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Volume XCVII, Number 47
University of Southern California
Thursday, November 8, 1984
BSU rallies for end of apartheid
Black students want honorary degree for Tutu
By Craig Hotti
Staff Writer
During an anti-apartheid rally Wednesday, the Black Student Union called for the university administration to give an honorary degree to Bishop Desmond Tutu, the recent recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to win black rights in South Africa.
The noon rally in front of Tommy Trojan, which attracted about 30 people, was designed to inform university students of racism in South Africa, and to increase support for the BSU's
proposal for a student / faculty council to look into divestment of the university's investments in South Africa.
"We are rallying for support for the liberation of the people of South Africa and the establishment of democracy there," said Angela Counts, vice president of BSU.
"For millions of blacks in South Africa, apartheid is the repressive constraints under which they are forced to live," Counts said.
The hour-long gathering included speakers, poets and music pertaining to the plight of the blacks in South Africa.
Anthony Smith, director of the Youth Awareness Action Program for the Southern California Leadership Conference, said the apartheid issue in South
Africa is not just for blacks, but it is a moral issue for everyone.
Smith read a speech given in 1965 by Martin Luther King Jr., which called for an international boycott of South Africa. In the speech King advocated a peaceful fight against the South African government.
"We have a nation that is turning away from the moral issue and is continuing with racism, not only in the United States but all over the world," Smith said. "We continually worry about the spread of communism but don't look at the spread of injustice."
He called the situation in South Africa the "most drastic form of racism and injustice from man to man and woman to woman."
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LEE-ANNE LEONG DAILY TROJAN
Angela Counts, vice president of the Black Student Union, speaks out against apartheid in front of Tommy Trojan. Counts’ speech was part of an hour-long BSU rally designed to educate students concerning racist practices in South Africa.
Reagan's election victory draws mixed campus reaction
Students, professors offer varied responses on Reagan's landslide win
By Stephen Lawson
Assistant News Editor
Reaction to President Reagan's landslide re-election was mixed on campus Wednesday, with the president's supporters, as well as oppponents, disagreeing on the reasons for the landslide and its implications.
Murray Fromson, a professor in the School of Journalism who has covered several presidential campaigns, said he was not surprised by the outcome.
"It was a result dictated by personality, not issues," Fromson said, citing the mixed results of congressional and initiative races. "Despite the claim by some of the media of a marked ideological shift in the electorate, it is probably not that at all. The people remain centrist in their views."
Fromson said the Democratic Party must try to appeal to the middle class and find a candi-
date for 1988 with "Reagan's telegenic qualities."
Several students said they were surprised at the magnitude
'What is this a mandate for?' Nyomarkay asked, repeating the question. 'The polls say many people who voted for him actually disagreed with him on specifics.'
of Reagan's victory.
"It was surprising to see he got such a large percentage of the electoral college," said Stan
Logan, outreach coordinator for Trojan Christian Fellowship. "Mondale got such a low percentage for the number of votes he got."
Logan said he felt the re-election showed that the nation is satisfied with Reagan's policies overall.
Joseph Nyomarkay, an associate professor of political science, agreed that the electoral college vote exaggerated the president's vote margin, but he questioned the meaning of the results.
"What is this a mandate for?" Nyomarkay asked, repeating the question. "The polls say many people who voted for him actually disagreed with him on specifics."
Nyomarkay said many people apparently voted for Reagan because they dislike Mondale or like Reagan personally.
"I think everybody's in the
dark, because (Reagan) has not said what he is going to do."
Mark Decker, first vice president of the Trojan College Republicans and a student senator, praised Reagan's economic and defense policies but attributed the president's success to his leadership ability.
"He is a stronger leader . . . it's important that the people identify with their leader," he said.
Mark Shikuma, a senior majoring in journalism, called the re-election "a re-affirmation of what the general American pub-(Continued on page 6)
Senate surveys students about general education
Community relations office created
By Joann Galardy
Campus Editor
The university is hoping to improve its often problematic relationship with the surrounding community by creating the Office of Civic and Community Relations, President James Zumberge has announced.
"This office will provide much more expanded operations to coordinate the many university voices that are heard on community issues," Zumberge said.
Zumberge said he created the special office on the recommendation of the Task Force on the University Community, which submitted a detailed report to him in January.
In its report, the Task Force said the university's most urgent responsibility in community relations is to provide "better communication with the community, based on a better management of information internally."
According to the report, the community's criticism of the university has centered on "inconsistency, lack of clarity or purpose and a perceived indifference to the needs or wishes of the community."
Zumberge has appointed Alvin Rudisill, university chaplain and chairman of the Task Force, to take over the new position. He believes Rudisill's extensive experience in dealing with the community will be a tremendous asset.
He said there are no specific tasks he expects
the new unit to complete, but does expect Rudisill and his staff to continue studying the remaining recommendations made by the Task Force.
Rudisill is currently out of towp, but in an earlier interview with the official university publication transcript, said, "I expect to work very closely with this immediate neighborhood in terms of the community organizations that exist. Another assignment of the office will be long range planning that goes beyond the campus plan."
Zumberge said, "In the past it has been difficult to identify the university's policy regarding the community. The purpose of the office is to relate to the external community."
He acknowledged, however, that before the university can relate to the outside community, the university's internal community organizations need to be unified.
There has been some concern that in the past, various community-oriented activities of the university have been fragmented and did not represent a unified position by the university.
Zumberge said the creation of the new office, which will replace the Office of Special Community Affairs, is an attempt by the university "to speak with one voice on community issues."
Zumberge said a special office for community affairs has been needed for a long time, but that bureaucracy has slowed its inception.
By Karen Kucher
Assistant City Editor
A Student Senate committee is randomly surveying undergraduate students this week to try to determine the status of the general education program, and find out where it is lacking.
The academic affairs research action unit has been surveying students at a table near Tommy Trojan this week, asking undergraduates to list the best, worst, most difficult and easiest general education courses they have taken.
"This isn't meant to be a scientific survey. We just want to identify complaints and commendations of courses in the program," said Michael Reilly, chairman of the research action unit.
"We hope the survey will tell which courses are quality courses and which are below par or 'micks,' " Reilly said.
The committee is afraid some university classes may have an unacceptable grade distribution, with an unwarranted number of As and Bs, Reilly said.
The results of the survey will be brought to academic departments, professors and the university General Education Committee.
"A survey of this type will not give a definitive answer, but it will lead us in the right direction," Reilly said.
Reilly said that after taking a "cursory glance" at a few of the completed surveys, he has seen "a definite trend," with certain courses being listed often.
After three days, the committee has surveyed almost 300 stu-
dents, and is aiming for 500 responses.
In addition to discussing the ongoing academic survey, the senate also voted unanimously Wednesday night to establish a Cultural Interaction Task Force that will "identify the sentiments of various cultural groups on campus, establish a forum for these groups to share their concerns and recommend activities and programs to increase cohesiveness and interaction."
"Our goal will be to figure out problems and give out short term and long term solutions," said Pauline Ng, chairwoman of the task force.
She said the task force is necessary since ethnic groups make up almost 40 percent of the student population, with the number of foreign students increasing.
"The task force will look at problems of interaction between the ethnic groups and with the whole student body," Ng said.
She said she hopes the group will be able to solve clashes between ethnic groups and clashes within the individual groups.
"Some foreign students don't feel American students are ethnic enough," she said, explaining that some foreign-born students often feel that American-born ethnic students have lost their heritage, while Ameri-can-bom students feel the foreign-born students are not adapting to American society.
"USC seems so cold to many students," Ng said.
The committee will consist of (Continued on page 2)