Students get acquainted with Detroit

Oh, I get it now. 1. Public relations: Like when GlaxoSmithKline's full-oage ad intonates that Paxil will help you feel like "yourself" again (in *big bold letters*) and later, in an essay the size of my thumbnail, warns that it may permanently close your rectal cavity. 2. Crisis communications: Like when our glorious leader tells us that he won't rest, and that he's doing everything possible, until the Mexican Gulf oil spill is stopped. And yet, the Louisiana governor proposed at least 5 different emergency measures that didn't receive federal emergency funding. (Perhaps this isn't the best example of *effective* crisis communication...) 3. Health Communications: Like how we were all supposed to be stone-cold dead from swine flu by now, and there are, what?, a billion doses of Tamaflu in CDC stockpiles that will expire before the next flu season. No, no, Jay... I *totally* get it now. The communications major's job is to wordsmith prepare delivery of lies with misplaced confidence that 99% of the message recipients are fools who can't distinguish a paragraph from a parachute. Indeed, a comm degree does go much further: How to *lie* to people, and get away with it (most of the time).

Go Jay, Go Jay, it's yer birthday, go Jay..!

Dr. Mike, I appreciate your sentiment, however I must say that it is somewhat misguided. I have had no problem finding work with a degree in communications, and have even started my own successful communications company in the middle of a recession. A communication degree goes much farther than "learn how to talk to somebody," which is a common over-simplification of what a communication expert does. Presentations skills and public address are a component of what you would learn in a communication degree track, but there are other skills and concentrations that are highly sought after in industry and valuable to any organization. I will provide a few examples: 1. Public relations: when a company designs and launches a new product, who do they call? They call a public relations firm to help increase awareness and generate sales. 2. Crisis Communications: When a chemical engineer makes a huge mistake and blows up half of the building that the company owns, what happens behind the scenes? Well, hopefully the company leadership was savvy enough to hire a crisis communication professional, who would have designed a plan to quickly notify workers of the impending danger, and they would make it to safety. 3. Health Communications: When an infectious disease hits a major city, who does the CDC turn to to disseminate strategic messages? You guessed it. Whether it is training customer service representatives, creating logical arguments for an attorney, or writing a speech for a politician, a communication expert is valuable for every industry. Another major benefit of studying communications is learning how to make intelligent arguments and not relying on ad-hominems in interactions. People tend to heed your perspectives more when you don't come off like an arrogant individual. Best regards,

I gained so much more respect for the South End like this is an Onion worthy prank kudos!

This is awesome, I never thought that I would be a student in the Big TENish confrence... something to be proud of, I guess. Kudos to Wayne State, and looking forward to seeing the progression of the athletic department in future years.

There was a waiting list this year for incoming freshman in the dorms. Right now WSU is a wayne, macomb, oakland county university. Without dorms, vibrent and active campus, D1 athletics, name recognition outside of MI, we will never get the top 10% of their class students from CA, NY, TX.

We need to compete for students that go to USC, Boston College, U of Texas, etc. Stop competing for students that go to Oakland, Eastern.

How many current students that go to WSU are top 10% of thier HS class from west of the Mississippi river?

For Follower of Jesus The current dorms are not full. Living in the immediate vicinity of campus is cheaper and almost as safe because Wayne State PD patrols there. Lack of athletics is one of the reasons I didn't choose UM or MSU; comparing reputations with a more sober and older mind, I wonder if that was smart. But I also know plenty of UM grads in the area who haven't and probably won't make much of their education. And this is cheaper and in the city.

WSU is stupid. How can it even have the balls to compare it to other schools when it doesn't even offer housing for everyone who wants it. When is WSU going to build more dorms so that every freshman can live on campus.

All WSU does is raise fees, tutition, parking, books.

Wayne State needs to build more student dorms on campus. WSU will never be a world class university as a commuter campus. We need more students living on campus. We also need D1 athletics. We also need to increase the enrollment standards.

Such fun to watch & hear about all the kudos coming your way, Patrick! So deserved! Wishing you continued happiness and following your heart. That seems to be a perfect formula for your success!