A story about the living-wage movement at the University of Virginia and across the country includes a comment by David Reynolds of the Labor Studies Center at WSU. He has studied the impact of Detroit 's living-wage law on 100 nonprofits and says "no one that was a routine employee lost their job as a result of having to implement these changes in the wages."

A proposed copyright law being discussed in Congress would expand the Digital Millennium Copyright Act restrictions on software that can bypass copy protections. Jessica Litman, an expert on copyright law at Wayne State University , views expansion of the act as significant. "If Sony had decided to stand on its rights and either McAfee or Norton Antivirus had tried to remove the rootkit from my hard drive, we'd all be violating this expanded definition," she pointed out.

Business columnist Susan Tompor urges college graduates who have federally-backed student loans to consolidate them in order to lock in the rate of interest before July 1, when rates could rise by 1.5 - 2 percentage points. "Students who move quickly can consolidate under the old, lower rates and save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan," Tompor writes.

This issue carries two photos from the WSU Law School 's Annual Treasure of Detroit Gala, held at Ford Field on April 1. Both photos show Dean Frank Wu with persons who were honored by the school at the event.

Wayne State University is sponsoring an international symposium April 29 on the future of African and African American relationships. Themed, "To know the fruit, one must examine its roots," the event dubbed "International Roots Symposium," is expected to be a learning experience for students and the community. "I think it is essential because of what Gambia represents to most of us who read Alex Haley's Roots," said Howard Starks, an Africana Studies instructor at Wayne State. "We need a point of origin because most of our people cannot tell what specific countries they were brought from to this place." The symposium, which will be held at the Student Center Buidling ballroom from 9 a.m.-1 p.m., will feature several panel discussions exploring cultural, political and economic ties with Africa. Some of the expected speakers at the event include Detroit city councilwoman JoAnn Watson, Wayne County Commission chairwoman Jewel Ware, Congressman John Conyers, Jr., and educator Malik Yakini, among others.

Detroit Revolutionary: A film about Saul Wellman's life, "Professional Revolutionary: The Saul Wellman Story," produced by Wayne State University Professor Ronald Aronson and directed by California-based, Academy Award-nominated Judith Montell, combines archival footage and extensive interviews with Wellman, before he died in 2003, and his earliest cohorts and other contemporaries. Previously screened at the Lenore Marwil Jewish Film Festival, the 65-minute film will be shown April 28-30 at the Insight Screening Room, 24300 Southfield Road, in Southfield. Aronson will lead discussions at some of the screenings.

In a column, Free Press editorial writer Jeff Gerritt points up the importance of technical and vocational training available at Michigan 's community colleges. "Community colleges are pivotal to the state's efforts to train and retrain workers, and to the prospects of a lot of young people on the margins who need the help and training only two-year colleges provide," he writes. He urges the governor and state Legislature to approve a 4 percent boost in funding requested by the Michigan Community College Association.

Wayne State swimming team standout Nick Ingrao was among athletes featured during the "CBS Sports Presents Championships of the NCAA" one-hour special. The highly-rated senior swimmer completed Army basic training in 2002 before enrolling at WSU and joining the swim team in 2003. He is graduating Saturday and heading for Texas for active duty with the Army. Swim-coach Sean Peters also was interviewed on the broadcast.

Kingsley Browne, Wayne State law professor, commented about WXYZ TV-7 news anchor Frank Turner's complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission saying Channel 7 had violated his rights under the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which forbids religious discrimination. Turner filed the complaint after Channel 7 officials denied him the opportunity to host a daily two-hour radio broadcast on a Christian radio station in Detroit. Browne thinks WXYZ will have an easy time proving their case: \"Anything more than trivial costs could be a hardship. Employers pay money for exclusive contracts for a reason...I think he\'s going to have a real hard time prevailing - it\'s a definite longshot.\"

According to a Grand Rapids Press editorial, the reality in Michigan higher education is that three universities are more important and more costly to run than the other 12, therefore, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan and Michigan State University should be treated separately in the legislature's budget writing. The three schools have asked for that change, which would return them to the separate status that they held in 2003. The editorial further points out that the three institutions are the largest of the 15 universities, and are the only ones that have medical schools, which are expensive. They also make up the state's biggest investment in science and engineering education.

For many years, community colleges and universities have been separated into individual budgets to recognize the differences in their missions, according to an item in this online newsletter. But now officials at Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan want the same lines drawn between them and the state's 12 other four-year educational institutions. The entry carries a link to a longer article by Gongwer News Service that says the three universities are asking that their funding be moved to at least a separate section of the current budget bills, if not to an entirely separate bill. Of particular concern for the schools is that a funding formula would not take into account the added costs, and benefits, of their medical schools and the extensive research conducted at the universities. Harvey Hollins, vice president for government and community affairs at WSU, said the trend in the Legislature is to do funding by formula. "When you have a formula, you've got to have the comparisons right," he said. "It costs more to produce a doctor than to produce a political science student." He also pointed out that costs of being an urban research university are not reflected in the funding formula, nor are costs associated with having a higher proportion of part-time students.

The newspaper editorializes in favor of treating Wayne State, Michigan State and the University of Michigan separately for state budgeting purposes. The press points out that the three institutions are "the only ones with medical schools, which are inherently expensive. They also comprise the state's biggest investment in science and engineering education, especially at research levels. And, more than the others, they are major economic development assets."

Theatre critic Martin Kohn writes about the successful efforts of a theatre marketing class at Wayne State . Graduate students in the class are conducting the season ticket subscription campaign for the university's theatres. Sixty percent of each student's final grade depends on how many subscribers they attract. Professor Anthony Rhine, who heads the MFA program in theatre management, believes subscriptions will be up about 15 percent this year. He says the real purpose of the class is to help students "learn about the process." Kohn also interviewed two students in the class, who talked about what they gained from the marketing experience as well as their future plans. An insert notes that the 2006-07 season open house at the Hilberry Theatre will be from 1-4 p.m. Saturday.

"The Inspector General," playing at WSU's Hilberry Theatre through May 13, is rated a "top pick" on today's entertainment events page. A description of the play is provided, along with ticket information. An accompanying photo shows two actors in a scene from the production.

Columnist Rochelle Riley writes about a study of youths who are too old for foster care homes. Conducted by WSU's Research Group on Homelessness and Poverty, the survey found that almost half the youths from the tri-county area who "aged out" in 2002 and 2003 were homeless at some point during the first three years on their own. In Michigan , most foster care youths stop receiving state aid at age 18. A state task force is studying how to improve transitions to life after the foster-home experience.

One area where the city of Detroit , in spite of struggling with its public image, has had great success in recent years, is hosting major sporting events. These include the NFL Super Bowl, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, a major golf tournament and numerous basketball and hockey championship series playoff games. Jerry Herron, identified as "an American studies professor" at Wayne State , refers to the challenge faced by the Motor City : " Detroit 's the city everybody likes to look at as a place that's dangerous, abandoned and economically no longer viable. It's the most famous failed city in the United States ." But he adds that today the city "feels like a place that has a promise; it has a future. I'd love to see the city market its car culture, our automotive heritage. We invented the modern industrial world. We're still the Motor City ."

A story about a fuel-cell test car provided by DaimlerChrysler to the city of Farmington Hills , mentions that Wayne State University is also part of the fuel-cell test car project.

In his television column, Jim McFarlin writes about Tim Kiska's new book, "From Soupy to Nuts!" about Detroit television personalities. McFarlin writes that Kiska is a friend and former newspaper colleague who recently received a 2006 Journalist of the Year Award from Wayne State University .

Law School Dean Frank Wu is quoted in Jack Lessenberry's column on the topic of affirmative action considerations in admissions policies at the University of Michigan . "If we want to talk seriously about race, we should have an accurate picture of the world," Wu said. "We need to talk about what affirmative action is intended to address. What sort of society do we want to have? What do we want our institutions to look like, who do we want to belong there, and then, how do we get there?"

A listing of events taking place at churches mentions that the Wayne State University Jazz Big Band will perform at First Baptist Church of Birmingham at 6 p.m. Sunday. The performance will be a tribute to Stan Kenton, featuring drummer Jerry McKenzie. Freewill offerings will go to the musicians.