Explaining war to kids

Those who have directly experienced war or have loved ones involved in the conflict are more likely to be anxious, says Dr. Susan Sobel, licensed clinical and school psychologist. First, parents should be regulating how much television their children are watching, she notes. "Some parents and schools may elect not to have children watch coverage at all (I would recommend this with young children). What is seen, however, should be explained as part of war É our government is conducting a war it believes is right and just ... and bombing, explosions and fires are part of that."

Contact Sobel at 615-898-5288.
ssobel@mtsu.edu

Stay on message, Mr. Prez

Dr. David Ryfe, assistant professor of journalism, says that in trying to make the case for war, President Bush has violated a cardinal rule of presidential communication. The way to shape public opinion is to stay on message--"fashion one argument, state it simply, and keep stating it until others go along. On other issues--think tax cuts--Bush has been unusually successful in following this rule. But not, evidently, on the one issue which appears set to define his presidency. Why? Because he and his aides are really making two arguments, not one, in their 'case for war,'" he contends.

Contact Ryfe at 615-904-8553.
dryfe@mtsu.edu

'Media and Emotions of War'

The day after 9/11, Dr. Todd Gitlin, Columbia University professor of journalism and sociology, wrote, "There's a perverse abuse of language in play from Washington officials. Disturbingly and repeatedly, they have been talking about freedom--freedom under attack. Bush spoke this way on TV tonight. This is pure ideology. It obscures the nature of violence and buries it in abstraction. ... To identify America with freedom is to echo the blindness of the killers." Gitlin will speak at 3 p.m. April 3 in Mass Comm 104 as a guest of MTSU's John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies--free and open to the public. (Rescheduled from an earlier date) Media welcomed.

Contact Dr. David Eason, chair director
deason@mtsu.edu
or Sharon Fitzgerald at 615-890-8578
fitzcomm@comcast.net

TR EXTRA: TOMORROW, April 1, 9:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., The Tunnel of Love or Pain, Murphy Center, Dance Studios A & B; the campus and general public are invited to walk through the tunnel and see displays, ask questions and obtain literature about STDs. Media welcomed. Contact organizer Dr. Dianne Bartley at 615-898-2890.
MARCH 30-APRIL 1--Eighth Annual Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference, "The Challenge Continues." Call the NPA office at 615-898-2919 for details regarding times and locations. Media welcomed.
TOMORROW, April 1, at 9 a.m., "Fad Diets Don't Work," a videoconference presented by Rebecca Roth, HPERS department, and Dr. Janet Colson, human sciences; a live studio audience will be composed of middle and high school students; Learning Resources Center, Satellite Videoconferencing Center; contact Dr. Connie Schmidt at 615-898-5191; Roth at 615-904-8426; Colson at 615-898-2884. Media welcomed.