In the news

U's urge end to tuition caps, reversal of fund cuts

The following is a verbatim report from this legislative news service: "In an annual address on the state of public universities, the head of the group representing Michigan's 15 public campuses urged policymakers to respect the constitutional autonomy of the institutions and to reverse the trend of cutting funds to universities. Those cuts, he said, are already putting the state in jeopardy of having six of the campuses evolve from being state-supported, to being state-related. . . ." Gary Russi, president of Oakland University and chair of the Presidents Council State Universities of Michigan, said, "Price controls in the form of tuition caps imposed from Lansing, coupled with the serious erosion of state funding over the last three years, do not make for a sustainable model for growing enrollment and improving quality."

'Conehead' links country music, suicide

A feature story on Steven Stack, a Troy resident and professor in the Criminal Justice Department, focuses on his research regarding suicide statistics. He recently received an Ig Nobel Prize for a 1992 study that established a correlation between country music and higher suicide rates. Although the Ig Nobel is a tongue-in-cheek award, competition is keen, with over 5,000 nominees for the handful of awards presented each year. Stack admits that his study, co-conducted by a professor at Auburn University, drew more criticism than praise when it was widely covered by the media. The study report noted that factors other than country music may have a bearing on suicide rates among country music fans. These include gun ownership and higher divorce rates. A photo of Stack accompanies the article.

Children may face higher risk of disabilities from mercury

Women and children in Michigan may be at an above-average risk of poor health as a result of the federal government's failure to curb lake-polluting emissions of mercury, a neurotoxin that strikes pregnant women and results in learning disabilities in over 60,000 children each year. Michael R. Harbut , MD, of Wayne State, and the Karmanos Cancer Institute, said, "Although it is very difficult in any individual patient to know which health effect is caused by any single toxin, the fact is that disease processes caused by mercury exposure have significantly increased in the last 20 years."

Detroit Docs Debuts at Welcome Center

On the 10 p.m. news, anchor Huel Perkins read a report about hundreds of Detroiters who gathered to celebrate the opening of the Detroit Docs International Film Festival at the WSU Welcome Center. Film footage taken at the gala included an outdoor shot of the Welcome Center and searchlights, inside shots of the crowd, the decorations and people watching films in the auditorium. The report noted that the all-documentary film festival included the showing of more than 100 films over the weekend at three venues on the WSU campus, as well as other locations around town.

Former Bonior staffers score a sweep in county elections

David Bonior, university professor of labor studies at Wayne State and former U.S. Congressman, comments in a story about the recent election and seven of his former staffers winning various seats in Macomb County. "It's very rewarding to see people who learned from you and assisted you aspire to elected office and be successful. It's very gratifying…Part of what you do, part of your roles as a leader, is to help people get into activism," Bonior said.

Seven ways to fight those post-election blues

This article about dealing the outcome of the recent presidential election quoted Wayne State\'s Fred Pearson, who is director the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. \"... Find common ground. Talking to the opposition may be the last thing you want to do. But to tackle long-term issues like health care and the war on terrorism, America must figure out how to reach a consensus,\" says Fred Pearson, director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Wayne State University. \"We need to be able to listen to each other,\" says Pearson. How do you heal a polarized society, especially when politicians exploit our differences to their advantage? Pearson thinks the Web potentially could unite citizens who seek to put aside rancor and brainstorm solutions to problems.

Six Football Players Earn All-League Honors

The 2004 Wayne State University football squad had six players named to the all-conference teams announced by the league office after balloting by the league\'s head coaches. Junior defensive end Leo Wells was the lone Warrior named to the All-GLIAC Second Team. Five Warriors were named to the All-GLIAC Honorable Mention team: senior defensive lineman Joe Touzin, junior defensive back Bobby Boyer, sophomore corner back/punt returner Jerriel Burrus, redshirt freshman tight end John Rehberg and freshman wide receiver Ronald Williams.