LAPD investigation threatens possible peace officer status
CRAIG STEWART/DAILY TROJAN That daring young man on the flying trapeze...No, it's not the son
of Houdini but a member of the Royal Lichenstein 1/4 Ring Sidewalk Circus. The traveling troupe performed Thursday by Tommy Trojan.
By Jeffrey Tylicki
Staff Writer
The movement to give University Security officers peace officer status may have hit a stumbling block because of research conducted by the Los Angeles Police Department that interprets such an arrangement to be illegal.
Sgt. Wavrte Hofer of the LAPD said he has spent the last month compiling a report that will soon be presented to Police Chief Darryl Gates. It includes recommendations by police lawyers stating that the granting of reserve status to officers at a private institution is questionable in the eyes of California state law.
"There are certain guidelines as to who c^n be officers and who can't," ;Hofer said. "My report (to Gates) attempts to explain whoj can grant what powers to whom."
Hofer said: his report will help Gates tc) make viable recommendation^ to the university on how they kran make campus security more! effective.
"No one has been talking about reserve officer status specifically, but: merely as what
trojan
Volume XCIII, Number 46	University of Southern California
Friday, March 18, 1983
By Belma Johnson
Investigations Editor
If you stack the university's resources up against those of the Idyllwild Arts Foundation, the disparity is overwhelming.
The university has a full-time administration. Idyllwild has one that meets maybe two or three times a year. The university spends a million dollars each day. Idyllwild spends that much in an entire year.
But when the two sides sit down to bargain, the foundation has a very important chip that helps balance the talks. Idyllwild's executive committee knows its power and remains unwilling to relinquish it.
What is the power? It is a clause in the original contract between the university and the arts school that gives the committee the right to make a low-interest purchase of the school's land if the university ever withdraws or severely cuts its support for the school.
The university has threatened to cut off those funds if Idyllwild does not find some wav to save money, reduce its dependence on the university or re-work the contract to make the deal more palatable to the university.
As it stands, both sides agree the contract favors Idyllwild. However, they disagree on how to make it more fair.
It all began in 1964 when Max Krone, a university music professor, donated the fine arts school in Idyllwild to the university-
In exchange, the university took on about $400,000 in liabilities and agreed to run the school in the same way that it had been operated by Krone for 14 vears.
The arts foundation was a not-for-profit corporation that owned the school and acted as watchdog of the university — to make sure the school remained an arts school.
The contract stated that the university could sell up to 20 of the 205 acres as long as the sale did not disrupt the school’s programs.
But if the university wanted to sell more than 20 acres or trim programs, it would have to give the foundation a year's notice.
After that notice has been issued, the foundation automatically has the option to buy all 205 acres, with the following provisions:
—	It has to pay back the 5400,000 in liabilities the
university assumed. But it may subtract about 567,000 from that amount because that is how much the school's buildings were worth when the university received the donation.
—	The foundation could purchase any additions or improvements to the property made bv the university, minus depreciation costs.
But two other provisions sweeten the deal:
—	Idyllwild could pay off its debt to the university over 20 years at only six percent interest.
—	The foundation could exercise this buy-out option up to 21 years after thei death of the last
'As it stands, both sides agree the contract favors Idyllzcild. However, they disagree on how to make it more fair. ’
1964 board member or the death of the last then-living child of any board member — whichever came last.
That contract — particularly! the clause that allows Idyllwild to buy back the land — will probably be the sticky point in the negotiations.
"So far we've said 'no' to abandoning the contract," said Glen Stephens, president of the foundation. "It's difficult to give ujp."
egotiate with the t received a clear in mind, Stephens
Idvllwild's board wants to n< university, but so far it has nt >1 idea of what the university has said.
"If someone came in and saicl, 'we'd like to sell all of the land,' we'd probably not agree," Stephens said. But the board is willing to develop some of the land for more profitable purposes, he said.
The foundation, Stephens sa ble for keeping the arts school c intended. But they understai must keep its books balanced,
He said most of the 21 bo group of retired or active busin professionals — live in Southern California and typically they volunteer their time to the board because they or relatives once attended Idyllwild.
(Continued on page 6)
id, feels responsi-perating as Krone id the university too.
ard members — a ss executives and
some thought was an option," he said.
Speaking to the student senate Wednesday, Jon Strauss, senior vice president of administration, said the LAPD has agreed to meet with the university to help work out whatever recommendations the university receives from Gates.
"That may mean pushing for new state legislation that would allow USC to have its own force, giving our officers more powers of arrest or merely giving them better access to vehicle registration and other state information," Strauss said.
Only two private universities — the University of Pacific and Stanford — have been successful in obtaining peace officer status for their officers.
An officer at the University of the Pacific in Stockton said the security chief there successfully lobbied for legislation which allows its officers to have reserve status.
Since 1972 Stanford has had a formal agreement with the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office. Marvin Herrington, director of public safety at Stanford said his department operates like a branch of the county sheriff's department except that his men are paid by the university.
"Our agreement, worked out with the sheriff in 1971, assures him that our officers meet the same standards as regular deputies (employed by Santa Clara County)," Herrington said.
He said his force has 30 reserve deputies sworn in by the
sheriff. They are sent to the same academy as deputies and local city police in the county, he said, and are paid salaries competitive with local law enforcement agencies.
"Maybe our officers are more expensive than security guards' positions, but there just isn't a lot a security guard can do."
Larry Kelly, a Santa Clara County sheriff's deputy, said his department enjoys a good working relationship with the Stanford officers and makes sure all of the university's officers go through the same training and selection process as regular deputies.
"They do an excellent job, and we are very fortunate to have them there," Kelly said. "If Stanford did not provide reserve officers in that area, the sheriff's department wrould have to cover it."
Hofer said the existing arrangement between Stanford and Santa Clara County sounds like a case that could be questioned for its legality, but Kelly disagreed.
"A sheriff can deputize citizens as the need arises, and Stanford's officers go through the same training process as regular deputies," Kelly said. "We have a memorandum of understanding with Stanford that spells out the specific assignments they can perform."
Kelly explained that although the reserve-deputy status of Stanford's officers could allow them to go off campus, part of the county's written agreement (Continued on page 3)
New Idyllwild land contract sought
Purchase clause favors arts school
University allocates cunds to upgrade escort service
By Sheldon Ito
Staff Writer
Jon Strauss, senior vice president of administration, announced Wednesday at the student senate meeting that the university will allocate the full amount of funds needed to improved the Univ'ersitv' Escort Service.
The announcement ended months of "frustrating, drawn out" attempts by the student senate to obtain a "firm answer" on the request for funds, said Mark Slavkin, chairman of the environmental and external affairs action unit of the student senate.
The need for improvements of the escort service, which provides escorts for students to and from campus at night, are due mainly to the steadily rising demand for escorts since the service's inception in 1978.
"The service has just skyrocketed," Slavkin said. "It started on a small level, and as people have learned about it the demand for rides from students in the area has just gone up and up."
According to figures reported by Slavkin, in October 1981 the escort serivce received 2,223 calls for rides. In October 1982, the service received 3,747 calls. That amounts to a 68 percent increase in escort use in just one year.
Last semester, the escort service requested over S70,000 for improvements it thought necessary to successfully meet the increased demand. This is in addition to its existing budget of 532,000, half of which is paid by the university' and half bv the student services fee.
Of the 570,000 requested, approximately' 558,000 will be used to purchase new equipment, including three cars, three bicvcles, and a new radio system.
The radio svstem currently' in use is shared with parking operations and this leads to delavs in dispatching the escorts, Slavkin said.
He added that in order for the service to be as "effective as it should be," a new radio system on a different frequency than the one used by parking operations is necessarv.
The remaining 512,000 will be used for hiring more phone operators and raises for current emplovees, Slavkin said.
The need to provide increased funding "was brought to us bv students in the escort service rather earlv last semester," he said.
The problem was then looked into bv the senate and Carl Levredge, director of security and parking operations. Levredge, who oversees the operation of the escort service, agreed that the service was underfunded, Slavkin said.
After a semester of non-committal responses by the administration, the senate decided last January to pass a resolution making the improvement of the escort service one of the 10 issues of major concern for the 1982-83 school vear, he said.
(Continued on page 6)