PAGE 34
Wednesday March 13, 2019
Kaieteur News
College coaches among 50 indicted in college entrance exam scandal Nine current or former college coaches are among the 50 people indicted in a nationwide college admission scandal, according to court documents unsealed yesterday in Boston. The alleged scheme involved getting students admitted to some of the top schools in the country as recruited athletes — regardless of athletic ability — and helping those applicants cheat on their entrance exams, according to the documents. U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Andrew Lelling called it the “largest college admissions scam ever prosecuted by the department of justice.” He said part of the
charges were related to securing admission to elite colleges by bribing coaches under false pretenses. “In return for bribes, these coaches agreed to pretend that certain applicants were recruited, competitive athletes, when, in fact, the applicants were not. As the coaches k n e w, the students’ athletic credentials had been fabricated.” The documents unsealed from the investigation — called Operation Varsity Blues — showed yesterday that Yale women’s soccer coach Rudy Meredith is alleged to have helped non-recruits get into the prestigious Ivy League school by claiming
they were recruits. The charges involved 33 parents “who paid enormous sums to guarantee their children’s admissions to certain schools through the use of bribes and fake academic and athletic credentials,” Lelling said. One of the schemes involved parents paying William Singer, the founder of a college prep business, $15,000 to $75,000 to have someone take the SAT or ACT for their children. He was expected to plead guilty yesterday afternoon, according to prosecutors at a press conference. The schools involved — Stanford, UCLA, Wake Forest, Yale, Georgetown, University of Texas,
University of San Diego, USC — are not believed to have taken part in wrongdoing. The indictment documents, for example, suggest Meredith accepted funds via a charitable organization and did not report any of the details of the plot to Yale officials, including payments. Other named in the indictment are current Texas tennis coach and former Kansas tennis coach Michael Center, Stanford sailing coach John Vandemoer, former Georgetown tennis coach Gordon Ernst, several USC coaches and UCLA men’s soccer coach Jorge Salcedo. Actresses Lori Loughlin and Felicity Huffman are among the indicted, according to reports. (Field Level Media)
U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Andrew Lelling is interviewed by Reuters in his offices at the U.S. Federal Courthouse in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., September 4, 2018. (REUTERS/Brian Snyder)
Holder likes Windies growth with World Cup looming BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC – Captain Jason Holder says he is pleased with the development shown by West Indies ahead of the World Cup, and hopes to use the TriNations Series in Ireland to put the finishing touches on preparations for the showpiece. Against all odds, the Windies twice came from behind to draw their five-match one-day series against world number one, England, producing several outstanding performances throughout. West Indies will come together again in May for their next ODI series involving Ireland and Bangladesh, a period which Holder believes will be integral. “If I look at our performances, we were pretty pleased with them but we’re still down at [number nine] so we just need to improve on that,” the all-rounder said. “There are a lot of points to be had in the World Cup. We’ve got a series before the World Cup in Ireland so hopefully we can gather some momentum going into the World Cup and gather some more points in the World
Cup.” Overall, West Indies exceeded expectations against England, especially in the Test series where they stunned the visitors by massive margins in the opening two matches, to regain the Wisden Trophy with a Test to spare. In the ODIs, the batting proved inspiring, with the hosts twice scoring in excess of 350. In the fourth match, they tallied a Windies record 389 in pursuit of 419 at the Grenada National Stadium. West Indies have been given little chance at the World Cup, which runs from May 30 to July 14, but Holder remained upbeat about the side going forward. “I’m pretty pleased as skipper, it’s just for us to keep building as a side,” he pointed out. “There were lots of positives throughout the entire series and lots that we can take away from the series, and a lot of learning that we can take away. I think we have all to play for in the future.”
Charles helps Sultans end disappointing campaign on high note KARACHI, Pakistan, CMC – West Indies batsman Johnson Charles extended his decent form to help Multan Sultans thrash Lahore Qalanders by seven wickets in their final preliminary round match of the Pakistan Super League here Monday. Chasing 141 at the National Stadium here, Sultans reached their target in the 13th over, with the righthanded Charles finishing on 41 not out. He put on 53 for the third
wicket with Pakistani lefthander Shan Masood who top-scored with 48 off 25 deliveries with eight fours and a six. Charles, who has not played for West Indies in three years, also faced 25 deliveries while striking five fours and a brace of sixes. Masood had earlier put on 50 for the second wicket with opener James Vince who blasted a 14-ball 25, with two fours and sixes. Sent in earlier, Lahore managed only 140 for eight
off their 20 overs, with opener Fakhar Zaman stroking 53 off 36 deliveries while David Wiese chipped in with 30 from 22 balls. Sultans finished fifth and Qalanders, last, to both miss out on the playoffs in the sixteam competition. In the other match of the doubleheader, Darren Sammy’s Peshewar Zalmi brushed aside Karachi Kings by 61 runs, to claim their seventh win and finish top of the standings on 14 points.