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Volume C, Number 32	University of Southern California	Wednesday, February 26, 1986
RALPH R. CALVO DAILY TROJAN
Known as “couch potatoes" by their fellow residents, these occupants of Touton Hall cool off trom the heat by moving their lounge T.V. and sofa outside in front of their building on W. 34th Street.
Soul food served today for Black History Month
By Gordon Gary
Staff Writer
Soul food will be served in residential dining halls today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in observance of Black History Month.
Susan Wilkie, assistant director of Dining Services, said the list of soul foods includes creole gumbo soup, barbecued spare ribs, fried chicken, hot com bread, baked macaroni and cheese, hot link sandwiches, blackeved peas, collard greens, and rice and peach cobbler for dessert.
The special dishes are similar to those eaten at the Mardi Gras festival in New Orleans and plantations in the Old South, said Pamela Porter, director of the Minority Consortium .
"It will be primarily black American and indigenous Afro-American food," she said.
"The main purpose of the activity is so that people can experience different types of food from the south," said Michael Browning, chairman of Black Student Services.
Browning said he expects the event to "enrich those who haven't tried soul food before, and to give people who have tried it a chance to eat it right here on campus."
"I expect a lot of black students to go in there and try it out, and I expect a lot of others to sample it for the first time," he said.
In past years, soul food was served in the dining halls in conjunction with the annual "Evening of Soul" performance during Black History Month. This time, it was supposed to coincide with the "Umoja Festival," which was scheduled for Wednesday, but was postponed until March 19 for fear of rain, Browning said.
Radioactive materials used in research
University uses care in disposal of campus medical research wastes
By Katherine Dyar
Staff Writer
Mavmie Chenoweth, a health / physics technician in the university's Radiation Safety Office, has been handling the distribution and disposal of radioactive materials on campus for the past three years and knows the difficulties of managing something that can be physically, as well as politically, threatening.
She is well aware of the images conjured up by the word radioactive and is quick to emphasize the neccessity of the materials in medical research and the progress that has been made by using them.
"The radioactive material is used in experiments in molecular biology, gerontology, geology and dental research. None of the radioactive material is used for any defense-related project," .Chenoweth said.
Chenoweth said that these materials are used in research because a radioactive trace element will produce the same reaction as a normal element but is easier to observe because it increases the sensitivity of the experiment.
She emphasized that all of the radioactive material used on campus has low levels of radiation and "is not all that hazardous if it is handled properly. In fact, some of the (chemical) compounds the material comes in are more hazardous than the radioactive material itself."
The university does not produce radioactive materials but purchases them in chemical compounds from three vendors. Depending on the demand for an element and the ease with which it can be synthesized by the company, the price of some of the material can be incredibly high, Chenoweth said.
Once the materials have been purchased by the university, they are checked by the Radiation Safety Office and then given to the principle researcher. Chenoweth said that in December the radiation office handled about 50 millicu-ries of material (comparable to .050 grams of radium) that was distributed to different departments.
After research is completed, the waste is brought back to the Radiation Safety Office, where it is packaged and prepared for disposal.
Most of the waste has a "short half-
Assembly honors institute director
Berg praised in state resolution
By Diane Diaz
SACRAMENTO — Larry Berg, director of the Institute of Politics and Government, was presented with a resolution from the California State Legislature Monday applauding the institute on its accomplishments in the political world and honoring Berg for his dedication.
The presentation by the Assembly was seen by about 15 students from the institute, who were also at the meeting as part of a multi-university political science seminar held at the capitol.
Assembly Majority Leader Mike Roos, D-Los Angeles, presented the plaque to Berg after describing for the Assembly Berg's outstanding achieve-
ments in establishing and running the institute.
He complimented Berg's "creativity and ingenuity" in putting together a program that "builds a unique bridge between the political theory of the classroom and the real world political processes of a functioning democracy."
Berg, who sat at the rear of the Assembly floor with his wife, accepted the resolution with a grin of satisfaction. "This is the highlight of 21 years in politics," he said as he held the plaque before the Assembly and photographers.
"The goals of the institute's founder. Dr. Larry L. Berg, were to encourage young people to be more politically active, to give them a sound classroom base in political theory and to show them how the theory stands up in practice in government offices, political campaigns and the efforts of
interest groups to influence policy," one paragraph of the resolution read.
Berg, who started the institute seven years ago, acknowledged its success in placing many students in a variety of political jobs in Washington, Sacramento and Los Angeles and attributed that success to the institute's internship program.
He also noted, "very few academics have the political ties that 1 do." The' professors who teach through the institute also have firsthand political experience, he said.
"In order to make it work, you have to have confidence in intern positions that we send kids to. We don't place interns in any office where we don't know the people personally," he said. "We give them access to the verv top, and that's what distinguishes our program from the many others."
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life," and can be stored and decayed on campus until it is no longer radioactive. This means that most of the waste will decay in less than 60 days, she said.
The waste that can't be decayed is sealed in 55-gallon drums and shipped to a radioactive waste site in Washington, one of only three sites in the U.S. There are also waste sites in Nevada and South Carolina.
The lack of a dump site in California poses a problem for the university . Besides the fact that shipping costs have skyrocketed in the past year, Chenoweth said that there is always a possibility that the three dump sites will close down.
The three dump sites have closed three times since Jan. 1, and any delay in shipping the drums off campus "presents a possible storage problem, because onlv certain quantities of waste are allowed on campus," said John Pickering, safety officer for the radiation office and the health and safety office.
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Larry Berg (center), director of the Institute of Politics and Government, in Sacramento with his staff and students Monday after being presented with a resolution from the California Legislature applauding the university’s program.