Dear LINGUIST List Subscribers,

It's been a nail-biter of a day here at LINGUIST headquarters. This
morning, the University of South Carolina staged a coup in the Graduate
Tournament, snatching first place away from longtime leader University of
Washington. Such was their effort, and their amazing influx of donations,
that USC mascot Cocky actually graced the home page for a few hours. For
a while this afternoon, the two schools were actually tied dollar for
dollar. Then, in a flurry of donations around 3:00, the leaderboards were
turned upside down.

University of Washington stormed into the lead, and is now $145 ahead of
its nearest competition-- which is no longer USC, but Stanford! Also
today, U. of Wisconsin-Madison burst into the top 8, as did U. of Arizona.
Will wonders never cease? Can we make any attempt at predicting who'll be
on top at any given moment? The answer, as gleaned from today's
experiences, seems to be "absolutely not."

Bear with us as we catch our breath, mop our brows, and hold on for dear
life in the roller coaster that is the Graduate Tournament. We'll let you
know who's ahead first thing tomorrow morning. If, however, you happen to
be consumed with curiosity this evening, you can always check the Graduate
Tournament pages, which are updated in real time:

http://linguistlist.org/fund-drive/2012/graduate-tournament.cfm

The top 8 schools, as of 4:35 pm EST, are:

1. University of Washington - $1225
2. Stanford University - $1080
3. University of South Carolina - $980
4. University of Wisconsin-Madison - $885
5. University of Arizona - $810
6. University of Toronto - $700
7. Ohio State University - $625
8. Cornell University - $575


We want to give special thanks to the schools that have made such a
magnificent showing so far in Fund Drive-- we do, truly, raise our voices
to hail your valor. Keep fighting the good fight with your donations!

Thank you, graduate heroes,
The LINGUIST List Crew