Watch your tongue!

"For all our talk about freedom of speech and the right to dissent, the first thing trashed during time of war is freedom of speech," says Bob Pondillo, assistant professor, electronic media communication. This is nothing new--the pattern has been repeated since World War I, he adds. Pondillo says he has great regard for the troops but feels discomfort with American power and arrogance. "If some think opposing viewpoints are traitorous, they need to remember the right of dissent is one of the central rights earlier Americans fought and died for." It's important to speak up and, if necessary, resist--peacefully, he adds.

Contact Pondillo at 615-904-8465.
pondillo@mtsu.edu

Opening doors to minorities

The MTSU Summer Discovery Institute will welcome African-American teens to campus to join faculty for a one-week exploration of either theater or aerospace. Each section, "In Flight" and "On Stage," will be composed of 40 students. "On Stage" will explore acting, directing, playwriting, costuming and scene design--concluding with a "24 Hour Theater" event. "In Flight" will give students hands-on experience in MTSU's flight simulators and aircraft and a tour of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. "This program is promoting the value of higher education across the state to ... minority students," says Dr. Debra Sells, associate vp, academic support services. It will be free to those who apply and are accepted by April 15.

For more information, contact Sells at 615-898-5342.
dsells@mtsu.edu

Whose fight is it anyway?

If we won't fight to remove a murderous regime of war criminals, then what will we fight for? asks Dr. Kevin Breault, professor, sociology and anthropology. "What the war protesters do not understand is that in a fundamental sense this is a war for morality, human welfare and peace. ... If we don't fight, our ideals mean very little or perhaps apply only to ourselves. Iraqi Shiites and Kurd children should be as important to us as American children. Sitting on our hands when they are systematically killed is un-American and not an option." The war is a moral imperative, he adds.

Contact Breault at 615-898-2696 or H: 615-292-1663.
kbreault@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA: TODAY and TOMORROW--NACTA Judging Conference and Contests, Tennessee Livestock Center and Tennessee Miller Coliseum. Call News and Public Affairs, 615-898-2919, for a schedule of events. Media welcomed.
TODAY, April 4, 8:30 to 4 p.m., St. Clair Street Senior Center--"Alzheimer's Summit 2003: Dynamics of Elderly Caregiving IX." Media welcomed.
TODAY, April 4, Executives in Residence--More than 40 Midstate execs will take over morning classes. Registration and coffee start at 9:15 in the east lobby of the Business and Aerospace Building. (Execs include Al Mance, TEA director; Dan Keen, ASCAP; Harlan Mathews and Raul Regalado, Airport Authority. TV's Chris Clark and Holly Thompson will also be here. Contact the NPA office at 615-898-2919. Media welcomed.
TODAY, April 4, 3:30 p.m. in JUB 304, Dr. Helen Longino, professor of philosophy and women's studies and the University of Minnesota, will present a lecture on "Feminism, Science and the Politics of Knowledge." Free and open. Call 615-898-2907. Media welcomed.
TODAY, April 4, 6:30 p.m., Wiser-Patten 220--Lecture on "Gaseous Nebula," followed by a Star Party (approx. 7) on the lawn. Weather permitting, guests will be able to observe the heavens through portable telescopes. Free and open. Call 615-898-2130. Media welcomed.
SUNDAY, April 6, 7:30 p.m., Wright Music Building--The final concert of the Stones River Chamber Players, featuring world premieres of works written by professors Roger Hudson and Dr. Paul Osterfield. Free and open. Media welcomed.