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The Eastern Echo

Afghan War Holbrooke's toughest career challenge

By Paul Richter · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

KABUL – The American envoy’s armed convoy rumbled through Kabul’s dusty streets, stopping at one polling place, then another as Afghans voted in their first contested presidential election. In the August heat, Richard Holbrooke watched the voting with a mixture of concern and satisfaction.

20090924 Nuclear nations

Russia rejects talk about trade sanctions for Iran

By Tom Lasseter · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

MOSCOW — If Hillary Clinton was hoping to win Russian support for efforts to use a threat of sanctions to pressure Iran to come clean about its nuclear ambitions, her first trip to Moscow as secretary of state got off to a rocky start Tuesday.

The Eastern Echo

Police Blotter

By Jordan Dekker · Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2009

10/9 A locked vehicle allegedly was broken into at the Convocation Center between 6:30 and 10:15 p.m.

The Eastern Echo

Fire Department to bill for services

By Dan DuChene · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

The Ypsilanti Fire Department hopes to generate as much as $36,000 a year in revenue after City Council approved the ability to bill for services. An ordinance approved unanimously on second reading by City Council Tuesday allows the department to bill for costs rendered during emergency calls, unless the call is a structure fire.

The Eastern Echo

Grad rates among the lowest in Michigan

By Krista Gjestland · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

Eastern Michigan University is struggling to graduate its students even as it has remained one of the more affordable university options. According to a study recently released by College Results Online, which is run by a non-profit organization, The Education Trust, only 38.8 percent of EMU students will earn a degree within six years of enrolling.

Journalist talks Arab-Israeli conflict

By Michael Hintz · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

Freelance journalist Alison Weir, founder and executive director of the Web site and non-profit organization “If Americans Knew,” will be coming to Eastern Michigan University’s campus.

The Eastern Echo

Municipal employee's union files grievance in Ypsilanti Township

By Christine Laughren · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

Ypsilanti Township’s municipal employees union have filed a grievance against the township. Township officials said the local chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Union filed its grievance shortly after the Township reduced hours for municipal employees to 32 hours a week.

The Eastern Echo

Obama: Nobel prize a 'call to action' not award for past accomplishments

By Greg Miller , Janet Hook and Mark Silva · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama, who has pledged to place diplomacy ahead of confrontation in world affairs, won the Nobel Prize for Peace on Friday, a remarkable and controversial honor for a leader nine months in office. Obama, as if acknowledging the unusual nature of the award, accepted it “as a call to action” rather than as a reward for past accomplishments. “This award must be shared with everyone who strives for justice and dignity,” Obama said at a Rose Garden appearance. The gold medallion given to recipients of the prize does not come with a ribbon, but the award could end up being a weight around Obama’s neck. Intended to honor how Obama has altered the nation’s diplomatic direction, the peace prize is likely to call attention to how much of the administration’s agenda – from closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay to winding down the war in Iraq – remains undone. The prize also poses political risks for a president routinely depicted by Republicans as more focused on seeking international approval than defending the security interests of the United States. That criticism could be compounded if Obama rejects the military’s request for an additional 40,000 troops in Afghanistan. Mindful of such perils, the president sought to downplay the significance of the Nobel, describing it as a “means to give momentum” to causes that others also embrace, and saying, “To be honest, I do not feel that I deserve” it. The award undoubtedly carries benefits.

The Eastern Echo

Rural hosiptals worry reforms won't be helpful

By Halimah Abdullah · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Peach County Regional Medical Center, a small, Cold War-era hospital in Fort Valley, Ga., 40 miles from the nearest trauma center in Macon, is in critical condition. Medical specialists and surgeons – physicians who are hard to recruit to rural areas – often take one look at the hospital’s worn and soiled carpet and peeling wallpaper and decide to hang their shingles elsewhere. The emergency room has only five beds, so when patients with serious injuries or illnesses are admitted other less critical patients must get out of bed and walk or are rolled to a nearby waiting room. Most of those patients are uninsured and can pay little, if anything, toward their treatment, forcing the hospital to absorb the costs.

The Eastern Echo

Nonprofit hopes to profit from 'conservative anger'

By Scott K. Parks · Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009

DALLAS – A month after President Barack Obama took office in January, Drew Ryun moved to Texas and began organizing the state office of American Majority. Ryun is among many political organizers across the nation who watched the Tea Party phenomenon and is now asking the question: “Can you harness conservative anger about the direction the country is headed and convert those sign-waving protests into votes for 2010 and 2012? “I think the chances are about 50-50,” Ryun said.

The Eastern Echo

Moeller: Education not first at EMU

By Katie Milewski · Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009

A professor told the Regents that education was not a priority at Eastern Michigan University during their meeting Tuesday. Susan Moeller, president of the EMU American Association of University Professors, was the voice behind this concern.

Halle

Flooding, mold afflict Halle

By Jordan Dekker · Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009

Eastern Michigan University’s 10-year-old library is starting to show its age. Halle Library has had ongoing climate control issues in the archives that are putting the university’s collections at risk, as well as an ongoing flooding issue that has closed the library’s auditorium.

The Eastern Echo

Police Blotter

By Jordan Dekker · Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009

10/2 A cell phone was reported stolen from an unattended purse at The Commons. A staff member reported she had left her purse unattended in a work area between 11 a.m.

The Eastern Echo

Halle grid failure fate still uncertain

By Katie Milewski · Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2009

Due to problems with the electrical backup system in Halle, the electrical grid was shut down at 11:30 a.m. At this time, there is no update on when the system will be fully restored.

Latest Podcast

Eastern Michigan University’s “Enlighten U” has been ranked the top mental health podcast in Michigan by FeedSpot, a platform that compiles blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, newsletters and other sites in one location.

“Enlighten U” is a podcast geared toward students who are experiencing mental health challenges. Melissa Thrasher, EMU's executive director of media relations and social media, and Lolita Cummings, an EMU public relations professor, serve as the co-hosts. Each episode is released around the 15th of every month and features a student or alum and a subject-matter professional.

Lolita Cummings in an interview with The Echo said that this is not the first time the No. 1 mental health podcast in Michigan has been awarded to "Enlighten U."

"We've been the No. 1 mental health podcast in Michigan from the very beginning," Cummings said. "I think it's an indicator of the fact that what we are trying to do, we are doing well, and that is important."

At the start of each "Enlighten U" episode, Cummings and Thrasher state that the "Enlighten U" podcast is an award-winning show.

"A couple of years ago, I won the best in PR for good campaign from Public Relations Society of America for the marketing and promotions program, because it's important that we get this, the word, out to everyone and about the podcast," Cummings said.

Thrasher and Cummings are both extremely proud of their podcast, but these awards and recognitions are not why they continue with it.

It is important to Cummings that she serves all of her students' needs. She noticed that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of many of her students was declining. When the students came back after the pandemic, Cummings noticed that her students' mental health was even worse. Due to this, she began brainstorming with one of her students about how she could help.

"She [the student] said to me, 'We watched a lot of podcasts while we were off.' So I said, 'Okay, I don't know anything about podcasts, but I will meet you all where you are.' So that's where the idea came from," Cummings said. "I am able to not just serve their academic needs, but I'm also able to serve their mental health needs. And to get the feedback from them, that is really helping, and is everything to me because the students are the ones who tell us what issues are impacting the most. Those are the issues that we bring to the table at 'Enlighten U.'"

Cummings encourages students to not only watch and listen to "Enlighten U" but to also spread the word about the podcast.

"One of the things we want to do is get the word out about this podcast to as many people as possible, across the nation, across the world," she said. "The need is not limited to our campus — the need is universal; it is worldwide. My goal at this point is obviously to continue to produce quality shows that reflect the mental health challenges that students are facing, but also get it out to wider audiences so we can help more people."

For those who are interested in engaging with "Enlighten U," the podcast can be found on YouTube and Spotify.

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