coltrojan
Volume XCII, Number 37	University of Southern California	Thursday, October 28, 1982
Panel predicts Democratic wins
Professors see election surprises
By George Aguilar
Assistant City Editor
A panel of university political science professors peered into an academic crystal ball Tuesday and predicted Democratic victories in the upcoming general election, despite the Republican Party’s advantage in organization and money.
While some members of the panel were short on prediction and long on lecture, the audience at the Von KleinSmid Center was told to expect an increase in negative campaigning in the next week and a poor voter turnout for the Nov.
2 election.
The forum, sponsored by the political science department, did reveal some surprises that might be in store.
Larry Berg, director of the Institute of Politics and Government, said that recent poll data shows the Democrats will win control of the U.S. Senate. If the election were held today, he said, the Democratic Party would overturn the 54-45 advantage the Republican Party now holds in the Senate.
Berg used states like Wyoming, Newr Mexico and Utah, as examples of unexpected Democratic gains. The Senate
Democratic candidates in those states were not given reasonable chances of winning a couple of months ago, but now polls show the Democrats neck and neck with the Repulican incumbents.
He expects a Democratic gain of 30-40 seats in the House of Representatives, but added that pollster Louis Harris said his polls suggested a 50 seat turnover in favor of the Democrats.
Berg said a week of campaigning remains and it is hard to gauge who the voters will hold responsible for the coun-(Continued on page 7)
Staff photo by Pam Veaaey
WHO WILL WIN? — University political science professors, speaking on the 1982 general elections, predicted a few surprises. From left Herbert Alexander, Neal Cutler and Sheldon Kamieniecki.
Former professor to be sentenced for assault
By Marc Igler
Assistant City Editor
Michael Fody, the former university professor who was arrested last year for attacking a female student, will appear before a Superior Court judge next week for probation and sentencing.
Fody, who according to court records, pleaded no contest to a charge of assault with a deadly weapon two weeks ago, was originally charged last September with assault with intent to commit rape.
A no contest plea means that the accused is neither admitting nor denying the charge.
The former Spanish and Portuguese department professor was fired by the university shortly after his arrest. No reasons were ever offered by the university for his dismissal. Fody, 36, is currently challenging the university’s decision to release him, said David Epstein, his attorney in that case.
Another attorney, Larry Mira, is representing Fody on the criminal charges. Epstein said that Mira told him that Fody pleaded no contest to an assault charge, not assault with a deadly weapon. Court records contradict this claim.
The charge brought against Fody stems from his attack on a university student last August.
Fody reportedly arrived at the victim's Portland Street apartment and claimed that he wanted to discuss a problem that he was having.
Shortly after he entered the apartment, he reportedly tried to rape the woman, who allegedly fought off the attack and escaped to another apartment.
He surrendered to police by prearrangement Sept. 23 after being informed earlier that he would be served with a warrant for his arrest on that day.
"Michael continues to deny the larger charge (of attempt to commit rape),” Epstein said. “He has made no admission of sexual misconduct.”
Epstein said that although Fody did not use a weapon “in the usual sense of the word” in the attack, “his hands can be construed as a weapon."
Fody came to the university in 1976 and was employed as an associate professor. During the 1980-81 school year he served as language director of the Portuguese program.
RECEIVES AWARD, PROMOTES FILM, TELLS JOKES
Monty Python's Palin captivates university audience
on it as well."
He then read a poem about the university in his character of the Reverend Charles Fortescue, whom he plays in The Missionary. The poem, written in what Palin called “bad verse,” was entitled An Ode to the University of Southern California.
It asked God to bless the university because of the DKA presentation and for allowing him “to plug my movie for the 32nd time.”
Getting right to business, Palin said that his latest film has been labeled "a truly amazing and brillant work and a success that this family badly needs, by my wife.”
About the feature which also stars Oscar-win-ner Maggie Smith (The Prime of Miss Jean Bro-die) and Trevor Howard (The Third Man), Palin said, “It’s a new departure for Python in that we have real women playing women.
“It runs 90 minutes. It doesn’t take up much of your time.”
Palin then halted his promotional presentation, and answered questions from the audience.
A man from the 10th row yelled out in a high and shrill female British accent, “Are you a virgin?”
Palin replied after a brief delay, “On this campus, yes.”
He was then asked why some sketches from the group’s performance at the Hollywood Bowl were deleted from the film depicting the show.
“We’ve always tried to avoid a “best of” collection of any sort (films, books or records) and we took out those that are too well known. We didn’t originally expect the Hollywood Bowl to be a movie, and we only put in 35 percent new material for it (the live show),” he explained.
After being asked if Monty Python planned to produce any new television programs, Palin said (Continued on page 19)
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NOW THATS A MOUTHFUL — Famed British comic Michael Palin, of the Monty Python comedy troupe, deomonstrates his appreciation for an award presented to him by the DKA cinema fraternity Wednesday in Bovard Auditorium.
By Alan Grossman
Assistant City Editor
Michael Palin of the Monty Python comedy troupe would have been content to merely step up to the Bovard Auditorium podium Wednesday, and accept his honorary membership to the Delta Kappa Alpha cinema fraternity.
But he was on a promotional tour for his new film. The Missionary, in which he plays the lead, and thus, was forced to delay his acceptance speech until a KABC-TV Eyewitness News camera crew arrived.
As Kirk Ellis of DKA tried to stall the near-capacity crowd by telling jokes and by explaining the Rufus T. Firefly statuette award, which accompanied Palin's admission to the fraternity, the British comic faked several stage entrances from behind the curtain.
Palin, who appeared some 10 minutes after he wTas supposed to, asked his audience to be patient because “famous people are coming anytime now, so pretend you haven’t seen me.”
He darted backstage, and when the news crew arrived, he came out and motioned for the audience to give the cameraman what he wanted.
Apparently unsatisfied. Channel 7 asked Palin for a repeat.
He, in turn, told the crowd, “I’m terribly sorry, that was a wonderful performance, but you peaked a little early. A little more of the 'Big H' — hysteria would be nice.”
Palin received a standing ovation, and in gratitude, got on his knees.
When he finally received his award, and thus joined the ranks of director George Lucas and actor John Cassavetes, Palin pulled Ellis close to his side and they posed, with wide smiles, for the camera.
“It's very, very beautiful, it really is,” Palin said about the statuette. “I’m told you can cook