By Philip Marcelo The claim that voters in Detroit were prevented from casting ballots on Election Day after officials mistakenly said they’d already voted by absentee ballot is false. Certain polling locations in Detroit had an issue checking-in voters on Tuesday morning, but that was due to a data glitch that was quickly resovled, state and city officials confirmed. No eligible voters were prevented from casting a ballot. “Minor technical glitches are not unusual in any precinct because administering elections is a complex business,” said Liette Gidlow, history professor at Wayne State University.

As Americans vote in the 2022 midterm elections, U.S. President Joe Biden warns that democracy is at risk. In a speech less than a week before voting day, Biden blamed false claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent for eroding trust in U.S. democracy. Kidada Williams, associate professor of history at Wayne State University, participates in a podcast discussion about the United States’ crafting of democracy after the Civil War during Reconstruction.  

The number of Black Americans eligible to vote reached a record 30 million in 2020, according to the Pew Research Center. WKAR’s Megan Schellong spoke with Ronald Brown, an associate professor at Wayne State University who specializes in race and politics, about this community’s priorities before heading to the polls. “The top issue, this election period for African Americans in Michigan is going to be inflation. And inflation, because a recent study by the New York Reserve Board found that Blacks and Latinos are paying more for gas, more for food, and the cost of living is higher for them. So, it’s going to drive many African Americans, I think, to the polls this year,” Brown said. Brown also believes election integrity will galvanize voters. 

By Makena Roberts  Food resources face challenges in a variety of ways, from climate change affecting global warming to interruptions in production as a result of COVID-19. A rising middle-class United States and a growing appetite for Western cuisine have increased demand for meat-based diets. Between the land it takes to raise livestock, to the technology required for commercially catching fish and a rise in temperatures across the globe that threatens agriculture, scientists are exploring new alternatives for food. Some have suggested crickets, seaweed, and cultured meats as sustainable food options that could one-day stock the shelves of grocery stores across the United States. Julie Lesnik, an assistant professor of anthropology at Wayne State University, discussed the potential for mass-produced “edible insects” like crickets. Crickets produce high levels of protein and even greater levels of calcium and iron compared to pigs and cows. These figures could vary depending on what a farmer feeds their livestock, Lesnik said. But overall, insects pack high amounts of nutrients.  

Midtown Detroit, Inc. is excited to announce the return of the 48th Annual Noel Night, one of the most magical nights in the city and a longstanding holiday tradition from 5 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, December 3 in the Cultural Center and 5 to 10 p.m. in Midtown. 2022 Noel Night participating venues include the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s “The Cube,” College for Creative Studies, Wayne State University, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, MOCAD, Michigan Science Center, along with the area’s historic churches, galleries, small businesses, nonprofit organizations, other arts, cultural and educational institutions, restaurants, bars and breweries.  

By Kim Kozlowski  Voters will elect two candidates to the Wayne State University Board of Governors for eight-year terms as the board starts its search for a new president.  

Walter Edwards, professor of linguistics and former director of the Humanities Center, participated in an interview with The Conversation about African American Vernacular English. “The biggest misconception – in fact it’s a widespread misconception – is that this form of everyday speech is just broken English; that people who speak it are unable to speak standard English or too lazy to do it,” he said. “It is a misconception that has been there since the beginning of the inhabitation of this country by Black people. Stigmatized as it is, Black English is as sophisticated and diversified as any other linguistic variety; it’s a testament to the achievements of Black people.” 

By Karen Drew  It’s been a year-long investigation exposing poor record keeping, decomposing bodies and delays in contacting families of the dead at the Wayne County Morgue. Local 4’s Karen Drew, who led the year-long investigation of issue at the Wayne County Morgue, sat down with the new leadership, Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. Wayne State University School of Medicine has taken over the Wayne County Morgue with a 5-year, $70 million contract. Dean Dr. Wael Sakr discussed how he plans to address issues at the morgue, including an aggressive recruitment campaign to hire more medical examiners, improved record keeping and more. “We’re going to fix that [record keeping] through our software and data management, we are implementing the most current, modern version of it by the end of the month,” Dr. Sakr said. In a rare and surprising move, the new leadership allowed Local 4 cameras inside the medical examiner’s office. “Beyond just autopsies, and toxicology and histology. But how can we improve the health of the people in Wayne County? We can do that through the medical examiner’s office. There is data that we can utilize to really help us from a population health perspective,” said Thane Peterson, vice dean for finance and administration at the School of Medicine.  

By Glenda Lewis and Tracy Wujack  Undecided voters say they’re still seeking information to make decisions ahead of Tuesday’s election. Typically, undecided voters make up a percentage that could make or break a final decision on a front-runner. Brady Baybeck, associate professor of political science at Wayne State University, says in today’s climate it’s not about being undecided as much as it is being uninformed. “If you look at the polls, they’re saying 4% are undecided. I would guess that’s probably an overestimate,” said Baybeck. “Because of the polarization of the national political science, because of the innovation of information, media coverage and the ads and things like that, how can you not be aware of what’s going on? I know you might be confused about how you get involved, but does that truly mean you’re undecided? Not necessarily, it just means you’re not informed.” 

By Minnah Arshad  As the “glory days” of widespread, generalist master of business administration degrees fizzle out, Michigan universities are finding new ways to attract students across the globe. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, some universities saw a decrease in graduate business program enrollment, which could be attributed to health concerns or deferrals for international students. Fall 2022 data shows a rebound to pre-pandemic numbers for some universities in the region. For others, the slump continues. While colleges in Michigan have offered numerous options for how to earn an MBA, from fully virtual to in person, the question of why has changed over the last couple of decades. Over the years, accrediting bodies and business colleges have shifted focus as the world evolves, said Jeff Stoltman, director of entrepreneurship and innovation programs at Wayne State University’s Mike Ilitch School of Business. With the collision of the digital revolution and societal shift, entrepreneurial academics are facing another moment of “soul-searching criticism,” Stoltman said. Wayne State faculty approved some revisions to the MBA program on Sept. 30, Stoltman said, adding new courses in supply chain and emerging technology issues, which reflect the growth of the digital economy. As a Detroit university, Wayne State has responded to the auto giants by way of building a strong supply chain program. Over the last few years, Wayne State has offered courses in varying lengths and formats, from four-week classes to weekend classes, and asynchronous, synchronous, hybrid and in-person formats. Most of the MBA students are part-time, so the university has worked to offer a variety of schedules to accommodate working students.  

Halloween marks the 96th anniversary of one of the most famous magicians ever. You may not have known, but Harry Houdini performed his last show in downtown Detroit before dying at a Detroit hospital in 1926. Day before his show, in Detroit, he was performing in Montreal when someone asked to punch him in the stomach. Houdini was known to be a strong man with powerful abs. "Legend has it, he wasn't ready for the punch, and they hit him pretty good," Jeff Horner, a senior lecturer at Wayne State said. Horner, who is an urban planner and calls himself an amateur historian, said Houdini wasn't feeling well on the train ride down to Detroit. Houdini gave his last performance at the Garrick Theater, which stood near the corner of Griswold and Michigan Ave. in downtown Detroit. "He was supposedly in great pain during the performance, but gave folks their money's worth," Horner said. Houdini died at Grace Hospital, which is located near the current DMC Campus, after his performance at the Garrick. According to Horner, people led seances in the hospital room Houdini died in for years trying to make contact with Houdini. "The ultimate trick of any illusionist is to come back from the dead," Horner said.

A number of young children are being hospitalized because of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and it’s happening at an unusual time of year and among older children than in years past. The current RSV outbreak is different from previous outbreaks in several ways: It’s happening in the fall rather than the winter; older children and not just infants are being hospitalized; and cases are occurring that are more serious than in previous years. “The theory is that everyone’s now back together, and this is a rebound phenomenon,” said Jeffrey Kline, a physician and associate chair of research for emergency medicine at Wayne State University School of Medicine. Kline runs a national surveillance network that gathers data about viral infections from about 70 hospitals, including four pediatric hospitals. He says those data show that 318 children were hospitalized with acute respiratory illness brought on by RSV in the week starting Oct. 9, compared with 45 hospitalizations in the week starting July 25. “If we think about the relative increase – ninefold increase – that’s not nothing, especially in the pediatric [emergency departments],” Kilne said.