The MTSU Sidelines 2010 Customs Issue
The Customs issue is a special annual release distributed over the summer to new
students for introduction to the campus as well as the Sidelines newspaper.
On this page you will find this year's issue content.
Customs News
The Margaret H. Ordoubadian University Writing Center will now be located in the James E. Walker Library beginning this fall, and administrators within the department hope the move will make the on-campus lab more accessible to students.
Tips on how to stay safe on campus, help keep future illegal activity off university grounds
MTSU's crime rate has gone down, according to a recent report by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, and an MTSU police official said there are ways that students can contribute to continued safety on campus.
Other factors to consider when choosing a place to live in college
MTSU has the most affordable off-campus housing for students in Tennessee compared to eight other state schools and five private universities in the state, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
MTSU hosts open forum for gubernatorial candidates
Candidates vying to be Tennessee's next governor focused on the economy and higher education during an MTSU gubernatorial forum April 29 in the Murphy Center.
President Barack Obama has ordered that federal aid be given to Tennessee individuals affected by flooding that began Friday from continuous rain.
A guide to getting a parking space on campus
Despite the low repeal rate of student parking tickets, the new parking garage should help to alleviate dwindling parking spaces, according to MTSU's Parking and Transportation Services officials.
Customs Sports
No judge was going to take away a championship from Mauricio ‘Shogun' Rua this time.
After seven seasons on the ice, the MTSU ice hockey club was disbanded for the 2009-10 season and possibly the 2010-11 season.
Customs Features
It's 3 a.m., I'm exhausted, and my butt hardly fits on this seat made for a Chinese person. All I can smell is the man's feet behind me, and it seems like every person on the bus over the age of 10 is smoking. Yet my heart still races with anticipation.
MTSU student overcomes illness, realizes ‘normal’ is overrated
Webster's Dictionary defines "normal" as conformation to a type, standard or regular pattern. What causes someone to not be "normal"? Is it merely straying from the beaten path? Marching to the beat of your own drum?
Customs Arts and Entertainment
Music City has more than fiddles and pedal steel guitars
Admit it. Whenever you hear about the city of Nashville two things come to mind: cowboy boots and country music. You are not alone. Most people outside of Nashville, and those new to the area, don't realize there exists a rich and diverse musical scene that includes a gigantic following of rock music.
Local bar-hopping report card
An important aspect of any college town is a thriving nightlife. College, after all, is as much about social emancipation and development as it is about late night cramming and pop quizzes.
Customs Opinions
Shortly after becoming associate dean in 2006, I accompanied Dean John McDaniel to give welcoming remarks to a group of high school students visiting campus. I'd heard him do that sort of welcome several times, so I fully expected him to quote Shakespeare—which he did. I was surprised, however, when in the next breath he quoted Kenny Chesney, certainly a talented fellow but not quite in the same league as the Bard.
On April 29, a small handful of students and many faculty and staff, as well as local residents, were treated to a gubernatorial forum in the Murphy Center.
Alcohol problems should not be made the government’s problem
The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has given Tennessee an $11.5 million grant to curb alcohol binge drinking. The grant will be used to fund programs intended to reduce the amount of binge drinking among 14 to 25-year-olds for five years.
I haven't been able to get it off my mind all semester: What am I going to write about for my last column in Sidelines? After much thought, the decision is clear…
Sidelines is the editorially independent student newspaper for MTSU, and in recent years we have had a print edition in both the spring and fall semesters, as well as June through July in the summer. However, due to budgetary constraints, our paper will be going online only during June and July, a first for the newspaper.
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