure. Or, if some guy is going to fondle me, why not hire trained chiropractors? They could feel for bombs and realign my spine at the same time. Given the horror of airplane seating, I’d be willing to undergo this kind of screening getting on and off the plane.”

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.

THE BETTER CHEDDAR--The MTSU Dairy Science Club is now accepting orders for cheese gift boxes. This quality Wisconsin cheese is delivered within two days of placing an order. Although MTSU has a dairy herd that produces the milk served in campus cafeterias, the university does not make its own cheese. The funds raised from cheese sales support Dairy Science Club activities such as the Beginning and Master Beekeeping classes at MTSU, clinics and team travel. The deadline for placing orders is Tuesday, Nov. 30. Orders will be available to pick up from the MTSU Milk Processing Plant in the Stark Agriculture Building the first week of December. Cheese offerings are online at http://www.mtsu.edu/abas/cheesesale.pdf. Contact Kym Stricklin at 615-898-2523 or kstrick@mtsu.edu.

DON’T LET YOUR FELLOWSHIP SAIL WITHOUT YOU.--Qualified high-school seniors interested in applying for the Buchanan Fellowships at MTSU must meet a Wednesday, Dec. 1, deadline in order to be considered. The fellowship pays full tuition (up to 16 hours a semester) and most fees for four years of eligibility as well as an annual book allowance of $1,000 and other perks such as early registration and study-abroad opportunities. Students interested in securing applications for Buchanan Fellowships should go online to mtsu.edu/honors/scholarships.html. The fellowships are limited to 20 students per year. The fellowship is named in honor of Dr. James M. Buchanan (Class of 1940), a Nobel Prize-winning alumnus. Contact Dr. John Vile, dean of the University Honors College, at 615-898-2596 or jvile@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.