Category — MTSU

In a blatant display of authoritative arrogance, the administration at Middle Tennessee State University will proceed with enacting a new fee on the student body to build a parking garage, Sidelines reports. This after students voted by a 10-point margin to deny the institution of the “All Access” fee last Spring.

SGA President Brandon McNary, who supported the fee increase proposal last year, said, “The students did vote down a bill about increased fees last semester. However, it was a relatively close vote and [administrators] have found a way to ultimately cut the fees in half for the students.” Tell that to the voters in southern Florida who cast ballots for Al Gore in 2000.

From the article:

McNary said the controversy surrounding the “Vote Yes” campaign probably played a significant role in how students voted in the referendum last year. The controversy surrounded the usage of student activity fees to fund a marketing campaign promoting the parking garage. 

“Many students were very upset by that and voted no due to that reason,” he said.

I covered this issue extensively and campaigned against it. In case you don’t remember, the Parking and Transportation Services Department launched an expensive campaign using student fees to pay for signs, shirts, a website, and other materials encouraging students to vote in the affirmative.

Sidelines has an opinion on this issue, as well:

Apparently, MTSU’s administration did this as a fake showing of democracy, as they are planning to raise fees regardless of the outcome of the vote. This is an insult to those students who voted, whether in favor or opposed, and a waste of money on marketing that the university does not have.

As the number of millions of dollars that MTSU must cut continues to rise, administrators want to take out loans totaling $34 million to pay for an aesthetically pleasing parking garage. And who must pay off these bonds? The students through gradual fee increases over the next few years.

Administrators should be held accountable for their blatant disregard of the process by which students said “No.” If they can arbitrarily invalidate those election results, why have a voice for students anyway? Why does Student Government exist?

And why such a strong defense of the administration’s decision from SGA President Brandon McNary? Isn’t he supposed to be the voice of the student body, not of the administration?

I just wanted to take up some space on the blog to once again congratulate the MTSU Blue Raiders on their victory over Southern Mississippi (alright, Em-Aye-Crooked Letter-Crooked Letter-Aye…) on Sunday. While I rarely agreed with the Administration on matters political, I do recognize that a strong athletic program also draws prospective students to the university.

The Daily News Journal has the story:

The biggest win in MTSU football history was viewed by more than 100,000 people in the Greater Nashville area on ESPN, according to Nashville Nielsen overnight ratings.

MTSU’s 42-32 win over Southern Mississippi in Sunday night’s New Orleans Bowl on ESPN drew a local rating of 4.1 in the Greater Nashville market, which includes Davidson County and the surrounding six counties…

The New Orleans Bowl was the seventh-most watched sports event of the last week in the Nashville market, ranking behind six NFL games. The Titans’ win over the Dolphins Sunday on CBS drew a 32.2 rating, followed by Vikings-Panthers (15.7), Packers-Steelers (15.4), Cardinals-49ers (13.3), Cowboys-Saints (7.4) and Colts-Jaguars (6.1).

This is great news! As more students apply to MTSU and as more alumni (hello, me!) feel proud of their alma mater, more dollars will flow to the univeristy from the state and from donors. These dollars will beef up the athletic program and improve academic resources, as well.

Kudos to MTSU for their win on Sunday!

More good news from my alma mater:

Beginning in spring 2010, MTSU will boast a new program of study with the official addition of the university’s newest undergraduate offering, the Bachelor of Science degree in forensic science.

The 120-hour program is the result of an academic collaboration by participating faculty in biology, chemistry and criminal justice administration, all of whom have teamed to build a strong interdisciplinary curriculum that was modeled in accordance with accreditation standards.

Dr. George Murphy, chairman of MTSU’s biology department, said his department has agreed to handle the paperwork for the program, such as assignment of advisers, but faculty from each of the three departments will be involved in all aspects of the program.

In an article that will surely make pro-lifers in Murfreesboro cringe, MTSU Sidelines staff writer Rozalind Ruth “exposed” the Murfreesboro Pregnancy Support Center for what it really is: a pro-life, Christian-based place for women to go when they get pregnant and have questions or concerns. The MPSC is a non-profit pregnancy center that offers its services free of charge. Its donations are tax-deductible, but there’s something Miss Ruth doesn’t like about it: the MPSC discourages women from having abortions. *gasp!*

Now, a quick peek at Miss Ruth’s Facebook profile reveals that this “news” piece really should belong on the Opinion pages, as she supports other left-wing causes like the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition and the Tennessee Justice Center. In fact, the first source Miss Ruth utilizes in her “news” story is the Feminist Majority Foundation. On its issues page, the FMF touts:

Abortion is a necessity for millions of women worldwide, for their health, for their wellbeing, for their dreams of a better tomorrow. The reality is that a woman will seek an abortion—legal or otherwise—almost instinctively and in self defense. A woman will do this when an unwanted pregnancy presents an excessive strain on her or her family’s physical, emotional or economic resources. Throughout the ages, courageous women have made it their right and indeed their responsibility. In a civilized society we owe women the legal right to make their decision safely.

It is a matter of survival.

Clearly, the FMF sees the abortion debate as a crusade, whereas the MPSC does not. They are ideologically at odds with one another. No wonder the FMF does not agree with MPSC, as it is not an abortion mill like Planned Parenthood.

But let us take a look at Miss Ruth’s words, so that we may understand her disdain for elements within the pro-life movement. Ruth writes, “The FMF’s “Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics” is currently looking at Murfreesboro-based Pregnancy Support Center, located on South Church Street.” Clearly, the FMF’s “campaign” is to persecute pro-life pregnancy centers.

Ruth further explains what the Center provides:

The center provides counselors who are trained in-house to talk to women about their emotions when deciding on a pregnancy option. The counselors are not trained medical professionals.

The counselors are not “medically trained” because they do not perform abortions. The only thing that MPSC does is counsel women on their options when faced with pregnancy, in a faith-based environment.

Correction: According to Laura Messick, Director of the MPSC, the clinic does employ medically trained professionals. More to come in a forthcoming blog post. This was incorrectly reported in Sidelines.

The article continues by highlighting the services offered by Planned Parenthood.

While abortion is not really an issue that drives me to the polls, I am disgusted with the lack of journalistic integrity within this article. Those of you who are – like me – disgusted with this poor excuse for reporting may contact the News Editor, Alex Moorman, by e-mail at slnews@mtsu.edu or mby phone at (615) 898-5436.