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G-R-I-E-V-A-N-C-E for Cheerleaders at Cornell

The Eclectic Notebook

By Michael J. Lartigue

Give me a G, give me an R--give me an I--give me an E--give me a V--give me an A--give me an N--give me a C--give me an E. What's that spell? GRIEVANCE.

On October 31, the Cornell cheerleading squad filed a grievance with the athletic department after the department had threatened to overhaul the program in midseason.

The athletic department cited internal difficulties between the cheerleaders and their coach, Monique Taylor, as the reason for suspending the team for the rest of the season.

After the cheerleaders filed their grievance with the ombudsperson at Cornell, the Athletic Department replied by recognizing cheerleading as a varsity sport, and promised to name a new coach to the program.

"We're happy with the new plan," cheerleader Jodie Rosenbaum said. "They met us half-way.

The cheerleaders said they do not believe Taylor, who is 19 years old, is qualified for the job. The squad also felt it was subjected to unsafe stunts and was required to maintain unreasonable diets. Taylor also failed to show up for practices and had poor communication skills, the team said.

The cheerleaders' change in status came after a meeting between Director of Athletics Laing E. Kennedy, Taylor, and members of the cheerleading squad.

The result of the meeting was that the athletic department modified its plan to overhaul the cheerleading squad at the end of the season and the cheerleaders dropped the student-administrative staff grievance they filed against the department.

It also eliminates a stipulation that would have prohibited seniors from being members of the cheerleading squad in the future.

"We've heard in the past that the Cornell Athletic Department's way of handling a problem is by getting rid of it," Rosenbaum said. "It wouldn't have been fair to seniors."

But all of the cheerleaders must try out again for the squad.

"They told us that the tryouts would be fair," Jodie Rosenbaum said.

Football

Cornell fullback Scott Malaga was named Ivy League Offensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Big Red's 26-0 victory over Yale. The senior rushed 25 times for 122 yards and a touchdown against the Elis.

The player who was tackling Malaga last week, Yale inside linebacker Don Lund, earned the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Week honors. Lund anchored the Eli defense, recording 21 tackles against the Big Red, including 13 solos.

Dartmouth's tailback Brenden Mahoney has been selected as the Ivy League Sophomore of the Week. In the Big Green's victory over Columbia, 20-10, Mahoney returned a Lion punt 67 yards for a touchdown in third quarter. He also ran back a kickoff 30 yards.

Field Hockey

Harvard's Char Joslin was named the Ivy League Player of the Week for her performance in the stickwomen's win over Yale, 2-1. The junior scored one goal and assisted on the another as the Crimson closed out the season on a high-note.

Also of note, the Penn women's field hockey team is ranked 10th in the country, and it is the top-seed in its bracket for the NCAA tournament. The Quakers, who have a first-round bye, will meet the winner of the Deleware-Penn State game on Sunday, November 13th.

In the ECAC tournament, Dartmouth moved into the finals by defeating Villanova, 2-1. But the Big Green fell in the finals to Providence, 1-0. Princeton was eliminated in the semifinal round.

Soccer

Paul Baverstock of Harvard was named the Ivy Men's Soccer Player of the Week. The junior midfielder scored the winning goal in overtime against Penn to keep Harvard's Ivy title hopes alive. His goal came via a penalty kick. Earning honor roll kudos for Harvard was Harvard goalie Stephen Hall, who posted a shutout against Penn. The junior leads all Ivy goalies with a 0.78 goals against average.

Quote of the Week:

"Someone asked me the other day what I thought about Michigan coming to town. I said, `it's good news and bad news. The bad news is it's a typical Michigan football team. The good news is that they'll only be here for 60 minutes."--Northwestern football Coach Francis Peay discussing the Northwestern-Michigan football game. Northwestern lost, 52-7.

Runner-up:"I'm willing to bet that we got penalized for more yardage than they [Tennessee] got rushing."--B.C. Defensive tackle Jim Biestek said.

B.C. was hit with a record 17 penalities for 165 yards, while Tennessee rushed for 128 yards.

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