__New study puts College as third largest donor in nation, results skewed by one government department professor__

p. A report from the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics reported in August that College faculty donated $136,200 to political campaigns, the third largest amount of any college studied. The study also found that 99 percent of donations from College faculty have gone to Democrats.

p. Much of this is due to the donations of one professor, Ron Rapoport in the government department. Rapoport and his Va.-based family donated $98,300 to Democrats this election cycle. That would not normally be possible with an academic salary, but Rapoport’s father founded the American Income Life Insurance Company, which is worth $560 million, according to The Bernard and Audre Rapoport Foundation website.

p. Rapoport is now chairman of the foundation, which was founded in 1987 with $47 million. The foundation donates to causes such as education and health, as well as liberal progressive organizations such as Media Matters of America.

p. “This Foundation is dedicated to the principle that providing real opportunities to those who do not have them — whether through family circumstance, social structure or political repression — is a basic responsibility of those fortunate enough to be able to help,” Professor Rapoport said in an acceptance letter for the chairmanship.

p. Rapoport’s contributions are not representative of the College faculty. After his contributions are taken out, College faculty and staff donated $37,900, approximately 96 percent of which went to Democrats.

p. Professor Rapoport declined to comment.

p. “Even if it is hard to base too much on this one study, it seems to me that there are other reports (of political attitudes rather than donations per se), and from what I recall they empirically confirm the fairly widespread sense that college faculties generally are not bastions of conservatism or Republican voter support,” acting chairman of the government department Clay Clemens told The Flat Hat.

p. “That almost certainly varies somewhat by area and discipline. … But in total, academics are almost certainly more liberal than conservative,” Clemens said. “In my experience, undergrads with strong conservative instincts prefer going directly into politics or else law and business, rather than academia, so it becomes a sort of mutually reinforcing cycle.”

p. National attention has surrounded the report.

p. “The study could provide fresh ammunition to conservatives who rail about liberal bias in the academy,” The Boston Globe reported in August.

p. “There’s been a transformation of universities over 30 or 40 years,” the director of the conservative National Association of Scholars told the Center for Responsive Politics. “Where what was once an institutional ethic that you leave your politics at home, that your students should never know your personal opinions on controversial topics, has been eroded to the point where it is rarely used.”

p. The study also finds that nationwide donations from academics have risen substantially. It reports that academic donations to 2008 candidates so far, at $7 million, are as high as donations during entire general election cycles in the 1990s. Clemens, however, did not think it would have a great effect on the political scene.

p. “Those total amounts are not very high, and liberal candidates already pretty much carry districts like Cambridge Ma. or Berkeley Ca.,” he said. “It seems doubtful that the Democratic Party would feel any huge need to cater to academics since most of that vote is unlikely to go anywhere else.”

Tribe lacrosse named senior defender Ashley Bolton (Narbeth, Pa.), senior midfielder Jaime Sellers (Kennebunk, Maine) and junior defender Kate Lawlor (Philadelphia, Pa.) as the team captains for the 2008 season. Bolton is a former CAA all-Rookie selection, while Sellers scored 35 goals last year and earned second-team all-CAA honors. Lawlor recorded 17 ground balls last year and caused six turnovers while starting in all 16 games. The team doesn’t start official games until the spring, but they will be competing in fall exhibition games. The official fall practice season starts Sept. 17th.

The Tribe women’s volleyball team participated in the UC Irvine Invitational this past weekend. The Tribe lost all three matches, falling victim to Southern Mississippi, UCLA, and UC Irvine, respectively. The Tribe (3-5) lost some close matches and saw a few leads slip through their collective grasp. Junior Jill Nowadly accomplished a career high with 28 against Southern Mississippi while sophomore Jillian Brown and freshman Erin Skipper each had 11 kills against UC Irvine. The Tribe returns to action and hopes to rebound at the Villanova Classic next weekend.

__Tribe: 63, VMI: 13. College rolls to highest point total in Laycock’s tenure__

p. The College continued its recent supremacy over Virginia Military Institute Saturday, racking up over 500 yards of offense for the second straight game en route to a 63-16 victory. The Tribe — now 1-1 on the season — has emerged victorious in 22 straight contests against VMI.

p. The Tribe turned in a dominating all-around performance as the offense stayed on the attack throughout the game, scoring on nine of their 12 possessions. The defense remained vigilant from start to finish, limiting VMI to only two successful third down conversions on 12 attempts while recording two sacks and recovering two fumbles.

p. “I thought we executed well, and we were fortunate during the second quarter,” head coach Jimmye Laycock said. “We got some breaks and good field position and we were able to take advantage of it and you know in the second half we got to play a lot of people, and all that turned out to be a pretty good day.”

p. Despite the final score, the game got off to an ominous start for the Tribe, as junior quarterback Jake Phillips coughed up the football while attempting to scramble for yardage on only the second play of the game. VMI recovered the fumble on the Tribe’s 34 yard line and quickly earned a first and ten deep inside the College’s red zone. The Tribe was able to shut the drive down, however, when junior cornerback Derek Cox and sophomore defensive end C.J. Herbert stopped VMI slotback Timothy Maypray in the backfield for a loss on second down inside the 10 yard line. VMI then settled for a field goal, and once the Tribe got their offense on the field they never looked back.

p. “Our defense did a heck of a job holding [VMI] to a field goal there and from then on, I thought we executed very well offensively,” Laycock said. “We were very efficient about what we did.”

p. Phillips threw for 242 yards and connected on three touchdown passes in just one half of work for the Tribe. Through two games this season, Phillips has amassed 675 passing yards, six total touchdowns, and a 69.6 completion percentage. All of this coming from a quarterback who had not secured the starting job until just before the Tribe’s season-opener.

p. “Jake Phillips had another fine game throwing the ball,” Laycock said. “One of the reasons he is playing so well is because of R.J. [Archer] and Mike [Potts] and the competition they’ve had. I think that was a big factor in Jake’s improvement. They all pushed each other to get better.”

p. The offense was given an additional boost by the running backs. Junior DeBrian Holmes, senior Tony Viola and redshirt-freshmen Courtland Marriner and Thomas Schonder all scored at least one touchdown in the team’s highest scoring performance since 1932. Marriner used his speed and athleticism to carve up the VMI (1-1) defense for 107 yards rushing on only 13 carries, including a third quarter touchdown, while Holmes tallied three touchdowns on just nine rushes.

p. In addition to holding VMI to a field goal early in the game, the Tribe’s defense showed a knack for making big plays throughout the afternoon. Junior linebacker Josh Rutter recovered two fumbles, the defense forced a turnover on downs near midfield late in the first half and Herbert blocked an extra-point attempt.
Rutter’s first fumble recovery was set up by an outstanding play by sophomore safety David Caldwell, who delivered a crushing hit on VMI slotback Gabe Itoka, jarring the football loose. Rutter’s recovery gave the Tribe excellent field position, and following a 34-yard connection between Phillips and sophomore wide receiver R.J. Archer, Holmes galloped into the end zone for the second of his three touchdowns.

p. The absence of senior wide receiver Joe Nicholas and junior wide-out D.J. McAulay, who is out for the season, had little impact on the receiving core. Redshirt freshman Cameron Dohse capitalized on his increased role in the offense to lead the Tribe with 77 receiving yards and the first touchdown of his career.
“[Cameron] is competitive, he works hard at practice, and I think he’s got good ability,” Laycock said. “If you take good ability and you work hard at practice you’ve got a chance to get better and that’s what he’s done.”

p. The Tribe will look to continue their improvement when Liberty University heads to Williamsburg Saturday. The game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at Zable Stadium.

After a promising start in their Sept. 1 home-opener with a 1-0 win against Elon University, the Tribe men’s soccer team had a rough weekend while competing at the Penn State Classic on the road in Pennsylvania this past Friday and Sunday.

p. The first team the College faced was host Penn State University. In a game that began with constant changes of possession, no team managed to take command of the ball until early in the second half. Sophomore midfielder Price Thomas did attempt an early shot on goal, but it flew high, and it was not until the 22nd minute of the game that the first goal of the game was made by Penn State. At the start of the second half, senior midfielder Doug Ernst’s shot missed just wide of the Penn State goal, allowing the opposition to take control of the ball once again and use that momentum to bring the score to 2-0 15 minutes into the half. Junior striker Nathan Belcher scored the lone Tribe goal of the game in the 74th minute of the game, putting the College on the board. Penn State made their last two goals late in the game and in quick succession, putting the win out of the Tribe’s reach for a final score of 4-1.

p. “We’re young and inexperienced, and that caught up a bit with us this weekend,” head coach Chris Norris said. “We played well on Friday. The score was just not indicative of the game.”

p. Early in Sunday’s game against no. 22 Ohio State University, the College’s confidence was slightly shaken as Ohio State scored a goal that should have been a save. The team did not show the response they needed, noted Norris, and Ohio State used this opportunity to answer with more shots on goal. Ohio State outshot the college 18-9, making five of those shots and ensuring that none of the Tribe’s attempts made it past the goal posts. Senior goalkeeper Brennan Wergley added three saves in the first half to his weekend tally of 10. Redshirt-freshman Andrew McAdams relieved Wergley and stopped one shot in his first collegiate soccer game. Just as the Tribe had just recently shut out a team, the team now felt the pain of being shut out themselves, 5-0.

p. “We are happy with the team we have,” Norris said. “We knew we were young coming into this season, but I feel this team has the character to be capable of bouncing back from this weekend.”
The Tribe gets its next shot at improving the overall season record, which now stands at 1-2, at the ODU Stihl Soccer Classic coming up this weekend. The College will play against Temple University at Old Dominion University Friday at 4:30 pm.

__Men place fourth at U.Va.’s Lou Onesty Invitational__

This Saturday the men’s and women’s cross country teams competed in the Lou Onesty Invitational hosted by the University of Virginia. The men’s team placed fourth out of nine teams and the women’s team finished second behind UVA. Duke University won the men’s race over host U.Va., while Cavalier Andy Biladeau captured the individual title, completing the 8-kilometer layout in 24 minutes and 25.8 seconds.

p. Tribe true freshman Tom Burke — in the first race of his college career — led the Tribe placing 21st overall with a time of 25:29. Junior Karl Lang finished second for the College, running 26:16.4 and taking 27th place. Rounding out the College’s scorers were sophomore Cabell Rosanelli (38th), freshman Pete Asaro (45th) and redshirt-freshman Robert Sagar (54th).

p. On the women’s side, senior Emily Gousen led the Tribe running a personal-best 18:06.5 and placing second overall.

p. “While the first race of the season is viewed more as a rust-buster and a low-pressure way to get back into racing mode, we all went into the race ready to compete and give our all. The girls worked really well together,” Gousen said. “Coming in second place, only seven points behind nationally-ranked U.Va., is a great success and only points to good things to come.”

p. Several other Tribe runners finished in the top 10, as sophomore Kayley Byrne (sixth), senior Anna Parker (eighth) and sophomore Emily Anderson (tenth) packed together, finishing just 13 seconds apart. Senior Erin Prillaman placed 11th and completed the College’s scoring.

p. Men’s head coach Alex Gibby felt that his team and the women’s teams performed well at the meet.

p. “U.Va. is not a meet we stress from a performance standpoint,” Gibby said. “It is there to allow our freshmen and other assorted personnel an opportunity to acclimate to the 8K race distance.”
Coach Gibby also pointed out that competitions like the one held Saturday are designed to help his team “continue to perform well during the post-season [in November].”

p.Both the men’s and women’s teams next compete Sept. 29 in the Second Annual Colonial Inter-Regional Challenge at their home course at Eastern State Hospital, where they will look to continue their early successes.

Saturday at Busch Field Tribe field hockey rallied to win against Miami (Ohio) University 3-2 and improved its record to 3-2. Freshman Jenna Cinalli scored the game-winning goal with 14 seconds left in regulation to cap the College’s comeback.

p. “The ability [of] the girls to squeeze out a win the last few seconds of the game is truly a testament to the team’s integrity,” head coach Peel Hawthorne said.

p. Trailing 2-1 at halftime, the College came out aggressively in the second half, outshooting the RedHawks 11-2 and earning six penalty corners. After gathering her own rebounded shot, sophomore midfielder Wesley Drew tied the game for the Tribe with her second goal of the game in the 44th minute.

p. Drew’s first goal came only four minutes into the game and gave the College an early lead at 1-0. Miami (OH) answered with two goals of its own midway through the first period to take the lead 2-1. The RedHawks’ Taylor Florence netted her team’s first goal and teammate Danielle Gaynor followed with a goal of her own just 53 seconds later.

p. The Tribe returns to action Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. against Longwood University at Busch Field.

p. __Lauren Lamb contributed to this report.__

On a balmy Sunday afternoon several months ago, a capacity crowd of chanting, screaming fans packed Chicago’s historic Soldier Field on the shores of Lake Michigan. No, they were not there to see their beloved Bears take on the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Championship Game, nor did they come to see a Bon Jovi concert. The 63,000-plus in attendance that day were rabid soccer fans, eager to watch the United States men’s national team take the field against their bitter Mexican rivals. When 22-year old American midfielder Benny Feilhaber launched a 20-yard rocket into the back of the net for the game winning goal, the reaction among the assembled Chicagoans was every bit as emphatic as that of a Brian Urlacher interception return for a touchdown.

p. That moment, much more so than David Beckham’s circus-inducing tour of the United States, is perfectly representative of the rapid growth that soccer has gained among the sports-conscious of this nation in the last decade. With Major League Soccer about to conclude its 12th year of existence with an ever strengthening fan base and increased financial stability, and a multitude of young, high profile American players journeying abroad to play for the world’s top clubs, the “beautiful game” has finally reached a tenable position in the American sports hierarchy. In short, as the Dick’s Sporting Goods commercial on ESPN asserts, “soccer’s time has come.”

p. In the summer of 1968, the North American Soccer League began play with 16 teams spread throughout the United States and Canada. To many Americans, this was their first introduction to the sport of soccer, and the fledgling league made a deep impact. In 1971, the famed New York Cosmos franchise was founded and worked to employ such legendary players as Georgio Chinaglia, Franz Beckenbauer and the incomparable Pelé. In the short span of a few seasons, the Cosmos became a prime destination for many New Yorkers as they routinely filled Giant’s Stadium en route to the 1977, 1978, 1980 and 1982 league titles. In 1978 alone, they averaged over 47,000 paying spectators per game, dwarfing the attendance of such Big Apple mainstays as the Yankees and Mets.

p. However, it was quickly realized that the NASL was not financially viable, with the top teams drawing all the fans and resources. While the Cosmos played to packed houses in New York, many other franchises struggled to draw as few as 5,000 fans a game, as most owners saw their bottom line remain firmly in the red. As a result of these financial shortcomings, the NASL folded after the 1984 season, stranding countless new American soccer fans.

p. This footballing morass remained until the creation of the MLS, which began play in 1996. Drawing strength from the success of the U.S. hosted 1994 World Cup, the league began amid modest popularity, with attendance numbers paling in comparison to those of the NASL at its height. The collective owners of MLS took great pains, however, in avoiding the pitfalls of their predecessor, and created a structure that would grow slowly but steadily, thus remaining more financially sustainable and depressing the possibilities of the huge spending sprees that were the death of the NASL. The result is a league that has continued to prosper a decade after its inception. Seven of the 13 MLS franchises play their home games in soccer specific stadiums, which foster a much more enjoyable atmosphere than that of a cavernous NFL stadium, while turning a much greater profit.

p. Even stronger evidence of the MLS’s success is the league’s recent record against clubs from much more famous and talented soccer nations. In the recent Superliga tournament, which pits MLS teams against their counterparts in Mexico’s Primera Liga, three out of the four semifinalists were American clubs, while the MLS All-Star Team has defeated United Kingdom powerhouses Chelsea and Celtic in consecutive years. Additionally, American players are traveling abroad in record numbers, testing their skills in top foreign leagues.

p. Four out of the 20 starting goalkeepers in this year’s English Premiership — what is unanimously regarded as one of the top leagues in the world — are U.S. citizens, a proportion that is higher than that of every other nation except the soccer-mad United Kingdom. Without a doubt, the United States is producing soccer players who are competitive with the best in the world.

p. Never before in the history of American soccer have all three key ingredients for success been simultaneously present. While the NASL brought in legions of fans, it neither produced a consistently good field of players nor prospered financially, shutting it down after a brief existence. The MLS at present has grown to the point where the on-field product is very competitive, creating a fan base and turning a modest profit. Finally, that perfect Sunday afternoon in the Windy City embodied everything that the early founders of the NASL envisioned soccer would one day become in this nation: a team of American players defeating their most bitter rivals to the joyful cries of passionate American fans. Indeed, soccer’s time has come.

p. __E-mail Matt Poms at mbpoms@wm.edu.__

__Junior forward’s overtime goal gives the College a 1-1 finish in the Tribe Invitational after Friday’s loss to OU __

p. The 27th-ranked Tribe women’s soccer team hosted the Tribe Invitational this weekend at Albert-Daly Field. Virginia Commonwealth University won the tournament after holding both of its opponents scoreless. The College began the tournament with a loss to Oklahoma 2-1; however, they ended the weekend with a win against Maine 1-0.

p. This weekend saw the return of junior striker and Preseason All-CAA Team selection Danielle Collins. Collins was not predicted to play until next weekend due to a rolled ankle, but managed to play in both games this weekend.

p. The Tribe came out of the first half Friday night looking strong, scoring on Oklahoma halfway through the first half. Collins managed to score on Oklahoma in the 16th minute of the first half from a free kick fielded by junior Abby Lauer. However, the College was unable to effectively penetrate Oklahoma’s defense for the rest of the match.

p. Oklahoma rallied in the second half scoring two goals on the Tribe. In the 57th minute, Tenesha Duncan converted on Allyson Kucera’s corner kick with a header that slipped past the College’s junior goalkeeper Meghan Walker. The game-winning goal came from Sooners forward Whitney Palmer when she navigated the ball past Walker and scored seconds later in the 84th minute.

p. “We should have figured out a way to beat these defenders” said head coach John Daly. “Our front players just need to find their way. They’ve got to position themselves better. They’ve got to anticipate better and serve better quality balls.”

p. The College had multiple attempts afterwards to tie the game, but Oklahoma denied each opportunity. Senior Brittany Bode fired a shot, which soared over the goal, as time expired.

p. The Tribe fared better against Maine Sunday winning 1-0 in double overtime. The game remained scoreless with neither side managing to gain the ability to score on the other. The College put pressure on Maine’s defense the whole game, but was unable to score. Maine’s goalie made eight saves during the game, blocking most of the Tribe’s shots. The Tribe finally scored on Maine’s defense in the middle of the second overtime when Claire Zimmeck broke free and fired a shot across the face of the goal that ricocheted off the left post and into the back of the net..

p. “I don’t think we were as sharp in the attacking third,” Coach Daly said. “This is a game that we should have won by two or three points…I don’t think there was any question that we deserved to win it. It was close up until the end.”

p. The College led Maine in shots 21-3, shots on goal 9-1 and corner kicks 10-1.

p. The College returns to the field this weekend to face Navy and North Carolina in Richmond.