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Volume XCI Number 1	University of Southern California	Tuesday, January 12, 1982
Kaprielian dies of heart attack
By Yolanda Austin
Staff Writer
Zohrab A. Kaprielian, the powerful university administrator who brought prestige to the School of Engineering and who literally ran the university as President John R. Hubbard's second-in-command for five years, died Dec. 30 of a heart attack. He was 58.
The flag on University Avenue flew at half-staff Thurs.day as faculty and staff members attended funeral services for Kaprielian, a dean of engineering and former executive vice president, at St. Gregory’s Armenian Church in Pasadena.
While driving home Dec. 30 after dining with colleagues, Kaprielian sufferred a heart attack, and his car ran into a telephone pole and a house. Officers at the scene determined that the vehicle was traveling at normal speed and that there was no trace of alcohol in his body.
Kaprielian was still in cardiac arrest when paramedics removed him from the car and rushed him to Santa Monica Hospital, where he later died.
The Syrian-born reseacher was credited with bringing talented faculty members to and obtaining sizeable research grants for the School of Engineering, which he described as having “zero-research, zero-everything” when he came to the university as an assistant professor in 1957. Kaprielian was promoted to associate professor in 1958 and to full professor in 1962 when he also became chairman of the electrical engineering department.
In 1970 he was appointed dean of engineering as well as vice president of academic planning, a position which brought him a great deal of attention and controversy.
Kaprielian was accused of having too much power in his position, managing the university as if it were a corporation, with experts as the key decisioflfcrnakers and students and faculty holding only minor roles. • Others felt he was simply attempting to bring benefits to the university through the use of modern management techniques.
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Community group blocks plans for satellite campus
By Alan Grossman
Staff Writer
A Corona del Mar neighborhood coalition has filed a temporary restraining order against the university's new Orange County satellite campus because of concern over the planned evening use of the facility, said Jon Strauss, vice president of Administration at the university.
In a separate action, the California Coastal Commission has decided to exercise its jurisdiction over the site at the former Corona del Mar Elementary School and has asked for an environmental impact report, which Strauss said the university delivered Monday.
“VVe didn't know that we were under their jurisdiction,” Strauss said. He added that the campus will undergo the usual commission procedure of public hearings.
Strauss said the neighborhood group was primarily worried about the noise and traffic congestion evening courses could bring to the seaside community. He added that in a preliminary hearing held Friday, the judge in the case instructed both the group and the university to file legal petitions.
Bill Mann, head coordinator of the campus, said there are actually three concerned groups of residents, including a supportive body, but “there are (about) three families who are filing the order who would not like to see the facility used in the evening at all.”
Mann said a much larger group of people “wrant to wait and see and find a solution that is satisfactory to all.”
The coordinator added that these people’are also thinking about increased traffic at night and the grassy fields in and around the school.“They are worried that the fields will turn into parking lots with bright lights,” Mann said.
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IN MEMORIUM — Zohrab A Kaprielian, dean of Engineering, died Dec. 30 in a Santa Monica hospital after suffering a heart attack. Kaprielian. who had served the university since 1957, played a key role in President John R. Hubbard's administration.
Student Senate seeks divestment of interests held in South Africa
By George Aguilar
The Student Senate voted overwhelmingly last month for a resolution calling on the university to divest itself from all direct and indirect investments made in the Republic of South Africa.
The resolution also requests that the university make a public statement denouncing the apartheid policies of South Africa.
The atmosphere of the Dec. 8 meeting was filled with considerable pressure and tension as 35 students representing Students for Economic Democracy, MEChA and the Black Student Union made senators aware of their support for the resolution. The resolution passed 26 to 1.
However, the two most important points of the resolution have already been addressed by the university. President James H. Zumberge and Jon Strauss, vice president of Administration, maintain that the university does not have direct
investments in South Africa. -
President Zumberge has already agreed in principle to issue a statement denouncing apartheid, once approval is gained from the Board of Trustees.
When contacted the following day, Strauss sought to clear up misconceptions about the university’s South African investments. Although the vice president said the university does not use tuition or endowment funds to make direct investments, faculty and staff pension funds are handled by a management company that invests the funds in South Africa.
“It is a very indirect investment,” Strauss said, adding that other indirect investments did not make up a large percentage of the university’s investment portfolio.
Strauss would not comment on his opinion of the resolution. “It is clearly an issue to be reviewed by the Board of Trustees, and I would expect
their response to be unfavorable,” he said. “It’s really their issue because they do establish
investment policy.”	(
As far as a statement denouncing the system of apartheid, Strauss said “it is absolutely no problem,” adding that any institution should denounce a system that is not consistant with the institution’s goals.
The discussion on the resolution almost became a heated one, as Andrew Littlefair, chairman of the Student Senate, ruled that members of the audience should not be allowed to particpate in the discussion, citing it “would not be wise to do tonight.” This action brought looks of disbelief among the representatives from Students for Economic Democracy and Black Student Union.
Darryl Adams, co-chairman of the BSU, commented later that Littlefair’s decision “was not a wise one to make” and (Continued on page 3)
Two security officers suspended for ‘poor judgement’
Exceeded authority in off-campus emergency calls
By Marc Igler
Staff Writer
Over a month ago, two University Se-curity officers were given suspensions without pay in separate incidents for using “poor professional judgement,” and the stories that both officers tell of their suspensions are similar.
Both officers were responding to fe-lony-in-progress calls while off-campus in security vehicles. Both officers knew they might have to overstep their department’s authority to pursue the call. Both officers were subsequently involved in automobile accidents while in pursuit.
As a result of their suspensions, both officers now agree that in the future they will not be as aggressive in their line of work as they once were However, both officers also concur that university-area residents will be
the ones who will ultimately feel the effects of their suspensions.
Officer Patrick Fitzgerald, a two-year veteran on the force, received a rape-in-progess call on the night of Nov. 28. At that moment, he was in his vehicle at University Avenue and 30th Street. He immediately made the decision to pursue the call “code three” — with siren and flashing lights — a decision that violated his authority as a security officer. Before he left the intersection, his car was struck by another vehicle. Fitzgerald was suspended for 15 days without pay for undertaking emergency procedures while off-campus.
Officer Ernie Ciaccio. also a two-year veteran, received a robbery call on the evening of Nov. 29. Ciaccio’s partner pursued the suspect on foot on Vermont Avenue while Ciaccio responded in his vehicle from an off-campus location.
Instead of proceeding code three, as Fitzgerald had, Ciaccio said he decided to “drive at a quick pace” without emergency precautions in an attempt to cut off the suspect at Vermont Avenue and 38th Street. While maneuvering through traffic, he struck another vehicle and was forced to end his pursuit. Ciaccio was suspended for 10 days without pay for using poor judgement.
Both incidents raised the question of whether University Security officers, as mere agents of the university, have adequate power to enforce the law, as opposed to peace officer status, which is given to the police department.
“In my case there’s no question. If I had peace officer status, I could have proceeded code three. It would have alerted the traffic, and I could have avoided the collision,” Ciaccio said.
Technically, the jurisdiction of Univ-
ersity Security ends at the campus boundaries. When off campus, officers are classified as agents of the university, not as peace officers. Except for the privilege of carrying weapons, security officers have the same powers of law' enforcement that any private citizen has. Fitzgerald and Ciaccio said this has led to a certain degree of friction and frustration between the officers and their superiors.
“I know I broke the rules," Fitzgerald said, “but it was a decision I had to make. At that moment, I felt that pursuing the rape call was more important than the rules.”
Neither officer blames the department for acting unfairly in suspending them. Both officers said they know the department’s rules, and agree that the rules have to be enforced. But both officers (Continued on page 7)