NOTE: Because of staff being out of the office this week, there will be no "Today's Response" tomorrow or Wednesday. TR will resume the latter part of this week. Thank you.

Holy smoke

Both liberals and conservatives have blasted the "BC" comic strip for indoctrinating young readers into religion and for demeaning Christianity, respectively. The religious right once objected to a Tombstone Pizza ad that featured Moses and Pharaoh. Now some religious groups are calling "Bruce Almighty" blasphemous. When God is portrayed as a thunderous voice or a white-bearded figure on a cathedral ceiling, that's OK. When he comes in human form, however, the eyebrows arch. Dr. Larry Burriss, media expert, suggests that religious folks ought to focus their energy on those problems of biblical proportions that are still with us--poverty, disease, pestilence and inhumanity.

Contact Burriss at 615-898-2983.
lburriss@mtsu.edu

Old age and crime

What is the nature and causes of crime committed by the elderly? How are correctional programs dealing with older offenders--and what's working? In his new book, Aging Prisoners, Dr. Ron Aday, director of aging studies, tackles the growing dilemma of a prison population that is getting old and the kinds of unique problems this presents for correctional institutions. The book looks at the current state of our prisons, crime patterns among the elderly, the problems associated with long-term inmates, the treatment of older women prisoners and the possibility of an elderly justice system.

Contact Aday at 615-898-2693.
raday@mtsu.edu

'Off on the right foot'

This week is the start of a series of two-day freshman orientation sessions called CUSTOMS, with the first being June 11 and 12. Ninety percent of the incoming freshmen for fall will attend this summer program, which proves to be an exciting time for both students and parents. "It represents a new aspect in both their lives," says Gina Poff, director, student development. "The comments we hear most from students are how satisfied they are and it makes a difference for getting them off on the right foot--and from parents who say they feel so much more at ease knowing their child will be taken care of."

Contact Poff at 615-898-2454.
ghpoff@mtsu.edu

TR EXTRA

STARTING TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY--Summer Language Institute, 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily (today begins at 9), Alumni Center. Area teachers will learn Spanish through a new accelerated method of teaching in order to be better equipped for their own classrooms. For comment, contact Dr. Shelley Thomas, event director, at 615-308-3204. Media welcomed, but please arrange in advance by calling 615-898-2919.
NOW THROUGH JULY 3 at MTSU--National Youth Sports Program is sponsoring a program for at-risk kids ages 10 to 16. Contact Dr. Dianne Bartley, MTSU chair of the HPERS department and program director, at 615-898-2890. Media welcomed.
JUNE 16--JULY 3: Registration is still open to area elementary school teachers for the Jennings and Rebecca Jones Reading Academy that will be held at Bradley Elementary School in Murfreesboro. "The inability to read and write is a lifelong, crippling handicap," says director Dr. Nancy Crews. Those interested should call Crews at 615-898-5630 or visit http://www.mtsu.edu/~readacad. Media welcomed.