At around 9 a.m. Jan. 23, students in The Summit at University City were woken up for the third time this week by the now familiar blaring alarm, flashing lights and the words “attention, attention, an emergency has been reported in this building. Please standby for further instructions.”

However, this time, unlike many others, there was an actual emergency.

An eight-inch fire sprinkler water pipe burst, leading to the partial flooding of the lobby, second floor and the subsequent evacuations of all the rooms affected.

The students who were forced to leave their rooms were only allowed to return hours later to briefly retrieve personal items before once again being asked to leave.

Affected students will be placed in The Study at University City while their rooms are being dried, cleaned and inspected to ensure they are habitable.

During this time, many of the buildings amenities such as the gym, study rooms and game rooms are closed with students being told that they can go to the other American Campus Community buildings, Chestnut Square and University Crossings, to access these amenities if needed according to an email sent to students. It is unknown how long these amenities will be closed.

When pre-junior accounting major Alyssa Melincoff heard the alarm she didn’t bat an eye and got dressed for class, but was horrified to see a flooded hallway spread out before her.

“I think it’s ridiculous that I can’t stay in my own space and am being forced to leave. I have schoolwork to do; I can’t worry about this,” Melincoff said.

This is not Summit’s first time experiencing issues with its water.

Last week many students were forced to go without hot water as a pump system had broken and took multiple days to repair. This left students with no alternative except to take cold showers in the middle of winter. It is not known if these two events are connected.

Staff at The Summit declined to comment to The Triangle.

“Eleven units in all were impacted with water damage. They repaired the sprinkler pipe that burst and restored the residential sprinkler system in the building,” a spokesperson from The Summit told NBC10.

Students are expected to be back in their rooms in the coming days, if not sooner.

Although Drexel University doesn’t have many traditions, the ones we do have are held very dear to students. Taking an exam on those crappy board things in Main Auditorium, the excitement of your first co-op job and picking up The Triangle every Friday are experiences that almost all Drexel students can share.

For over 90 years, The Triangle has dropped a new issue in stands across campus every Friday morning. But starting next week, that may not happen anymore.

After years of struggling financially and suffering from a decrease in readership and revenue, The Triangle is close to having zero dollars left in its bank account. Unlike many other student organizations, The Triangle does not accept funding from SAFAC or any other Drexel fund as per its original 1926 charter.

It takes roughly $1,000 per week to print 3,200 copies of the 12-page paper, all of which are distributed across campus and available to members of the Drexel community free of charge. This cost is covered entirely by advertising sales made by student staff members — or at least, it was for most of The Triangle’s history.

The Triangle, like other printed publications, has suffered significant losses in revenue as a result of a shift to online media. Websites like Craigslist and Facebook have nearly decimated the revenue The Triangle used to bring in from classified ads, and online ad platforms have forever changed the way businesses buy advertisements.

Many businesses today have abandoned newspaper advertisements all together, opting instead for new ways of marketing to college students.

That’s not to say these new technologies aren’t a good thing. But for The Triangle, it means having to find new ways to financially support the learning experiences of its more than 90 student staff members.

The Triangle was not created nor has it ever existed as a way to make a profit. The Triangle’s first and foremost goal is to create intriguing stories that bring value to its readers in the Drexel community — selling advertisements was simply a means to achieve that. The team at The Triangle is now exploring alternative ways to support that mission.

But new streams for funding aren’t developed overnight, and The Triangle needs your help to continue its operations.

You’ve seen Drexel’s “Day of Giving,” and now The Triangle is starting its own funding campaign — “The Triangle’s Week of Begging.” While humorous in name, it’s no joke; the gravity of the situation is dire. The Triangle is setting its campaign funding goal at $16,000.

Why? Because there are nearly 16,000 undergraduate students enrolled at Drexel. If every one of them donated just $1, The Triangle will reach its funding goal.

The Triangle will use all donated funds to continue its print operations until the organization can be financially self-sufficient again.

If you’re a student, faculty or staff member, alumnus or anyone else who wants to help support The Triangle monetarily, you can make a contribution at www.thetriangle.org/donate. If you think you can help in other ways or just want to leave a comment, you are encouraged to contact Mike Avena, Editor-in-Chief, directly at editor@thetriangle.org.

As things currently stand, The Triangle will not be printing future issues. If you’re reading this in the print edition now, then you may be reading one of the last stories ever printed by The Triangle, and that should not be a statement uttered in pride. As things currently stand, The Triangle can no longer say “we put out on Fridays”.

The Drexel University Police Department is planning to open a new “mini-station” in the lobby of Gerri C. Lebow Hall, which would give Drexel students the opportunity to speak directly and more easily with police officers, Chief of Drexel Police and Vice President of Public Safety Eileen Behr said.

The station is scheduled to open on the northern side of the Lebow College of Business in the coming weeks, and is part of the Drexel University Police Department’s efforts to increase visibility and accessibility on campus while also appearing more approachable to students, Behr said.

“We don’t want to be an agency where you only come to us because there is a disaster or because you were a victim,” Behr said. “We want to be out there for students.”

The goal of the station is to have an officer from Drexel Police posted as often as possible, especially during peak hours, Behr said. The hope is that more students will begin to utilize Drexel Police officers as a source of information and assistance.

“The [mini-station] will take the officers out of the car and put them on a level playing field with the students and the faculty — anyone walking through that lobby,” Behr said. “It will be some place where we can have officers be available during daytime and evening hours if students just have questions — not just always that it’s an emergency — or just need information.”

The department is also working to secure an emergency phone for the station, which students will have access to if an officer is not present at that particular time.

Maximizing their visibility on campus has been an ongoing process for the team. In addition to working toward opening the station in Lebow, the police department has also hired a second community relations police officer to promote more involvement with students on campus and to allow for more time to connect with student organizations and Greek life, Behr said.

“Those two [community relations] officers are able to get out more to student organizations,” Behr said. “They have stepped up — with the student government and Dragon ‘24 they’ve actually formed a liaison, where they regularly attend meetings to give them more contact with those organizations.”

The two officers frequently communicate with student organizations and Greek life to offer assistance and answer any questions the groups may have, Behr said. Members of the Drexel University Police Department also participate in different events hosted by the organizations and even occasionally help out with various class projects.

The overall goal behind Drexel Police’s efforts is to build strong connections with students and faculty, Behr said. They want Drexel students to know they are a resource available at all times.

“People only come in contact with cops when something bad happens in their life, and that’s not what it should be,” Behr said. “We’re here for assistance, for information, for prevention.”

Drexel University’s College of Medicine recently opened the doors to its new Center for Excellence, a unique program offering treatment for those struggling with substance abuse.

The program’s establishment was made possible following a $1.5 million grant the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services awarded for three years. Dr. Barbara Schindler, professor of psychiatry and pediatrics, said the unique Center for Excellence came at the right time.

“The opioid epidemic has created a medical crisis given the number of deaths locally and nationally,” she said.

According to an official Philadelphia city report, 1,217 deaths were recorded in 2017 due to unintentional drug overdoses. The new Center for Excellence, which has a unique and strong focus toward educating, hopes to lower that number by addressing more than just the opioid epidemic.

“The Drexel program is unique in its comprehensive aspect of addressing all of the goals,” Schindler said. “The major goals are to identify at-risk individuals, engage and initiate them in treatment, reduce the number of opioid prescriptions written by Drexel clinicians, improve the education of all trainees and physicians in substance use disorders and, overall, decrease the use of opioids.”

Schindler is the founder of the Caring Together Program, a program that helps women and their children overcome addiction, and one that she hopes can be integrated into the Center for Excellence to provide training and treatment.

Connecting the two programs will help portray substance abuse as a chronic disease, allowing physicians to approach it as such, Schindler said.

In addition, the Center for Excellence will establish an Addiction Consultation Team to provide evaluations to struggling individuals. The program will also create a peer specialist group to offer patient support.

“All potential individuals who need substance use treatment will be engaged by a peer specialist and referred to a treatment program that meets their needs,” Schindler said.

Students who are looking to learn more or who are in need of clinical care can contact Drexel University Student Health or call the program directly at (215) 967-2130.

Students have spoken, and Aramark has listened: more vegetarian and vegan options have been added to the dining selection at Urban Eatery.

Aramark, Campus Dining and the Drexel Food Lab held an open tasting at Urban Eatery Dec. 3 for the menu additions to be rolled out at U.C. Veg, the vegetarian and vegan friendly station that focuses on plant-based and seasonal ingredients.

“For winter term, students can expect to see menu items that showcase locally sourced in-season ingredients, such as eggplant, winter pears, kale, collard greens, brussel sprouts and portobello mushrooms,” Kristina Coble, Aramark’s on-campus residential district manager, said.

Three new menu items, which were developed by Drexel Food Lab in collaboration with the Aramark Culinary Development Kitchen, will be on the menu for the winter quarter.

In addition to a pimento cheese and roasted cauliflower tartine served on toasted wheat berry bread and garnished with tomatoes and scallions, there will also be two new sandwiches. The roasted beet and goat cheese features roasted beets with a cider-herb vinaigrette, baby arugula and goat cheese on a Kaiser roll, while the Korean mushroom sandwich showcases roasted, local portobello mushrooms from Kennett Square with gochujang sauce, a fried egg and scallions on a Kaiser roll.

Overall, the team created more than 100 recipes for the U.C. Veg menu, Ally Zeitz, manager of the Food Lab, said.

Chefs from the Food Lab introduced some of the new recipes at the tasting, including four cold dishes and two hot, as well as one dessert. Meatless mac and cheese, vegan chicken parmesan, buffalo cauliflower wraps and chia seed pudding were some of the dishes present.

These options were selected based on student feedback. Aramark reached out to students using comment cards that asked what options they would like to see more of in their dining halls, Coble said.

Much of the feedback given concerned the lack of food options over the weekend at Urban Eatery, as well as a need for more hot, plant-based meals, Coble said.

“Listening to students and talking with them is the best way that we can design menus and program offerings that meet their expectations and create the best student dining experience,” she said.

The current U.C. Veg menu includes four handhelds, two signature dishes and three salads. Meals include a soup, bottled water and dessert.

Eventually, menu items will include more options such as smoothies and more international dishes, Zeitz said.

To coincide with the theme of a more plant-based diet, there will now be a farm stand at Northside Dining Terrace every other Wednesday starting Jan. 16. Local produce and foods can be purchased by students using meal swipes or Dining Dollars. The stand is a partnership between Campus Dining and The Common Market, a regional food distributor.

In addition to changes within nutritional offerings, more systematic changes will also be enforced this term.

The Handschumacher Dining Center has extended weekend brunch hours on Saturdays and Sundays to 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., as opposed to the previous hours of 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Drexel Campus Dining Culinary Team and the university dietician will “take over” stations during dinner time Jan. 31 and Feb. 28 for surprise options. Students will be allowed to vote on what goes on the menu at these stations for spring quarter, Coble said.

Pizza will also start being served at the Hans in mid-January, Coble said.

Additionally, on three days this term, there will be a monthly “happy hour” at Northside Dining Terrace in which students with dining plans can use a meal exchange for an entree, side and bottle of water from 2 to 4 p.m at a designated location. This will apply at the Sushi & Hot Bowl station Jan. 16, at the Chick-fil-A Feb. 13 and at  the Subway March 13.

Students can offer additional feedback by emailing campusdining@drexel.edu.

In the midst of the hecticness of a new term and stressful co-ops, students can unwind with an array of events and mini competitions during Drexel University’s 2019 Homecoming.

The annual celebration, which will take place from Jan. 14 to 20, is designed to boost spirit across campus in an authentically traditional way, according to assistant director of Campus Engagement, Sarah Olsen.

“Homecoming is really to create a collegiate experience and build on tradition that will assist students at Drexel to take some time for themselves outside of the classroom and any co-curricular experience to help them build a sense of community here amongst their fellow Dragons, as well as a deeper connection to Drexel overall,” Olsen said.

These events are thoughtfully designed to please a wide variety of students, and there are competitive elements intertwined into these experiences where students can compete for prizes to further enhance the fun leading up to Homecoming weekend, according to Olsen.

“It’s a diverse plethora of competitions that hit all different skill sets of students. It’s looking to be inclusive and getting all types of students of all different backgrounds, skill sets, abilities and interests involved in the week,” she said. “There is something for everyone.”

The Homecoming Bonfire, which will take place Jan. 14 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Race Street Lawn, will kick off the week. Students can make s’mores over the toasty fire while enjoying special guest appearances from the spirit team, Mario and even some senior leadership. Members of the men’s and women’s basketball teams will also be speaking, and they are looking to have a hoop for students to play against the teams.

The second event, the Battleship Competition, commences the competitive side of the celebration. From 8 to 10 p.m. Jan. 15, teams will ride in canoes in the DAC pool with large buckets of water, trying to sink the other teams’ canoes. Another competitive event, the Variety Show, will take place Jan. 16 from 8 to 10 p.m. in Behrakis Grand Hall. This event, which surpasses a typical talent show, allows students to show off their unique talents or anything else that they may deem as interesting or engaging, Olsen said, explaining how last year’s show included lip syncing, singing, skits and even comedy. Students could sign up either as teams or as free agents to participate in these competitions, though sign-up for this year’s activities has since closed.

Jan. 17 will offer two events. From 6 to 8 p.m., classes of 2008-2019 are invited to the Homecoming Class of 2019 and Young Alumni Social at Boathouse Row for a chance to enjoy, drinks, music, food and nighttime views from the patio. Later that evening, from 9 to 11 p.m., all students are welcome for Homecoming Quizzo in the Recreation Center Lobby, hosted in collaboration with Dragons After Dark

These events, Olsen said, help build school spirit in students throughout the week, which also helps to build stronger alumni bases in the future for continued dedication to the university.

But aside from building a greater sense of community and intensifying Drexel pride, Olsen said that students can take this moment to rejuvenate themselves.

“Students so often are really bogged down with the rigors of co-op or class. Student schedules here at Drexel are so overwhelming, and students get overwhelmed from time to time — understandably — but this week causes students to slow down a little bit,” she said.

While homecoming has been a time-honored tradition at the university, recent efforts by Olsen and other members of the campus engagement team have worked to establish more consistent programming to establish a true tradition of what homecoming looks like at Drexel.

“I think when you said ‘homecoming’ several years ago, most people would say, ‘We have a homecoming?’ but that has changed a lot in the last couple of years. I want, when you ask that question, for students to all think of the same thing,” she explained.

Consistency is key to maintaining tradition, she said, but one thing that is changing, however, is the Homecoming Court. Rather than having a designated “King” and “Queen,” they are moving to the concept of a “Royal Dragon” to eliminate any exclusion.

“We are really looking to be inclusive in all of our practices,” she said.

Voting will take place all next week through DragonLink on the campus engagement page. The Royal Dragon, as well as the first and second runner-ups, will be announced at halftime during the men’s basketball game — the finale of the celebrative week that will take place Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. Winners of the spirit week competitions will also be announced at this time.

Though competition is a theme of these events, overall, Olsen said the week is really all about connecting.

“It’s about reconnecting with yourself outside of being a student on co-op or a student in class and reconnecting to being a college student, it’s a connection to your fellow classmates and dragons — whether that is forming a team or just going out to these events — reconnecting with those students you may have a camaraderie with and doing that in a different place at an event with different people, and really, thus, reconnecting with Drexel as a larger community,” she said.

A full list of events can be viewed https://drexel.edu/studentlife/get_involved/programs_events/homecoming/.

A food science class offered last term gave Drexel University students the hands-on opportunity to develop affordable prepared food products for low-income populations in Philadelphia.

Students who partook in the course, titled “Experimental Foods: Product Development,” collaborated with the Snider Foundation to evaluate what kind of nutritious foods could potentially be sold at schools and community centers using methods developed in the Drexel Food Lab.

“Our goal was to design foods that — first and foremost — appeal to teens, second, comply with [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] requirements and also Philadelphia Nutrition Standards, and third, which we’re working on now, that can be sold at a reasonable price,” culinary arts and food science professor Jonathan Deutsch, who ran the course, said.

Deutsch, who also directs the Drexel Food Lab, said these goals align with the lab’s mission to prioritize sustainability, nutrition and accessibility.

“Most of our products are better for you, they’re better for the earth and they’re affordable,” he said. “It’s all part of an effort to make the food system better for Philadelphians. People don’t like to be told what to eat, but to an extent, we can provide options.”

He said that there are many opportunities to improve the food system by directly coordinating with food manufacturers, and he explained that the focus on prepared food, in particular, is essential because most Americans are eating more of their calories and spending more of their money outside of the home.

They partnered with Rebel Ventures, a youth-powered nonprofit food business run by Philly high school students, to see what local students are looking for. Deutsch said they soon realized that the supports that students have don’t necessarily match what they’re eating, and while they might have access to free or subsidized breakfasts and lunches, every student reported consuming a big meal immediately after school, so they determined they needed to provide options for students to consume at these times.

“That’s a part of the day that hasn’t been looked at as closely,” he said.

And moreover, the regulations around the SNAP food stamps are not always the most transparent or reliable, Deutsch explained. While some students may have money to buy food through the program, they often can’t use it because of eligibility requirements. For example, he explained, though they can buy sandwiches at Wawa, they can’t be toasted since hot food is not eligible, and while they can buy frozen pizzas, prepared slices from a pizzeria do not qualify.

As such, students endeavored to create products that could be purchased with SNAP but still maintained the highest nutritional standards.

Overall, students in the class came up with about eight ideas. Several of these ideas, he explained, took on the concept of customizable bowls, which are becoming increasingly popular as seen through the growing popularity of Sweetgreen, Chipotle and honeygrow — though these options are not eligible to be purchased with food stamps.

Transforming this sentiment in a more accessible and affordable way, culinary arts student Erik Ildefonzo worked with students Jonathon Kitchel and Kwame Amuh to test out potential grain bowl options. Their rice-based bowls hosted a variety of flavor combinations like chicken curry with steamed broccoli as well as fried tofu with julienned vegetables in a ginger vinaigrette, but all options, he explained, have the potential to be impactful.

“This project is important for the Philadelphia community because it is designed to give high school students access to healthier food options that are both convenient, affordable and different from products that are already out there,” he said.

This, according to nutrition student Amber Kutcy, is critical because the high school students in their focus group said they would eat healthier foods if the options were available to them, and satisfying these requests can also reinvent the food production process.

“Our food system is so broken,” she said. “If we can change the food system by providing convenient, healthy, and delicious foods, it can potentially change the rest of the food choices a person makes in a day and that’s really getting to the source of the issue.”

Kutcy, working alongside fellow student Natalia Lopez and with help from Chef Richard Pepino, contributed to the development of lasagna bites, which were meant to mimic pizza lunchables in a healthy way. The bites, which included a dehydrated eggplant chip base served with cashew cheese, sun dried tomato marinara, and kale basil pesto dips, were a hit.

“There were so many great parts of this experience such as working with culinary, food science and other nutrition majors, and seeing how all of our specialties can come together, but the best part was when the student consumer group came in and loved the product Natalia and I designed,” she said. “For high school students to truly love the dips along with dehydrated eggplant chips blew me away.”

Other options formulated by students included brownie batter chia seed parfaits, a taco meal served in a mason jar and fatayer, a super soft, pillowy bread with various fillings.

Deutsch said they are currently figuring out the next steps for these products, although he explained how he would like to eventually see them available during afterschool programs and community organizations as well as in corner stores or even larger supermarkets.

To roll out the final product beyond this initial development phase, the team is enlisting the help of Jarrett Stein, who co-runs Rebel Ventures, which has already created and sold an inventive product, Rebel Crumbles, in many schools throughout Philadelphia.

“The project serves a model for healthy food product R&D as a collaborative, multi-generational learning experience. High school students, college students, staff and faculty all worked and learned together to accomplish the goal of creating a healthy after-school meal for young people in Philadelphia,” Stein said. “We’re excited to continue working together to potentially roll out a final product.”

These efforts could ultimately help the disconnect occurring with low-income people and EBT benefits, Deutsch said, explaining that it can also aid improved household budgeting and prioritization and even potentially reduce the risks of noncommunicable diseases like diabetes and heart disease over time as healthier options are introduced.

But the benefits of this project go both ways.

Food Lab manager, Ally Zeitz, explained that projects and classes like this are beneficial because they give students a glimpse at what it is like to develop a product.

“It takes a lot to develop a product and it does not happen overnight, or even over 10 weeks. It takes a long time, a lot of listening and persistence to develop a good product, that meets all the needs,” Zeitz said. “I hope that projects like this get students thinking about how they can make a difference with their culinary skills and what they learn here in [the Center for Food & Hospitality Management], through the work that they’ve done in the food lab.”

Ildefonzo said he learned many lessons during the process, like how to gather data to pinpoint demographic needs, the importance of pinballing ideas off other people and the vast transformation products undergo during the development process. The best part for him, however, was having the opportunity to solve a real world problem instead of just the basic classroom approach.

“I personally feel that when you learn both inside and outside of the classroom you gain a well-rounded learning experience and an insight to a potential field in your major,” he said.

And for some students, like Kutcy, it even made them reevaluate their interests and future aspirations in the industry.

“I found this experience to be extremely rewarding because I am now trying to pursue something related to food product development for co-op. I am testing this out as a co-op to see if it is something I would enjoy for the future, which I never envisioned myself doing in the past,” Kutcy said. “This class helped me learn how to take things in strides and really trust a process.”

Different sections of the class conquer various real-world problems. Last spring, students worked with Aramark to develop vegan options for U.C. Veg in the Urban Eatery, and previous classes have also worked with companies like Arnold on general branding initiatives as well as offering recommendations to reduce food waste. The class, which is required for culinary arts & science and nutrition science majors, is open to students in all programs, although there is one prerequisite culinary course interested students must also complete.

There are also weekly Drexel Food Lab meetings open to all students on Fridays, where they cook and develop recipes. Interested students can email Zeitz at atz25@drexel.edu.

International students were invited to attend a Coffee Talk Nov. 27 to discuss their concerns, having been exposed to a new environment, as part of the ongoing events offered by the International Student Scholar Service each term. The Coffee Talk was one of two hosted this term, the previous being held Oct. 30.

With complimentary coffee in hand, international students were asked about their well-being and how they were finding their new surroundings. The ISSS advisor seemed genuinely keen to converse with students and discuss any concerns they may have, providing solutions or suggestions on ways they may feel more at home.

The Coffee Talks also offered an opportunity to meet new people, which Ahmed Ibrahim, an international student at Drexel, could attest to. Ibrahim said the talks have helped him meet new people and offload stress associated with moving to and studying in a completely new country.

“As an international student, I found the event helpful because I managed to meet new people, both students and university personnel, who offered me useful knowledge about university events, city attractions and other important student matters,” he said.

When asked about the main benefits of the ISSS offering such an event, Ibrahim highlighted how the talk allows the student to “de-stress,” promoting group discussion and providing a “good opportunity for socialisation and networking.”

The atmosphere of the Coffee Talk was calm, relaxing and offered a space for students to talk about anything they wanted to address. The ISSS holds events like these to offer a space for international students to meet and converse, allowing them to take a step back from educational stress in a new environment.

Katie Arnson, an international student advisor for the ISSS, described the Coffee Talk as an event that brings students together in a casual setting, providing them with an opportunity to meet other students. Arnson reiterated how the event provided an opportunity for the ISSS to see “how the students are doing” and whether they needed any “support.”

“ISSS events can help students meet other students from different backgrounds and introduce them to resources at Drexel,” Arnson said when asked about the benefits of attending the events.

In addition to the Coffee Talk, numerous events for international students are offered. Events including, “Cultural Connection Hour,” allow students to discuss topics like culture shock and politics in the U.S. The ISSS also hosted a Thanksgiving meal for international students this fall.

“Each year our international student population may want something different to fit their needs better and we are very open to suggestions,” Arnson said when asked about future events the ISSS may offer to current and incoming international students.

But overall, she said that the programming will continue to respond to the office’s key aspirations to improve the experience for international students.

“The goal of all ISSS programming is to support our international student population at Drexel and to provide access to resources, make connections and offer a space for international students to come together and express their ideas and concerns,” she said.

Reflecting on the Coffee Talk and ISSS events, Ibrahim confirmed the benefits of attending such events for Drexel’s international student community, expressing appreciation for the support provided by Drexel.

“I visualize such events as a measure of care given towards international students,” he said. “And since ISSS organises a variety of them throughout the year and welcomes suggestions, then this indicates that Drexel University is very welcoming towards internationals.”

The Drexel Autism Support Program held an event Nov. 27 at The Study at University City called “Autism at Work Summit: University Series.”

The “Autism at Work” program was launched in 2013 by SAP Software Solutions.  They started the “Autism at Work Summit” in 2014 and it has been held by a different company every year since.  The goal of the summit is to start conversations among employers about creating programs for people with autism, according to Amy Edwards, director of the DASP.

This most recent event — the “Autism at Work Summit: University Series” held in collaboration with SAP Software Solutions and funded by the Olitsky Family Foundation — is the first to include universities, such as Drexel, Carnegie Mellon University and West Chester University, in the discussion with employers.

“The ‘Autism at Work Summit’ has been held [in the past] with employers … but this was the first event that brought the universities into the conversation,” Edwards said. “Drexel can definitely help better prepare neurodiverse students if we know what employers are experiencing and what they are looking for.”

The daylong event welcomed speakers from different companies, as well as advocates for autism support programs.

John Elder Robison, an autistic adult and New York Times bestselling author, presented “Neurodiversity: At College and in the Workplace,” and is a great advocate for autistic students in Edwards’ opinion.

Robison shared his personal story about growing up undiagnosed with autism. From there, he took an interest in machines and worked for the infamous group Kiss designing special effects guitars. Robison has also worked to advise United States public health agencies about why autism research is meaningful.

“You might wonder what does a person like me has to offer a group of esteemed scientists?” Robison said. “But I don’t need to be a scientist to know what research is meaningful to people like me. And I realized that so much of the research that we were doing was — frankly — of no possible benefit to me or anyone else living with autism today.”

Jane Thierfeld Brown, Ed.D is the Assistant Clinical Professor at Yale Child Study, Yale Medical School and Director of College Autism Spectrum at Yale University. She spoke about adequately preparing students with autism for job searches after graduation. According to Brown, college is like a vehicle, and the end goal is to become independent and successful. The best way to foster this success is to start early.

“We need to start before someone is 18 and going off to college, and has so much of their attitude and rituals and habits already established,” Thierfeld Brown said. “[We need to] make sure the student is getting the experiences they need while still in that really supported environment at high school that has infinitely more services than any student is going to get at college.”

However, the DASP is working to change that reality and create a student-centered program for supporting those with autism.

According to the Drexel Student Life website, the program is person-centered, individualized and focuses on employment skills, social development and planning for success.

“Over the past year, we’ve built up DASP to include many different options for students with autism,” Edwards said.

Many Drexel University staff members attended the “Autism at Work Summit: University Series,” which shows that the faculty is committed to making sure Drexel students are prepared. It also shows that Drexel is devoted to learning more about the autistic population and current needs in the workforce.

“It was great to see so many people as interested in this topic as we are,” Edwards said. “I can’t wait to do it next year and include more topics and information.”

Professional athletes, medical professionals and concerned parents weighed in on the current epidemic of sports-related concussions during a panel hosted by the Department of Sport Management Nov. 12.

The five panelists consisted of professional soccer player and Drexel Sport Management graduate student Nicole Baxter, former NFL linebacker Brad Quast, attending physician Christopher B. Renjilian, M.D., nurse practitioner Roni Robinson from the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Trauma Center) and Graham Thomas, the founder of the Untold Foundation, which strives to advance the understanding of concussions and their impact on mental health.

Moderated by 22-year-old Chris Markowitz who is a sport management senior, the impetus for assembling these experts was in hopes of “Solving the Concussion Crisis,” as can be inferred from the panel’s name. Markowitz has dealt with his own string of brain injuries, sustaining three concussions over 21 months. Markowitz divulged that inspiration for organizing this event came from knowing how scary it can be to step back out on the field not knowing the long-term neurological impacts one may have due to a concussion.

While the intent of the panel was to talk about how the existing crisis may be solved, it also showed how the complexity of the issue doesn’t make for a quick fix.

Renjilian explained it can often be difficult to know how to best treat a concussion when there is still so much to be learned about them.

“Lots of research leads to conflicting advice,” he said.

“More questions come out of the answers we find,”  Robinson remarked with agreement.

Panelists continued by discussing concussions from the scientific viewpoint.

Renjilian defined a concussion as when the brain shakes around and isn’t able to go back to how it functioned before. He explained how this can cause problems relating to vision, balance, sleep and emotions. These symptoms, he said, are what truly make the concussion an epidemic.

Robinson explained that, contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to hit your head to get a concussion.

However, the high pressure of sports culture is a large contributor to the concussion crisis. While sports communities are gradually responding to existing scientific knowledge at collegiate and professional levels, Quast explained how he doesn’t think that players’ well-beings will ever be put over athletic success.

Baxter concurred, speaking to her own experience of success over health in sports.

“I can’t remember a time that we were warned [about concussions],” she said.

Baxter felt lucky to never have a diagnosed concussion in her extensive soccer career emphasizing that many concussions do in fact go unacknowledged and untreated.

Thomas, on the other hand, has experienced a worst-case concussion scenario. His son was a hockey player with the talent to make it big. In just nine months, there were three occasions when his son blacked out while playing. Everything seemed to be fine, with only slight changes in his temperament, but he then went on to take his own life.

He stressed that head injuries need to be treated immediately and effectively.

“With or without concussion symptoms, it doesn’t matter,” he said.

This message seemed to stick with attendees.

Manjinder Oueslati, a 20-year-old physics major in his sophomore year, had just suffered a head injury while playing ultimate frisbee the week before. Oueslati was taken to the emergency room following his collison on the field, but he has yet to return to sports and is still experiencing some concussion-like symptoms.

He said he learned a valuable lesson from the discussion.

“I’m definitely glad I went because if I didn’t, I would’ve done something reckless by trying to play again,” he said.

Oueslati proves that concussions deserve to be addressed with the proper attention and gravity, as the panelists emphasized.

Renjilian made a comparison to how when one is diagnosed with cancer, a rush ensues to find a leading specialist in research and treatment. He encourages the same to happen with concussions.