january 22-29, 2014

JANUARY 22 - 29, 2014 | WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1967 | THESOUTHEND.WAYNE.EDU | DETROIT, MICHIGAN | FREE

SEE A&E, page 9

‘Three trials’takes stage

STUDENT SENATE TALKS changesPAGE 3 PAGE 6 PAGE 12

SKETCHBATTLE RETURNS WSU STUDENT WINS JEOPARDY

PHOTO COURTESY WSU THEATER DEPARTMENT

STAFF CONTACT LIST

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFJILL LUBAS • [email protected]

MANAGING EDITORSELI HOERLER • [email protected] THOMPSON • [email protected]

DESIGN & MULTIMEDIA EDITORJON ADAMS • [email protected]

NEWS EDITORSWISAM DAIFI • [email protected] EHRMANN • [email protected]

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITORTIM CARROLL • [email protected]

SPORTS EDITORFUAD SHALHOUT • [email protected]

FEATURES EDITORLIZ SCUTCHFIELD • [email protected]

ONLINE EDITORTIM CARROLL • [email protected]

COPY EDITORPATRICK ANDRZEJCZYK • [email protected]

ADVERTISING MANAGERNATALIE DIXON • [email protected]

LETTERS TO THE EDITORSThe South End welcomes letters to the editors regarding all inquiries and concerns from the Wayne State community. Please limit letters to 500 words. All submissions are subject to editing and may be published. Please email [email protected].

CORRECTIONSThe South End corrects all factual errors published online or in print. Please email [email protected].

ONLINE POLICYThe South End publishes articles online and in print. Visit our website at thesouthend.wayne.edu. While we support the right to free speech and expression, there are guidelines for morally and socially acceptable content. Comments and feedback deemed offensive are subject to editing or removal.

PUBLICATIONThe 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 [email protected].

2 I JANUARY 22 - 29, 2014 I THESOUTHEND.WAYNE.EDU

CHRIS EHRMANNThe South End

During this flu season, the Wayne State Campus Health Center is helping students avoid the H1N1 strain that is affecting young, healthy college students.

Christie Bellak, the public health program manager at the health center, said there have been six adult deaths and one pediatric death in the state of Michigan since Jan. 14.

“This is the first year since ’09 that we actually have seen that strain of flu causing a lot of illness in the community,” Bellak said. “This year, H1N1 happens to be the strain of flu that is causing most of the influ-enza that we are seeing ... This particular strain tends to be more severe for young, healthy adults.”

The flu generally affects older adults and young children, but Bellak said that is not always the case.

“We generally think of

(influenza) being much harder on older people and the very young, which is why (H1N1) causes much more concern when we see younger, healthy adults getting sick, severely sick and even some deaths,” she said.

Bellak said getting a flu vac-cine doesn’t only protect the person getting the vaccination, but can also help stop the flu from spreading further.

“There are a few different steps students can take to help prevent the flu as well as other winter illnesses that are very common,” Bellak said. “So, number one, get vaccinated. The influenza vaccine will protect you against the three strains of influenza that are pre-dicted to be most prevalent.”

Another key preventa-tive measure is thorough and frequent hand washing. In addi-tion, Bella said students should stay home if they feel sick. She said she knows students do not want to miss class, but it

will help prevent the flu from spreading.

Many WSU students are fol-lowing her line of thinking.

Ellen Murphy, a graduate student at WSU, works in a hos-pital and knows how important it is to get the vaccine.

“I work in a hospital … more than anything, it’s important to get a shot,” she said.

Freshman Kelli Russell gave some of her preventative mea-sures. She said bundling up and using hand sanitizer are very important, as well as getting the flu shot.

WSU junior Alexander Ochocki said he frequently washes his hands and avoids sharing drinks with people. He also said getting enough rest is a big factor.

Some of the symptoms of H1N1 include: high fever, sore throat, stuffy nose, coughing, body aches, fatigue and not feel-ing well. Bellak said if students are having these symptoms they should go see their healthcare

provider or go to the health center immediately.

“We offer flu shots to all stu-dents at no charge,” Bellak said. “We provide several options for students to get flu shots.”

In addition to the Campus Health Center, students can visit walk-in clinics at different buildings around campus to get the shot, including Old Main and the recreation center.

“We try to accommodate students who have classes at different times on different days and make it as convenient as possible,” Bellak said. “And we also try to provide information about staying healthy, so we also want students to have in-formation about hand washing.”

“The healthier you can keep yourself the better your immune system will function,” she said. “So if you’re getting enough sleep … managing your stress level … having good nutrition and physical activity, all that contributes to a healthy im-mune system.”

H1N1 resurfaces on campuses5221 GULLEN MALL - STUDENT CENTERSUITE 50 - DETROIT, MICHIGAN 48202ADVERTISING: 313-577-3494

Students warned to take precaution against deadly flu

PHOTO COURTESY NIAID/FLICKR CC

FOLLOW THE SOUTH END ON YOUR FAVORITE SOCIAL NETWORKS. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO.

/THESOUTHENDNEWS /THESOUTHENDWSU/THESOUTHENDWSU

THESOUTHEND.WAYNE.EDU I JANUARY 22 - 29, 2014 I 3

WSU Police implement successful tool

Student Senate talks campus changes

ROBERT KOBYLASZContributing Writer

Despite recent successes in crime reduction, Detroit is often portrayed as a “wild west” – a place where the power-less sheriff trembles in his boots while marauding criminals roam free. While the Cass corridor might have looked this way decades ago, these days that couldn’t be further from the truth.

In reality, the Wayne State Police Department has made huge strides in keeping crime rates low to make sure there is a safe environment for WSU stu-dents. According to the annual crime rates published by the department, the number of crimes at WSU has dropped nearly 45 percent since 2010. According to an email from President M. Roy Wilson, WSU’s campus is one of the safest campuses in Michigan.

Every month, students and staff receive a Campus Watch email informing them of the types of crimes and incident rates that took place throughout the month. A special crime alert email is sent out imme-diately when a violent crime occurs.

WSU police give large credit to a tool they use called Computer Statistics. The Midtown CompStat program is mod-eled after what the New York City Police Department used in successful attempts to lower its crime rates. The program maps problem areas called “hot spots” and places officers in those areas based on crime rates.

“There is a large presence from the Wayne State Police Department on cam-pus and that helps to make you feel safe,” said Jeff Gould, a junior at WSU. “A police presence doesn’t necessarily mean a place

is safe or unsafe, but usually people feel more safe when they know that the police are around.”

The WSUPD knows this, and they are attempting to stay prevalent all over campus. And what does that mean for the students? It means that they can travel into the middle of “scary” Detroit knowing that they are going to be safe.

Beginning in 2009, Detroit law enforce-ment officials have seen crime decline steadily every year. WSU has seen crime rates plummet to some of the lowest num-bers of all colleges in Michigan.

Every two weeks, the Wayne County’s Sherriff’s Office and security officials for Midtown employers hold a meeting, during which arrests and citations from the previous two weeks are calculated, and officers can determine which areas to patrol more heavily. The WSUPD uses this tactic on campus as well. After collecting the data, they are able to patrol hot spots on campus, allowing students to feel safe knowing that the police will be where they need to be.

December 2013’s campus watch report included: zero homicides, zero forcible and non-forcible sex offenses, two rob-beries, zero aggravated assaults, seven burglaries, 13 larcenies, one vehicle theft and zero arsons.

WSU, like many other institutions in the city, has seen crime fall to the lowest numbers in years. With the help of other law officials, the WSUPD is working to make campus a safe place for students and faculty.

For more services, security reports, safety tips and information from the WSUPD, visit http://police.wayne.edu.

Wisam Daifi from The South End con-tributed to this report.

LIZ SCUTCHFIELDThe South End

Wayne State University’s Student Senate spent much of their first meeting of the new semester Jan. 16, discussing changes planned for campus facilities and technol-ogy services and appointing new members to the board and its offices.

Significant changes to campus facili-ties will become noticeable as the winter 2014 semester comes to an end in April, said Tim Michael, chief housing officer for WSU. He addressed the council at the Thursday evening meeting. The Towers’ dorms and cafeteria will join the Student Center in getting a complete makeover. Sections of each will be closed until up-dates are complete.

“We’re trying to create community over food,” Michael said regarding changes to

the Towers’ cafeteria. The plan includes five food concept stations, which Michael said, will include a Mongolian grill station, a brick oven station, a salad bar, a comfort food station, a burger and fries station and a dessert bar. Cost and environmental impact will be driven down by making seating available closer to the food sta-tions, eliminating the need for trays, which Michael said will “save 100,000 gallons of water per year.”

Several options have been considered to accommodate diners while the Towers caf-eteria is closed. According to Michael, they include the use of a large tent with a floor placed nearby, and temporarily convert-ing Gold ‘n’ Greens, in Ghafari Hall, into a meat serving facility again. Currently, Gold ‘n’ Greens serves strictly vegetarian and kosher food. Michael was quick to clarify that it would be a temporary conversion, since the cafeteria is doing well with its

specialized menu, and recently expanded its hours because of the demand.

“We’re going to spend whatever kind of money we have to to make it as comfort-able as possible,” Michaelsaid.

Plans are for the Towers’ cafeteria to reopen in time for the summer semester to begin. Plans for the dorms to reopen will occur in stages, beginning with an antici-pated opening of the ground through third floors by Thanksgiving 2014.

Several technological changes were also discussed by the senate. Students should expect changes to Wayne.edu, beginning next year as the university switches from Pipeline to Academica for university email services. The process will begin with a survey that will arrive via Blackboard this semester.

WAYN Radio, WSU’s student radio station, will soon be available on mobile devices through the WSU app.

Residents moving in to Chatsworth Towers in fall 2014 May, for the first time, be able to bring their own wireless routers to combat connectivity issues in the build-ing.

“Internet hardwired construction requires a wireless router in every apart-ment,” Michael said, “The signal is so restrictive, they’re going to supply their own.” Michael said the building’s design predates consideration of such wiring needs, and this solution represents a $2.1 million cost savings over alternatives.

Elections and appointments to the board include Naomi Shangle, senator, Kelsey Skinner, treasurer, and Kristin Tarp, webmaster.

The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 6, at 6 p.m. in the Student Center. The Student Senate will have an opportunity to hear from and question the provost, who is scheduled to attend.

JON ADAMS/THE SOUTH END


2014 to see franchise favorites, new titles

Pixies to try new bassist in Detroit

LISA FRALEIGHContributing Writer

Last year brought a plethora of fantas-tic games to play and captivate us, and with a new year comes new games to look forward to.

Taking a look at the release sched-ule for the year shows 2014 is going to be another exciting year for gamers. The list includes many titles, with new installments of loved franchise games as well as brand new games that have very promising futures.

With over 100 games already slated to release this year, everyone has a list of games they are excited about, and so do I. This list of my five most anticipated games of 2014 gives a good idea of what games I will be spending my time with and what games I think you should be keeping an eye on.

Thief Releases: Feb. 25

A reboot of the classic 1998 “Thief” series. You play as Garrett, the Mas-ter Thief, in a steampunk-like fantasy world. His goal is simple: steal from the rich. In order to accomplish this, he must use his intelligence and stealth moves to stay hidden and carry out daring heists. “Thief” is a stealth video game in which the player is rewarded for staying out of sight.

Titanfall Releases: March 11

I think this is one of the games I am looking forward to the most. “Titanfall” is considered by many to be the single most anticipated game of 2014. It is a fast-paced, action-filled, first-person shooter set in the future, and it’s filled with all the futuristic weaponry you might expect. It’s produced by some of

the same minds that created “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare” — that’s reason enough to be excited.

Diablo 3: Reaper of SoulsReleases: March 25

A new installment of the “Diablo” franchise, “Reaper of Souls,” has me excited for a number of reasons. First, it is going to add several new features to the core gameplay of Diablo 3, like new modes, new monsters, new story and a new class; the Crusader. I had the pleasure of playing the Crusader class already when I was at BlizzCon in November, and let me tell you, it is awe-some. It is a mid-range melee class with a number of powerful abilities in its arsenal. And if that isn’t enough for you, don’t forget that because it is a Blizzard game, we can expect the same great plot and story development we always get from their games.

Elder Scrolls OnlineReleases: April 4

The massively popular “Elder Scrolls” franchise is getting its first massively online release. The new MMORPG is a prequel to “Skyrim” and is set across the whole continent of Tamriel. The PvP ac-tion, expanded lore and other gameplay features prove this is going to be one great game.

DestinyReleases: Sept. 9

A sci-fi first person shooter from the creators of “Halo,” “Destiny” has some great things in store for us. The game constantly grows and changes as you play with friends online in what Bungie, the game’s developer, calls a “shared-world shooter.” This means it is basi-cally a massively online first person shooter.

SOPHOCLES SAPOUNASContributing Writer

The Pixies will be playing at the Fillmore Feb. 8 — their first tour since they came out with new material in the form of two EPs called “EP-1” and “EP-2,” the latter of which dropped Jan. 4.

The tour is especially anticipated because the band hasn’t recorded in over two decades. The big-gest change since then by far has been the depar-ture of bassist Kim Deal, a founding member and a crowd favorite. This has drawn criticism from some fans, who say the band isn’t the “real” Pixies anymore without Deal.

It can be argued that the Pixies have been raised on a pedestal higher than the band intended, and that they are simply being the Pixies — evolving and maturing sonically as bands often do. Some believe their music is as good as ever, but critics aren’t so sure. The EPs received a shocking 1/10 and 2/10 respectively from Pitchfork, and “EP-2” was awarded 2.5 stars by Rolling Stone.

The plot is beginning to thicken for this tour, however. After Deal’s departure, the Pixies hired Kim Shattuck from the band The Muffs only to let her go after a brief tour. She was replaced by Paz Lenchantin, and this will be her first tour with the band. The Pixies are infamous for being extremely well rehearsed, and a lineup change like this could very well end in ruin.

Another point of interest is the fans’ reception. Detroit crowds are notorious for having their hands permanently in their pockets, holding on to high expectations in music as far as authentic-ity and quality goes, so the Pixies will have to earn their stripes here once again.

Regardless of reviews, this tour is sure to be a landmark, and fans will be eager to see what this new version of the Pixies can do.

CONTACT DESIGN/MULTIMEDIA EDITOR, JON ADAMS, FOR MORE INFORMATION!

Ready, set, sketch

JON ADAMSThe South End

As the holidays are winding down and reality sets back in, everybody still seems to have that natural (or synthetic) happiness buzz. Lucky for Detroit, we still have a “holiday” to celebrate – The North American In-ternational Auto Show. And with an-other auto show comes another little gem – The Middlecott Sketchbattle Experiment.

Hosted by Detroit-based designers Brook and Judith Banham, owners of Middlecott Design, the Sketchbattle brings Detroit’s culture of cars, art and music into one party. It serves as an official underground after-party to the auto show’s charity event. This year’s Sketchbattle was hosted at the Tangent Gallery/Hastings Street Ball-room, located on E. Milwaukee Street.

The ambiance was lively and inter-esting, full of the sounds of revving engines, contestants’ vigorous draw-ing and wine courtesy of the venue. Hosted by Detroit performer Satori Circus, who entertained the masses, the night was anything but boring.

The first round of sketching in-

cluded 11 contestants, who drew their hearts out to a theme of light and cars. Each sketcher had 45 minutes to come up with their best sketch on the spot for voting, and hopefully, advancement to the final round. The second round worked much the same, with the previous four sketchers competing for the winning spot. The victor was Detroit resident Graham Wright, who won over the judges with his creative and unique artwork.

This is the second year the Banhams have hosted the Sketchbattle event, and it’s already becoming a staple in Detroit’s underground art and au-tomobile scenes. During the Detroit Design Festival back in September, they put a twist on their Sketch-battle – they teamed up with local art collectives Heavenly Dogs and Arson Capital to put on a three-part contest: graffiti sketching, an underground break dance battle and a car battle, letting local auto heads display their customized cars.

To keep up with the festivities and stay informed about future events, visit Middlecott Design on Facebook at facebook.com/MiddlecottSketch-battleExperiments.



PHOTOS BY DANIEL DUMAS/CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER


PHOTOS BY JON ADAMS/THE SOUTH END


‘Gross Indecency’ takes stage gracefullyALANA WALKERContributing Writer

“Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde” by Moisés Kaufman tells the story of the Irish writer’s court trials for committing acts of “gross indecency” with other men. The play uses quotes from actual court records, as well as newspapers, letters, poems and journal entries to show what happened during the time period. Wilde received a 2-year sentence of hard labor, which led to his exile and death.

The play is written for an ensemble cast, with all but the lead actor, Wilde (Topher Allen Payne), playing multiple roles. The Hilberry Theatre’s produc-tion cast is mostly men, however two women, Annie Keris and Bevin Bell-Hall, play mostly male roles. While confusing at first, this casting choice proved to be effective when characters like Wilde’s mother and wife briefly came into play. The two female actors did an excellent job portraying masculinity when needed, while still maintaining femininity.

The stage is the first noticeable design element in this production. Painted to look like marble, the stage floor was built on a slant, or “raked,” with one main act-ing area in the middle of the stage. There were two “off-stage” areas made visible

to the audience on both sides where a few key costume pieces, props and set pieces were held throughout the show. This gave the audience the chance to see the actors as they were “off-stage.” However, con-stant action on the center playing space helps keep the audience engaged with the main story.

The humorous delivery of testimony in Wilde’s final trial was slightly uncomfort-able for some of the audience members. This emotional moment ultimately led to Wilde’s imprisonment and death, and the audience seemed unaware whether to laugh at such serious moments.

Payne’s portrayal of Wilde, as well as the production as a whole, proved to be both sophisticated and graceful. The actors and director tastefully tackled the play’s difficult subject matter. The play is an emotional ride for the audience members, taking them from laughter to tears. Wilde’s legendary wit inserts bits of light-hearted humor into the otherwise serious and heartbreaking play.

The show runs until March 22, so there’s plenty of time to see “Gross Inde-cency.” Ticket prices range from $20-$30 and can be purchased from the Hilberry Theatre box office. For a complete list of performance dates and times, go to the-atre.wayne.edu, or call the Hilberry box office at (313) 577-2972.

PHOTOS COURTESY WSU THEATER DEPARTMENT

Golden Globes: And the winners are...

Spy thriller defies ‘dump month’ stereotype

SHAWN BOHNContributing Writer

Generally considered to be the joke of the movie award season, the Golden Globes stuck to its usual mixed bag of predictability and oddity. The not-sur-prising victors of the night included “12 Years a Slave” for best motion picture drama, “American Hustle” for best motion picture comedy or musical and Cate Blanchett for her leading role in “Blue Jasmine”. “Breaking Bad” secured expected wins for its final season, taking home the award for best TV drama. It also grabbed best actor in a TV drama for Bryan Cranston as the now-iconic chemistry teacher-turned-meth-kingpin Walter White.

In a bit of surprise, Leonardo Di-

Caprio managed to snag the award for best actor in a motion picture musical or comedy for his role as Wall Street crimi-nal Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Accepting his award, DiCaprio poked fun at the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and their choice of categorization, saying he never would’ve expected to win best actor in a comedy. He also praised his fellow nominees and “comedians,” Joaquin Phoenix and Christian Bale. It was a refreshing joke on the HFPA’s sometimes strange way of categorizing films and performances. He went on to give one of the most heartfelt speeches of the night while paying trib-ute to director and long-time collabora-tor Martin Scorsese.

The surprise of the night went to “Brooklyn Nine-Nine”, FOX’s new come-dy starring Andy Samberg. Compared to

its super-popular fellow nominees, such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “Mod-ern Family”, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” has flown far under the radar. Its nomina-tions were already a surprise, making it and Samberg’s wins for best TV comedy and best actor in a TV comedy the of-ficial shockers of the night.

As for the awards show itself, Amy Poehler and Tina Fey were their infec-tiously funny selves, stringing together an impressive amount of good-natured cracks at the attending A-listers. The best came at the expense of George Clooney, when, introducing “Gravity”, Fey said, “It’s the story of how George Clooney would rather float away into space and die than spend one more minute with a woman his own age.” As the room erupted in laughter, one could only imagine that classic smirk on Cloo-

ney’s face, as he (unfortunately) wasn’t in attendance.

The unintentional joke of the night went to Jacqueline Bisset. Bisset won the award for best supporting actress in a series, miniseries or TV movie for her role in “Dancing on the Edge”. Once on stage, Bisset gave a rambling, incoherent speech on a number of unrelated topics. As if the strange speech wasn’t funny enough, the band failed to play her off — twice. For a moment, it was unclear whether she was ever going to leave the stage, or if the producers would have to physically remove her. Surprisingly, the rest of the evening was largely unevent-ful and moved at a brisk pace, with the show actually ending on time.

For more highlights and a full list of nominees and winners, visit golden-globes.com.

SHAWN BOHNContributing Writer

Quality films are a rarity in Janu-ary, a month dubbed by many as “dump month.” Studios like to drop their biggest duds during this time to avoid finan-cial failure during the later blockbuster season, all at the expense of moviegoers everywhere. Perhaps this is one reason “Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit” is such a refreshing experience.

The film opens with its title character witnessing 9/11 as a doctoral student studying abroad. Moved by the tragedy and a sense of duty, the young Jack Ryan (Chris Pine) enlists in the U.S. military. While on a mission in Afghanistan, Ryan’s helicopter is shot down and he is seriously injured. With the aid of the vivacious Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley), Ryan is nursed back to health, and all along Thomas Harper (Kevin Costner) watches from the shadows, coveting

Ryan’s analytical abilities. Harper even-tually recruits Ryan as a covert financial analyst with the purpose of tracking terrorist funding. In no time at all, Ryan uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy.

In a month where it can seem all but impossible to find a quality feature, “Shadow Recruit” is a highly competent, fun film to watch. It succeeds largely not because it reinvents the genre or breaks from formula, but because it does every-thing right. The film never embraces the incoherent shaky cam or lightning-fast editing popular in recent action films. It keeps the action slick and brutal and, most importantly, intelligible. The film’s plot is simple to understand yet still engaging — too many twists and intelli-gence agency jargon are common pitfalls for spy thrillers. “Shadow Recruit” tiptoes around this impressively. A crisp, almost breakneck speed compliments the film nicely. At just under two hours, it flies by with such excellent pacing that

the suspense stretches from scene to scene. It moves from one tense situation to another for its title character — exactly as a spy film should.

While Ryan as a character might be the dullest of spy heroes, Pine brings a stoic, courageous quality to him. Pine makes him something of a workingman’s James Bond. Ryan never flashes the suave, debonair quality of Bond or the brutal physicality of Jason Bourne. In many ways, Ryan is modeled on the founda-tions of American patriotism. He’s moved by a deep sense of duty to country, aided more by brains than brawn and is unwill-ing to turn away from any challenge. Pine never overplays the character and might be the best on-screen incarnation of Ryan since Alec Baldwin first brought him to screen over 20 years ago. Knightley, in an unusually low-key role, brings a sweet chemistry to the romance between Muller and Ryan. As always, Kevin Costner impresses as the dark and mysterious Harper.

While “Shadow Recruit” may not knock your socks off, it does accomplish every-thing required to be a smart, engaging spy thriller. In a month typically filled with the worst of the worst, you could definitely do… well, worse.


SEE IT NOW

NETFLIX IT

SKIP IT

TSE’S RATING


Virtual bookshelf taking over at WSU library

BRIAN MAINZINGERTSE Correspondent

Changes are now in process at Wayne State’s Science and Engineering Library at 5048 Gullen Mall.

The library houses information related to physical and natural sciences, math-ematics, engineering, nursing, nutrition and food science, according to the librar-ies’ website. And its holdings include maps, government documents, special collections and a technical journal collec-tion that is one of southeastern Michi-gan’s largest. What is changing is exactly how and where that information will be accessed.

Soon, the upper floors of the library will be closed off to students and faculty. Both elevator and stair access will be closed to the upper floors. The basement of the library, which houses math and science computer labs, will remain open, according to Sandra Yee, dean of WSU’s Library System.

Yee said this is being done after the analysis of data showed that traffic into the library has declined over the years, and this was part of a “strategic reduc-tion” made in the overall budget.

“In order to make sure we continue to have enough money in our resources bud-get or acquisitions budget, we have taken all of our budget reductions out of our op-erations budget, reducing staff members and reducing operations expenditures,”

Yee said. “Over one year, operating the library costs about the same as subscrib-ing to 156 journal subscriptions or 1,500 monograph books, around $200,000. We’ve reallocated money from operations so we have enough resources, which we think is very important for faculty and students.”

While much of the library will be inac-cessible, Yee said that all materials will still be available to students and faculty.

“Decisions were made on data and statistics. Gate counts (into the building) have gone down,” Yee said. “In 2011, the reference librarians noticed they were seeing a decline in the number of refer-ence requests they were getting and said they could better serve students and the whole campus if they moved to the Purdy-Kresge Library. Those librarians now staff the Purdy Kresge desk and answer science and engineering questions from there and have been doing so since 2011.”

While most of the reference materi-als are electronic and accessible from a computer, any of the materials that were being referenced and stored in the science and engineering library were moved to Purdy, Yee said.

Between 2008 and 2013, Yee said com-puter usage in the library had dropped by 50 percent. In 2012, one-third of circula-tion activity happened though the library systems’ “Get It” service by which a book is electronically reserved and picked up at the location the reserver chooses. Also, three-fourths of print journal articles

were being accessed by the online docu-ment delivery service.

“The closing or merging of science libraries has been a trend for some time now, nationally. We’ve been watching that trend but we haven’t been so fast to move in that direction until we were really sure that this was the right time” Yee said.

While parts of the library will no longer be accessible, some extra money has al-lowed for the acquisition of new materi-als, Yee said. Some one-time available funds from the previous year allowed for the purchase of at least eight back files, as well as a JSTOR collection for life sci-ences, “which helps everybody, not just science and engineering,” Yee said.

Yee discussed other new features ac-cessible to students and faculty, such as an app called “browzine,” which converts tablets or mobile devices into a magazine or journal reader. This can be download-ed at the libraries website, she said.

One of the concerns for faculty was the notion that they would no longer be able to browse the bookshelves in the library. Yee said the answer to this came across her desk last summer. It was some open source software that allowed for the cre-ation of a “virtual bookshelf.”

“I sent it to my digital team and asked them what they could do with it,” she said. “They created what they call ‘stack view.’”

This program allows a user to browse electronically the same way they might in the non-virtual world. The shelf looks like

a shelf, and the books look like books with titles on the “binding.” The books are also shown in scale to one another, so that the virtual shelf would look like the literal shelf. A book viewed in “stack view” is a scale representation of what one would see on the shelf, according to Yee.

Regarding the closing, Yee said there were some concerns from faculty early on.

“Some faculty (did) push back in the beginning, and they had suggestions. Faculty seemed to understand that it was a strategic decision and cost saving measure. The pushback we heard, we felt we were able to overcome questions and concerns. We are certainly open to hear from students and faculty,” Yee said.

Dr. Paul Karchin, professor of physics at WSU, said there was “considerable dis-cussion” among faculty in his department regarding the changes. After meeting with Yee, different issues were addressed and it was things such as “stack view” and keeping commonly used books in Purdy that helped to address faculty concerns. Because books can be requested for pick up and most faculty usage is for online journals, Karchin said “faculty are reason-ably comfortable with not having physical access to the stacks.”

The closing of the upper floors is now in process. Yee expressed confidence in the changes taking place.

“We understand what access needs to be, and we are doing everything to make that happen,” she said.



DEBANINA SEATONContributing Writer

The television game show, “Jeopar-dy” has been testing audiences and con-testants’ knowledge for 50 years. The show has inspired many to desire to go on the show for a chance to prove their intelligence. And it inspired one former Wayne State student from a very early age. Not only did he achieve his dream, he also won the show… twice.

Varun Shekhar, who recently received his master’s in biomedical engineering at WSU, has been watching “Jeopardy!” since third grade. Though he said he has had great interest, he didn’t try out until two years ago.

To apply for the show, Shekhar said the casting is completed in three steps. First was to take an online, 50-question test. He said he took his test in Janu-ary 2013 and after the test was graded he was invited with others who had been selected to an in-person audition in Detroit in July. The next step was a written exam he said was similar to the online exam, but they also held a mock game to simulate being on the show.

“The testing coordinators are trying to look just for how well you play the game and how good you might be on TV,” Shekhar said.

The next step involves asking the potential contestants personality questions, including the contestant’s interest in “Jeopardy!” and what each person might do with the money they earn. Based on these three things he discovered in August he was selected to be on the show, he said.

Shekhar said he appeared on the program three times. The shows he ap-peared on aired on Dec. 18 and 19 – the two episodes he won – and on Dec. 20 he was ousted by another contestestant.

“The first game was a very new expe-rience,” he said. “I’ve never been on TV before so it took some time for me to adjust to the game.”

For Shekhar, he said he had the most trouble getting used to the buzzer. He explained there is an allotted time to buzz in to answer the questions.

“It takes some time to get used to the timing; if you buzz in too early they block you out and you don’t want to do that too often,” he said.

Hesaid his first and second win were both unexpected considering he was trailing behind in both episodes. On his first win he was in third place with only $9,500. But during the final round, he said, no one was able to answer the final question. The category was chil-dren’s literature and the answer was “Charlotte’s Web,” a category Shekhar admitted wasn’t his strongest. The other contestants wagered more money while he only wagered a little, Shekhar said, so he won. For Shekhar, the win was like realizing a dream.

“Just from the road where in elmen-tary school I used to watch and dream about being on a show, and then stand-ing up there at the end with the most money, especially in the most unex-pected way of winning, it was really surreal,” he said.

Shekhar said for the second episode he was a little more confident and understood how the game was played. This time he went into the final round in second place with $6,800. The final category was TV characters, “which again is not really one of my strong subjects,” he said. The answer to this category was J.R. Ewing from the TNT drama, “Dallas.” He got it right while his opponents didn’t.

“I did a final minute review… before going on the show,” he said, “I read about the show ‘Dallas’ coincidentally

just the day before.” “Usually the odds are kind of stacked

against people who are behind in Final Jeopardy so to have it happen again twice in a row was completely unex-pected,” he said. “Not only did you win ‘Jeopardy!’ but you were able to defend your win and follow it up with another win.”

Unfortunately, he lost his third game in the final round. He said he wagered nothing and the category was literary terms. The question involved a social movement known as the “beat genera-tion” or “beat movement.” Claiming he knew he would not get it right, Shekhar came in second on the episode. Alto-gether, Shekhar said he won $20,600 from all three games.

One might wonder how Shekhar was able to do so well on a game show like Jeopardy! As an undergraduate student at WSU, he received his bachelor’s in political science in 2008 because, he said, it was the typical degree for future law students. From 2008 to 2013 he was enrolled in at the University of Wisconsin Law School and received his Juris Doctor. While doing this he was also working on his master’s in bio-medical engineering at WSU. Shekhar said the reason he chose to take on the engineering degree was his interests in two different fields of law.

“During law school I gained an inter-est in environmental law,” he said.

To do well in that field, he said you have to be well-rounded in the scienc-es, and biomedical engineering would complement his pursuits. The other area he was interested in was patent law. He said from a career standpoint, it would be a good career choice espe-cially with the new inventions being made.

And it appears it was a good career choice. Shekhar was hired by a Pitts-

burgh law firm, Babst, Calland, Cel-ments and Zomnir, P.C.

But the “Jeopardy!” experience, Shekhar said, has meant a lot to him.

“Overall the experience has been helpful in putting in perspective all the knowledge and education that I’ve pursued over the last 10 years or so at Wayne and the other institutions I’ve attended,” he said. “And it’s also been good to get over any public anxiet-ies and fear of speaking beyond that stage.”

Harini Sundararaghavan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering at WSU, had Shekhar in two of her classes and said he gave thorough presenta-tions. Most of the students in the class were engineering, and she said his law degree gave him a unique perspective.

“It was exciting,” she said, “I never knew anyone else who was on ‘Jeop-ardy’ and I was really happy for him.”

Sharon Lean, associate professor and graduate director at WSU, said when she first met Shekhar in 2006 he was very participative, very serious and had a good sense of humor. Though she didn’t hear from him that he was going to be on “Jeopardy!” she did watch the show faithfully and saw him on televi-sion.

“A dear friend of mine from elemen-tary school and high school had been on ‘Jeopardy!’ a lot and so I follow… because of my old friend,” she said. “So I had noticed and thought, ‘I think that’s Varun.’”

Lean said when it comes to all of his degrees and winning the game show, she said he’s a good, all-around player and he has a lot of talents in different areas.

“I’ll be very interested to see what happens next with Varun,” she said. “I wish him luck.”

I’ll take WSU student for the win, Alex

COURTESY WAYNE TODAY

CHELSEA MARALASON Contributing Writer

Law school may seem like a daunting task, but for future lawyers, advocates and judges it is impossible to escape. Although the stakes are high and the going is tough, Wayne State’s Law School offers new and current students a great education with its 85 years of experience.

WSU Law strives to provide a supe-rior education and proves it by having more graduates pass the bar their first time than the state average. WSU Law has another advantage: location. It is located near some of the state’s top law firms and has an expansive externship program and alumni network. That means getting experience or a job in the field is not as difficult as it could be in a less urban environment.

“Wayne State (Law School) has a thriving externship program,” said David Moss, the director of clinical

education at the WSU Law School. Moss said when he attended law

school in the 1980s, there were little to no externship programs and few, if any, law clinics. Externships offer law students the opportunity to work at courts, firms or government offices apart from the university. Law clinics give students the opportunity to work within the university in a law office setting.

Law school clinics are similar to a medical student making rounds at a hospital; they have the environment at their fingertips with the expert advice of their faculty at their side.

While the law school gives students many opportunities to succeed and grow in their careers, it also requires a lot of work on the student’s part.

“(Students) need to expect that it’s going to dominate their life,” said Ty-ler Kemper, a first year law student. “If you’re not someone who can make the time commitment, it’s not for you.”

Other students agree. It appears that whether it’s the first year or the final year, going to law school is something that needs preparation, discipline and hard work.

“Be prepared to read more than you have ever read and to learn to think in directions that you haven’t thought of before,” said Josh Hadley, a third year student.

The admissions office agrees that students need to prepare themselves for hard work, but it also emphasizes the benefits and the advantages of at-tending law school at WSU.

“You are a stone’s throw from all things legal,” said Felicia Thomas, the director of recruitment and enroll-ment. “Location is key!”

Thomas said it is important to be at a law school that is close to courts, government offices, law firms and non-profit organizations.

Thomas believes there are three main reasons students should con-

sider going to WSU Law: Location, the alumni network and access to practical and theoretical training. She warns first year students to expect a lot of reading.

“Students average 400 pages per week if they’re full time,” Thomas said. “Academically, it is a very rigorous program.”

It’s no surprise that with all the re-quired readings and rigorous academic practices WSU alumni are often recog-nized for their outstanding work in the field. Just look at the 998 WSU alumni on www.superlawyers.com.

No matter what inspires a student to pursue law, it is important to find the school that meets their needs. Every law school has something to offer, but WSU Law has something special; it’s right here, in a city that has start-ups and new business springing up con-stantly, where development is always taking place and where Detroiters call home.

Students, faculty weigh in on Law School




SPORTS

Warriors continue losing streak at Northwood

Saginaw Valley first Warrior victim of New Year

MICHAEL LEWISContributing Writer

Wayne State’s men’s basketball team failed to escape its New Year funk, dropping their third consecu-tive game 77-64 at Northwood Uni-versity Jan. 16.

After going 4-2 in December, the Warriors have gone 1-4 since the be-ginning of 2014. The team continues to struggle on the road and this loss sinks their away record to a disap-pointing 1-5.

The first half saw six ties, as nei-ther team could sustain a comfort-able lead. The last deadlock of the game came after senior guard Chene Philips knocked down a triple to even the score at 25. The Warriors struggled to score in the last five minutes, missing their next seven shots. Northwood stayed on top and nearly closed the half on a 9-0 run. But a late layup by Chene Philips cut deficit to 34-27.

Philips led the team in first half scoring with 11, followed closely by senior Bryan Coleman, who added 10. Both teams tallied six turnovers

in the half, but Northwood held the edge in shooting, going 48 percent from the floor. WSU shot a disap-pointing 33 percent from the field in the first half.

The Warriors were not able to slow Northwood’s first half momen-tum. The Timberwolves opened the second period with an 11-5 run and pushed their lead to 11 in the first three minutes. With the lead up to 13 with 12 minutes left, both teams exchanged baskets until freshman Clark Bishop scored five straight, cutting the lead to nine (53-44). The T-Wolves responded by stretching the deficit to as many as 16 points. The lead came after three straight baskets by Will Bowles with four minutes left.

Philips and Coleman both tallied 16 total points, with Bishop and se-nior Gerald Williams-Taylor scoring 15 and 11 points respectively. The remaining Warriors combined for six points going 2 for 15 from the field.

Northwood big man Will Bowles dominated inside and out. Bowles tallied a double-double with 29 points and 11 rebounds.

MICHAEL LEWISContributing Writer

The Wayne State men’s basketball team finally ended its New Year slump with a 68-61 win over the Saginaw Valley State Cardinals, Jan. 18.

The Warriors set the tone in the first half as their rugged defense forced Saginaw Valley to shoot a poor 28 percent from the field through the first 20 min-utes. On the offensive end, the Warriors found some fluidity to their normally stag-nant offense by moving the ball. Saturday night’s commitment on both ends of the floor is the best the Warriors have shown since they began their losing skid late December.

“Those are definitely two points of emphasis. Moving the ball on offense and cracking down our defense,” said senior guard Chene Philips. “We still didn’t do as well as we wanted to, but it’s definitely improving.”

After a triple by Cardinal guard Gar-rett Hall, the Warriors trailed 10-5 with just over 16 minutes to go until halftime. However, the Warriors rattled off seven-straight points on consecutive baskets by senior forward Jamar Rangland and a three-point play by Chene Philips. Cardi-nal forward C.J. Turnage tied the game at

17 with two sequential baskets at the 7:43 mark, but the Warriors responded with a 13-4 run to close the half.

The Warriors shot 52 percent from the floor in the first 20 minutes and held the Cardinals to 28 percent. WSU entered the half with a 30-21 lead.

The Cardinals did not go down with-out a fight at the start of the second half. After the Warriors extended their lead to 11 (32-21) off a Bryan Coleman dunk, the Cardinals cut the lead to five by scoring six straight. The Warriors responded with an 8-0 run to push the lead to 13 with just over 15 minutes to play. The Warriors held on to a 16-point lead until a Damon Boze-man three sparked a 9-1 run and cut the lead to three (63-60) with 53 seconds left.

Philips hit 5-of-6 free throws in the final minute to cap a 25-point performance and seal the Warrior victory. Gerald Williams-Taylor followed up with a season-high 16 points.

The Warriors out-rebounded the Car-dinals 37-29 which is a positive improve-ment considering WSU’s lack of an inside presence. Still, the Warriors struggled with turnovers. The Warriors turned the ball over 15 times and allowed 20 Cardinal points as a result.

The Warriors host their next game at the Matthaei against Michigan Tech Jan. 23 at 7:30 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY RON HARPER

PHOTO COURTESY WSU ATHLETICS


SPORTS

Women’s winning streak broken at Northwood

Women bounce back at Saginaw Valley

FUAD SHALHOUTThe South End

Streak busters. The Northwood Timberwolves snapped

the Warriors’ 10-game winning streak Jan. 16, defeating WSU 77-65.

The Warriors looked sluggish from the start, trailing 13-7 in the opening minutes and then 20-10 with 11:44 remaining.

The Warriors chipped away at the defi-cit and trailed by one point, 28-27, after Shareta Brown converted a three-pointer with 6:22 remaining in the half. But then NU responded with an 11-0 run and led 39-27 with 3:17 left in the half.

Down the stretch, WSU scored the final six points for a halftime score of 39-33 favoring NU.

The Warriors carried that momentum into the second half, scoring 10 of the first 12 points and taking a 43-41 lead thanks to consecutive triples from Destiny

Lavita-Stephens and Jackie Jones. WSU kept building on its lead after a

jumper by Lavita-Stephens to go up 55-49.

Then things went downhill.Northwood’s Lauren Robak, who

scored a game-high 27 points, scored nine straight pointsto secure the lead for Northwood once again, leaving the score 58-55 with 6:53 remaining, Then NU added free throws to complete a 12-0 run to go up 61-55 with 5:46 left.

WSU fought back and pulled to within three, 61-58, but the Timberwolves an-swered scoring 10 of the next 11 points to seal the game and the Warriors’ winning streak.

Brown led WSU with 23 points on 9 of 10 shooting and 16 rebounds. It was her sixth double-double of the season. Jones added 13 points and six rebounds.

The Warriors play next at Saginaw Val-ley Jan. 18.

FUAD SHALHOUTThe South End

After having its 10-game winning streak snapped on Jan. 16 at Northwood, the Wayne State women’s basketball team got back on track by recording a 94-74 win at Saginaw Valley State (6-7 overall, 4-6 GLIAC) Jan. 18.

With the victory, the Warriors improve to 12-2 overall and 9-1 in the GLIAC.

The game was tight-knit at the start

where both teams tied each other three times in the first three minutes. Junior Shareta Brown then got it going scoring three baskets over a stretch of WSU’s next five possessions putting the Warriors ahead 17-12.

Following a Cardinal hoop, Brown then set-up Destiny Lavita-Stephens for another three-pointer which ignited a 10-0 run by WSU for a 27-14 lead.

The Cardinals’ Kayla Womack went on a tear scoring 12 consecutive points for SVSU

in a span of less than 5:30. The Cardinals drained a triple on the final possession be-fore halftime pulling Saginaw Valley within five (44-39) at the break.

Moments into the second half, Lavita-Stephens drained a three-pointer to start a 17-6 run by the Warriors.

With a 68-57 lead, Brown and senior Imari Redfield put the Warriors on their back and combined to score the next 15 WSU points as they increased the lead to 83-68 with just over four minutes left and put the game out of reach.

Brown once again filled up the stat sheet tallying her seventh double-double of the season with game-high totals of 28 points and 12 rebounds along with a team-high four assists. Redfield had her first double-double of the season with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

WSU crushed the Cardinals on the glass, out-rebounding them 50-20.

The win sets up a huge showdown on Jan. 23 between the Warriors and unde-feated Michigan Tech (10-0 overall) at the Matthaei. Tip-off is at 5:30 p.m.

PHOTO COURTESY CHUCK ANDERSEN

PHOTO COURTESY ADAM BOUTIN

THESOUTHEND.WAYNE.EDU I JANUARY 22 - 29, 2014 I 16SEE THE WHOLE GALLERY ONLINE!

PHOTOSTORY

DETROITDERBY GIRLS

BY KRISTIN SHAW

january 22-29, 2014

Documents