Construction of low-income housing near campus begins
BY GARY LINEHAN
Staff Writer
Construction began early this month on a housing project just north of the university for low-to-moderate income families. Students who meet federally established income requirements will be eligible to move into the units, said David L. Lewis, project manager for the Community Redevelopment Agency.
“There will be no distinction on occupational status. The units will be rented to students, bakers or anyone else,” Lewis said at Thursday's meeting of the Hoover Urban Redevelopment Advisory Committee, a mayor-appointed group designed to allow community input for redevelopment projects.
The family housing project will be federally subsidized under Section 8
of the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. Section 8 is a new form of subsidy which is exclusively a rental assistance program. Under the system, no more than 25% of a family s adjusted income may go toward rent and utilities, Lewis said.
The federal government and housing developers decide on a fair rental price for the units. The government sends their portion of the rent directly to the owner of the complex.
A total of 151 family apartments will be built at the intersection of Jefferson Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. In addition, 170 units for senior citizens will be built adjacent to the family project, Lewis said.
“Construction has officially begun and should be well underway in a couple of weeks,” Lewis said. September or October is the estimated completion
date for both projects. Lewis said the complexes will be built at an estimated cost of $3 million each.
The family units will be constructed by the Trojan Development Company, with Ray Watt Industries holding the major interest in the company. The units will be built in a Y-shaped pattern three stories high with an underground parking lot.
A ground-breaking ceremony for the family project is scheduled for Jan. 31, with Mayor Tom Bradley and other prominent city officials expected to attend.
In other actions, Lewis said that Jefferson Boulevard should be completed and ready for use by the end of the month. The newly widened street needs only the application of the final surface and stripes. Rain, however, may be a factor in delaying the completion.
Daily fi Trojan
University of Southern California
Volume LXX, Number 59
Los Angeles, Californio
Friday, January 7, 1977
Escrow plan for loans may cut costs, protect borrowers
BY PETER FLETCHER
Assistant City Editor
Several changes have been made in the Guaranteed Student Loan Program that may affect the university and its students, said Charles F. Hampton, the director of the program.
Hampton said his objective is to set up a pilot program in California starting next fall that would put loan funds in escrow.
The proposed escrow plan is designed to cut costs to the federal government, ensure accurate and up-to-date data on student enrollment and to protect borrowers from excessive repayment obligations, Hampton said.
The escrow plan would affect only Federally Insured Student Loans. The U.S. Commissioner of Education has discretionary authority to require a lender to send the entire proceeds of the loan to an escrow agent. The agent in turn would give the money to the borrower in appropriate installments for educational purposes.
The checks made payable to the borrower would be sent by the escrow agent to the school to await a determination of the student’s status. The school would then give the check to the student whose attendance it
had certified. If the student was not in attendance or withdrew early, all the unused loan funds would be returned to the lender and applied to the borrower’s debt.
Hampton said this program will reduce a great deal of the paperwork that the university has had to process and pay for in the past. Previously, the university had the responsiblity of certifying the attendance of students who received federal loans twice a year.
The new process will eliminate the reports, Hampton said. Lu Steiner of the Bank of America said the escrow program would protect students from excessive repayment, but would not affect student loans.
Other changes in federal loans have been brought about by the Equal Opportunity Credit Act. Students are now allowed to turn in signed, blank loan papers.
Steiner said she still gets loan papers that are signed but have no information filled in on them. She returns them, but she warns students not to sign blank forms.
The law prohibits a school from paying financial inducements to lenders who loan to students. It also prohibits the selling, at a discount, of loans
Former drama chairman-leaving not due to critics
BY VALERIE NELSON
Staff Writer
Alex Segal, former chairman of the Division of Drama, said he was shocked at the implication that he was leaving the university due to media criticisms of his work.
“After six years of seeing shows, suddenly, bang, one bad show and it looks like I am being replaced. The search for the chairmanship was started four months ago,” Segal said.
No changes are planned within the department until a new director is chosen, said Robert Toscan. formerassistant chairman and interim director for the spring semester while Segal is on sabbatical leave.
“I wanted to get back to what I am good at — to directing and working individually with students. I'm not interested in worrying about buying toilet paper,” Segal said.
He said he found himself cut into three pieces as division chairman: as a part-time administrator, part-time masters director and part-time director of Main Stage plays. He was an award-winning director before coming to the university.
“I will act as an administrative figure and will continue present policies.” Toscan said. A successor to Segal will be named in the spring.
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made by a school. Hampton said in the past that schools that originated loans and banks that provided the funds had special relationships.
“It was frowned on because it caused fraud and abuse. The law spells out things we feel will eliminate the practice,” Hampton said.
* Another section of the law on due diligence specifies the efforts lenders must take and the kinds of loan transaction records institutions must keep in order to be in compliance with program regulations. Included are steps to ensure that loans are not made indiscriminately, borrowers are made aware of their loan obligations and a maximum effort is made to collect on loans in repayment.
Hampton said he hopes these changes will help more students get federal loans and encourage banks in California that have discontinued the program to start it again.
Owner denies his bar is gang headquarters
Woody’s Nextdoor. a local bar, has been called the headquarters for a Mexican-American street gang by an official of the Los Angeles Police Department. The owner denied the accusation.
The bar, located at 2723 S. Figueroa St., has turned into the headquarters for the Flats, said Sgt. Robert Griffin, the director of LAPD s Community Resources Against Southwest Hoodlums Unit.
The gang could possibly number in the thousands, Griffin said (related article Daily Trojan, Jan. 6).
Casey McWhinney. owner of the combination bar and pool room, said he’s sure some of the bar's patrons are either present or former gang members, but the number there is no higher than at any other establishment.
McWhinney also said police have never been called to the bar to deal with any gang-related incidents.
A second Mexican-American gang, the Little Winos, has also been seen in the bar within the last six to nine months, Griffin said.
McWhinney said he plans to take no action aimed at reducing the number of gang members who visit his establishment. “I’m not at all worried about it," he said. “After all, I get along with everybody."
No gang-related incidents have occurred at the Grinder restaurant at 525 W. 28th St. either, said Raymond Curry, the assistant manager.
“I’ve never even heard of the Flats," Curry said. “We re just everyday family people.”
Board votes funds for novelist’s campus visit
The Campus Activities Allocation Board voted Wednesday night to give $1,000 to bring Saul Bellow, Nobel Prize-winning novelist, to campus for Jewish Cultural Week. The date for the appearance has not been set, said Hunt Braly, chairman of the board.
The board also voted to give the Hawaiian Club $731 for a luau to be held in April or May. USC Engineer, which had previously been denied funding, was
given $430 to partially cover expenses.
Helpline received $1,250 to finance a spring training retreat for its members. Braly said the funding was necessary because the members of Helpline need to get away from campus to do their training.
Several groups did not receive funding. The Sailing Club had its request for $3,200 turned down. Braly said the decision not to (continued on page 2)
Ship makes waves in study
BY KENT SCHOKNECHT
Staff Writer
What weighs 292 tons, is 27 feet wide and runs 11 miles per hour? A varsity tackle? Wrong.
The answer is Velero IV. the university's 110-foot research vessel used for oceanographic studies off the coast of Southern California.
First, some statistics: besides weighing about as much as 150 Chevy Impalas, Velero IV displaces 650 tons in the water. But that shouldn’t be hard to believe, considering her dimensions of 110 by 27 feet. She has a crew of 11 and can carry 12 passengers.
The crew members—the captain, steward, mechanics
and seamen—may not have it easy, but life aboard Velero IV does have its comforting touches. There's a color television in the social hall and ice cream is served every lunch and dinner
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