After being helped to a sitting position, and unaware of her surroundings, she was taken to the local hospital and diagnosed with a severe concussion.

Many of us would say – “no big deal”- she was being aggressive and playing to her full potential. This is a line so often heard in athletic settings.

More often in males than females, the athletic demonstration, which often results in this form of “brain damage”, is briefly treated and ignored. New research, which should be kept in mind the next time you see your favorite athletic-superstar take the field, suggests these concussions have serious long term repercussions.

As a former New England Patriots linebacker, Ted Johnson won three Super Bowl rings. Unfortunately, he will never tell his grandchildren these memories because of the brain trauma he suffered while playing.

At age 38, Johnson has already been diagnosed with early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease. “For three years, I went to doctors and got no answers,” Johnson told CNN in January 2009. “One told me, ‘You’ve reached a new medical threshold.’ What are you supposed to do with that news?”

Recent research has linked Johnson’s multiple concussions (866 tackles in 10 seasons) with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease, which doctors have titled “post-concussion syndrome.”

Depression issues, sleep disorders, memory loss and mental fatigue are just a few of the symptoms. Researchers have not come up with a precise number of concussions which trigger these symptoms.

This needs addressing not only by the NHL, but also by athletic programs at the high school level on up!

As an athlete I find myself torn. On the field all of us, no matter the sport, are praised for “going hard”, giving all we have and literally injuring ourselves for the win.

As a part of a competitive team. It is so easy to forget one’s own health and safety for a team. Whether it is a surge of anger from a game going poorly, bad weather elements or the adrenaline rush of superb play, in the “moment” athletes continuously sacrifice themselves for their sport.

By the end of his career in 2005, Ted Johnson said the physical impact from practice and games was causing “two or three a week” and that he was never warned of potential long-term medical problems that would result from this abuse.

It has been predicted Johnson suffered from more than 100 concussions throughout his career. Sports are a huge part of our culture.

We idolize the greats on all levels of play, holding some professional athletes as heroes-of-the-decade.

So many of us can list factoids on famous athletes more readily than poets, writers, politicians, etc. For this reason, our society can not allow athletes to retire and be “mentally gone” by their 50’s. This treatment, I would consider, is unethical care of the players and very close to inhumane.

Just as any employer is responsible for the health and welfare of their employees in the workplace, the same should be for professional sports programs.

The American College of Sports Medicine recently reported that of the 595 players who are on record for sustaining three or more concussions on the football field, 20.2 percent have been diagnosed with depression.

That is three times the rate of players who have not sustained concussions. Recently Boston University medical experts announced a link between chronic traumatic encephalopathy (a degenerative brain disease caused by head trauma) and the premature deaths of six former NFL players since 2002.

This announcement should be embarrassing and eye opening for the NFL. Johnson, who is currently showing symptoms, is very aware what is happening to him as a result of his time in the NFL. Sacred and upset, Johnson has given back to his disease with the ultimate sacrifice: he is donating his brain to science.

To prove to everyone that athletes do care about their own health- he is not the only one!
A few former NFL players, both healthy and ailing, have donated their brain, upon their death, as an independent medical group continues research on a problem the league has ignored for far too long.

How then do we change our societal standards to accommodate this health hazard? I promise that will never happen. As a stadium of 100,000 fans cheer uncontrollably as the defensive lineman runs headfirst into the pileup, stopping the final drive, no one, not coaches, refs players, fans or league officials are going to say “NO! you can’t do that.”

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The campus lockdown on April 1 is still fresh in the minds of many on MU’s campus, which brings no surprise to the numerous changes made for this school year.

Janet Kaskos, director of Communications, knows better than anyone the potential problems when a crisis occurs and the community is not ready with an adequate response.

“We made changes to our internal communications system after the basketball riot two years ago. I felt on April 1 those changes were implemented and effective,” said Kaskos.

As the campus implements three new security programs this fall, Kaskos assures the improvements are for the better.

The systems being referred to, are the siren alert system, electronic control and TAT@MU; all of which were effective as of September 2008.

The alert system means the addition of several call boxes around MU’s campus, which may be pushed to contact police in the case of an emergency. Previously, there were three of these boxes on campus; more were added so that, hopefully, wherever a person is on campus, they are in view of a call box.

A speaker alert system has been installed on various buildings around the campus to assure that students outside are able to quickly and effectively be alerted to danger.

Due to the difficulty connecting online and making cell phone calls on April 1, Verizon Wireless has erected two more towers in Millersville for faster, more accommodating service, and the university will implement an internet function which allows a master button to shut down web access and display only important messages during times of crisis.

Emergency towers are just one of the many additions made to make MU a safer campus. Photo by Christian Shuts.

The Threat Assessment Team, TAT, is a group of MU staff members that represent various departments on campus, such as the director of safety and environmental health and the chief of university police.

Their job is to quickly “assist in addressing threatening behaviors that potentially impede their own or others’ ability to function successfully or safely.” TAT is asking students to report any threatening or stressful situation they encounter from the campus community to them directly.

The MU community is asked to carry credit-card size handouts in their wallet for easy reference in case of an emergency. It is also recommended that students save the emergency phone number, 717-871-3911, in their cell phone contact list.

“If students don’t use these resources…then what? It is vital that we are schooled and  re-schooled in using these practices,” says Geiger, who is taking all of these changes with a  grain of salt. Geiger, like many, understand the difficulty in asking a college community to carry around a folded paper on campus safety.

“[TAT] is not limited to physical threats,” says Kaskos. “If students are being bullied or objectified, stalked or bothered, we want to know about it.”

In this context, it seems TAT serves as “telling the teacher” of the college world.

While being cautious and intervening is justified, students are not looking to be babysat.

“I think students need to learn to deal with their own problems. We are here to learn and prepare for the real world. In the real world you don’t get to call TAT when you’re being bullied in your English class,” said senior Sean Betesh.

It seems that while these programs are all productive in theory, it is those that do not require output by the campus community that will be most successful.

“If I’m walking down the street and [the building] screams at me to go inside, I’ll listen,” said Betesh. “But good luck getting me to carry around [an info packet] on it. I just don’t see that being a convenient thing to lug around.”

TAT sent out a campus email detailing the new security systems and procedures on campus; however, very few students took the time to read the email. Many are tired of hearing about threats and safety on campus.

“I literally got locked in the library the other day,” said senior Derek Wilsey. “Maybe we should focus on campus employees paying more attention to their job and how many people are signed up for alert/text messages.”

It seems, for now at least, students are not giving their safety on campus daily thought. This hopefully means the efforts by the university are working effectively.

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Ryan Brink burst onto the Millersville baseball scene in 1997, winning PSAC Eastern Division Rookie of the Year by hitting .341 with four homers, setting the stage for one the most distinguished careers in school history.

In four seasons, he posted a career batting average of .360 and set Millersville career records in seven offensive categories, including runs (167), hits (220), doubles (56) and home runs (26). He was also a standout with the glove, recording a school record 1,142 putouts at first base.

Gail Cleveland ‘69
Tennis
B.S., Education

Gail Cleveland established a legacy with the women’s tennis team by providing exceptional leadership as a three-year captain and standout player.

From 1966-68, the Marauders never lost, posting three undefeated seasons and a 16-0-1 record.

Individually, she posted remarkable 20-1 career singles record. But more importantly, as a senior in 1969, she set a Millersville precedent when she became the first woman to receive the Elwood J. Finley Award as outstanding Millersville senior athlete.

Diane Espenshade Suhr ‘86
Field Hockey/Softball
B.S., Business Administration

Diane Espenshade Suhr was two-sport standout athlete and exceptional student during her Millersville career.

Individually, she earned All-American status in field hockey, academic All-American honors in softball and also led the Marauder field hockey team to one of the most successful seasons in the Millersville history books.

As team captain in 1985, Espenshade Suhr guided the Marauders to a PSAC Championship, an NCAA Division III Pennsylvania Region Championship and finished the season as the national runner-up. That team posted a 17-4 record, which still stands as the winningest single season in school history.

Espenshade Suhr received NCAA Division III All-America First Team recognition in addition to all-region and All-PSAC honors.

In both 1984 and 1985, she was tabbed All-PSAC and was an All-PSAC Scholar Athlete.
On the diamond, Espenshade Suhr served as a catcher and hit .299 in three varsity seasons. In her senior season of 1986, she garnered GTE/CoSIDA Academic All-American honors and received the Elwood J. Finley Award as the outstanding Millersville senior female athlete.

Lance Gelnett ‘92
Men’s Basketball
B.S., Business
Administration
M.B.A., Pittsburgh ‘94

Lance Gelnett became the most prolific shooter in Millersville men’s basketball history from 1989-92. As a long-range marksman, he set school records for most 3-pointers made with 266, most attempts with 547 and sank a school-best 48.6 percent of those shots.

His career 3-point field goal percentage stands as fifth best in NCAA Division II history. He also owns the career free throw percentage record after hitting 250-of-305 in 109 career games.

Gelnett finished his career ranked eighth on the Millersville all-time scoring list with 1,602 points and in 2000, he was named as one of the Top 30 Players in Millersville Men’s Basketball during the 100th anniversary celebration of the program.

William F. King ‘85
Cross Country/Track & Field
B.S., Industrial Arts
Education

William F. King A two-time captain of the cross country team, King was a Division II Cross Country All-American in 1983 and 1984 and qualified for the national championships all four years of his career.

He was also an All-American in track as a senior. Three times he was named All-Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes of America (ICAAAA), and in 1983 he became one of Millersville’s two ICAAAA champions.

King placed third at the 1983 PSAC Championships and bested that with a runner-up finish as a senior to become a four-time All-PSAC honoree.

King’s teams were just as successful. Along with winning the cross country national title in 1981, his 1984 squad captured the NCAA Division II Northeast Region Championship.

Sandra Peters
Educator, Administrator, Coach, Trainer
B.S., Lock Haven
M.S., West Chester

Sandra Peters played a key role in the growth and development of Millersville Athletics, serving the university as an educator, administrator, coach and trainer for 32 years.

Peters arrived at Millersville in 1967 as an assistant professor of health and physical recreation. In 1968 she added the role of field hockey coach to her resume and she remained in that position until 1984.

Peters also became the first head coach of the women’s track and field team in 1978. She immediately led the team to four wins in five dual meets.

During her 32-year stay, she also served as an assistant women’s basketball coach for eight seasons and an assistant woman’s lacrosse coach for two and the head trainer for the women’s athletics department from 1978-84.

She stepped down from her coaching duties in 1984 to become the assistant director for women’s athletics in 1985. She remained in that role until retiring in 1999.

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