M ' Oscar Meyer		V	so*0 iefi?		
boiogna 8 oz.	.65	.95	.74	.71	.75
Imperial Margarine					
1 lb.	.45	.71	.63	.59	.60
Bananas per lb.	.19	.17	.19	.15	.19
Fruit CocktaiM6 oz.	.39	.49	.45	.38	.39
Kellogg's Corn			# :• ■		
Flakes 12 oz.	.50	.49	.52	.49	.49
Skippy Peanut					
Butter 18 oz.	.97	1.15	1.04	1.03	.99
Carnation Instant					
Breakfast 6 envelopes	.94	1.09	1.02	.96	• :P*'. ' .99
Clorox Bleach 1 gal.	.78	98	.87	J84	.85
Crest Toothpaste					
7 oz. tube	1.03	.84	1.53	1.05	.94
CONSUMER CONSCIOUS — The prices reflect a sampling of different items at local grocery stores. The study was made by the USC Consumer Action Group. DT photo by Mike Ito.
Ralph’s prices 1 32nd St. Market
BY TOM ROSA
Managing Editor
Ralph's Supermarket on Figueroa Street was found to have grocery prices 11% lower than those at the 32nd St. Market in a study taken last week by the USC Consumer Action Group.
Several students formed the consumer group at the beginning of the semester with the purpose of providing a vehicle with which students here could exercise their rights and responsibilities as consumers.
After consulting a number of students as to their grocery shopping habits around the university, five stores were selected by the consumer group for a price comparison.
The stores selected were Ralph’s, 4360 S. Figueroa St.; Boys, Jefferson Street and Western Avenue; Thriftimart, Vermont Avenue and Adams Boulevard; Sorbonne, 3601 S. Vermont Ave.; and 32nd St. Market, 32nd Street and Hoover Street.
More than 100 items were selected for comparison from both food and nonfood categories.
Of these, 61 items were common to all the stores, the study said.
1 % lower than ’s, study shows
Overall, the study indicated that Ralph’s and Thriftimart were comparable in prices, although on the day ofthe survey Ralph's was a bit lower.
Boys was a fairly distant third, with Sorbonne a solid fourth and 32nd St. higher overall than the other markets.
The study broke down groceries into five categories: meats, dairy, breads and cereals, produce and nonfoods.
In the area of meats, the study said it was difficult to properly compare due to incomplete stocks and differences in meat prices. Overall. Thriftimart had the least expensive meat cuts, while Sorbonne and Ralphs had slightly higher prices.
Boys and 32nd St. were found to be much higher. The study said it could only determine the price and not quality of the meats.
Dairy items were lowest at Thriftimart with Ralph’s a close second. Thriftimart had better buys in cheese products. Boys was third lowest in dairy prices with 32nd St. and Sorbonne having relatively expensive prices, the study said.
(continued on page 5)
Daily ft Trojan
University of Southern California
Volume LXX, Number 61
Los Angeles, California
Tuesday, January 11, 1977
Women face difficulties in breaking housing contracts
BY DAVID ROSENBAUM
About twice as many men as women have been released from their university housing contracts so far, said Sharon Ket-tler, residential assignment coordinator.
At least 93 women are unable to get out of their spring residential hall commitments, while no men have faced the same problem. Kettler said this is because there are no women on waiting lists to obtain university housing, whereas there are 50 such men.
Before the 1976-77 academic year, all persons requesting cancellation of their housing contracts at the beginning of semesters received such action automatically.
But a new policy has since been instituted, Kettler said, which allows only those students who are leaving the university, who are ill or who are unable to pay for their university housing to void their contracts with the Housing Office.
An increasing vacancy problem, which left residence halls
less than fully occupied, necessitated the new policy, Kettler said. An occupancy rate of 95% to 98% is necessary to keep the halls self-supporting.
Diane Wagner, a freshman in journalism and political science, said the new policy means she is having difficulty getting released from her spring housing commitment.
“I stated on my petition of release I wanted to live at home, that I couldn’t afford the dorm and that I also wanted to do my own cooking, because of health problems. My petition was denied.”
Cheryl Walker, a freshman in liberal arts and sciences, said “It’s too costiy living in the dorm, and it would be cheaper livingin an apartment. I requested release from my housing commitment and was turned down.”
One cause of the problem was the opening of 1,000 new residence hall beds for the fall semester in Troy Hall and Cardinal Gardens, university-owned apartments, Kettler said.
Because of waiting lists of 500
to 700 persons requesting housing, the new quarters were built to ease the campus housing shortage.
Even this fall, Kettler said, there were about 200 persons who were on waiting lists for university residences.
Nonetheless, 93 women are stuck with spring housing commitments they don’t want. Housing contracts are awarded in the fall for the entire school year.
Kettler said a 100% occupancy rate is required if residence hall food is to be upgraded and quarters refurbished. But, “Cardinal Gardens and Troy Hall will never run in the black, even if they are 100% occupied,” she said. “They were very costly to build.”
Asked why women’s residences that are vacant are not turned into men’s halls, Kettler said the problem is easier said than done. She is a member of a committee that has net twice and plans to investigate the feasibility of such a proposal. So far, little action has been taken on the matter.
State-aid supplements won’t cover tuition hike
BY CLARA GERMANI
Staff Writer
With the rise in tuition scheduled for the 1977-78 academic year, the Financial Aid Office will no longer be able to supplement state scholarships to meet the cost of full tuition, said Linda Berkshire, director of Resource Development and Student Aid Programs.
In the past, the university’s policy has been to foot the tuition bill for freshmen whose state scholarships were less than what the university estimated their financial need to be.
Under this policy, the university's supplement remained the same as long as a student’s eligibility remained the same.
Up until now, university supplements never increased as the student advanced in class standing and as tuition increased. As a result, scholarships covered less and less of a student s total need as he advanced in class standing.
In a meeting of the Budget Review Committee held over the Christmas holidays, William G. Wagner, special assistant to the President for academic record services, presented an estimate of the university’s pool for financial aid. Under these estimated financial findings even freshmen state scholarship recipients would not receive a supplement large enough to cover the balance of their fee bill even if their need warranted it.
This year the maximum state scholarship award was $2,700. Berkshire said that depending on the student’s need, university supplements to state scholarships ranged from $400 to $840 out of this year’s financial aid pool of approximately $3 million.
She said the maximum state award will remain the same, and the university’s maximum supplement will stay the same as this year’s — $840.
“In the long run, this will probably hurt the university,” said Bill Dauster, codirector of the Student Senate’s Financial Affairs Unit.
He said fewer state scholarship award winners will be attracted to the university because they won’t be able to afford the difference in the cost of tuition and their scholarship award. Because of this he said less money will be generated for the university.
“When you’re increasing the tuition rate every year you need every tuition bonus you can get to attract students to the university,” Dauster said.
Dennis Mulhaput, a student senator, said this change in policy doesn’t seem to follow the university’s ethics: “Dr. (John R.) Hubbard has repeatedly said that financial aid is the lifeline of the university. Certainly this change in policy doesn’t create a lot of confidence from students. The university doesn’t seem to be standing behind its statements.”
Dauster said the Student Senate plans to investigate the financial-aid policy change, which could affect the 5.000 students here who are state scholarship recipients.
New scoring system for Songfest approved, will ease load on judges
BY DIANE SLEZAK
Assistant City Editor
A new system of judging the groups that participate in Songfest, the university’s annual student musical, was approved Sunday night by the Songfest Committee.
Applications for this spring’s production, “For the Fun of It,” are available in the Campus Life and Recreation office, Student Union 301, and are due Feb. 7. A meeting for the directors of groups planning to enter will be held at 8 p.m. Thursday on the second floor of the Student Activities Center.
The new judging method is designed to ease the load on the judges. Instead of being asked tc evaluate several aspects of each group’s performance, each judge will be responsible forjudging only one aspect.
In past Songfests, each judge scored the groups on their singing, staging, theme adaptation, music and lyrics and overall performance. This year, one judge will evaluate staging, one will do music and lyrics, two will judge singing, one will do theme
adaptation and one will judge overall performance.
“Before, the judges were being asked to watch a heck of a lot,” said Cindy Eisley, judging director. “When they had to judge every aspect, there was a lot to think about in six minutes (the maximum length allowed for each group’s performance).
“Now, we can ask judges who have expertise in specific areas. For example, Marvin Hamlisch, who judged two years ago, could judge music and lyrics, and someone like Charles Champlin (arts editor of the Los Angeles Times) could judge overall performance.”
Revisions were also made in scoring. In the past, each judge scored each group on a 100-point basis. The way the points were divided depended on which division of the show the group participated in. The three divisions are small group, choral and production.
In the choral division, for example 50 points were to be used to judge the singing ability of the group.
(continued on page 6)
FETCH — One dog owner on campus has found a novel alternative to having his dog fetch sticks. It also provides the owner with a partner for frisbee when no human is around. Now if he could only teach the dog to throw. DT photo by Mike Ito.