Today on Stateside, between anemic state funding and fewer people in the classroom, many of Michigan’s public universities are facing challenging times. Plus, a new initiative at the University of Michigan looks to provide evidence-based training on how to prevent school violence.
Listen to the full show above or find individual segments below.
Declining enrollment at six public universities signals shift in Michigan’s higher ed landscape
- The state budget signed by Governor Whitmer gives Michigan's public universities $1.47 billion dollars for the new fiscal year. Adjusted for inflation, that means public university funding from the state is actually dropping. Bridge Magazine's Ron French joined us to talk about how stagnant funding, alongside shrinking enrollment, is impacting public universities in Michigan.
Kirtland’s warbler makes a comeback from endangered to thriving
- This week, the Kirtland's warbler was removed from the endangered species list. The yellow-breasted songbird rebounded from near extinction in Michigan. Dan Kennedy is the endangered species coordinator for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. We spoke with him about the Kirtland's warbler’s revival, and its quirky behaviors.
This segment originally aired on August 6, 2018.
70 years before lunch counter protests, a black attorney challenged segregation in the MI Supreme Court — and won
- This week marks the anniversary of an important court case in Michigan history: Ferguson v. Gies. William Ferguson filed a discrimination suit after being kicked out of a Detroit restaurant for refusing to sit in the "colored" section. That suit, coupled with the hard work of attorney D. Augustus Straker, made huge steps in advancing civil rights in 19th century Michigan.
- We spoke with D. Augustus Straker Bar Association President Kimberley Ann Ward and Wayne County Judge Terrance A. Keith about the historical and legal significance of the case.
Why some restaurants in SE Michigan are trading tipping for salaried staff
- The tipless restaurant trend is spreading in Southeast Michigan. That's where restaurant employees get a salary and you, the customer, don't leave a tip. Detroit Free Press restaurant critic Mark Kurlyandchik recently wrote a story on a restaurant in Birmingham, La Strada Italian Kitchen, that's become the latest in Metro Detroit to climb aboard the "tipless train." Kurlyandchik joined Stateside to discuss discussed the growing trend of tipless dining, and how it affects the cost of meals for customers.
New UM initiative will focus on evidence-based solutions for school safety, gun violence prevention
- Making our schools safer and offering training to prevent school violence is the focus of a brand new national research and training center on school safety. With $6 million in federal funding, the University of Michigan School of Public Health is launching a multidisciplinary center to offer free safety training and best practices to schools across the country.
- Justin Heinze is the co-director of this new center. He's also an assistant professor of Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Nicole Hockley is managing director of Sandy Hook Promise, one of the key partners in the new national center. Hockley and Heinze joined Stateside to talk about the purpose of the new center, and how it will tailor solutions for individual school districts.
Ragatz: Outdoor play is an essential - not an extra - for student learning
- In many schools, the time for unstructured play, like recess, is becoming rarer. That means that free play ? with no plan and minimal adult supervision? is increasingly rare in kids' day-to-day lives. Michigan Radio's education commentator Matinga Ragatz weighed in on what this means for teachers in the classrooms, and how schools might be able to create more unstructured play time for their students.
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