By Chelsea Janes  In the months before the 2019 MLB draft, then-Wayne State University right-hander Hunter Brown did what any self-respected job seeker would do. He exaggerated on his resume. Prospective draftees fill out questionnaires about themselves to help teams learn more about them. Brown talked up a new curveball he was workshopping to go with the four-seamer, two-seamer and slider the scouts had already seen. He had, indeed, tried a curveball a few times. “I hadn’t thrown it all really,” Brown said. Soon after the Houston Astros drafted him, they asked to see it. He put on a brave face and threw it. The Astros told him it was excellent, exactly the kind of pitch someone with his arm slot should be throwing to complement a slider that moved more laterally. Three years later, he was in the big leagues throwing 31% curveballs as a rookie on one of the majors’ deepest and nastiest pitching staffs. That pitching staff enters the World Series with a 1.88 ERA in Houston’s seven postseason games this year, all of which the Astros have won.  

It’s that time of year when we celebrate something we usually hate: fear. We visit haunted houses and corn mazes or binge-watch the scariest horror movies. But our relationship with fear is complicated. In its most primitive form, fear is about survival – it raises our heart rates, redirects our blood flow, makes us faster and fiercer, all so we can face – or escape – serious threats. In other settings – where there’s no real danger – fear can feel exhilarating, fun, and exciting. It can serve as a form of entertainment, or even help us focus and perform better. Arash Javanbakht, a trauma psychiatrist who is also the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State University, explains the purpose of our primitive fear circuitry, how it fits into modern life, and why we crave scary experiences. “Imagine – if the fear system was instilled in us, we need to practice it. When you’re watching a horror movie, what are you practicing?...You’re constantly, in your mind, practicing ways of surviving. In that sense, these scary experiences are kind of a practice of ‘how I would survive if this happened to me’ but we do it in a safe environment…” 

One of the biggest and most controversial proposals on the November Midterm ballot is Proposal 3, which focuses on abortion and reproductive rights. The petition for the proposal set a record with more than 730,000 valid voter signatures, with momentum coming after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June. The proposal is also one that amend the Michigan Constitution. Constitutional law expert Jonathan Weinberg, a professor at Wayne State University Law School, discusses how the proposal would be applied. “This proposal says that it’s about pregnancy, basically. It’s about the ability to choose to have a baby, the ability to choose not to have a baby…” Weinberg discusses constitutional precedent, the issue of parental consent and notification, and more.     

For the Rev. Nick Hood III, the recently unveiled Black Bottom mural at the Wayne State University School of Medicine brings back a flood of memories. It's a tangible reminder of the historic neighborhood he called home. Hood is a former Detroit city councilman and Black Bottom resident, and his one of hundreds of stories behind the mural. The Black Bottom neighborhood was dismantled when Detroit wanted to build freeways, and took the land from the Black population to do so. Despite all the books about Black Bottom, despite the family conversations and stories about lineage rooted in the community, the 375-foot mural is the first permanent marker of the historic neighborhood, Hood says. The mural, which sits on the south side of Canfield Street near WSU's North Hall, pays homage to Black Detroiters' contributions to the area of medicine. "I've never seen it, anything like it," Hood said. "The significance of it is going to transcend this moment." The mural, a joint project between the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, features nine historical figures, and one future medical student to symbolize the future. Among those honored is Ossian Sweet, who purchased a home in an all-white Detroit neighborhood that defined race relations in Detroit; Marjorie Peebles-Meyers, the first Black woman to graduate from Wayne College of Medicine; Dr. Robert Greenidge, a founder of Parkside Hospital and David and D.L. Northcross, a set of entrepreneurs who started Mercy General Hospital in 1917 and Barthwell, the pharmacist. "The mural is playing this incredible role in providing students, and future students, with strong role models who reflect the diversity of the city and the campus. It just shows you the power of art to transform a neighborhood," said Sheryl Oring, art and art history chair at Wayne State University. "That's one thing art also does: It draws people in, gets people to ask questions and maybe play a role in healing. There were so many difficult things in the history of Detroit and I hope that the mural can play a role in healing."   

The Detroit Tigers haven’t won a World Series since 1984, with just two appearances since: 2006, in which they lost in five games to the St. Louis Cardinals, and 2012, in which they were swept by the San Francisco Giants. With the 2022 Fall Classic starting Friday, featuring the Houston Astros representing the American League and the Philadelphia Phillies representing the NL, there are more than a few ties to the Tigers. Astros rookie pitcher Hunter Brown, who pitched for Wayne State University before being drafted in the fifth round by the Astros in 2019, grew up in metro Detroit idolizing Justin Verlander and vividly remembers the days of the last Tigers dynasty.   

By Brandon Kochkodin    When it comes to inflation, there’s no shortage of blame to go around. First, the pandemic broke the global supply chain. Then stimulus payments set off a frenzy of consumer spending at a time when finding toilet paper at the local grocery store wasn’t a given. But from the halls of Congress to Main Street, fingers also point at corporate America. Greedy companies, by this telling, have raised prices above and beyond their rising costs of production. Companies, of course, deny this. “Operating margin excludes financing costs,” Wayne State University finance professor Mai Iskander-Datta said. “Essentially, you’re trying to have a broader picture of company performance. You’re trying to see how they’re doing without considering financing. It separates financing and investment decision-making.”    

By Jack Rodolico     Dr. Arash Javenbakht, a trauma psychiatrist who is also the director of the Stress, Trauma, and Anxiety Research Clinic (STARC) at Wayne State University, joins in a conversation about why people sometimes deliberately seek out the things that scare them and fear of things in the natural world. “Patients come to my office and say, ‘I know it’s stupid, but I’m afraid of this…’ and I tell them it’s not stupid, it’s illogical. Fear has to be fast and illogical because logic is slow,”  he said. Dr. Javenbakht describes what goes on in the brain when we experience fear. “There’s an almond-shaped part of the brain near the temporal lobe right near the ear called the amygdala. It’s job, anytime you see something, is to determine the salience…very primitive basic functions of human survival…”    

By Whitney Burney  Millions of Michiganders are expected to turn out to the polls in less than two weeks to decide who will serve as Michigan’s next governor. Voters will also get the chance to decide the fate of countless school boards and which judges will serve on the state supreme court. While many voters say they know who they’d like to see in the governor’s seat, fewer know who they’d like to be elected in smaller races. “It’s great for us to have a voice,” said William Carter, a Wayne State University film student who will be voting for the first time this November. Carter said he’s most concerned about the state of education, wealth equity and climate change. He said he’s planning to vote in-person to give himself more time to learn about each candidate. Numerous WSU students discuss their voting plan and views on the election. Experts say when voters get to the portion of their ballot with more obscure races and less familiar names, some decide not to cast a vote at all. “There’s estimate that approximately 5-20% of voters basically stop voting when they hit the spot when they don’t know the candidates and that’s a pretty significant amount,” said Brady Baybeck, associate professor of political science at Wayne State University.  Baybeck said when voters decide to forego making a choice at the end of the ballot, it’s called ballot roll off. “In many of these races, there’s traditionally very little competition. If there’s only one candidate on the ballot, it doesn’t really matter if they vote,” he said. “Having said that, if it’s a competitive election, those local offices are the closest to the person.” Baybeck discusses shifts in local races becoming more nationalized, and an increase in spending on those campaigns. He encourages voters to use non-partisan websites and be aware of disinformation on social media.  

The National Football Foundation (NFF) & College Hall of Fame announced the finalists for the 2022 William V. Campbell Trophy, college football’s premier scholar-athlete award that annually recognizes an individual as the absolute best in the nation for his combined academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership. The 15 finalists will each receive an $18,000 postgraduate scholarship as a member of the 2022 NFF Scholar-Athlete Class presented by Fidelity Investments. Julius Wilkerson, a linebacker and three-year captain from Wayne State University who holds a 3.85 GPA and is majoring in psychology, is among the finalists. Finalists will travel to Bellagio Resort & Casino in Las Vegas for the annual awards dinner on December 6, where their accomplishments will be highlighted in front of one of the most powerful audiences in all of sports.  

The Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School will present a screening of “Walk With Me: The Trials of Damon J. Keith” on Thursday, November 3, from 4 to 9 p.m. at the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium.   

A Michigan State University professor will help lead a newly established suicide prevention research center focused on reaching people in the jail system who are at risk of taking their own lives. The National Center for Health and Justice Integration for Suicide Prevention will be funded for five years with a $15 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health. The data gathered will be used to notify administrators at three Michigan jails taking part in the studies when someone who is being held is identified as at-risk for suicide and in need of further assessments or support, said Sheryl Kubiak, dean of social work at Wayne State University and director of the Center for Behavioral Health and Justice. Kubiak, who will oversee the study, said the jails involved aren’t yet finalized. She’s hoping it presents another tool for jail staff in identifying people in crisis and addressing that. “Most of the mechanisms that jails have when people come in are self-reporting,” she said, and while staff at every jail ask people during intake if they are suicidal, there are many things that stop people from being honest about their mental state.  

Challenging racism is hard, painful work. Detroit, however, has a new cohort of racial equity leaders taking that challenge head-on. The Detroit Equity Action Lab (DEAL) recently announced its seventh cohort of Racial Equity Fellows to join its multiracial and multigenerational network of leaders dedicated to ending structural racism in Detroit. The 2022 cohort of 28 diverse fellows represent more than 10 sectors, including public policy/advocacy, human services, art, and education. “DEAL 7 is our first hybrid cohort and we are thrilled to be back in person to deliver programming and curate a physical space for connection, collaboration, and learning,” said Asandi Conner, DEAL’s director.  

By Jamie L. LaReau  General Motors is reinstating health care benefits to its U.S. salaried employees' same-sex domestic partners and their kids and, in a first for the automaker, is also going to allow employees to add opposite-sex, unmarried partners and their children to their health plans. GM's move, part of an effort toward its goal to be the most inclusive company in the world, will also expand the medical benefits it already offers to transgender salaried employees in the United States. The initiatives start January 1, 2023. GM's strategy, while significant for its goal, is not groundbreaking. This time a year ago, Stellantis reinstated its offering of domestic partner benefits for same-sex couples, adding it to the inclusion of employees with opposite-sex partners, which was not the case previously. The offering is still in effect. Stellantis has also offered similar medical benefits to transgender people. Similarly, Ford Motor Co. provides domestic partner benefits in the states that require it. Since 2021, Ford has covered various transgender-related medical procedures and it will add new services next year. GM's newest offerings are more "in the middle of the curve" than ahead of it, said Marick Masters, a business professor at Wayne State University who specializes in business, labor, human resource management, conflict resolution and employee relations. "They are essentially catching up," he said of GM. "Recruitment and retention are difficult in auto because of the waves of technological change, continual restructurings due to electrification, and portending demand for product challenges, domestically and globally, on the heels of supply (chain) difficulties." 

Deaf people say they sometimes feel like they’re leaving on a different planet from those who hear, but when both learn to use American Sign Language, it can open up a new world of communication. In Detroit, Wayne State University is taking notice. The school’s College of Education recently included a Deaf Studies minor in its curriculum, and the classes are filling up. As the program grows, the school is actively recruiting people who are deaf or hard of hearing as teachers. Kathryn Roberts, interim assistant dean of teacher education at Wayne State, said it would not make sense to teach ASL without instructors from the deaf culture. “It was really important to our division that we had people from the deaf community working with us, because deaf culture is a huge piece of what we wanted to be teaching, Roberts explained. “And education programs, particularly Wayne State’s education program, we have a huge focus on the community.” Roberts added there are an estimated 400,000 deaf people in Michigan, which means the program potentially affects one out of every 20 people in the state. Emily Jo Noschese, assistant professor of bilingual and bicultural education, was one of the first instructors the school recruited. Noschase, who is fourth-generation deaf, not only teaches ASL, but has helped identify and hire five part-time ASL instructors. “Anybody that’s working in a business, somebody who might own a business or a company, they are guaranteed to have a deaf person that might want to come in and work for them,” Noschese said. “They learn sign language; that could benefit the rapport between them and the client, because they will be able to communicate with them.”   

By Donald James  Since becoming the 12th president of Wayne State University on August 1, 2013, Dr. M. Roy Wilson has been on a successful mission to elevate the urban institution to take its rightful place as a local, national, and international leader across the broad sectors of higher education. Wilson announced in August that he was stepping down from his top university position when his contract expires July 31, 2023. “I feel that the time is right for a transition in leadership at the University,” Wilson said. “I had numerous conversations with family, friends, and colleagues before making my decision not to renew my contract. While there’s more that I can do as president, I realized that after almost ten years, I’ve accomplished most of the goals that are important to the University and its growth.” Among those many accomplishments credited to Wilson include guiding Wayne State to achieve the nation’s most-improved graduation rate between the years 2012 to 2018. In fall 2020, the University admitted its largest incoming class ever. Among Black students, the graduation rate at WSU has risen from 7% when Wilson came aboard as president to a current 40% - and is climbing.  

By Johanna Alonso  Students – including one advocate at Temple – are pushing for an Election Day holiday this year, even though the presidency is not at stake. Advocates say that having the day off encourages young people not only to vote but also participate in the election by working at the polls or watching the election results with other students. Plus, supporters argue, it sends a message that the university considers voting and civic engagement high priorities. During the highly contentious 2020 presidential election, student efforts to make Election Day a campus holiday had a strong impact, proving successful in many cases. Colleges such as American University and George Washington University, Augsburg University and Wayne State University in Michigan canceled classes two years ago in the hopes of improving voter turnout among students. “A lot of our students have families, they work and they go to school, so they are busy,” Brandon Shamoun, coordinator of student engagement in the Dean of Students Office, said in a 2020 announcement. “This holiday gives them time to ensure they can go and vote. It really showcases the university’s commitment to civic engagement.”  

U.S. Army Col. Gregory Gadson served his country in every conflict from 1989 until May 2007, when a vehicle he was traveling in hit a roadside bomb. Gadson spent the next week fighting for his life at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He lived, but Gadson, a U.S. Military Academy graduate and football player who served in operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Operation Joint Forge, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation Iraqi Freedom – had lost both legs above the knees and normal use of his right arm and hand. Oc Oct. 28, Wayne State University will unveil the Colonel Gregory Gadson Office of Military and Veterans Academic Excellence in his honor. Jim Anderson, a College of Engineering alumnus and founder of Urban Science, a Detroit-based automotive consultancy and technology firm, made a gift of $1 million to support the WSU Office of Military and Veterans Academic Excellence.