Global bully?

News coverage of the war around the world has been as much about the place of the U.S. in the world community as it has been about Iraq per se, says Dr. David Ryfe, assistant professor, journalism. "Mostly, it is because the Bush Administration has wedded the removal of Saddam Hussein to its doctrine of preemption. In the U.S., that doctrine has received scant attention, either from news media or from other political actors ... because they fear challenging a wartime president." Other parts of the world have focused almost totally on that doctrine, he adds, which seems to hold up the U.S. as a unilateral super power claiming the right to attack other countries at its discretion.

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

Be there for your kids

When it comes to parents talking about war with their young children, since kids won't always ask questions, Mom or Dad certainly may solicit any concerns from them. "If they have none at the time, just let them know you're available if they do," advises Dr. Susan Sobel, licensed clinical and school psychologist. "Talking about good vs. evil with young children is probably not going to work very well because these concepts are pretty abstract, and young children don't have the cognitive abilities yet." The National Association of School Psychologists just published a handout on these issues, she adds. It is available at http://www.nasponline.org.

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

"You raped me!"

Tonight at 6:00, the campus and general community will be invited to participate in the "Take Back the Night" March and Rally, which will begin on campus and gradually move to the Rutherford County courthouse. The event will include poignant messages from survivors of violence, music and a candlelight vigil. Through tomorrow T-shirts with no-holds-barred messages and images created by survivors of sexual assault will be displayed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the KUC courtyard. Media welcomed.

For more details on the week's events, contact Tennisha Smith at 615-898-2193.

TODAY'S MTSU UPLINK AT 10 A.M.
SEGMENT 1: Tennisha Smith, coordinator of Sexual Awareness Week, says MTSU has observed this week since 1993. Charisse Wooding, organizer of the Clothesline Project, says that while some think the project is airing dirty laundry, the T-shirts with their no-holds-barred messages (B-roll of these shirts included) tell stories that need to be told.
SEGMENT 2: MTSU's International Culture Week celebration includes the foods, music, dances, costumes and colors of numerous nations. Award-winning student Salome Sandoval sings and plays the guitar. The Chinese Art Alliance dancers perform as well as Boduli, a musical group from Croatia.

THIS WEEK'S AUDIO CLIPS ON THE WEB
Go to http://www.mtsunews.com and click on "audio clips."
TOPIC 1: Dr. Richard Hannah, professor of economics, who has traveled extensively and taught in China, says SARS is impacting the Chinese economy.
TOPIC 2: Executives and students talk about the value of the annual Executives-in-Residence program, a recent class take-over by midstate executives.
TOPIC 3: Betty Rowland, Gore Research Center, and Elinor Johnson Folk, former U.S. Navy WAVE, talk about the ongoing MTSU Veterans History Project, in which Tennessee's veterans share oral histories of their experiences.