Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Today’s Response
Middle Tennessee State University

There’s no place like home.

What is the cure for the American housing crisis? Dr. Martin Kennedy, assistant professor of economics and finance, writes, “A look north might provide some insight. Housing prices in Canada are above pre-crash levels. In the past decade, subprime mortgages accounted for just five percent of home loans originated in Canada, while, in the U.S., they represented 20 percent. There is no tax deduction for mortgage interest payments, and buyers typically put 20 percent down. Canadian policy doesn’t encourage speculation. Home ownership might be a noble social policy goal, but, in the end, housing prices will be driven by the fundamentals of supply and demand. Failure to recognize and respect that won’t get us any closer to nobility.”

Read Kennedy’s new blog at:
http://mtsucollegeofbusiness.blogspot.com/2010/10/introducing-new-column-first.html.

From autodidacticism to matriculation

Greggory Hackney is a 46-year-old MTSU freshman from Murfreesboro. After working 32 years mostly in the service industry, he found himself unemployed. But he always wanted more education. So he read about a wide variety of topics, including Eastern and Western philosophy, psychology, anthropology, even quantum physics—all on his own. For an essay Hackney wrote in observance of Nontraditional Students Week (Nov. 1-5), he stated, “I love waking in the morning, knowing that another day’s worth of learning, dialoguing and interacting with people is going to be a big part of my day. … I feel fortunate and happy to be a non-traditional student, to learn better ways of tackling some of life’s thornier problems, to help those that I can, either through direction or by example. I speak often with pride that I am working toward my goals in this way.”

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

Our man in Malaga

In an interview recorded before he left the United States, MTSU student Justin Witt talked about getting a grant for his new study-abroad experience in Malaga, Spain, and his prior trips to Western Europe and Columbia. The 23-year-old recording industry and international relations major had traveled to Spain previously, but this is his first trip to Malaga, where he’s working with the Spanish Ministry of Education. The interview is slated to air at 8 a.m. this Sunday, Nov. 7, on “MTSU on the Record” with host Gina Logue on WMOT-FM (89.5 and wmot.org).

Contact Logue at 615-898-5081 or WMOT-FM at 615-898-2800.

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 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. tomorrow, 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.