NEWBERG, Ore. (March 17, 2010) – It’s official: For the first time since the late 1960s, George Fox University will field a football team. Kickoff is scheduled for the fall of 2013.

George Fox is a member of the Northwest Conference and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division III level. The university’s board of trustees approved the reinstallation of football at its March 12-13 meeting after taking into consideration factors ranging from cost and enrollment impact to campus climate and the school’s gender ratio. A search for a football coaching staff is underway.

George Fox will be one of only three Christian colleges to participate in football on the West Coast, joining Azusa Pacific University of Azusa, Calif., and Whitworth University of Spokane, Wash. It will also boost football membership in the Northwest Conference to eight schools – a move that will ease scheduling and minimize travel costs for all conference schools.

Currently, only conference members George Fox and Whitman College of Walla Walla, Wash., do not offer football.

The return of football also will bring back a long-time tradition to the university’s Newberg, Ore., campus: George Fox, with the exception of a brief period in the late 1920s and during World War II, fielded a football team from 1894 to 1968.

“This decision supports our institutional commitment to expand athletic opportunities for students and to aid in the growth of the student body on our Newberg campus, with a goal of 1,825 students by 2015,” said Robin Baker, university president. “We believe the addition of football is an important part of our strategic plan.”

George Fox has begun construction of the Austin Sports Complex, a multi-use facility to be shared by the university, the Chehalem Park and Recreation District, Newberg High School, local club teams and the community. The complex will be located a half mile north of the Newberg campus on 24 acres of land donated by Ken and Joan Austin, owners and founders of the A-dec dental equipment company.

The $6.5 million complex will include Stoffer Family Stadium, featuring a multi-use synthetic turf field that can be used for football, soccer or lacrosse.

The stadium, which received a $1.2 million lead gift from Brad and Katharine Stoffer and their Boedecker Foundation, is part of the first phase in developing the complex.

Crews broke ground on the complex this spring and a completion date is contingent upon fundraising efforts. Should the facility not be ready to accommodate intercollegiate football by 2013, George Fox will use another local field to play its Saturday games.

In addition to adding football, George Fox is considering the addition of women’s lacrosse and men’s and women’s swimming. Currently, George Fox offers 15 intercollegiate sports – eight for women and seven for men.

While Div. III members do not award scholarships based upon athletic ability, most athletes in Division III receive some form of grant or non-athletic scholarship to attend school and have equal access to financial aid as the general student body.

More information on the football announcement can be found at georgefox.edu/football.

George Fox University is ranked by Forbes as one of the top 100 colleges in the country and highest among Christian colleges. George Fox is the only Christian university in the Pacific Northwest classified by U.S. News & World Report as a national university. More than 3,300 students attend classes on the university’s campus in Newberg, Ore., and at teaching centers in Portland, Salem, and Redmond, Ore., and Boise, Idaho. George Fox offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 40 majors, degree-completion programs for working adults, five seminary degrees, and 12 master’s and doctoral degrees.

“Internet Safety 101 is the only multimedia program on the market specifically designed to educate, equip and empower parents to gain the knowledge, skills and confidence to protect children from the very real dangers that exist in a Web 2.0 world,” said Donna Rice Hughes, president and chairman of EIE. “While the Internet provides many extraordinary opportunities for children, the sad reality is no child is immune to online threats, which is why parents must be the first line of defense,” Rice Hughes added.

Today’s kids are exposed to the online dangers of pornography, sexual predators, cyber bullies and other Internet threats. While children can engage in risky behavior via computers, cell phones, gaming systems and social networks, many adults are uninformed, overwhelmed and ill-equipped to deal with online threats.

Existing Internet safety programs educate parents primarily through online methods, but the 101 program targets its materials directly into the homes and hands of parents and caring adults through both traditional and online resources. Internet Safety 101SM provides a means for adults to educate, equip and empower themselves to ensure that children under their care have a safe and rewarding online experience.

EIE’s four-part DVD teaching series, accompanying workbook, and Web site – www.internetsafety101.org – are designed to bring world-class online safety experts directly to individuals and groups. Included in the high-definition video series are poignant true stories, savvy dialogues and exclusive footage from victims and a variety of experts in the field of law enforcement, technology and psychology. Parents and families can use Internet Safety 101SM’s in-depth materials, particularly the practical, easy-to-use “Rules ‘N Tools®” booklet, to engage their kids in a meaningful dialogue about common-sense ways to keep them out of harm’s way.

“The Internet Safety 101 program can turn a cyber-scared parent into a cyber-savvy parent,” noted Rice Hughes, who also served as executive producer and host of the video series.

EIE’s Internet Safety 101SM national partners include: the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; AOL; MySpace; Verizon; Microsoft; AT&T; and The Salvation Army.

Holly M. Hawkins, AOL’s Director of Consumer Policy and Child Safety, praised EIE’s seminal work, “AOL is proud to partner with EIE on this extremely important project. I have seen firsthand in live training sessions how Internet Safety 101 can be a powerful tool to engage and empower parents and caregivers.”

“MySpace is excited to work alongside Enough Is Enough on the Internet Safety 101 program,” said Hemanshu Nigam, Chief Security Officer, MySpace. “EIE’s innovative educational programs make them online safety pioneers who are helping families win the battle against online risks.”

EIE officially launched Internet Safety 101SM at a February 17 press conference at The Heritage Foundation on Capitol Hill. To learn more and to view video clips from the series, please visit www.internetsafety101.org.

About Enough Is Enough
Enough Is Enough (EIE), a non-partisan, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, emerged in 1994 as the national leader on the front lines to make the Internet safer for children and families. Since then, EIE has continued to pioneer and lead the effort to confront online pornography, child pornography, child stalking and sexual predation with innovative initiatives, the most recent of which is the Internet Safety 101SM program.

Watch Internet Safety 101SM video vignettes.

The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear the case of a high school valedictorian whose microphone was turned off by school officials after she began speaking about the part her Christian beliefs played in her success in life. Attorneys for The Rutherford Institute had asked the Court to hear the case of Brittany McComb, charging that school officials violated McComb’s free speech rights and engaged in viewpoint discrimination when they censored her speech because of its Christian content. The Court issued the order denying the petition without additional explanation.

“This is a sad day for the cause of freedom,” said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. “When the Supreme Court cannot clear their calendar to hear a case of this magnitude, then our freedoms are in jeopardy. Such censorship and discrimination should not be permitted in America.”

In the spring of 2006, Brittany McComb was one of three valedictorians chosen based on their grade-point averages to give a speech at Foothill High School’s annual commencement ceremony. Each valedictorian was provided with “suggestions” for crafting their speeches. However, school officials neither encouraged nor forbade the students to include or exclude religious content from their speeches. In her speech, Brittany reflected on past experiences and lessons learned at school and wrote about the emptiness she experienced from accomplishments, achievements and failures in her early high school years. She then mentioned the fulfillment and satisfaction she later came to experience in something greater than herself, namely, in God’s love, and Christ.

Upon receiving a copy of Brittany’s draft speech, school administrators proceeded to censor her speech, deleting all three Bible references, several references to “the Lord” and the only mention of the word “Christ.” Believing that the district’s censorship of her speech amounted to a violation of her right to free speech, on June 15, 2006, Brittany attempted to deliver the original version of her speech in which she talked about the role that her Christian beliefs played in her success. The moment Brittany began to speak the words, school officials cut off her microphone. Despite extensive jeers from the audience over the school officials’ actions, McComb was not permitted to finish her valedictory speech.

With the assistance of The Rutherford Institute, Brittany McComb filed a First Amendment lawsuit against Foothill High School officials in July 2006. In June 2007, the U.S. District Court for Nevada rejected the school district’s second attempt to have the case dismissed and affirmed that the lawsuit raises substantial claims of infringement of McComb’s right of free speech. School officials subsequently appealed to the Court of Appeals, which dismissed the case, holding that McComb had no right to give her speech, which it deemed to be “proselytizing.”

Despite the Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the McComb case, John Whitehead points out that the battle is far from over. “As we see our freedoms constantly under attack, be reminded that The Rutherford Institute continues to defend those whose freedoms are in jeopardy,” stated Whitehead. “In fact, we have two more cases on appeal before the United States Supreme Court. In the first, Nurre v. Whitehead, the courts have ruled that public school students cannot perform Christian music at a graduation ceremony, even without spoken words or printed lyrics. In the second, Busch v. Marple Newtown School District, the courts have affirmed that a Christian mother cannot read a passage from the Psalms to her child in kindergarten, while other parents are permitted to read whatever they choose.”

The Rutherford Institute, a nonprofit legal and educational civil liberties organization, provides legal assistance at no charge to individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or been violated.

“In light of the recession, the Food Share and its network more than 80 member charities are being called on to provide food boxes for an all-time record average of 6,500 families a month. That is an 11 percent increase from the previous year or, put another way, it is 631 more families who are hungry in an average month than a year ago at this time,” says Ron Hays, president of the Food Share.

The Marion-Polk Food Share approached Break the Chain Apparel in the spring of 2009 with the idea of creating a shirt to address local hunger issues. Break the Chain Apparel designs and produces “clothing with a voice,” t-shirts that speak out against social issues, relaying messages of strength and hope. “We loved this idea,” says CEO and domestic violence survivor Tammi Burns. “This is a simple concept that allows us to make a difference in the lives of families in our region.”

Five percent of the proceeds of the End Hunger Now t-shirt will go back to the Food Share program to help get food to families in need in the Marion and Polk County region. The t-shirt is designed with both the Break the Chain Apparel logo and the Marion-Polk Food Share logo on the back. “It is created in such a way that if other food banks want to use this fundraising concept, we can easily swap one food share logo out for another. We’ve got the design now; why not use it as a tool to help address hunger issues across the country?” says Tammi.

About Break the Chain® Apparel

Break the Chain Apparel was founded in 2006 by domestic violence survivor Tammi Burns. Tammi is a social entrepreneur whose team aspires to make positive changes in the lives of others by creating “clothing with a voice.” The company’s wares display messages that address social ills and inspire social change. Tammi’s vision is twofold: to use apparel as a tool to help fund social programs, and to inspire change by making messages against violence and addiction in-style. “These messages speak so you don’t have to,” says Tammi. “It allows the person wearing the clothing to speak out while remaining non-invasive.” For more information, visit www.breakthechainapparel.com or call Tammi at 503.859.5555.

“Today President Obama signed into law the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The bill extends federal hate-crime laws to include crimes motivated by a victim’s gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.

“The bill is named after Matthew Shepard, a homosexual 21-year-old college student who was killed in 1998 in Laramie, Wyo., reportedly because of his sexual orientation. Byrd was an African-American lynched in Texas in 1998. Members of Shepard’s family were in attendance at the White House signing today.

“Critics of the bill contend that its language creates the potential for federal prosecution of anyone whose speech (or sermon) ‘incites’ an act of violence against someone who is, or is perceived to be, homosexual, and that religious ministers and teachers may face possible prosecution if someone who commits a crime claims to have heard a religious leader speaking against homosexuality.

“Erik Stanley, senior legal counsel with the Alliance Defense Fund, said although he doesn’t believe there will be ‘immediate’ prosecutions of pastors and churches for teaching the biblical injunction that homosexual behavior is sinful, ‘I think the effect on speech and religious speech is nonetheless real.’

“Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.), a supporter of the bill, told the media after the Senate’s passage of the bill, 68-29, that religious leaders can continue to express their beliefs on homosexuality as they wish. The bill, he added, applies only to bias-motivated crimes of violence and includes strong protections of speech and association.

“Although we don’t know the full ramifications of this bill as of yet, my staff and I will be watching closely for any possible infringement on the rights of our members and pastors to speak out against the sin of homosexuality based on the Word of God (Lev. 18:22, Rom. 1:26-27, and 1 Cor. 6:9).

“We live in difficult times, when the traditional moral and religious foundations of our country are being slowly but steadily eroded. In the days ahead we may face persecution because of our pronouncement of the truths of Holy Scripture, God’s revealed, inspired, inerrant, infallible Word. Meanwhile, the LCMS, in deep humility and repentance, strives to remain faithful and steadfast in our calling to, ‘Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage–with great patience and careful instruction.’ (2 Timothy 4:2).”

The St. Louis-based Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, founded in 1847, has 2.4 million baptized members in 6,170 congregations and more than 9,000 pastors. The church body, which ranks as one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, owns and operates KFUO radio, two seminaries, and 10 colleges and universities. Its congregations operate the largest Protestant parochial school system in America. The LCMS has relationships and active mission work in 88 countries around the world and is in full doctrinal fellowship with 34 other confessional Lutheran church bodies on six continents. Also, the LCMS is a founding partner of Lutheran Services in America, a social ministry organization serving one in every 50 Americans. For more information, visit www.lcms.org.