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Show 5f : V".1 I i "1 Two soccer players want UNC women's coach kicked off campus By Christine 'latum College Press F.xchangc CIIAPLL HILL, N.C. (CTX) - Two former soccer players at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Tuesday tiled a $12 million lawsuit, alleging sexual harassment ami other misconduct against Anson Dorrance, the school's head women's soccer coach. Dorrance, who has led the team to 15 national championship titles in 17 years, vowed in a prepared statement to "vigorously defend" himself against the accusations. I le has coached at the university since 1 979. "I am shcK'ked and saddened by these allegations," Dorrance said. "I have never and would never abuse my x.sition in any way." 'Hie lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Chicago by Debbie Keller, who played for the Tar Heels from 1993 to 1996, and Melissa Jennings, who is still a student at UNC, also faults several school administrators for failing to do anything about the allegations against Dorrance after having learned of them. Jennings claims Dorrance cut her from the team in May after she complained to administrators about his behavior. The suit claims Dorrance ensured alcohol was made available to high schcx)l recruits visiting campus and that he probed players about their sex lives and those of their teammates. Keller also alleges that Dorrance often made "offensive physical contact" with her by putting "his arms and hands on her body on multiple occasions." But perhaps the most serious allegation in the suit is that in October. 1996, Dorrance lured Keller, then his team's star player, to a secluded spot where he "made an uninvited sexual advance" toward her. The university said it acted quickly on the women's complaints and that an internal investigation found "absolutely no evidence" that Dorrance had "used his position to make uninvited, sexually ex-plicitcommcnts" to the women. The university also said it found no evidence of inappropriate physical contact Current team members said in a letter released Tuesday that they, too, believe the accusations are false. Author includes WSU in new book By Ryan Taylor senior news rcporter-The Signpost A new novel by renowned author Richard Paul Evans will feature a fictional 21-year-old Weber State University student. Evans, a resident of Salt Lake City, is internationally recognized for his best-selling book "The Christmas Box." Evans says Ogden was the right setting for his book, "The Locket," which is due out in bookstores in October. "I've f a 1 1 e n in love with the city of Ogden and it just made sense to have it as the setting of this book," Evans said. Although a Salt Lake native, Evans admits to not being very familiar with the Ogden area until just recently. "Growing up in Salt Lake they used to teach us that Ogden was 300 miles to the north," Evans exaggerated. "I've recently discovered Ogden has a rich history as one of the major cities of the West, and I decided that a book needed to be written about Ogden." The book focuses on the relationship between Faye Murrow, a WSU senior majoring in chemistry, and Michael Keddington, the book's protagonist. The couple falls in love as they discover they have many similarities, despite coming from different backgrounds.Ultimately, "The Locket" deals with the topic of elderly abuse. Michael becomes employed at a nursing home and forms a friendship with Esther Huish, an elderly woman, and he If ; A Mill! J mm Richard Paul Evans is later falsely accused of physically abusing a nursing-home resident. "My first three books centered on how parents show love to their children," Evans said. "In this series I am focusing on the gifts of joy and wisdom the elderly can bring into our lives." Evans hopes the book will raise awareness about elderly issues."I wanted to explore a topic that's not often talked about," Evans said. "I lopcfully, it will make people think about the exploitation and neglect of the elderly." Evans says the love angle of the story is the "sugar to help the medicine go down." "Like all of my novels, 'The Locket' is a love story," Evans said. "It's a tale about the youthful affection between Michael and Faye, and the everlasting devotion Esther feels for a man she lost many years before." "The Locket" will be in bookstores in Utah on Monday, Oct. 5, and will be available nationally Oct. 6. But as for the allegations that Dorrance provided alcohol to recruits and inquired about players' personal lives, the university said it found that the coach's conduct "fell short of the standards of good judgment that we expect from university officials." Louis A. Varchctto, an attorney representing Keller and Jennings, said talks aimed at settling the dispute broke down when his clients insisted that the university ask Dorrance to step down from his post as a part of any deal. "The university is unwilling to do that," he said. The lawsuit and the prominence of the people on both sides of it are sure to rock the world of women's soccer. Dorrance is credited with building the sport for women in the United States and with leading the U.S. women's national team to victory during the first World Cup for women in 1 99 1 . Keller, now a starting forward on the women's national team, received UNC's top honor for student athletes during her senior season in 1 997. The school retired her jersey earlier this year. School lines? i -'s - til 1 j 4 ! Lines are all over campus as student rush to get their last minute registering, paying and buying done. i """if""TT!: I 1 l! 1 1 1 tffT 54 f Hut! d (3 Vl $ ! si 1 1 u i M n 2 rlf. f S 1 I : ' - i f ? I $ i ?! 1 ! " s i .v ' ' ' - ' fi I : I J I I Eri: i 4 . '- i-I US' Ecumenical Campus Christian Fellowship Activities Bible Study: Genesis, Tuesdays at 10:00 am in the Union Building rm. 330 Morning Prayer: Thursdays at 10:00 am (during Open Hour) in the Union Building rm. 330 Everyone is welcome! The Ecumenical Campus Christian Fellowship is a Protestant campus ministry and a registered student organization at Weber State University. For more information, contact Dr. Mark LcToumeau, ECCF faculty advisor and coordinator, at 626-6386 (office) or 393-5639 (home). |