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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017
Student reports act of ‘criminal sexual contact’ in Mettler Hall
Earlier this week, Rutgers hosted a forum at the Rutgers Labor Studies building, where candidates in the lieutenant governor’s race discussed the future of healthcare. FACEBOOK
U. forum brings health care to forefront of NJ election Ryan Stiesi Staff Writer
Last Saturday a crowd formed in the School of Management and Labor Relations building to hear from some of New Jersey’s candidates for lieutenant governor in regard to the future of healthcare. The healthcare forum was sponsored by the New Jersey Universal Healthcare Coalition (NJUHC). “NJUHC exists to build the movement in support of ‘Medicare for All’ at both the federal and state levels,” said Tom Knoche, the event organizer and member of the coalition. “Medicare for All,” a bill introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (IVt.) in mid-September, is the former presidential candidate’s latest push
for a single-payer health system, according to NPR. Knoche said at the state level the coalition is advocating for legislation to direct the federal government to include all New Jersey residents in Medicare. The lieutenant governor candidates in attendance were Lisa Durden of the Green Party, Karese Laguerre of the Libertarian Party and April Johnson of the We The People Party. The first of five mandatory questions to start the forum asked whether candidates would support legislation for universal healthcare for all New Jersey residents. Laguerre said, “I 100 percent really identify with the See FORUM on Page 4
The Rutgers-affiliated victim said she was sitting in her room in Mettler Hall when the perpetrator entered the room and allegedly assaulted her. This allegedly occurred around 4:30 p.m. last Friday and the police investigation is still ongoing. DIMITRI RODRIGUEZ / PHOTO EDITOR
Kira Herzog News Editor
Rutgers authorities are currently investigating an incident involving “criminal sexual contact” that was reported around 4:30 p.m. last Friday, Oct. 13, in the Mettler Residence Hall on College Avenue.
According to the crime alert, “the victim reported that, while sitting in her residence room with the door open, an unknown male entered the room and began to kiss her while also touching her chest and groin over her clothing.” The victim told authorities that she was able to successfully distance herself from the perpetrator, who is
described in the crime alert as a “thin, college-aged white male, with blonde hair.” She then demanded that he leave the vicinity and he complied. No injuries were sustained as a result of the incident and the police are currently looking for more information. Anyone with information is asked to contact RUPD at 732-932-7211.
Rutgers study finds increased concussion risk in female athletes Jane Keller Staff Writer
Researchers at Rutgers—Newark are studying the impact of concussions on female athletes after noticing that women suffer concussions at higher rates and experience more severe symptoms than men. The researchers, led by Dr. Carrie Esopenko of the Rutgers School of Health Professions, are not entirely certain why this is, but one theory has to do with neck strength. Most male athletes generally have stronger neck muscles than their female counterparts, so the force of a concussion can better be absorbed by the body, Esopenko said. “You can think of it as a lesson in physics where it’s a transfer of force ... If you have a less strong neck, the neck doesn’t absorb the force,” she said. Women also respond differently to traumatic brain injuries depending
on where they are in their menstrual cycles. Their menstrual cycles are in turn affected by the injury, Esopenko said. “Obviously college-age athletes, specifically women, hitting their heads and disrupting menstrual functions isn’t a good thing since those are the big childbearing years,” she said. Esopenko’s research assesses Rutgers—Newark athletes before and after they experience traumatic brain injuries, which is unique to this study. She said that about 10 to 20 percent of the subjects they initially assess do get concussions during the study. Most other studies only consider athletes who have already gotten concussions, so they do not have a baseline to compare them to. A concurrent study is looking into the psychological impacts of concussions on both athletes and non-athletes. Esopenko’s team wants to know whether those
psychological effects are caused by the injury, or if the problems already exist and are revealed by the treatment following the injury. The researchers are also comparing the psychological effects of concussions and other injuries. Another question that Esopenko’s team wants to answer is why some people take so long to recover from concussions. About 30 percent of people who get concussions take more than the standard time to recover. Protracted recovery can even last up to several years. “Unfor tunately, not ever y concussion is the same and some student-athletes have complications that require a longer recover y than others,” said Kyle Brostrand, Rutgers—New Brunswick’s coordinator of Concussion Management and Research. “Our team of physicians and I tr y and identify these student-athletes See concussion on Page 4
A study, led by Rutgers Professor Carrie Esopenko, found that female athletes at Rutgers—Newark were more likely to sustain severe concussions than their male counterparts. TWITTER
VOLUME 149, ISSUE 91 • University ... 3 • opinions ... 6 •TECH ... 8 • Diversions ... 9 • SPORTS ... BACK