In the news

Softball Rally Falls Short

The Wayne State University softball squad (10-12) dropped a 7-3 decision in the nightcap of a non-league doubleheader versus the University of Detroit Titans (8-11) Thursday at the WSU Softball Stadium. The Warriors scored once in the third, fourth and fifth innings to pull within two at 5-3 before Detroit tallied two insurance runs in the sixth. Wayne State returns to league competition with two doubleheaders in Erie, Pa., this weekend. The Warriors play Gannon on Saturday and Mercyhurst on Sunday.

Tom Walsh: State at risk of economic devastation

Two major studies about the post-industrial future of Michigan and its Midwest neighbors start from the premise that the Rust Belt region may soon be an economic wasteland if we don't get serious about knowledge creation and innovation. According to the Brookings Institution and the Michigan Road project, Michigan's current unemployment rate of 7.5 percent is the nations highest. The Michigan Road project study stated, "Ironically, at a time when the rest of the world has recognized that investing in education and knowledge creation is the key to not only prosperity but, indeed, survival, too many of Michigan's citizens and leaders…have come to view such investments as a low priority, expendable during hard times. Michigan's support per student dropped to $6,067 in 2004 (versus an average of $6,735 in other Great Lakes states), ranking Michigan in the bottom one-third of the nation, according to the Michigan Road study.

Porn producer combs universities for recruits

Universities across the state have learned that a gay pornographic film company, led by Derek Ward, a local gay porn producer, has been recruiting students on campuses. People are paid to post flyers listing his Web site and Ward says some students e-mail him directly after viewing his Web site. Among universities where Ward claims he is filming are the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Eastern Michigan University, Western Michigan University, Grand Valley State University and Wayne State University. He says once he gets the "bigger universities out of the way," he plans to target smaller campuses like Oakland University among others.

Tradition: University revs up for spring

Wayne State University will celebrate the passage of winter with its 22nd annual Groundhog Day-like tradition with a funeral for Ol\' Man Winter starting at 11:30 a.m. Led by the \"Monster Truck Hearse\" and Jay Towers from WDRQ\'s \"Jay and Rachael Show,\" the procession will include a burial march starting at Einstein Bros Bagels outside the North Residence Hall. Marchers, including students, employees and the community, will bury winter and welcome spring outside the circa 1890 Saloon. Those attending will receive commemorative T-shirts, coupons, hot chocolate and more.

Body basics

Wayne State University's Humanities Center is presenting "The Body" on Friday, April 8, a daylong interdisciplinary conference examining and contemplating the human body - from a psychological perspective. Walter Edwards, director of the center, says this year he received 22 proposals; the center picked eight, and funded the research. "It should appeal to people in the humanities, and arts and culture, in a wide range of disciplines," Edwards says. "Within the humanities, we study human beings in terms of their mental, physical, emotional and cultural lives, so the body is a viscerally important topic."