S. Africa statement called unacceptable
By Brenda Wong
Staff Writer
A representative of Students for Economic Democracy (SED) Tuesday voiced his organization’s dissatisfaction with President James H. Zumberge's statement on university policy concerning South African investments.
Randy Ziskin. a representative of SEX), said Zumberge's statement condemning the apartheid policy “is not acceptable by itself. A lot more is going to be required.”
On Dec. 9, 1981, the Student Senate passed a resolution asking Zumberge to release a statement calling for a divestment of university funds from South Africa.
In the anti-apartheid statement, Zumberge said the university is “unequivocally opposed to the policy of racial discrimination.”
The second part of the president’s statement rejected the claim that university investments in corporations with holdings in South Africa constitutes indirect racism.
In a five-point statement, Ziskin declared that there must be a withdrawal of investments from corporations conducting business with the South African government.
Ziskin’s second point demanded that if the Board of Trustees forms a committee to decide what the university’s position is concerning South Africa, the students should be involved. “There must be students on that committee so that students will have a voice in it. We want to have a democratic thing. We feel it is only fair,” he said.
If the university is indirectly supporting the apartheid system, "then we want proof. The university should make public the investment portfolio, otherwise we don't know whether they (the investments) are direct or indirect,” Ziskin said as he stated his third point.
“They (the university) refused to do so, so far. They refused to give us the portfolio,” he said.
The investment portfolio is assumed to have a general listing of which investments are in which corporations. “Once it is discovered which student monies are being invested and which companies are bein& invested in. then we would know whether the university is indirectly or directly invested in South Africa,” he said.
“If Mr. Zumberge and the Board of Trustees are opposed to apartheid, they must withdraw their financial support through their'investments,” Ziskin said, stating his fourth point.
Zumberge’s letter contradicts university actions. Ziskin said.
“They are against the system but they are still supporting it by giving money. They aren’t indirectly supporting racism, they are directly supporting racism.”
In his fifth point. Ziskin stated that if university administrators refuse to make the investment portfolio public and refuse to divest. SED feels that the university should, at the very least, hold an open forum which would include the community and students.
“The students and the administration will have the chance to articulate their views. It’d be sort of like a public debate,” he said.
Darryl Adams of the Black Students Union said. “A forum would be a good idea.” to which Ziskin stressed, “It’s got to be
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Volume XCI Number 3
University of Southern California
Thursday, January 14, 1982
Staff photo by Junji Yasuda
IN MEMORY — Former university President John R. Hubbard expresses grief over the death of his longtime friend and colleague, Zohrab Kaprielian, at a memorial service Wednesday. Seated next to Hubbard is Grant Beglarian, former dean of the School of Engineering.
Former colleagues eulogize Kaprielian
By Mark Ordesky
Staff Writer
Visionary was the word used to describe the late Zohrab A. Kaprielian during a crowded memorial service at Bovard Auditorium Wednesday.
Kaprielian, a powerful university administrator, headed the School of Engineering as it grew into one of the most prestigious in the country. He also wielded great control of the university as President John R.
DISTRICT A TTORNEY REQUEST
Tests find PCP in Settle’s body
By Alan Grossman
Staff Writer
Ferris Pitts, the County/USC Medical Center psychiatry professor who headed tests which found minute traces of the drug PCP in the body of Long Beach State football star Ron Settles, said Wednesday the district attorney’s office did not ask him to conduct the tests because the department
lacked confidence in the county coroner’s office.
“We were asked by the D.A. to run the tests because we have been working on PCP research for four years. Whenever the D.A. or coroner needs help in finding small amounts of PCP in a body, they call us,” Pitts said.
The professor said his office is the only one of its kind “as
far as we know”, and blamed the newspapers for trying to create a story by referring to reports that the district attorney did not trust the coroner’s findings in this case.
“If anybody, anywhere wanted to find a low level of PCP (in a corpse) they would ask us. It just so happens we’re in the same city (as the coroner’s office headed by Thomas Noguchi).”
He said the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office is “much better in regards to PCP” than most others in the United States.
“About three or four weeks ago we measured the blood and urine level in that individual and found two nanograms (two billionths of a gram) per milliliter. We then asked for stomach contents to give us a better chance (to determine if any PCP was present).”
The professor said he and his colleagues met with Noguchi Tuesday, and both sides agreed that more tests are needed and should be completed in three or four weeks.
Pitts said the testing process his office used is precise and “requires a greater expenditure of money, time and our specialized skills.” He added that his team has been working on finding small amounts of PCP
(Continued on page 5)
Hubbard’s top aide. Kaprielian died Dec. 30 of a heart attack.
Seven prominent university administrators spoke at the ceremony. Each mourner told of Kaprielian’s tremendous drive in furthering the academic excellence of the university.
“We all stand enormously in his debt,” Hubbard said of his former aide.
Wiiliam G. Spitzer, professor of- electrical engineering, described Kaprielian as “a man of strong convictions and action. USC is truly fortunate he was here.”
Spitzer went on to relate how Kaprielian tirelessly worked to expand the School of Engineering, the department in which he started as an assistant professor in 1957.
Spitzer said that in 1963, Kaprielian, as chairman of the Electrical Engineering Department, personally recruited every departing undergradute student at Caltech in order to encourage the finest people to attend the school. Eventually,
Kaprielian was sucessful in bringing one-third of this group to the university.
“I was able to wratch a master builder at work,” Spitzer said. “His strength and wisdom will be sorely missed.” Besides his achievements in the School of Engineering, Kaprielian. as vice president of Academic Planning, was also successful in improving conditions at the university.
He was the center of a great deal of attention and controversy while in that position.
Kaprielian was sometimes accused of having too much power. Nonetheless, according to Scott Bice, dean of the Law School and chairman of the Council of Deans, Kaprielian always got the job done.
“He was not immune to controversy,” Bice said. “He dedicated his professional life to the academic excellence of our university.”
In 1975, Hubbard promoted Kaprielian to executive vice (Continued on page 14)
Debt claims against Iran may take years
By Marc Igler
Staff Writer
A claim filed by the university against the government of Iran for the unpaid tuition of a number of Iranian students and other services provided before the revolution in 1979 is still outstanding, and university administrators said it could be several years before a settlement is reached.
Filed last May, the claim totals approximately $540,000, of which $215,000 is for the unpaid tuition of about 70 Iranians who were studying at their government’s expense.
The remaining $325,000 is associated with four contracts concerning the training of Iranian officials and with helping the national radio and television networks establish instructional technology, said William Hromadka, executive director of Contracts and Grants.
The claim was presented in The Hague to an international tribunal established by the United States and Iran in January of 1980. Iran promised to set up a $1 billion renewable fund to pay the claims approved by the tribunal.
"It’s a unique case, and it could take many years before it’s settled. What was once the Imperial Government of Iran is now the Islamic Government of Iran, which is a completely different type of arena,” Hromadka said.
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