Volume XCV, Number 18
dMHw trojan
University of Southern California
Thursday, February 2, 1984
Retraction
In the Feb. 1 issue of the Daily Trojan it was inaccurately reported that the Sigma Alpha Mu house was among the six fraternities cited for the disturbance on the Row on Jan. 26. It was not dted in the incident and will not be subject to the decision of a conduct review board. The houses cited are: Kappa Alpha Order, Phi Gamma Delta, Chi Phi, Theta Xi, Kappa Alpha Psi and Alpha Tau Omega, according to University Security.
Honors hall created for top students
By Catalina Camia
Assistant City Editor
To encourage students to enroll and remain in the university, a special honors-oriented residence hall program is being established for next year.
Marks Hall, the present site of the international floors, will house a new special-interest program similar to the university’s present Faculty-in-Resi-dence programs, said Howard Weinstein, associate director of residential life.
While details have vet to be fi-
nalized, this living arrangement — tentatively known as Deans' Hall/Faculty-in-Residence — will be open to all incoming freshmen who have a combined score of at least 1250 on the Scholastic Aptitude Test or have otherwise demonstrated superior academic achievement and have won a Deans' Scholarship.
Other students eligible to live in this residence hall include those accepted in the university's honors programs, such as Thematic Option, Presidential and Trustee Scholars, and Resi-
Student Senate adds new election rules to constitution
By Sheldon Ito
Assistant City Editor
The Student Senate passed nine amendments concerning senate elections at its weekly meeting Wednesday night, including an amendment which put a time limit on when protests against candidates will be accepted and another which provided for the expansion of polling times and locations during election week.
The amended bylaw states that protests will be accepted by the Senate Elections Commission up to seven days after elections close.
Another amendment changed a bylaw that read: "A candidate shall be disqualified for any infraction of the Election Code" to "A candidate shall be warned or disqualified ..." The other amendments merely reworded or clarified existing laws.
DeDe Brown, chairwoman of the Elections Commission, said the changes were necessary to clarify the procedures involved in both filing a protest, and determining how guilty candidates should be punished.
"We wanted there to be no question as to what is legal or illegal," she said.
She explained that changing the bylaw to read "warned or disqualified" instead of "disqualified" would give the commission more options in deciding the punishment for a candidate guilty of an election code infraction.
Mike Singer, a senator who voted for the amendment, said during discussion that it would prevent an otherwise qualified candidate from being automatically disqualified for a minor rules infraction.
Brown said the main problem she wants to correct as the Election Commission chairwoman is low voter turnout.
"If you are having only a 9 to 11 percent turnout you know something is wrong," she said.
She said one of the ways her commission is cur-rentlv working to solve the problem is by "taking the polls to the people."
A senate bylaw formerly stipulated that voting polls would only be placed in front of Tommy Trojan.
Brown said this law contributed to the low turnout because "many students do not pass in front of Tommy Trojan daily."
The law was amended to allow the polls to be located in different areas, provided that only one poll is open at a time to prevent students from voting twice.
Brown said her commission is now examining different proposals that would place the polls in certain places at certain times to accommodate the various constituencies.
She said a poll could be placed in a parking structure in the morning to accommodate commuters, then moved in front of the North Complex dormitories at dinnertime.
By making the polls more accessible, Brown said she hoped to give the voter "no reason not to vote."
She said a single master list of voters will follow the poll at all times to prevent "double voting," and that she will seek approval from the senators before the polling plans are finalized.
Another change that will be made to improve turnout is that the elections will be moved up a week to March 12 to 16.
She said the originally scheduled week, the week before spring break, posed two problems. One was with voter turnout, because many students were starting their vacation early, and the other was that the vacation prevented protests against candidates from being filed until a week later-	(Continued on page 5)
dence Honors Programs.
A limited number of spaces for upperclassmen will also be available.
The Deans' Hall living arrangement will include male and female students, two resident advisers, and a live-in faculty member. Requirements for the resident advisers and faculty member have yet to be determined.
Irwin Lieb, dean of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, said this special honors residence hall has been planned in response to several complaints made by students about a lack of adequate study space and quiet living areas which are conducive to an academic environment.
Weinstein said similar inquiries about a special Faculty-in-Residence program for freshmen have been made to his office.
A committee was formed, consisting of professors and administrators within LAS, who were to research the possibility
of a special program to meet these needs and to recruit the right students.
"This is not an academic program," Lieb said. "It is a dormitory."
Thomas Jablonsky, an assistant professor of geography and a committee member, said there is still a possibility of coordinating special academic programs for these students.
Under consideration by the committee are specific general education courses within LAS to be taken by the students in the first two years as well as a minimum curriculum of two seminars on interdisciplinary subjects when the students reach upperclassman status.
"We are concerned with what happens to the student once he enters the university,” Jablonsky said. "Life (at a university) tends to be compartmentalized. We'd like to provide intellectual stimulus as well."
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Parking meters sought for campus perimeter
By Glen Quon
City Wnter
During the past three months, virtually no discussion has taken place between the university and the city of Los Angeles regarding the proposed implementation of parking meters around the university area.
In October, university officials said they planned to look into the details of the proposal, which is being made by City Councilman Robert Farrell.
Anthony Lazzaro, vice president of business affairs, expressed concern over the lack of discussion the university has had with Farrell.
"(The parking meters) will have a tremendous impact on the community and on the students," Lazzaro said. "USC (has not been) kept apprised of the (parking meter) situation and has not been informed as to what Councilman Farrell will do."
Lazzaro said he planned to talk to Farrell in the near future. Connie Meadows, who is an aide to Farrell, said that approximately 350 parking meters will be installed along Exposition and Jefferson Boulevards, Vermont Avenue, Adams Boulevard and Hoover Street.
It is expected that the meters will gradually raise funds to provide for what Meadows called "much needed parking" in the commercial area surrounding the university.
Meadows added that the meters will also aid police in quickly removing abandoned vehicles for those in need of parking in the area. Parking meters will also be installed along streets that are perpen-
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RAs provide assistance with residents’ needs
STARR SCHAFTEL DAILY TROJAN
Centennial Resident Advisor, Rich Embardo, keeps his residents posted on the lastest breaking activities at the university.
From insect spray to roommate disputes
By Maria Villarreal
Feature Writer
After spending three weeks sleeping on the couch in the student lounge, Jane finally approached her resident adviser. Her roommate had gone too far. It seems that her roommate's boyfriend had taken up quarters in her dorm room.
The RA met with the two girls and soon Jane was back in her own room, boyfriend removed.
RAs are the backbone of their respective floors — the adhesive factor which creates unity among residents. When students decide to apply for a resident adviser position, they must fill out an application and schedule and interview. The application process is meticulously planned in order to thoroughly screen an applicant's RA potential.
Once applicants pass the initial selec-
tion process, they must register for a Residential Para professional Training course. In this course, candidates will focus on developing communication and counseling skills. Candidates will also leam the RAs main objective, which, according to the RA handbook, is: "to assist in providing an environment which will be conducive to academic achievement, good scholarship, and maximum intellectual stimulation."
In addition to maintaining a stable living environment, an RA should also expect to assume a "Dear Abby" role for students in need of personal counseling.
"You get pounded into you (from the training course) over and over about how to deal with suicide," said Rich Embardo, an RA at the Centennial Apartments.
"If you're not the type of person who can calmly handle an emergency, then you should reconsider being an RA. The type of people who apply and succeed are usually capable of handling an emer-
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