dMSy trojan
Volume XCVII, Number 13	University of Southern California	Thursday, September 20, 1984
Senate reprimands hecklers
Interruptions of Mondale speech prompt action
By Karen Kucher
Assistant Qty Editor
The Student Senate formally reprimanded university students Wednesday for what it called disruptive behavior during an on-campus speech Tuesday by Democratic presidential candidate Walter Mondale.
In a 15-6 vote, the senate passed a resolution condemning interruptions and heckling of Mondale at the speech, after a long, belabored discussion.
The resolution, which said Mondale's presence on campus brought "prestige and publicity" to the university, said the student hecklers "ignored the educational aspect" of the event by disrupting it.
The senate amended the original resolution many times, in one instance altering the statement so it called the candidate's visit historic, instead of prestigious.
"After the rally was over, I felt there was an overwhelming support for the resolution that I wrote," said Bret Fausett, undergraduate vice president.
"Students have now formally expressed their disapproval."
Fausett said he will send the resolution to members of the university administration and to officials in the Mondale campaign.
"I feel the majority of students wanted this," he said.
Sharon Dolezal, graduate vice president, said during the meeting that she questioned "whether or not (the event) was prestigious to Republicans."
Dolezal, a senator who opposed the resolution, said she disagreed with the tone of the amendment.
"I feel it is important that students are able to speak out and have their ideas heard," she said.
She said she felt the "disrupters" believed just as much in their cause as the Mondale supporters, and that students had a right to express their opinions.
"To discourage students from exercising their rights to be heard is wrong," she said.
She added she was "proud" to see hundreds of students rallying for Mondale, or against him.
"I'm proud we kept it at a verbal level," she said.
Mike Singer, president of the
Student Senate, said the resolution "reflected the moods influencing a great majority of the student body."
He said the issue is about "what kind of student body we have," adding the heckling "goes against the grain of what is traditional" at this university.
"As Student Senate president, I don't want us to be perceived in the way we were yesterday," he added.
Singer said he felt sorry for the candidate and believed that Mondale was treated unfairly.
"Students yelling 'bullshit' were way out of line," he said.
Student Senator Mark Decker also opposed the resolution because he thought it focused on the speech being "educational" rather than "political." He said, however, "We denounce the students who were disruptive."
Decker, who is also first vice president of the Trojan College Republicans, said it was not wrong for people to chant at what he thought was primarily a political rally.
"Had they been yelling 'Mondale, Mondale' it wouldn't have been considered disruptive in the same way," he said, adding, "I was proud to see students out there expressing their point of
Children shown ‘world awareness’
By Melanie Demont
Staff Writer
Los Angeles school children in kindergarten through the 12th grade are learning about foreign cultures through a program that sends international students from this university into their classrooms.
From March through July
1984,	90 international students gave 258 presentations representing 37 countries to approximately 4,675 grade school students.
My Yarakinec, international student adviser and program coordinator, said that for many children, the program is the "beginning of world awareness." Students speak about the
contemporary culture, history and traditions of their countries. They also answer questions.
"It goes a long way to eliminate stereotypes, such as Africa being a place where people swing through trees on vines," Yarakinec said.
He added that the student lecturers also benefit from the opportunity to speak with interested Americans about their homeland, and the chance to escape the university neighborhood and see the U.S. grade school system firsthand.
They also make new friends among the international and American students who participate in the program, he said.
Ndinzi Masagara, a doctoral
candidate studying linguistics, has participated in the program for two years. He thinks the program has provided him with the most valuable experience he has had in the United States.
"The opportunity to contribute to this country while I am here has been very enjoyable and interesting," he said. "These children are at an age where they have open minds"
In his lectures to the students, Masagara speaks about all of Africa as well as his native Zaire. He teaches the children to say simple phrases and words like hello, goodbye and "How are you?".
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RICKY WAN&DAILY TROJAN
AFROTC celebrates its 37th birthday on the steps of the Physical Education Building. Standing with .he cake (from left) is Cadet Group Commander Lydia Dahnke and Colonel Martin Fricks, Air Force Detachment Commander
KEVIN ROTTNERUAILY TROJAN
DR. NORMAN SIGBAND
Fear of press pressures executives to be PR men
By Carol Ann Coates
Staff Writer
The job used to belong to the public relations man. Now, the chief executive officers of corporations are being thrust into the media spotlight, playing the role of spokesman for their own company, a role they view both nervously and suspiciously.
"Most corporate leaders think the media treats them badly," said Norman Sigband, professor of management communication in the School of Business.
Sigband said increasingly, when contacting a company, reporters are "reluctant to talk to public relations representatives" and "wish to speak to the CEO".
The press want answers from the chief executive officer, Sigband said, to "give more credibility to their articles," and because they think the public relations department "will give a story that protects the firm."
Author of Communications for Management and Business, the most widely used textbook in the field, Sigband recently surveyed many chief executives of the Fortune 500 companies — the largest 500 companies in the nation — on their feelings towards the media.
A typical statement from one CEO's survey read: "It would help me if I could accept the fact that the press is, generally speaking, the most biased, uninformed, selfish and arrogant group I contact, and in doing so, learn not to get mad, but instead handle the situation deftly."
Members of the press disagree. Bryce Nelson, director of the School of Journalism, said many executives fear the press because "they are not used to dealing with people as equals. They feel they do not have to answer to anyone."
CEOs may also be wary of reporters because the facts may not be favorable or perhaps they have been misquoted in the past, Nelson said.
Sigband agreed that many CEOs think the press "sometimes does not quote accurately or takes material with the greatest news value, rather than give a fair picture. When interviewing, the press assumes an adversarial attitude toward the executive."
But Nelson said it is "in the business' interest to cooperate with the press" because a better understanding with the press can help relationships with other companies.
"There are not many qualified chief executives of major companies that do not read about their rivals or other companies in a newspaper such as the Wall Street Journal," he said.
Investors also benefit from articles on corporations because they may be "reluctant :to invest" if they belive a firm was in financial trouble, Nelson added.
Reporters want to talk to the chief executives of a company, Nelson said, because they provide more accurate answers and know' the business better.
"Reporters are not used to bureaucracy," Nelson said. "Public relations offices often take days" to providt information.
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