The NCAA News - Briefly in the News

July 8, 1996

• Overcoming a sound barrier
• Making a realistic point
• News quiz
• News quiz answers

Overcoming a sound barrier

The brothers, who are members of the Massachusetts men's basketball team, recently used their visibility and their experience to encourage students at the Clarke School for the Deaf in Northampton, Massachusetts.

During a visit to the school, the Padilla brothers spoke about being raised in a home with deaf parents and about how their parents had not let their disability keep them from working toward a better life.

"My mother and father are deaf like all of you, and they still made the decision to make life better," Edgar said. "That's why we are here now."

Giddell told the students, "We came from a small town (Toa Alta, Puerto Rico), so small a lot of people have never heard of it. But as I was growing up, my dream was not to make the Final Four but to graduate from college."

Giddell graduated last month. Edgar will be a senior next year.

Their mother, Milca Padilla, attended a school for the deaf in Puerto Rico that, like Clarke, taught students to speak and lip-read rather than use sign language. She accompanied her sons to Clarke. She can read lips but speaks only Spanish, so she needed a question-and-answer session (which was in English) translated into sign language.

A friend of Mrs. Padilla arranged the visit to the school because she thought the Massachusetts basketball players would be popular speakers and would have a special bond with the students because of their background.

Sharianne Walker, assistant vice-president for development at Clarke, said the Padillas' visit was the highlight of the year for Clarke students.

"Despite the fact that our students hail from 37 different states and 11 foreign countries, they are all big UMass basketball fans," Walker said.

"The Padillas' message about the importance of education, commitment to a dream and the necessity of hard work -- especially when you may appear to have the cards stacked against you -- truly helped our students understand that 'Refuse to Lose' is a lot more than basketball hype."

Making a realistic point

The accident looked real, but it actually was a dramatic presentation by John Griffin, starting goalie for the Keene State men's soccer team for the past two seasons.

Griffin wanted to convey a memorable point to fellow students about the need for alcohol education on campus. He had read results of a 1995 survey that indicated 34 percent of Keene State students admitted they drove under the influence of alcohol, and that 16 percent stated they had done it on three occasions.

Working with Jim Matthews, special assistant to the vice-president for alcohol and other drug programs, Griffin spent the past semester organizing the car accident dramatization.

He contacted local police and fire departments, an auto body business, a funeral home, and a make-up expert to create his scenario.

"It was very realistic. Everyone who saw it had blank stares on their faces. I was extremely pleased with the reaction," said Griffin, an occupational safety major who is involved with "Wise Choices," an NCAA-funded alcohol-education program that began three years ago at Keene State.

Griffin was asked to present a similar "accident" next semester. But he stressed that while the accident reinforced the message about drinking and driving, "you can only do so much and then it becomes the student's choice."

-- Compiled by Sally Huggins

News quiz

1. True or false: The 18,468 fans who watched Nazareth College win the Division III Men's Lacrosse Championship over Washington College (Maryland) in College Park, Maryland, was the largest crowd to witness a Division III championship in any sport.

2. Which school became the first in NCAA history to sweep a division's men's and women's indoor and outdoor team track championships in a year? (a) University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (Division I); (b) Louisiana State University (Division I); (c) Abilene Christian University (Division II); (d) University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh (Division III).

3. The College Football Association, which will disband in 1997, was founded in what year? (a) 1972; (b) 1977; (c) 1979; (d) 1984.

4. Which NCAA championship event celebrated its 75th anniversary this spring? (a) Division I Men's Tennis Championships; (b) Division I Baseball Championship; (c) Division I Men's Outdoor Track and Field Championships; (d) National Collegiate Men's Volleyball Championship.

5. Which of four cities recently recommended as Division I Men's Ice Hockey Championship sites never previously has been a championship host? (a) Buffalo, New York; (b) Providence, Rhode Island; (c) Albany, New York; (d) St. Paul, Minnesota.

6. True or false: The NCAA Transition Oversight Committee has recommended that the functions of 10 general committees continue to be handled on an Association-wide basis after the new governance structure becomes effective.

7. On what type of ninth-inning play did Louisiana State University beat the University of Miami (Florida) in the final game of the 50th annual College World Series? (a) two-run home run; (b) sacrifice fly; (c) ground out; (d) passed ball.

News quiz answers