February 26 - March 5

Controversy over animal testing hits WSU See News, page 4

What happens to scholarships when student athletes are injured?

See Features, page 9

WSU football makes 13-year-old’s dream a reality See Sports, page 10

WAYNE STATE’S PRESIDENT VISITS THE CAPITAL TO SPEAK ABOUT UNIVERSITY FUNDING

JON ADAMS/THE SOUTH END

FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2014 | WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1967 | THESOUTHEND.WAYNE.EDU | DETROIT, MICHIGAN | FREE

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Job opportunities remain priority in law school EVAN SOTNIK Contributing Writer Jocelyn Benson, interim dean of Wayne State’s Law School, gave her State of the Law School address Feb. 17 at the Spencer Partrich Auditorium.

The address presented a mixture of accomplishments from the past year and goals for 2014. Many of the programs rely on WSU law alumni, a resource Benson described as “massive.”

One program at the disposal of law students, although seemingly underutilized, is a mentor program that pairs up law school students with successful WSU law alumni. According to Benson, this program currently has more willing mentors than mentees.

Another alumni-centric program is a monthly speak-

ing series featuring WSU law alumni talking about specific topics in law. The next Alumni Speaking Series event will be held Feb. 27, and will focus on sports and entertainment law.

Benson also announced the future creation of alumni networks in Los Angeles, New York and Washington DC. In addition to alumnicentered programs, Benson also talked about progress being made by current WSU law students.

Accomplishments for the past year include the successful community outreach program attached to the Program for Entrepreneurship and Business Law, which provided more than $200,000 worth of pro bono legal services to nonprofits and local businesses in 2013.

Benson also mentioned

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At the beginning of the speech, Benson admitted that the focus for the upcoming year remains the same as last year – “Jobs, jobs, jobs,” she said. While this mantra is not uncommon given the present state of the economy, Benson seemed to take the task of supporting students to heart.

“We are your law school,” she said. “We are your portal to accomplish whatever goal you are seeking.”

This was Dean Benson’s second State of the Law School address since being named interim dean in 2012. Prior to this, Benson was a faculty member at WSU law school beginning in 2005. In December 2013, Benson denied rumors she would challenge Kerry Bentivolio for Michigan’s 11th Congressional district in the upcoming election.

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PUBLICATION

The South End is published Wednesdays during the fall and winter semesters by Wayne State University students. Copies are available free of charge at various locations throughout campus. The Student Newspaper Publication Board, established by the Wayne State University Board of Governors, acts as the publisher of The South End. The board establishes and ensures compliance with publication, editorial and news reporting guidelines. All complaints, comments and suggestions concerning the student newspaper should be directed to doso@wayne.edu.

the addition of two law clinics for students to use for real world experience. The Civil Rights and Civil Liberties Clinic, in partnership with the ACLU, gives students the chance to work on real cases involving freedom of speech, LGBT rights and racial justice issues, among others. The second will be the Legal Advocacy for People with Cancer Clinic, which assists low-income cancer patients living in the metro-Detroit area.

Another stride made by WSU law students is an increase in passage rate for the Michigan Bar exam. In February of 2013, 90 percent of first-time takers of the exam passed, up 25 percent from the previous year.

Benson credited this to more focus being placed on bar exam preparation workshops, outside programming and personal assistance.

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Wilson, Gift of Life organization address Student Senate CHRIS EHRMANN The South End The Wayne State Student Senate met Feb. 20 to discuss several topics, with President M. Roy Wilson in attendance.

Wilson informed the senate about his trip to Lansing to speak about Gov. Rick Snyder’s increase to education funding.

Wilson also talked about the progress of the smoking ban as well as the Gift of Life college competition WSU is involved in.

After a call to order and the approval of the agenda, President Wilson spoke to the senate’s smoking ban committee about the progress of the ban. Wilson said a couple of years ago, the faculty sent out a survey regarding the idea of WSU becoming a smoke-free campus, but the results of the

survey showed opposition to the idea.

Wilson said problems can arise if the school immediately becomes a smoke-free campus.

“It can take a lot of time if everybody doesn’t cooperate,” Wilson said.

He said there should be programs to help smokers kick the habit if the school becomes smoke-free.

Wilson also gave an update on his trip to Lansing, where he spoke to the higher education appropriations subcommittee about Gov. Snyder’s school budget.

He said WSU will be getting Pell Grants, something that was not included last year.

Wilson also said the school gets credit for some of its benefits, like being classified as a Carnegie I research institution. But because of the problems WSU faces, like low

graduation rates, WSU will only be receiving a 4 percent increase in state funding (with the addition of Pell Grants) instead of the statutory 6.1 percent increase other schools are eligible to receive.

The next speaker was Beverly Butler from the Gift of Life organization. WSU has been involved with the organization, and has won the Gift of Life campus challenge, for two consecutive years. The challenge is to get campuses to register people for organ donations. WSU is competing again this year, and is currently in the lead. Butler said WSU winning twice in a row has sparked a rivalry between WSU and Michigan State University. Butler congratulated the Student Senate and WSU on their success and said all of the effort is for a good cause.

Also during the meeting there were two faculty awards given out by the senate.

The first award was given to Professor Eric Montgomery of the Honors College.

The other award was given to Professor Kim Dunleavy, who teaches in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Next, sophomore Amal Shah was inducted as a new member of the senate. Senate President Adham Aljahmi swore Shah in.

After the speakers presented and Shah was inducted, the senate moved on to their reports and announcements. After that, the senate adjourned. Anyone interested in attending senate meetings can find the full schedule of meetings on their website.

The next meeting will be held March 6 at 6 p.m.

Low WSU graduation rates threaten state funding

CHRIS EHRMANN The South End President Wilson visited Lansing to speak to the subcommittee on higher education about Gov. Rick Snyder’s budget increase for universities and to make a case about how Wayne State is unique as a university.

“It’s an annual thing that presidents all go up to Lansing and can kind of make their case for their budget and what’s unique about their university,” Matt Lockwood, director of communications at WSU, said.

“I think the main thing that I am going to do is to explain to the legislatures the uniqueness of Wayne State. We are not like any other university in the state,” Wilson said.

In his speech, Wilson spoke to the committee about how WSU has been a “step-

ping stone” for “non-traditional” students since the university got its start.

WSU is a major research institution that has a Carnegie I research classification, which is the highest level obtainable. It is one of three Carnegie I universities in the state, the other two being University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

The school is often compared to other universities that have the same rating.

“Our peers in that group are Michigan, University of North Carolina, UC Berkeley, you know those kinds of schools,” Wilson said. “At the same time, we are also a university that has traditionally and historically been very concerned about opportunity and providing access.”

Wilson said since WSU has been known for being concerned with students and college, having the Carnegie classification is great since the college is not like Berkeley or University of Carolina.

“Wayne State, it’s a little different, be-

cause our door is open wider,” Wilson said.

“And this is different from 95 percent of our Carnegie research peers.

“We are going to be very supportive of the governor’s budget,” Wilson said, “but I do want to make the point that when you talk about metrics it is important that the metrics align with the strategic priorities of the state … but the truth of the matter is that it is important that metrics recognizes the individual mission of different universities.”

An important part of the governor’s budget for WSU is the expansion of Pell Grants.

“Well, we have a large number of Pell students, the largest among all the univesities, and certainly from a (student) percentage its way more percentage wise,” Wilson said.

By adding Pell, it allows WSU to become more competitive and to give more funding.

One problem WSU faces is its six-year graduation rate among its students.

In his speech to the subcommittee, Wilson said one reason why it takes students longer to graduate is because many are working.

“In a survey of our students, 84 percent reported that they were employed full or part-time while attending Wayne State,” Wilson said. “Working, paying taxes, and contributing to the economy – while attending college.”

The amount that WSU will receive is the lowest of all the universities.

“We support the proposed metrics even though they don’t serve Wayne State as well as other universities, and would in fact result in Wayne State receiving the lowest percentage increase among Michigan’s public universities,” Wilson said. “By adding Pell, it mitigates some of that. But the fact of the matter is we need to improve.”

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Lighting authority begins neighborhood installations EVAN SOTNIK Contributing Writer The Public Lighting Authority of Detroit installed the first of nearly 50,000 LED streetlights that will be upgraded over the next two years across the city on Feb. 12.

The PLA also announced an updated timeline for completion of the upgrades.

In a press release, the authority said all neighborhood upgrades will be finished by the end of 2015, earlier than originally planned. All roadway lighting upgrades will be completed by the end of 2016.

Odis Jones, PLA’s executive director, said the LED lights being used in the upgrade will be more than twice as bright as

the high-pressure sodium lights currently in use around the city.

According to their website, the PLA was formed in response to the “increasingly serious disrepair” of Detroit’s street lighting system. In 2013, a block-byblock survey found that 44.8 percent of street lights were not working in the two neighborhoods studied.

Not to be confused with the city-run Public Lighting Department, the PLA was specifically designed to upgrade existing infrastructure.

In addition to maintaining the city’s street lights, the Public Lighting Department maintains the city’s traffic light system and the police and fire communications network. Wayne State is listed

under the “Major Customers” section of the Detroit Public Lighting Department’s website.

While the public lighting situation is making strides toward modernization, other infrastructure problems still need to be addressed. According to Dr. Jeffery Horner of the Department of Urban Studies and Planning, the number of vacant properties remains a major issue.

“If I were king, I would take an inventory of the blighted properties in the city,” Horner said.

“Fifteen percent of (city) revenue comes from property taxes,” he said.

“Getting these properties back on the tax roll will bring Detroit back to what it was in the 1950s.”

One program aiding with the problem of blight is Data Driven Detroit, an organization whose goal is to collect and analyze data about the city for use in policymaking and community improvement. WSU students have been working with D3 to count the total number of blighted properties around the city. Once these results are made available, the information can be used for future projects in the city.

Once the street light upgrades are complete, Horner thinks Detroit will have taken a step in the right direction. “The city will be brighter and safer,” he said.

A map laying out the schedule for street light upgrades can be found on the PLA’s website, www.pladetroit.org.

Examination of WSU animal testing continues

BRIAN MAINZINGER TSE Correspondent In October 2011, The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit, filed a petition with the Animal Care Division of the United States Department of Agriculture, alleging that animals used in a Wayne State research lab had been mistreated. Since then, representatives from WSU have released statements countering the claims.

The PCRM has made its claims known through commercials and other media.

A controversy ensued, eventually leading to threats of torture and death against a WSU researcher and members of his family.

Kenneth Litwak, D.V.M., Ph.D. and associate director of labratory medicine

at PCRM, said that although PCRM filed a Freedom of Information Act request, the Comittee still had to sue WSU to obtain records because “Wayne State tried to block” that request. Representatives from WSU said otherwise.

“The fact they said they had to sue is misleading information,” said Matt Lockwood, director of communications at WSU. “PCRM can get documents, but not with faculty names. Wayne State sued PCRM because we did not want to have access to faculty names because there were death threats to faculty and family members.”

Lockwood also provided documents of inspection from the Department of Health & Human Services and the United States Department of Agriculture, both stating that no violations were found.

The DHS sent a letter in January 2012

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stating, “the report ... found no evidence to support any of the allegations made

by PCRM or the private citizen. Based on the review of the records associated with the (dog number) and interviews with the laboratory and veterinary staff, the subcommittee did not find any instance where the dog did not receive proper care.”

Recently, representatives from the PCRM spoke at a WSU Board of Governors meeting and asked WSU, “to move universally away from using dogs for cardiology experiments,” according to Litwak.

While it is clear from reports from both WSU and PCRM that dogs are being used in experiments and being euthanized at the experiments’ end, PCRM alleges abuse.

WSU has provided documents stat-

ing otherwise, but the controversy has opened a window into the world of animal research.

What is happening at WSU, as far as the South End can find at this point, is legal, so why is there controversy? The PRCM claims that testing can be done on humans with better results. Representatives from WSU point to funding for this research provided by the National Institute of Health, as well as discoveries made during the research as proof of the research’s importance.

The South End has made a commitment to look into the situation further.

Because of the sensitivity of the topic, as well as claims and counter claims from each party, details need to be documented before they are reported on in the paper.

Please follow this story in future editions of the South End.

Multiplayer-only shooter adds new dimensions to genre

LISA FRALEIGH TSE Columnist I’ve been playing the “Titanfall” beta test release for almost an entire week and it has only made me even more eager to get my hands on the full game than I already was!

The beta is closed now, and I miss playing it more than anyone should miss playing a video game. But with the full launch of the game just around the corner on March 11, I thought it would be a good idea to look at our first impressions of the game from what we have been able to see in the beta.

When the beta was first released, you probably saw it trending on Twitter, all over news feeds and lighting up gaming forums. So you may already be familiar with the game, but before I start, let me bring everyone up to speed on what “Titanfall” is exactly.

“Titanfall” is a game made by Respawn Entertainment and is published by EA Games. This will be Respawn’s first game since the company was founded in 2010

by Jason West and Vince Zampella. West and Zampella were two of the minds

behind the “Call of Duty” franchise at Infinity Ward; that’s reason enough to be excited about the game. And, as you could guess from the creators of “Call of Duty,” “Titanfall” is a first-person shooter game. However, outside of the same basic controls and some aesthetically-similar maps, that’s pretty much where the similarities between the two games end.

“Titanfall” does a fantastic job at adding new dimensions to regular FPS action. Instead of running around trying to kill everything in sight, it adds elements to the game that lead to more strategy development instead. In Attrition mode, in which I spent most of my time playing, the idea is to get enough points by killing enemy players (Pilots) and the nonplayable characters running around the map (Spectres and Grunts), until you get enough points to call down your titan.

Titans are mechanical giants that your character can get inside and control, and can follow and defend you on auto-pilot.

There are three different types of titans, each with their own unique skills and uses. Each titan you get lasts until it is killed, and then you can begin to collect points again to earn your next titan.

“Titanfall” also has some parkour movements in it, like wall-running and double-jumping. These moves are loads of fun and very tough to master, but definitely help keep the game at its fast pace.

You can stealthily cross the map like this to sneak up on enemy players or climb on top of an enemy titan to take it down in a

move called “rodeoing.”

“Titanfall” offers a lot of diversity, with different things players can do in a match to tailor it to their own strengths. If you only want to go around killing enemy pilots, you can do that. Or maybe your main goal will be to rodeo titans; you can do that as well.

“Titanfall” is an online multiplayer-only game, which means there is no single player campaign mode traditionally in an FPS. But before you get upset about this, take the time to consider the positives.

Very few people play campaign modes these days, so the developers can use the resources that would have been spent on the single player mode and use them on making the best multiplayer experience possible instead. And that is exactly what Zampella said in an interview with GamesIndustry.

“We make these single-player missions that take up all the focus of the studio, that take a huge team six months to make, and players run through it in 8 minutes. And how many people finish the single-player game? It’s a small percentage. It’s like, everyone plays through the first level, but 5 percent of people finish the game... But people spend hundreds of hours in the multiplayer experience versus ‘as little time as possible rushing to the end’ (in single-player). So why do all the resources go there? To us it made sense to put it here. Now everybody sees all those resources, and multiplayer is better. For us it made sense.”

Although there is a lack of a single

player mode, there are various multiplayer modes you can choose from. The first is “Attrition;” this is the basic mode you would expect in an FPS game. You kill anything on the enemy team to earn Attrition Points. The game ends when one team hits the score limit, though whichever team has the most points when time is up can win as well.

The second mode is Hardpoint Domination. In this mode, you must capture and hold three different hardpoints on the map to earn points for your team. The more hardpoints your team holds, the faster you will win.

The third and final mode is Last Titan Standing. In this mode, everyone starts in a Titan, and your team’s goal is to eliminate the whole enemy team. This mode is round-based, and the team that wins the best of five rounds wins the match.

Each mode has something different and exciting to offer. Even if they might be similar to other FPS modes, I guarantee you they play completely differently.

With the addition of many different elements in “Titanfall,” from parkour to the NPCs and of course the titans, it adds a whole new level of strategy in a multiplayer FPS that wasn’t really there before. And while the basics of the game seem fairly easy, there is definitely a learning curve you will go through before you feel comfortable playing it. But as it stands, “Titanfall” is a great game that is super fun to play even in beta form. So I think it’s safe to say it will live up to its hype – and then some.

MOCAD exhibit honors life of WSU alumnus ZEINAB NAJM Staff Writer

JON ADAMS/THE SOUTH END

The Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit will feature the “I Cancel All My Works at Death” exhibit through May 4.

The exhibit honors the works of James Lee Byars, a Wayne State alumnus, just down the street from the WSU main campus.

It is unlike many exhibitions because it’s not the work of Byars, but instead features work inspired by his art.

Jens Hoffmann, a guest curator at MOCAD, helped with the organization of the exhibit.

“It is an exhibition about the work of James Lee Byars, who was born in Detroit in 1932,” Hoffman said. “The exhibition focuses on his earlier work that is mostly about performances and ephemeral events.”

He said the title comes from a book of Byars.

The exhibit features posters, suits, costumes, scripts, videos, photographs, props and a timeline of Byar’s work. Everything on display was created by Shelly Bancroft and Peter Nesbett, directors of an art historian collective known as Triple Candie.

Hoffmann said, “Triple Candie, a collective of art historians, have staged several un-authorized

retrospectives of other artists in a very unique way, and I felt they would be the most appropriate partner in putting this show together.”

Triple Candie is known for creating work influenced by artists, but without their help. Inspired by the original work, they add their own spin. Through the exhibition, viewers can still experience Byar’s mysterious work.

“It was important for us to bring an artist that has become so influential throughout the world back to Detroit,” he said. “We would like everyone in the city to get an idea about him and his extraordinary work and to realize what an extraordinary history of art there is in Detroit.”

Byar’s impact on the art world is evident. He traveled the world in search of inspiration for all of his work. The artist referred to his art as “plays” or “actions.”

Although Byar passed away in the late 1990s, his art and influence will not be forgotten, especially by Hoffmann.

“He was a very unique artist and (a) character,” he said. “What draws a lot of artists to his work, particularly younger artists, are his enigmatic performances and the radical nature of the work. Byars did not make comprimises, he lived for his art - he was consumed by it - and ultimately become in a way a work of art himself.”

/THESOUTHENDNEWS I FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2014 I 5

WSU fashion students spring up at Neiman Marcus show MONTGOMERY JONZE Contributing Writer Neiman Marcus, Wayne State’s College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Fashion Design and Merchandising programs of the James Pearson Duffy Department of Art and Art History are partnering to present this year’s The Art of Fashion, which will present the exclusive spring clothing line from Neiman Marcus.

With four student fashion models, CFPCA Dean Matthew Seeger walking the runway, 160 guests in total, a jazz trio and student pieces featured in the display windows until March 3, this is one highly anticipated sold-out show.

Nine student pieces will be featured in the Neiman Marcus exterior display window. The choices are based on the artistic merit and technical design qualities of each submission. They are being displayed Feb. 26 through March 3 at Somerset Mall in Troy, Mich.

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“I decided to go with a Detroit-based name ... ‘DÉTROIT: The Strait to Fashion,’” WSU senior and fashion show coordinator Jessica Collins said. “I thought it was a fun play on words since Detroit means ‘the strait’ in French, after the Detroit River. On top of having a show with more than 10 amazingly talented Wayne State fashion design students, there will be displays of Detroit-made artwork by students from the university to further showcase the many talents that come from Wayne State. They can be viewed on the walls of our venue, Tangent Gallery, before and after the fashion show, and during the preshow and afterglow. Full bar, live entertainment during preshow, and creative collections from the innovated designers.”

Rayneld Johnson, a WSU senior lecturer in fashion design and merchandising, describes what those attending can expect.

“Guests can look forward to an inspirational, uplifting, fun evening featuring trend-forward spring fashions by Neiman Marcus and innovative edgy designs by

/THESOUTHENDWSU

young emerging Detroit designers from WSU,” Johnson said. “Additionally, Dean Seeger, is supposed to be a guest model in the fashion show.”

The money raised allows the students to attend the New York Study Tour, a class that runs every other year. As a part of this class, students spend five days in New York City to gain knowledge of the industry by visiting professional locations such as designer showrooms, retail headquarters and merchandising offices.

“Two of my garments will be featured in the show,” said WSU senior Narjes Almajidi. “One is an emerald colored taffeta dress titled The Start of Decay. It is an art-towear garment inspired by nature. I looked at a dying plant and the transformation it undergoes, particularly the way the leaves start to droop and the color begins to fade, and incorporated that into my design. The illusion of this decay is depicted through the bustle-shaped back by overlapping pleats and adding the hint of black.

“The other garment is a bubble-shaped

dress, which is titled Lace Lantern,” she said. “This was a deconstruct/reconstruct assignment where I took an old lace nightgown and created something modern and fun. Inspired by Chinese lanterns, I created the circular shape using geometric shapes and alternated between fabrics and colors to portray the spirit of the lanterns.”

The ensembles worn on the runway are Neiman Marcus’s spring line. While this is the first year they have collaborated with WSU’s fashion design and merchandising, this is not the first year they have worked with WSU — they previously worked with the School of Medicine on a similar project.

“We’re excited to partner with Neiman Marcus and the event is sold out,” Johnson said. “Coordinating the show from WSU include: Ms. Amanda Bennett and staff of the CFPCA, faculty members, Rayneld Johnson and Susan Widawski, and student assistants, Ms. Ashley Mossoian and Ms. Victoria Smith of the fashion design and merchandising area.”

Detroit Week’s largest selfie event done in a flash LYNN LOSH Features Correspondent “A picture is worth a thousand words,” as the old saying goes.

It certainly was Feb. 19 when more than 400 metro Detroiters met on the steps of the Detroit Institute of Arts to take what is being called “Detroit’s Largest Selfie.”

The event was part of Detroit Week, presented by the Established Co. Detroit Week is a series of events focused on celebrating entrepreneurship and innovation. Detroit Week was scheduled for Feb. 17-23.

Photographer Shawn Lee, who is a founding member of the Established Co., thought the event could be used to bring the residents of Detroit together.

“It was a great way to incorporate today’s technology as a community,” Lee said. “It was a great way to engage people, a great way to engage community, a great way to engage people of different age brackets, different walks of life and it was a very cool event for the city of Detroit.”

Spirits were high among those involved in the massive photo shoot.

“There was tons of energy. Everyone was excited to be there and be a part of this event. Cool people in a cool place,” WSU student Nady Bilani said. “I’d say a lot of Detroiters came out for the event.”

The Established Co. hopes to make Detroit week an annual event.

“This is the inaugural year of Detroit Week and we thought that it would be extremely cool just to have (this) event that kind of anchors everything that’s going on via Detroit Week,” Lee said.

Many of the event attendees found out last minute and had to rush to make it in time to the 10 a.m. photo-op. Alisha Merrow, a WSU student, ran all the way from Manoogian Hall.

“There were a lot of people there with friends, but they were also taking pictures with strangers and having fun,” she said.

“It was definitely an experience to remember. At one point, the man taking the main photo shouted for everyone to hug somebody and I ended up hugging someone I’ve never met before.”

WSU student William Laubscher enjoyed the event and would love for “Detroit’s Largest Selfie” to become a yearly tradition.

“Yes, without a doubt, in a heartbeat,” he said. “The event was well orchestrated and extremely quick. It’s kind of surreal, that you can be a part of something this big in such a short time frame.”

KRISTIN SHAW/THE SOUTH END

Playwrights vie for spotlight in theater festival KIRAN SAINI Contributing Writer The 2014 Louise Heck-Rabi Dramatic Writing Festival will be held at the underground Studio Theatre at the Hillberry from Feb. 27 to March 8 at 8 p.m.

The festival features winning plays from the Louise Heck-Rabi Dramatic Writing Competition. Winning playwrights receive a scholarship and a chance to work with undergraduate directors, designers and actors.

Four plays will be featured in this year’s festival.

The first play is entitled “For the Kids.”

Written by Brent Griffith and directed by Kelly Robinson, the play features “two friends, roommates, and co-workers who drift apart as their goals in life start to change.”

“This has been a super exciting experience for me as a first time director,” Robinson said. “Not only are we able to try out new things with never before seen works, but we are also getting the opportunity to hear from and talk to the living playwrights, which is awesome.”

Also featured in the play are Adham Aljhami, Amelia Gilis, Caitlin Macuga and Allen Wiseman.

The second play is “Jazz Duet in a Minor Key,” written by Topher Payne and directed

by Lisa Youngs. Doug Lubaway and Katelin Maylum are featured in the play.

The play has been described as a gay man returning to his hometown to find an old friend who tormented him as a teenager.

“There is this great camaraderie between all of us even though we are all doing different shows, but it is one festival and we really do work as a team,” Maylum said.

The third play is called “Genius, or Crazy?” which was written by Megan Barbour and directed by Shannon Hurst.

The official play description is that an art student seeks creative advice from the

greats when she hits a mental block.

Featured in the play are Alexis Barrera, Carl Bentley, Dan Finn, Michael Fisher, Joe Sfair and Allen Wiseman.

The fourth and final play is entitled “The Crate,” written by David Sterritt and directed by Katelyn Foster. This play consists of two shipping warehouse employees who mistakenly open a “loaded” crate.

Carl Bentley, Michael Fisher, Egla Kishta and Chris Peterson are all featured in the play.

“I strongly encourage theatre lovers to come and check out the shows, it’s a full night of theater with an unbeatable price of only five dollars,” Maylum said.

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WAYN offers students, local bands play time RYAN RAGER Contributing Writer Music flows from the entrance of room 21 in the basement of Wayne State’s student center. It emanates from two speakers mounted high on the wall. Inside you’ll find a small collection of retro posters, a folding table with a set of microphones and tucked in the back corner, a broadcasting board. This is the home of WAYN Radio, Wayne State’s official student-run internet radio station.

WAYN can now be streamed on the Wayne State Mobile app for iPhone in addition to the TuneIn Radio and Soundtap College Radio apps and WAYN’s website, waynradio.net.

WAYN broadcasts 24/7, currently featuring 15 live shows created and hosted by members of the WAYN organization playing Monday through Friday. Another 12 shows are put on by students of the WAYN Radio course, COM 4680, taught

by Kevin Piotrowski, the senior com-

munications officer for the Irvin D. Reid Honors College and a former member of WSU’s radio organization. The rest of the airtime is filled out by mp3 submissions and free download playlists featuring a variety of musical genres, with an emphasis on providing selections away from the mainstream and local artists, according to WAYN’s radio manager Angelina Czarnecki.

“Anyone who doesn’t like local music, I’m giving it to them all the time. We are a college radio station, our big focus is not to hear something playing on commercial radio,” Czarnecki said.

By providing varied opportunities to gain experience the WAYN organization has collected an eclectic mix of students.

“We just got a whole new variety of majors and such a diverse group of people,” Czarnecki said, including majors in not only journalism, but also business, engineering and anthropology.

Members of WAYN not only host their own shows but take on management roles in business and promotions in addition

to getting in touch with the Detroit music scene. WAYN provided coverage over the summer for the Movement Electronic Music, MO POP and Oakaloosa festivals, as well as others.

“Like any small organization, whoever has one job has 10. A lot of us are out at shows, friends with musicians, at least two people in the org are in local bands.

We’re at the shows, we’re talking to them.

I always tell people whenever they go out, bring a zoom recorder, do a write-up,” Czarnecki said.

WAYN also incorporates engineering majors from WSU’s Music Technology branch of the Department of Music. They operate the programing for WAYN’s internet streaming, which is utilizing a SAM radio broadcaster for the first time this semester. This allows WAYN to operate from a single computer, creating the ability to run live shows and automated streaming in between programs over the SHOUTcast streaming server.

Records in the Reuther Library indicate WSU’s first radio organization started

in 1954 under the moniker of the Broadcasting Guild operating on AM radio. It became known as WSU Student Radio in 1965 and WAYN Radio in 1968.

Former members of WAYN radio organizations include WDET’s News Director Jerome Vaughn and Kenneth “Ken Kal” Kalczynski, the Detroit Red Wings radio play-by-play commentator for the past 16 seasons.

After an absence of a radio organization at WSU starting in the winter of ’93, WAYN was revived in the summer of 2004 as an internet station and has been active since.

Increasing visibility and interest in the organization is the focus for WAYN presently, a goal they hope to meet by recreating a “Street Team,” which has been absent the past few years, according to Czarnecki. The Street Team would function as a promotional vehicle for WAYN, getting the word out on the station and events that it is participating in while providing students another avenue into joining the organization.

Detroiters build bus stop benches, provide books LEXI TRIMPE Contributing Writer Kyle Bartell and Charlie Molnar, community activists and former Wayne State students, saw a problem and wanted to make a change. They formed Sit On It Detroit, a program that takes reclaimed wood and materials, while working with local artisans, and creates aesthetically pleasing benches with plastic glass covered libraries, offering free reading material to people waiting at bus stops. According to their website, “Detroit lacks seating at bus stops. More than half of the bus stops in the city are without benches. Sit On It is an effort to fill this void by creating benches out of reclaimed wood from abandoned houses and businesses within the city.”

Bartell and Molnar, both previous Wayne State students who studied urban development, said they have been very involved in the community, even before Sit On It Detroit began. “We’ve always been doing a

lot of community engaged projects. We just got really involved with cleaning up parks, doing a lot of improvements to the community. And so, what we started doing was focusing on the bus stops and really building benches, particularly,” says Bartell.

Bartell and Molnar came up with the idea of Sit On It after seeing Detroiters waiting for busses, often with no place to sit. “We started noticing how a lot of people were waiting long periods of time at the bus stops - some people sitting on the ground.

People who use public transit every day don’t have a place to sit, so why not put a bench there?” Bartell said.

The library design was created by Molnar. “The first sketch had a ton of different things attached to the bench ‘cause I was having so much fun building the bench and designing it,” said Molnar, “One of those things was a little library or bookshelf, like there is now. There was a crank-radio that was attached to it, there was a kiosk – like a public bulletin board, there was a checkerboard and games - there was all this

different stuff.” After showing the designs to Bartell, they were able to narrow their choice to just the bookshelf. “Really the most practical and the best choice was the bookshelf, you know we wanted to incorporate one of these things into it. It gives people something to do while waiting for the bus, and they can take it home with them,” said Molnar.

“It’s the people that are the fuel and drive of Sit On It Detroit,” said Bartell. He went on to say the public response to the project has been very positive. “They have been so responsive, to not only what we’re doing, but it’s just a constant communication.

They search on Facebook, they’re giving us ideas on where we could put a bench. It helps us with the process to find the need for the benches.”

When asked about the success of the books remaining in the library, Bartell said, “The worst thing that could happen is a kid takes a book and he opens it up and reads it.” Sit On It Detroit has received hundreds of donated books for the libraries, and

said some people are replacing the books directly at the stops.

Sit On It Detroit is not just about bus stop benches, however. They have expanded to other projects including building benches and picnic tables for the Heidelberg Project, creating tables for Thomas Magee’s Sporting House and Whiskey Bar located in the Eastern Market, and has recently created ergonomically designed laptop stands. Each new project has the same idea in mind, said Bartell, to keep things recycled and green, and to create products to help the community.

Sit On It Detroit says they are always looking for volunteers. Organizations like the WSU School of Medicine Student Senate have already volunteered to help create benches. Volunteers who help build benches are given the opportunity to choose at which bus stop they will be placed. For more information on volunteer opportunities, please contact SitOnItDetroit@gmail. com or visit them on their Facebook page: Sit On It Detroit.

CONTACT DESIGN/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR, JON ADAMS, FOR MORE INFORMATION! 8 I FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2014 I

/THESOUTHENDWSU

Student athletes risk all on field — except scholarships SEAN MCCABE Contributing Writer The dream of high school studentathletes is to take their game to the next level and play their particular sport in college, but for 98 percent of those athletes, that dream ends with their graduation from high school.

For the 2 percent that are awarded athletic scholarships, the future seems guaranteed. The next four to five years of tuition are paid for as long as the athlete maintains good academic standing and avoids misconduct.

Well, “guaranteed” for the next four to five year period might be a stretch.

“Scholarships, for all schools, are for one year,” said Wayne State Athletic Director Rob Fournier.

“Anything other than that would have tax implications and could not be awarded.”

In 1973, the governing body of college athletics, the NCAA voted to change its scholarship system by putting a limit on the number that could be offered by each school and changed the length of scholarships

from four years guaranteed to oneyear scholarships that the university can choose to renew.

According to the 2013-2014 NCAA Division Manual, athletes can receive a scholarship for a period of one year, but no more than five years of total financial aid.

“If a student’s athletic ability is considered in any degree in awarding financial aid, such aid shall neither be awarded for a period of less than one academic year nor for a period that would exceed the student’s five-year period of eligibility,” bylaw 15.3.3.1 reads. “One-year grants-in-aid shall be awarded in equal amounts for each term of the academic year.”

The manual also states that no athlete can have their scholarship reduced or revoked during the oneyear period due to injury, illness or mental condition.

“Institutional financial aid based in any degree on athletics ability may not be reduced or cancelled during the period of its award because of injury, illness or physical or mental condition,” reads bylaw 15.3.4.3 section B. But only having to honor a scholarship for one season has led many

high profile Division I schools to intentionally bring in more incoming freshmen athletes than there are available spots in a move that is known as over signing.

Over signing means that coaches have to cut a certain amount of scholarships to accommodate the incoming class at the expense of other athletes, sometimes even when injured.

This is especially prevalent in elite level college football, where huge revenues for the university are derived and where the competitive nature of the game has coaches striving to make their teams better in any way possible.

Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban, whose university took in $143.3 million in athletic revenue in 2013, said that critics should look at all the elements before rushing to judgment.

“We have some people that could not finish the season that will probably not be able to continue to play, that will be replaced,” said Saban in a Feb. 4 press conference. “We have several players that may not come back for a fifth year, who have been redshirted.”

“When you add all of those up,

plus we have guys that may not qualify, it is not fair to criticize the numbers,” he said.

The school must notify the particular athlete by July 1 if they have renewed their scholarship, and the athlete has the opportunity to appeal.

While this is how it is at top level programs, it can be much different at a Division II school such as Wayne State where the athletic revenue is $149,725 not $143 million.

According to WSU Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations Jeff Weiss, not renewing an athlete’s scholarship due to injury would not take place here.

Weiss listed several former and current athletes that suffered serious injuries during their time at WSU and kept their scholarships.

One of those players, Nick Moeller, a senior quarterback listed as a student coach, missed three of the last four seasons completely because of injury, but had his scholarship renewed each year.

“It doesn’t exist here,” Weiss said.

“On football we had three guys who couldn’t practice or play due to injury all season and they kept their scholarships.”

Detroit poet laureate reads to WSU crowd LYNN LOSH Features Correspondent A small, chair-filled room in the Maccabees Building was full of quiet and attentive listeners on Feb. 17 as famed Detroit Poet Laureate Naomi Long Madgett read from her book “Connected Islands: New and Selected Poems.”

Madgett, 90, came to Wayne State to do a reading for the Creative Writing Reading Series, usually titled the @Noon Reading Series, which is held monthly by the Department of English.

Madgett is WSU alumnus and received her master’s degree in education in 1955 and an honorary doctorate in 2011. She was awarded the 2012 Kresge Eminent Artist Award. She was named Detroit Poet Laureate in 2001.

She has authored 10 books of poetry, with her first book being published when she was only 17.

Each departmental reading begins with a student reading. WSU’s Kat Harrison was chosen to open the reading.

Following Harrison, Madgett read several poems including “Connected Islands,” “Attitude at 75,” “Reluctant Light” and many more. The poems offered humor and insights on life.

Madgett shared memories and reflections of her life, as well her beliefs and her inspirations.

Students and faculty alike enjoyed Madgett’s reading.

“It was really spiritual, it was like a dream,” WSU student Monica Kizy said.

WSU Professor M.L. Liebler said it was “one of the finest readings I have ever seen Naomi give.”

“She is always fantastic, but there was a sensitivity and a dimensional aspect to (this) reading,” Liebler said.

“I grabbed her book off my shelf right after the reading to read it again.”

In a Q & A session after her reading, Madget answered questions on her technique and her journey as a poet.

She touched on learning how to be more expressive in her readings and where she finds her inspiration.

“Inspiration may seem like an oldfashioned word,” Madgett said, “but it’s mysterious what inspires you to write. You can write about any subject.

Sometimes I don’t know what starts the poem, but a phrase or a word comes to me and that’s the beginning of it.”

Madgett described herself as a “born poet” and said that all true poets are “born poets” as well, but sometimes it takes a traumatic event to bring it out of them.

“There’s something natural about poetry, that if something happens that is really upsetting, people turn to poetry; it’s universal expression,” she said.

Madgett shared memories of the roots of African-American poetry and WSU’s role in helping it develop. She spoke about Rosie E. Poole, a Dutch scholar who was visiting WSU and how she published Detroit poets in the Netherlands when American publishers wouldn’t accept their work.

Madgett also spoke on Boone House, a building where Madgett and the late Dudley Randall, a former Detroit Poet

Laureate, and other Detroit poets held poetry readings and workshops.

The lack of commercial interest in publishing African-American poetry led Madgett to found Lotus Press, Inc. in 1972. Madgett used Lotus Press to help more African-American authors get published.

While working as a teacher in Detroit in the 60s, Madgett noticed that there wasn’t any African-American poetry in textbooks. To remedy this, she began the first African-American literature program in Detroit Public Schools and the first one at Eastern Michigan University.

When the Q & A session finished, Madgett stayed after to talk to interested students and writers and offer hand shakes and hugs.

WSU senior Ryan Cox said he was “somewhat awestruck” at meeting Madgett and hearing her read.

“To see her sitting there,” he said.

“I’ve been studying her and I never thought I’d meet her, let alone hug her.

It was elating.”

THESOUTHEND.WAYNE.EDU I FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2014 I 9

SPORTS

WSU signs youthful addition through charity group

COURTESY JEFF WEISS

RYAN RAGER Contributing Writer The Wayne State football team celebrated its first commitment from the recruiting class of 2019 on Feb. 19 when 13-yearold Andre Russaw Jr. signed a National Letter of Intent in the team locker room.

After exchanging a handshake with WSU head coach Paul Winters, Russaw donned his Warrior hat and No. 99 jersey to cheers from the entire football team, who then launched into the team’s fight song.

Russaw suffers from kidney disease and

joined WSU through Team IMPACT, a nonprofit charity that aims to help children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses by connecting them to teambased support networks. Team IMPACT children are drafted onto local college athletic teams and become an official member of the team for the duration of their treatment and beyond.

“It means a lot, more than a ‘kazillion’ dollars to have these brothers that gave me that letter,” Russaw said. “One day I hope I get to play, catch the ball. I just hope they don’t tackle me.”

Russaw will have an all-access pass as

an honorary team member with a standing invitation to attend practices and be on the sidelines come game day.

Steps toward bringing Russaw to the team started in November when Team IMPACT reached out to WSU. “We talk about leaving your footprint, your legacy. We’re always looking to branch out … why not be a brother to a local young man? It was a match made in heaven,” assistant coach Jon Robinson said. “Winters was all open arms.

It started with 10 guys on a leadership team who made first contact with Andre through email, then we introduced him

to more players by bringing him to a basketball game. Players are always asking about Andre.”

“It means a lot, it’s boosting his confidence, the way he feels about himself.

To me it’s bigger than he knows. He’s experiencing more than I have at 30 years old,” Russaw’s mother, Jaminique Conway said.

A bulletin board at the Matthaei Athletic Center displays the charity work done by WSU’s student-athletes. Among more than 350 student-athletes, 9,766 hours of charity work were completed for the 2012-2013 athletic season.

Warriors hope for victory in season finale FUAD SHALHOUT The South End The Wayne State women’s hoops team dropped both its contests to Ferris State and Grand Valley this past week.

WSU falls to 19-6 overall and 16-5 in the GLIAC and is tied with Michigan Tech in the GLIAC with one game remaining.

WSU can clinch the No. 1 seed for the GLIAC Tournament with a victory over Lake Superior in its regular season finale on Feb. 27.

Feb. 20 vs. Ferris State, the Warriors had a 26-23 lead with 6:31 left before halftime.

WSU continued to lead after an Imari

10 I FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2014 I

Redfield layup, giving the Warriors a 34-27 lead with 3:27 to play. Redfield knocked another shot down at the buzzer in the first half to send WSU leading 4135 at the break.

The Warriors then led 54-45 at the 14:05 mark after a layup from Jackie Jones. However, the Bulldogs would go on a 9-0 run to tie the game at 54 with 10:32 left after a layup.

A killer three-pointer from Sarah DeShone at the 4:56 mark gave FSU a 67-64 lead. Then a three-point play from Shareta Brown cut the deficit to 79-75 with just over a minute to play but FSU would calmly knock down free throws to pull off the victory, winning 85-77.

Feb. 22 vs. Grand Valley, WSU jumped

/THESOUTHENDWSU

out to a 9-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game and would go up 16-4 in the first 10 minutes. WSU would then lead at the break, 37-25.

Grand Valley went on a 25-15 run to open the second half and closed to within two points, 52-50, with 9:30 left in the game. WSU then went on a 12-5 run to go up 64-55, but the Warriors would only get off two shots in the final four minutes, while turning the ball over four times in that stretch.

The Lakers would go on to score the final 10 points of the game.

Grand Valley pulled to within two points, 64-62, with 1:57 remaining.

Then WSU had a shot clock violation with 14.7 seconds left and after a time-

out, GVSU’s Dani Crandall drove to the basket with under 10 seconds remaining, drew a foul and converted on a lay-up.

Her bucket tied the game at 64-64 with 6.8 seconds left and knocked down the free throw to give Grand Valley the lead.

Moments later, WSU then called a timeout with 3.0 seconds remaining before inbounding one final time.

On the final inbound of the game, WSU had no luck as Grand Valley nearly stole the ball and the Warriors were unable to get a final look at the rim.

Brown led the Warriors with her 14th double-double of the season, scoring 22 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.

Redfield added 14 points and seven rebounds.

SPORTS

With pride on the line, Warriors aim to snap losing streak

COURTESY JEFF WEISS COURTESY MICHAEL DUBICKI

MICHAEL LEWIS Sports Correspondent The Warriors’ season is all but finished.

They are heading into their final regular season contest on a five-game losing streak which has cost them a spot in the GLIAC tournament.

“It’s been the same story all year long,” head coach David Greer said. “We’re just not tough enough mentally or tough enough physically.”

The Warriors were dropped 75-72 at Ferris State, Feb. 20. The deficit between both teams was never more than five points through the first 20 minutes.

Despite shooting better than 55 percent from the floor in the first half, WSU found themselves tied with the Bulldogs

38-38 entering halftime. Seniors Bryan Coleman and Chene Philips carried the Warriors with their scoring at the half.

Coleman tallied 14 points with Philips following up with 12.

The second half proved to be similar to the first. Both teams traded baskets until the final minutes where Ferris was able to reach the free throw line. The Bulldogs were able to close the game on a 7-2 run to hold on for the three point win. Coleman led all scorers with 23 points followed by Philips with 19. Gerald Williams-Taylor tried to add offensive help with 10 second half points, but to no avail.

Feb. 22, the Warriors returned to the Matthaei for a rematch with the GVSU Lakers. WSU was able to squeeze out an overtime win three weeks prior on the

Lakers’ home floor and GVSU was now looking to split the season series. Once again the Warriors came out firing. They were trading buckets with GV and keeping the deficit small. WSU was able to build a six-point lead with nine minutes left, but the Lakers stormed back to enter halftime with a 35-35 tie. Philips ended the half with 15 points seemingly scoring at will.

In the second half, momentum swung in Grand Valley’s favor. Senior guard Rob Woodson slashed the Warrior interior defense scoring 22 second half points.

On the back of Woodson’s explosion, the Lakers were able to shoot 72 percent from the field.

“Woodson dominated the game,” Greer said. “We couldn’t keep him out of the lane so he freed up his teammates for

shots. We were just bad.”

The Warriors took an 82-73 home loss as a result of their poor defensive stands.

Philips ended the game with 22 points followed by Coleman with 20 in the loss.

“They mentally broke our spirits,” Greer said. “We’re pretty much running on fumes and the other teams can sense that. They just took advantage of it and it was proven through this five-game stretch.”

Although the Warriors are only playing for pride, they will return Thursday evening to play top-mranked Lake Superior State for a chance to split the season series. It will be Senior Night as the Warriors will part ways with Chene Philips, Bryan Coleman, Deon Dismuke, Gerald Williams-Taylor, Jamar Rangland, Michael Martin and Michael Hollingsworth.

THESOUTHEND.WAYNE.EDU I FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2014 I 11

Tell us how you really feel! Each week we go out and ask you a question regarding current news.

Check them all out on our Facebook page!

BY KRISTIN SHAW

THIS WEEK’S TOPIC: WOULD YOU EVER CONSIDER BECOMING AN ORGAN DONOR? WHY? GABRIELLE BRACEFUL Chemistry Major

“I think organ donation is a very good thing. I would really consider becoming a donor.”

TAYLAR KOBLYAS Public Relations Major

“I am an organ donor because I believe in others having life, even after I am gone.”

NICK SHINABERRY Enviornmental Sciences Major

“Nope. I would not consider organ donation. They’re mine. If I’m dead I still don’t want to give them up.”

NICOLE MASTERS Nursing Major

“I am an organ donor. It’ll save other peoples lives while I obviously won’t be needing them anymore.”

/THESOUTHENDNEWS I FEBRUARY 26 - MARCH 5, 2014 I 12