Posted on Nov 9, 2005

SCHENECTADY, NY — College football history will be made on the field and on TV this Saturday, November 12th, when Time Warner Cable produces live coverage of this year's Union-RPI Dutchmen Shoes game.  This year's game marks the first time in the 103 year history of the series that both teams will be playing for a league title and NCAA bid, and the first time that the game will be televised along with streaming video on the internet.

The announcement was made at a press conference at the Viniar Athletic Center on the Union College campus Wednesday.

“With our commitment to local programming more evident than ever, it certainly made sense for us to pursue this opportunity,” said Stephen Pagano, President of Time Warner Cable's Albany Division.  “We're grateful to both schools for the chance to bring this game to our customers.” 

 “We are thrilled that Time Warner will bring this big game to the community,” said Jim McLaughlin, Director of Athletics for Union College. “This historic rivalry is even more special this year, with so much on the line. Time Warner is doing a wonderful service by televising this game to the fans of both schools.”

The game will be seen on TW3 at 1:00 pm in over 300,000 homes in and around the Capital Region.

In recent years, Time Warner Cable has emerged as the area's only destination for regularly scheduled live local sports programming. Programming includes college football, basketball and hockey; Section 2 high school football and basketball; women's volleyball, and more.   Games can be seen on replay on TW3 and then for Digital Cable on channel 1009, Capital Region On Demand.  For a list of all local programs produced by on Time Warner Cable, and the site to view the streamline of this game on the web:

www.timewarnercable.com/albany/programming/tw3.html.

About Time Warner Cable

Time Warner Cable owns and manages cable systems serving subscribers in 27 states, which include some of the most technologically advanced, best-clustered cable systems in the country with more than 75% of the Company's customers in systems of 300,000 subscribers or more.  Utilizing a fully upgraded advanced cable network and a steadfast commitment to providing consumers with choice, value and quality customer care, Time Warner Cable is an industry leader in delivering advanced products and services such as video on demand, high definition television, digital video recorders, high-speed data, wireless home networking and Digital Phone.  Time Warner Cable is a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX).

Posted on Nov 8, 2005

Area colleges are assuring parents of students in France that they are out of harm's way, despite the outbursts of rioting and arson there.

A handful of parents began calling Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs late last week, concerned about their offspring who are studying in Paris. The school has 29 students studying there for the fall semester.

The parents of four students called following more than a week of rioting on the outskirts of the city, wanting reassurances that their children were all right.

“Several of them wanted to let us know that while they were concerned, they understood their children were not in danger,” said Marie Alice Arnold, senior program coordinator with the school's Office of International Programs.

“They were wanting to kind of touch base and find out what was going on.”

France declared a 12-day state of emergency Tuesday, paving the way for curfews to be imposed on riot-torn cities and towns in an extraordinary measure to halt the nation's worst civil unrest in nearly four decades.

Rioting began Oct. 27 in Paris' northeastern suburbs and has since spread to nearly 300 cities and towns across France. The rioting, however, showed signs of diminishing; unrest was reported Tuesday in 226 municipalities, The Associated Press reported.

Skidmore has one of the largest local contingents in France.

Union College officials reported 12 students in Rennes in western France and the University at Albany reported five students in the country, two in Paris.

Officials with all three schools said they are monitoring the situation, but that the students are in no danger.

“We are keeping a close eye on the situation, and if at any point we feel we need to change course, we will,” Union spokesman Bill Schwarz said.

The school is celebrating the 35 th anniversary of its Rennes program, Schwarz said.

At Skidmore, Arnold sent off an e-mail addressed to parents outlining the situation. Students met with staff to review safety procedures, including avoiding areas affected by the violence. The students have no reason to go there, she wrote.

She also referred to a State Department announcement that recommends Americans take buses or taxis instead of trains when going to the airport. The trains go through affected areas and have been disrupted.

“Rest assured the program has a crisis response plan in place, which would be put into effect should the need arise,” Arnold wrote.

The violence has been sweeping neglected and impoverished neighborhoods with large African and Arab immigrant communities and is forcing France to confront anger building for decades among residents who complain of discrimination and unemployment.

Although many French-born children of Arab and black African immigrants are Muslim, police say the violence is not being driven by Islamic groups.

The Skidmore students in Paris are staying with host families, Arnold said.

The incidents have given the students something more to discuss with their hosts, Arnold said.

“It's a wonderful opportunity for students to talk with their host families about what is happening and why it is happening and what are the future implications of this,” she said. 

Posted on Nov 8, 2005

Albany, N.Y. (Nov. 7, 2005) –Union women's hockey player Suzy Pocock (Sterling Heights, MI) was recognized for her part in helping the Dutchwomen pick up their first two wins of the season by being named the ECACHL Rookie of the Week. She accounted for four points on two goals and two assists in two games with a power play and game-winning goal as Union swept Sacred Heart in a pair of home games. Pocock is the first women's hockey player from Union to receive a weekly honor.  

In game one she netted her first collegiate goal at 3:48 of the third period during a six-goal scoring spree in a 7-2 win against Sacred Heart. It was the first win of the season for the Dutchwomen. In game two she scored the game-winning goal at 3:39 of the second period on the power play and added two assists as Union defeated the Pioneers 6-3 for its second straight win.

Pocock is tied for first on the team with five points on two goals and three assists.

Posted on Nov 7, 2005

The Union College women's soccer team will host the University of Rochester Sunday, November 13 in an NCAA Div. III Second Round playoff game at College Park Field. The Dutchwomen are 18-1-2 and will face the 16-1-2 Yellowjackets at 1 p.m. Sunday. Both teams won first round games Saturday to advance. Ticket prices are $6.00 for general admission and $3.00 for students/senior citizens/children. There are no advance sales.

The Union men's soccer team will also play an NCAA Second Round playoff game. The Dutchmen, now 17-3-1, will play Western New England College (20-2-0) Sunday on the campus of Western Conn. State. The game will be played Sunday, November 13 at 1 p.m. at the Westside Athletic Complex on the Western Conn. State campus in Danbury. This game will also be carried LIVE on WRUC 89.7 FM and on the web at wruc.union.edu.

For directions to Westside Athletic Complex at Western Conn. State, site of the NCAA Div. III Men's Soccer tournament, paste the following into your browser:
http://www.wcsu.edu/sports/directions.htm

For the full brackets of the men's soccer tourney, paste the following into your browser:
http://www.ncaasports.com/soccer/mens/story/9028971

For the full brackets of the women's soccer tourney, paste the following into your browser:
http://www.ncaasports.com/soccer/womens/story/9029010

Posted on Nov 6, 2005

…REAL-LIFE POLITICS By jumping into next year's Rhode Island Democratic primary and running against US Representative Jim Langevin, Brown University political science professor Jennifer Lawless is giving her students a vivid lesson on real-life politics. But along the way she offered an unintended ethics lesson after the student newspaper, the Brown Daily Herald, reported that two of her students had contributed to her campaign. And they aren't anonymous faces in the back of a large lecture class Lawless is involved in grading both their senior theses, her campaign confirmed. One student gave $500, while the other, the daughter of former Illinois Senate candidate and wealthy businessman Blair Hull, gave $1,000. Blair Hull himself, who lost last year's Illinois Democratic primary to Barack Obama, gave $2,100. Lawless had told the student paper that she was confident “my students and I will keep academics separate from politics,” but she ended up returning the money to the students though not to their family members. “Though I do not believe that giving or accepting these contributions was at all improper, the mere perception of impropriety is enough to make me reconsider,” Lawless said in a statement…