I Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010 The Daily Collegian Elizabeth Murphy Editor in Chief Kelsey Thompson Business Manager About the Collegian: The Daily Collegian and The Weekly Collegian are pub lished by Collegian Inc., an independent, nonprofit cor poration with a board of directors composed of stu dents, faculty and profes sionals. Pennsylvania State University students write and edit both papers and solicit advertising for them. During the fall and spring semes ters as well as the second six-week summer session, The Daily Collegian publish es Monday through Friday. Issues are distributed by mail to other Penn State campuses and subscribers. Complaints: News and edi torial complaints should be presented to the editor. Business and advertising complaints should be pre sented to the business man ager. Who we are The Dally Collegian's edito rial opinion is determined by its Board of Opinion, with the editor holding final responsibility. The letters and columns expressed on the editorial pages are not necessarily those of The Daily Collegian or Collegian Inc. Collegian Inc., publish ers of The Daily Collegian and related publications, is a separate corporate institu tion from Penn State. Members are: Lexi Bel culfine, Caitlin Burnham, Paul Casella, Kevin Cirilli, Beth Ann Downey, Amanda Elser, Zachary Feldman, Ashley Gold, Stephen Hennessey, Allison Jackovitz, Kevin Kline, Samantha Kramer, Bill Landis, Andrew Metcalf, Nate Mink, Elizabeth Murphy, Laura Nichols, Michael Oplinger, Edgar Ramirez, Heather Schmelzlen, Caitlin Sellers, Laurie Stem, Katie Sullivan, jfessica Uzar, Aubrey Whelan, Alex Weisler, Somer Wiggins, Steph Witt and Chris Zook. Letters We want to hear your com ments on our coverage, editorial decisions and the Penn State community. ■ E-mail collegianletters@psu.edu ■ Online www.psucollegian.com ■ Postal mall/ln person 123 S. Burrowes St. University Park, PA 16801 Letters should be about 200 words. Student letters should include class year, major and campus. Letters from alumni should Include year of graduation. All writers should provide .their address and phone number for verification. Letters should be signed by no more than two peo ple. Members of organiza tions must include their titles if the topic they write about is connected with the aim of their groups. The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters. The Collegian cannot guaran tee publication of all let ters it receives. Letters ctfosen also run on The Daily Collegian Online and may be selected for publi cation in The Weekly Colle gian. All letters become property of Collegian Inc. Today is the time to remember We all remember what it felt like one year ago. Helicopters circled the campus, the FBI assisted local law enforcement looking in manholes and Dumpsters and rumors flew unchecked. It was a scary time to be a Penn State student. After almost two days of searching, Joe Dado’s body was found. As a cam pus community we came together, held vigils and wristband sales and then we let time pass. Today we challenge you to relive that day. Don’t become complacent. Dado is not a symbol. He was a brother, a son, a friend and a Penn State student. Resist the urge to make *M £JSBn® PwT*" (r *•* I* •’* , . '‘ •* V ... *• ’* ! .> », •'* .*» ‘ *;r\ t * * * , * § * 9 ‘ * fvf ■ - '#• > f S Danger caused by nation’s pastime resonates with Penn player 5 s suicide By Michael Oplinger I never thought I’d be sur prised to see Owen’s name on the front page of the New York Times. Of all my high school classmates, he was always the most likely one to appear prominently on the pages of the country’s top newspa pers Owen Thomas, a star football player bright enough to get into the University of Pennsylvania’s prestigious Wharton School of Business, was destined to be a leader in whatever field he chose. Combine his intelligence with natural leadership ability and infectious personality and it was easy to see he would some day change the world. I, along with everyone else who knew the captain of the Penn football team with his trademark red hair, just never expected to see his name on the front pages so soon. But last Tuesday’s New York Times featured an article about Owen that may shed light on his tragic and sudden suicide last April. The article reveals that doc tors at Boston University found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, in Owen’s brain. CTE is a brain disease caused by repetitive brain trauma and can lead to depression and inhi bition of impulse control. While doctors certainly could not attribute Owen’s death to the disease or his football career, they also couldn’t rule it out as a factor. the tragedy an example or a case study. Though it’s easier, fight the impulse to treat this clinically. Dado’s death is a living and breathing event that still has ripples throughout our communi ty And though Dado’s lega cy is his life and the peo ple he touched, there are lessons we all can learn from his story. The best we can hope for with tragedies like his is that some good can eventually come from it. The event of Dado’s death was a wake up call for administrators and student leaders to make necessary changes to the university’s alcohol cul ture. w R *«'».* .c. . S'. In April, his death sent shock waves through the communities at Penn and Parkland High School. Now it has a chance to have an impact throughout the much larger football community. Evidence of CTE has been found in former NFL players, including two who have taken their own lives. But Owen is the youngest person to show signs of the disease, suggesting to doctors and researchers that it can impact athletes of all ages, professional or amateur. Reforming football to make it safer at all ages has already started. Concussions are being taken more seriously at all lev els. Coaches are beginning to see the consequences of repeat ed impacts to the head. But reform can’t come soon enough as football’s popularity continues to increase, exposing more to the unforgiving nature of the sport. The answer certainly isn’t to ban the great game that Owen loved so dearly. Football is inher ently violent, but that doesn’t mean it has to be dangerous. Continually improved equip ment and increased education about head trauma will make the country’s most popular sports safe for all to play. Showing their incredible strength and courage, Owen’s parents, Rev. Tom Thomas and Rev. Kathy Brearley, have cho sen to release the results of the Boston University study in hopes of making football safer in Owen’s memory. Rev. Brearley is also sched uled to appear before the House Education and Labor Committee that is currently looking into the issue. The committee hopes to increase education about con- We commend them for the progress that has come so far, though we stress this is just the beginning of a long and important process. But there we go, filing away our emotions and focusing instead on poli cies and initiatives. Today that’s not Penn State’s task. Faced with uncertainty, fear and a terrible sense that this could have hap pened to any of us, the university banded togeth er last September. We became both a uni fied campusand commu nity. fake that one-year-old feeling and come together again today to mourn and reflect. cussions at public schools and force players with concussion symptoms to sit out of practices and games. While the right steps are being taken to encourage safety, Owen’s tragic tale reminds us as fans that football players are human. Underneath the helmet and shoulder pads are sons, brothers and friends. They are young men playing a game they love, no less vulnerable to harm than anyone else. As fans, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture, to forget the implications of every single impact caused by tackling. But next time you think about criti cizing a player for jogging off the field after a big hit or taking a few plays off, please remember the potential repercussions of playing football. Players are allowed to take breaks. They’re allowed to sit out a few plays. They’re human. The Tuesday New York Times article eventually appeared on other major news outlets such as CNN.com and ESPN.com, but this is a story that can’t be told enough. To let Owen’s tale fade from memory would be a disservice to his memory and his ability to impact people’s lives a power that transcends mortality, that transcends life. If we learn from his story, his incredible, infectious spirit will live on through the millions of kids across toe country safety enjoying the game he loved so much. Owen will have changed toe world just like we always knew he would Michael Oplinger is a senior majoring in media studies and political science and is the Collegian’s Tuesday colum nist. His e-maii is mjoso7iepsu.edu. t The Daily Collegian SMALL WORLD D.C. has ups and downs I just met and escorted newly elected D.C. mayor Vincent Gray up to the news studio. Ya know, no big deal. And last week I did the same for the current mayor, Adrian Ftenty. No offense to State Coilege, but shaking hands with Elizabeth Goreham isn’t quite the same as shaking hands with the mayor of a big metropolitan city, let alone our nation’s capital. In the past week, I’ve also gotten to go out and record man on-street interviews and edit radio pieces in Adobe Audtion (sound editing software). Interning at WTOP just keeps getting cooler. As for living in Washington, D.C., I’m reminded most days how careful we all have to be. There was a hostage crisis at the Discovery building less than three weeks ago. A gunman was discov ered near the capitol Friday morning. A guy shot and killed his mother and him self Thursday at Johns Hopkins Hospital. And in class, one of my profes sors talked about what it was like being in D.C. on Sept. 11,2001, and how scary and stressful it was locating all the Penn State students who were here for the same program I am now and making sure they were alright. In fact, part our contract to participate in the Washington Program includes a short disclaimer basically stating we are assuming a higher safety risk here due to the threat of terrorism... SNAP, CRACKLE, POP EP firms up artist’s talent According to his recent biography, Eric Alexandrakis’ music has been fea tured on channels such as MTV ABC and VHI. Plus, with overcoming the obstacle of cancer not once, but twice Alexandrakis has shown his strengths through his music, commer cials for cancer research, and small act ing roles, according to his bio. His recent EP “Terra Firma,” is a segment of Alexandrakis’ 30 track album, which includes all original songs and one that is performed with John Taylor from Duran Duran, who discov ered Alexandrakis. “Terra Firma” provides a fusion of pop, electronic and indie-rock music that gives a unique sound to satisfy fans of all three genres. The EP starts off with “Bloom,” which personally is one of my favorite songs on Terra Firma. “Bloom” just screams to me the message “instant hit for radio.” It’s very upbeat and different, but at the same time it would fit with songs that are played on the radio with its danceable beats. Joshua Glossner Style and trends reporter ‘Night Out’ in New Yoik Fashion’s Night Out was on Friday night, and tons of people including celebrities came out of the woodwork to attend toe various events at toe hot spots in New York City. The Big Apple can be kind of intimi dating at first for new visitors, but after riding toe subway a time or two, you feel like a resident. I am residing in a small apartment with my new friend Jill and her roommate, so I also get to expe rience living toe studio apartments in New York. What’s even more unique about the apartment that I’m staying in is that Dustin Hoffman used to live on toe same street. I got to walk down Times Square for toe second time in my life, but this time I had more tone to take pictures of toe billboards and the sights. Possibly one of toe most exciting buildings I saw was toe Parson’s New School of Design. In case you do not recognize toe name, this is where Project Runway contestants create and show their designs for TV I ate at John’s Pizzeria with Jill and her boyfriend. One thing I was sur prised about was toe food and drinks were brought out more quickly than restaurants in State College. You would think it would be the other way around but I guess not... Joshua Glossner Style and trends reporter As real as vampires get With toe recent vampire trend that has currently swept toe entertainment industry, HBO is taking a realistic approach to its new show and adding a historical twist. The new series, called “Boardwalk Empire,” is about the tone period of prohibition, which generates toe first round of organized crime. The show takes place in toe ’2os and shows how criminals put their tone, money and effort into bringing banned alcohol into toe country to capitalize on illegal activity. The aspect of this show that will prob ably draw audiences is its derailing from toe supernatural shows such as “Thie Blood,” “Vampire Diaries” and other shows that base content on toe strictly unrealistic... Read more of The Daily Collegian's blogs at psucoileglan.com/blogs. Erica Brecher Small World blogger Allegra O’Nelli Arts enterprise reporter
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