University of Southern California
Volume L (VIII, No. 22	Los Angeles, California Thursday, October 16, 1975
WHERE NEWS HAPPENS. . C urious passersby stop to watch as a student in broadcast journalism gains some field experience with the tools of his trade. The broadcast sequence, formerly under the Department of Telecommunications, is now administered by the School of Journalism. DT photo by Larry Condelli.
Dolen says computer halted calendar study
The Admissions Office was unable to complete a financial impact study of a proposed academic calendar because of problems in the office, said Richard Dolen, assistant to the dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
The computer system used by the Admissions Office broke down last year so admissions figures were lower, Dolen said, and figures used to study the financial impact are not as accurate as they should be.
The new calendar, which would have the first semester end before Christmas, was approved by the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Trustees, but its implementation has been held up because the financial impact hasn’t been determined.
Dolen completed a study of the effects of the early semester plan on other schools. He studied enrollment figures from schools in the area and found that the attrition rate went up between semesters.
The long vacation between semesters often caused many students not to come back, and it was difficult to see how this would affect the university, Dolen said.
His figures showed that schools that went to the early semester plan had a 2% increase in the rate of attrition. But he added that the figures were not very accurate because of a possible 2% error in them.
So the new calendar could have no effect or the effect might range up to a 4% higher rate of attrition, Dolen explained.
The Calendar Reform Commission estimated that a 2% higher rate of attrition could result in a $500,000 loss in income for the university.
The university’s case could not be studied because of a failure in the Admissions Office computer system last spring, he said.
Last spring’s admissions figures were down as compared to those of last fall, but they could not be studied in a normal manner because of the computer problems, Dolen said.
This year, he added, there is a new computer system that should not cause the same problems as last year’s system did. (When the system failed it interfered with the processing of applications for admissions.)
Dolen said that if the economic situation of the university improves, the new calendar may be implemented with the present date.
Minority groups criticize allocations board choices
By Sherie Stark
staff writer
Two minority organizations are protesting what they feel is an underrepresentation of minority students among the nominees for this year’s Campus Activities Allocations Board.
But a Student Senate member defended the procedure by which the nominees were selected.
The minority students will ask that the nominations be rejected at a Student Senate meeting today.
The meeting will be held at 5:30 p.m. on the second floor of the Student Activities Center. It is open to the public.
The Associated Black Students of Southern California and MECHA, a Chicano organization, claim that the lack of minority students nominated for the board stems from underrepresentation of minorities on the committee reviewing the applicants.
Of the 55 applicants for the board, 14 were black students, Robinson said. Only one of the blacks was nominated.
“We’re not trying to destroy the credibility of the Student Senate, but the methods used all along the line in this thing have been questionable,” said Robert Robinson, president of the Associated Black Students.
“They tell us that it’s too late now to do anything; that the decisions on programming allocations for student groups are pressing and that drawing up another selection board and rereviewing the applicants would be impractical.
“But an interim board could be set up, and there are emergency councils that could take care of pressing needs. We feel that leaving things as they are would leave a shadow over the senate that is inappropriate to the senate’s purpose. The emphasis on time, and rushing through processes for the sake of deadlines, is unfortunate.”
“The results of the senate vote will indicate to us how responsive it is to our complaints, and
will more or less set the tone for the rest of this year.”
One of the methods cited as questionable by Robinson and MECHA’s president, Richard Madrid, was what Robinson called the “haphazard, random appointment of the selection committee, with no regard for a cross-section of the student body.”
But Glenn Sonnenberg, cochairman of the committee, defended the composition of the selection committee.
He said that of the nine members, there were representatives of commuters, the Row and the residence halls, undergraduates and graduate students, foreign students, Orientals and Mexicans.
“I can honestly say that our primary consideration was to
find the most qualified, productive members who were able to generate ideas and work well in a group situation and were also representative of a variety of interests,” Sonnenberg said.
”It was hard to narrow the 55 applicants to nine members, but I feel we did the best job possible.”
Sonnenberg also said that a small percentage of minorities run for the Student Senate and it should therefore be expected that a small number of minorities would be chosen for committee work.
However, Robinson said that elections for Student Senate positions will rarely reflect minority interests and that it is the responsibility of senate to make sure that these these interests are heard.
University fund drive to raise endowment
The university’s “Century II” fund-raising program has already earned $54 million of its $265 million goal, Tom Nickell, vice-president for university affairs, told the Faculty Senate Wednesday.
The program, which will formally begin next spring or summer, will be completed in 1980, the university’s centennial.
Nickell said that the bulk of the funds, about $200 million, would be used to increase the university’s endowment; that is, money invested to provide continuing income. The university’s endowment is now about $67.5 million.
Some of the remaining money will be used for capital improvements, but Nickell said that construction will not be a major emphasis ofthe Century II program. A major exception will be the addition of a new facility for the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.
In other business, William Harris, professor of mathematics and the head of the senate’s Committee on Employment and Remuneration reported on his committee’s progress and goals.
He said it plans to work for codification ofthe budget process so that the faculty can be mpre aware of the steps they must take to make their needs known.
The committee will work for a minimum 10% salary increase this year, based on a projected 7% rise in the cost of living plus at least 3% for merit, he said.
Harris pointed out that raises last year ranged from 9.51% to 11.62% in most departments.
The exceptions were the School of Medicine, at 8.59%, and the School of Performing Arts, at 15.78%.
The faculty was promised a 12% pay hike last spring.
The senate also discussed, but later tabled, a motion urging that the administrative position of the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences should not be weakened in the administrative reorganization now underway.
Ski maneuvers, gear highlight show preview
Daily
Trojan
Displays of ski equipment and demonstrations of skiing maneuvers were part of the action at the ski show held on campus Wednesday.
The show, sponsored by Skiing magazine and Chevrolet, was a preview of a show to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center today through Sunday. It was promoted by the USC Ski Club to introduce the sport to college students.
“By bringing in the equipment and demonstrations, we’re giving people an idea ofthe variety of ski equpment and its relative cost,” said Dwayne Bowen, Ski Club program director. “Hopefully, we will convince people to take up skiing.”
The Ski Club will have a booth at the Convention Center show to promote college skiing. The show will also include ski apparel displays and a full-length skiing movie.
“We want to put together a recreational racing league with other schools in the Southern California area,” Bowen said. “Unlike the NCAA type of skiing, skiers of all levels can participate in these races.
“They can be fun and can help the skier to improve his style.”
The Ski Club has planned three trips this year—to Utah during Thanksgiving recess and to Colorado for the semester and Easter
breaks.
The club has reserved a cabin at Mammoth Mountain for use during the ski season. Members also get a 15% discount on equipment at various ski shops.
SKI SHOW—Cindi Taylor and Dwayne Bowen, USC Ski Club program director, give John -<aye some information about the club's trips to Utah and Colorado this winter. The club staffed an info booth at a ski show on
campus Wednesday. The show was a preview of the one to be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center today through Sunday. DT photo by Jan Perry.