Seventy-Fifth Year of Publication
dy% trojan
1912 — 1986
Volume Cll, Number 35
University of Southern California
Monday, October 20, 1986
Dissent, authority in Catholic Church discussed
Archbishop, reverend exchange views before large Bovard crowd
By Rhoda Fukushima
Staff Writer
Archbishop Roger Mahony and Rev. Charles Curran presented their views on authority and dissent in the Catholic Church on Thursday night without directly addressing Curran's censure by the Vatican in August.
The presentation marked the first time an American archbishop has shared the platform with Curran since the Vatican ordered Curran to stop teaching theology because of his views on contraception, abortion and homosexuality.
During his 20 years at the Catholic University of America, in Washington D.C., Curran said publicly that neither contraception nor sterilization are "intrinsically evil/' that abortion may sometimes be permissible and that homosexual acts in limited circumstances may be an "objectively moral good."
An overflow crowd in Bovard Auditorium witnessed an exchange that was more a delivery of prepared speeches than a debate.
Mahony, who spoke first, said from the earliest days Christians have recognized how important an authoritative teaching body is in maintaining inner unity. Moreover, this unity does not remain abstract or theoretical, but affects the way Christians behave.
"The church, if it is to stand for anything, has to have some common doctrine that is respected and put into practice by its members," Mahony said.
Nevertheless, some tension does exist with the "modem mentality,
(Continued on page 13)
JOAN FRANK / DAILY TROJAN
Archbishop Roger Mahony
JOAN FRANK DAILY TROJAN
Rev. Charles Curran
Feature
Pre-law society created to help undergraduates
By Jennifer Lewis
Staff Writer
When William Blackstone was growing up in 18th century England, he decided to pursue a career in law. He eventually became one of London's most prestigious barristers and one of Oxford University's most celebrated lecturers.
He was also knighted and appointed to the elite position of Judge of the King's Bench.
Years later, in 1923, when the late Eugene Harley was teaching international and constitutional law at the university, he encouraged several of his students to start an organization for pre-law students based on the high ideals and standards of the legal profession.
And so it came to be that the Blackstonians Pre-Law Honor Society was founded, named after a man who represented integrity and excellence in the courtroom.
The society has grown since those early days when it was an allmale law fraternity. Today there are about 35 members, both male and female, representing a variety of majors and disciplines.
The qualifications for membership are a minimum 3.35 grade point average, no less than 48 units completed (second semester sophomore), and no more than 102 units completed (first semester senior).
Designed to recognize undergraduate students for their academic excellence and to help them prepare for law school, the Blackstonians are for both those who definitely want to go to law school and for those who are considering it and want more information.
"The whole focus is to prepare students to get into law school," said the president, John Woo, a senior majoring in finance who is interested in real estate law.
"(Blackstonians) recognize students going to law school and help them along the way," he said.
To help students in their preparation, the Blackstonians provide Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT) information and strategies, speakers from pre-course programs and the legal community, law school students speaking on their actual experiences, law school deans and recruiters from various states, pre-law advisers, and the opportunity to meet and talk with other pre-law majors.
The Blackstonians also encourage members to attend the Law Forum, a convention of American Bar Association approved law schools, and leam more information about the requirements and admissions processes of the different law schools. This year's Law Forum will be on Nov. 14 at the Century Plaza Hotel.
All prospective law school students must write a personal statement or essay about themselves as part of their application, and the Blackstonians invite guest speakers to give hints on how to make a student's statement stand out from the rest.
Woo said every applicant is asked why he wants to go to law school and it is very redundant and obvious to say because he wants to be a lawyer.
Rather, he said* law schools want to know what kind of law student a person will be. So it is crucial that students portray themselves as people, and not just as names with scores and fig-
(Ccmtinued on page 13)
Library hopes to get $55 million from university fund-raising drive
Funds to provide growth, improvements
By Gary Sutton
Staff Writer
The university's library system is in the midst of dramatic growth and improvement, thanks to funds its reaping from the recently announced development campaign.
Billed as the largest fund-raising campaign in the history of American higher education, university officials expect that by June 1990 the "Campaign for USC" will have raised $557 million.
Dean Charles Ritcheson, the university librarian, hopes $55 million of that will be devoted to the library system.
After two years of study, library administrators decided that "$55 million was needed to make this (the library system) a first-class operation," Ritcheson said.
So far, $12 million has been raised for the library system, including the value of additions to the collections, he said.
Right now the university is "carrying out a major
remodeling of Doheny," he said. This includes the installation of a new air conditioning system and new accesses for handicapped students.
Also in the works is the construction of a teaching library, which will help to alleviate the overcrowding of books at Doheny Library, Ritcheson said.
Almost 30 percent of the $55 million will be used for construction of the new library, but "another $7 million to $10 million is needed for endowment for maintenance purposes," Ritcheson said.
The teaching library, which Ritcheson hopes will be completed by June of 1988, will be built between Doheny and Parking Structure C, he said.
Ritcheson said it will be a "tremendous addition to the campus," and he hopes the library will be a "new center of student life.".
The new teaching library will eventually contain 200,000 volumes and "the most state of the art fittings for teaching purposes," Ritcheson said.
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“Campaign for USC” is closer to goal; School of Architecture to get $1 million
By Terry Allen
Staff Writer
The university's massive campaign to raise more than half a billion dollars by 1990 has come $1 million closer to its goal, compliments of Raymond Watt, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Watt Industries, a major real estate development and housing company in California.
Watt pledged the money to help pay for the construction of a center for graduate studies in the School of Architecture.
President James Zumberge said, "Ray Watt's special attention to architecture over the years has greatly benefited the school. No one does more for this university. Ray is a dedicated trustee, a most generous donor and the father of a USC alumnus. Now he is providing the School of Architecture with a superb headquarters for its graduate programs."
The new center will add a third floor to Watt Hall, the school's main facility, which was also named for Watt. The center will serve as a primary location in Los Angeles for conferences and workshops to address significant issues in architecture and urbanism, according to Robert Harris, dean of the School of Architecture.
"With the development of the Getty Center (a
facility for the study of architecture which is located in Santa Monica) and what we're doing here with the graduate center, L.A. will be one of the places in this country for the study of liberal arts and architecture," Harris said.
"The work of the faculty and the graduate students, combined with the stimulation of significant conferences, will make the connection between the school and the profession even stronger and at the same time provide a leading edge for undergraduate programs," he said.
Watt has been a member of the university's Board of Trustees since 1968, and is currently chairman of the board's campus planning committee. He also serves as a member of the dean's advisory council for the School of Architecture, a position to which he brings experience as a leading builder and developer of homes, apartments, condominiums, mobile home parks, industrial space and recreational communities.
A resident of Beverly Hills, Watt has also been president of the National Corporation for Housing Partnerships, a corporation owned by Congress to aid in the development of homes for low and moderate income families. He has twice been named builder of the year by professional organizations in
(Continued on page 12)