On Sunday, October 20th, 2024, members of Union’s class of 2025 awoke to an unusual email: an email from their classmate, Will, saying that he had a concussion and needed leniency on his school work. The Concordiensis is publishing this story with the consent and cooperation of Will, but using a pseudonym out of respect for his privacy.
On Saturday, October 19th, Will was with friends at the men’s hockey game versus Mercyhurst University. Halfway through the second period, an unknown Mercyhurst player hit the puck outside of the ice, striking Will in the face and causing him to bleed. Messa Rink staff gave him basic medical treatment, and Will returned to the stands 15 minutes after the incident.
Will sought additional medical treatment after the game and learned that he had a concussion and a broken nose. In situations like this, Union’s class deans can help advocate for students who need additional support to complete assignments. So on Sunday, October 20th, he intended to write an email to his class dean, Eun-sil Lee, about his situation.
Instead, Will sent the email to a listserv with the rest of the senior class on it. It is unclear how Will was able to access the listserv, because very few students are supposed to have access to class-wide listservs. Historically, class deans have only occasionally used these listservs as well.
When students in the class of 2025 began to see the email, they jumped in to support Will. They encouraged their class dean to support Will and give him help with assignments. Members of the men’s hockey team also jumped in to give their support; Will frequently attends their home games to support them, and members of the team told the email chain about that. Eventually, Union’s IT department deleted the mass email chain.
Occasionally, pucks will fly out of the hockey rink, but they usually do not injure fans. Nonetheless, it is important to be vigilant when you are at a sporting event because balls or pucks can fly out of bounds. It is also important to double check the recipient of emails you send.
