As the MTSU spring semester winds down, three events happening this week — Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Graduating Senior Veterans Stole Ceremony and Engineering Technology’s Mech-Tech Expo — are free and open to the public.

Two events, the stole ceremony and mech-tech expo, will be held at the Miller Education Center at 503-509 Bell St. Here’s a quick glance at each event, a map to find parking and building locations and a reminder that parking permits and fees may apply:

MTSU Health Services nurse Heather Ashby, second from right, empties some of her family’s old medications out for university officials to count as part of the spring MTSU Drug Take-Back Day event in April 2022 outside the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center on Blue Raider Drive. Lipscomb University fourth-year pharmacy student Abby Sparkman, right, studies a bottle of old medicine — part of 71.7 pounds collected during the 5½- hour drive before adding it to the collection list. Also pictured in this file photo are Pharmacist Tabby Ragland and Rick Chapman, Health Services director. (MTSU file photo by Randy Weiler)

Prescription Drug Take-Back Day

The biannual event, sponsored by Campus Pharmacy and University Police, takes place from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, April 26, at a special drive-up location near the Campus Pharmacy drive-thru outside the Health, Wellness and Recreation Center, 1848 Blue Raider Drive.

Expired, unused and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines will be accepted.

Event organizers ask participants to leave medicines in their original packaging. For prescription medications, black out any personally identifying label information.

Lisa Schrader

Lisa Schrader, Health Promotion director, said they are unable to accept sharps (needles) at this event.

This event is part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s overall efforts to remove excess drugs from communities where they could be abused or misused, diverted into the wrong hands or disposed of in environmentally unsafe ways, Schrader said.

The event, part of a national Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, aims to provide a safe, secure and environmentally responsible means of disposing of prescription drugs, while also educating the general public about the potential for abuse and trafficking of medications.

“Non-medical use of controlled substance medications is at an all-time high,” Schrader said, adding that a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration study revealed more than 54% of people who abuse prescription pain relievers obtained them through friends or relatives — a statistic that includes raiding the family medicine cabinet.

For more information, call 615-494-8704 or email Schrader at Lisa.Schrader@mtsu.edu.

A red stole rests on the back of a chair before the start of the MTSU Graduating Veterans Stole Ceremony in December 2021 in the Miller Education Center second-floor atrium in this file photo. The next stole ceremony will be at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 27, in the MEC. Graduating veterans will wear their stoles at commencement Saturday, May 7, in Murphy Center. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Graduating Veterans Stole Ceremony

MTSU and the Charlie and Hazel Daniels Veterans and Military Family Center will recognize dozens of graduating senior veterans and Military Science ROTC cadets at 10 a.m. Wednesday, April 27, in the Miller Education Center’s second-floor atrium.

The event is sponsored by Amazon Military. Breakfast, provided by Maple Street Biscuit Company, begins at 9 a.m.

All graduating veterans receive a red stole they can wear during the three spring commencement ceremonies taking place Saturday, May 7, in Murphy Center.

The Daniels Center is home to about 1,100 student veterans and family members. It provides numerous services, including in-house assistance from VA personnel and help in finding jobs and internships, and is located in Room 124 of the Keathley University Center.

For more information, call 615-904-8347.

The crowd gathers for the annual MTSU Engineering and Technology Mech-Tech Expo, held in the Ingram Building’s MT Center in December 2021, showcasing students’ hard work during the fall 2021 semester. Judges, including Rick Taylor, right, take notes on the projects in this file photo. (MTSU file photo by Cat Curtis Murphy)

Mech-Tech Expo

The spring 2022 Mech-Tech Engineering and Technology Student Project Expo will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at the Miller Education Center.

The event, held on MTSU study day, is a celebration of engineering technology and mechatronics engineering senior capstone projects. It showcases students’ hands-on projects, including robotics, with prizes awarded to students for winning posters. Attendees will receive a free T-shirt.

Engineering Technology’s mission is to prepare students for a new world of engineering, technology, design, automation and manufacturing.

For more information, call 615-898-5009 or email Jennifer Tweedy at Jennifer.Tweedy@mtsu.edu.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)