BY PETER FLETCHER
Assistont City Editor
Elisabeth von KleinSmid (EVK) residence hall has been found to be in violation of fire codes by Erich Kohler, a fire inspector for the City of Los Angeles.
Kohler, of the Bureau of Fire Prevention, found that the fire doors to the enclosed stairwell in EVK were being propped open. He said that by propping the doors open the residents of the building were defeating the purpose of the stairwells and creating a potenially dangerous situation.
He recommended that the university install smoke closers on the doors. This would allow' the doors to remain open and then if a fire was present a sensor on the door would automatically close it, and give the residents a safe path of escape from the fire.
“If the girls are going to prop the doors open you might as well build to 1920 fire standards,” he said.
Arnold Shafer, executive director of university facilities, is cooperating fully to solve the problem, Kohler said. He added that he did not intend to cite the
Residence hall found to violate fire safety codes
university for the violation because it intends to remedy the situation.
Kohler is also conducting fire inspections of all the fraternity and sorority houses at the university.
He has already conducted two inspections and he found the Theta Xi fraternity at 728 W. 28th St. and the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority house at 647 W. 28th St. to be in violation of fire codes.
These investigations were conducted three weeks ago. Kohler returned to the Alpha Omicron Pi house on Wednesday and found that the university, which owns the house, was in the process of correcting the violations.
The main problems in the sorority house were a lack of smoke alarms and limited access to the two fire escapes. The university is currently in the process of installing 19 smoke alarms in the build-
ing. It is also installing breakable glass panels in locked doors that give partial access to one of the escapes and the only access to the other escape.
Kohler will reinspect the sorority house today to see that it is up to standards.
When he originally inspected the sorority house, he said, “I would not let my daughter live here, it is not safe.”
Kohlergave some suggestions on changing the conditions he found at the Theta Xi fraternity house, which he said were deplorable. Ward Skinner, fraternity president of Theta Xi, said in a Daily Trojan story, Dec. 2, that no official notification of the finding had been presented to him.
Steve Roach, vice-president of Theta Xi fraternity, said that the house was not cited for specific violations, but the general condition of part of the house caused
the hazard. The fraternity does not plan to correct the violations during the school year because of space and monetary problems. He said the substandard part of the house will be gutted and rebuilt over the summer so it will comply with the standards.
Kohler will reinspect the fraternity house in the future.
It is the responsibility of the local fire station, Station 15, to inspect the houses but Kohler said that he was asked to do the inspections. He will meet Monday with the staffof Station 15to decide on the arrangements for the rest of the inspections. Kohler said that he “expects compliance all the way down the Row.”
He said he did not intend to issue violations in any ofthe cases, because the parties involved are cooperating. He added that any building guilty of repeated violations would be evacuated by the fire department and the owners would be subject to criminal charges.
“My main concern is compliance with the standards, not punishment,” Kohler said.
Daily ip Trojan
Volume LXX, Number 52
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Friday, December 10, 1976
Charges reduced to misdemeanor for Crafts Faire forgery suspect
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Charges against Gregory Jay Herrera, a 20-year-old psychology- student who reportedly purchased more than $200 worth of merchandise with an invalid credit card at the Crafts Faire last week, wrere modified from a felony to a misdemeanor.
Herrera, who was to be arraigned Thursday, will enter a plea on Tuesday in Los Angeles Municipal Court, Division 82. Arraignment was originally set for Division 30, a felony court, but the modification of the charges necessitated the change to Division 82, a misdemeanor court.
Herrera, from Sacramento, was arrested Thursday, Dec. 2, and was released Sunday on $500 bail.
Upon being apprehended by the Campus Security officer, Herrera successfully swallowed five credit card receipts, said Sgt. R.W. Werner ofthe Los Angeles Police Department.
Herrera has been cooperative with the police department’s Bunco and Forgery Division s inves-
tigation, Werner said. Herrera has told investigators he found the credit card in a restaurant in Hollywood. He used it to purchase a meal in another restaurant, but most of the purchases were made Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 at the Crafts Faire, the officer said.
Herrera was booked by the police on an open felony, forgery charge (California Penal Code 470).
The charges were modified to six counts of credit card fraud, which is a misdemeanor in the California Penal Code 484F2 and 484G because Herrera had only one prior arrest and the amount of loss involved was minimal, Werner said.
If found guilty, Herrera could face a maximum of one year in the county jail and/or be levied a fine of $500
Robert L. Mannes, dean for student life, said that regardless of the outcome of the trial, Herrera’s status as a student at the university will not be affected.
Campus fire extinguished with punch
A small fire broke out in the International Student Service office, Student Union 300, Wednesday night, causing extensive smoke damage to the west corner of the room. No one was hurt but international alumni student cards were damaged.
The fire broke out about 11 p.m. several hours after a Christmas party for office workers and students.
William Burke, of Campus Security, said the fire appar-
ently started from a lit candle on top of a filing cabinet against the west wall of the office.
Burke said that a student studying in Student Union 312 saw smoke coming from the ceiling which traveled through the air conditioning system at about 10:55 p.m.
After detecting the smoke the student called Campus Security, who put out the fire with some leftover punch from the Christmas party.
Campus Security called the Fire Department, who checked out the rest of the building for another possible flare-up.
Burke said both the Fire Department and Campus Security agreed the fire was not the work of an arsonist.
Berthe Von Allmen, director of the International Student Service, said she had left the office around 6:30 p.m. and everyone there had made (continued on page 3)
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CLEAN UP—Students gather and rearrange files.	INSPECTION—Fireman looks over damage.
V / £
LEAN ON ME —Members of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps put some holiday spirit into their regular workout by forming a human Christmas tree on the athletic field. DT photo by Brian Queen.
Settlement deadline for unpaid fee bills today
About 200 students must settle their fee bills by 4:30 p.m. today or petition to receive credit and pay a $60 late fee, said Jack T. Wagner, director of student accounting services.
“The student does not need to have the money or financial aid in hand, but have proof that it is forthcoming,” he said.
“If a student says his financial aid is in the process of coming through, we will book it, which is to settle it without cash payment,” Wagner said.
If the students do not settle their fee bills, they will not be registered for this semester, he said.
Compiling the exact amount of registered students is usually done at the end of the twelfth week because some cut-off point is needed, he said.
If students don’t settle their fee bills today-they will have to petition at the registrar’s office. To petition, a student must pay cash for the fee bill, without the help of financial aid, Wagner said.
Mailings about the deadline were sent out by tuition audit in financial services about three weeks ago.
There has not been much response to the announcement in yesterday’s Daily Trojan, Wagner said. About 10 people, however, came in every hour since 9:30 a.m. to check on scholarships, said Sharon Norris, a student worker in university awards.
There was no rush of students checking up on loans at the Bank of America, University Village branch, said Jamie Blake, a student loan officer in the bank.
“This is the first year we have not experienced a rush. Most likely it is because everyone has taken care of their loans.” she said.