Terris Bueller’s Day Off’ — see performance
It’s finally beginning to look — and feel — like summer.
ROCCO GARCIA. SUMMER TROJAN
These scholarships would be based on academic merit, the available funds, and financial need exclusively.
Such scholarships would be exempt from taxes and would not be connected with any work requirements. They would also be contingent on the student's continuing good academic record.
Graduate assistantships would remain available but would carry the standard stipends from separate departments. They would be taxable except where the work is a necessary requirement for the degree. No tuition remission would be available.
The policy proposal is only in the draft stages. Baker emphasized.
"What is indefinite is whether the law will pass," she said.
USC graduate appointed to student aid commission
By Rhoda Fukushima
Staff Writer
Sheri Lee Roe, a recent graduate in international relations and political science, has been appointed to the California Student Aid Commission by Gov. George Deukmejian.
“We are delighted to have her on the commission," said Greg Goilihur, director of legislation and public information for the commission. "From what we understand, she is a highly qualified individual."
Roe has been a member of the Los Angeles. Collegiate Council for 1 1/2 years. LACC, an organization of representatives from 20 universities and colleges in Los Angeles County, acts as a watchdog for students on national, state and local issues, she said.
She is the chairwoman of the LACC subcommittee on financial aid. "I've been working on financial aid for a while. It's good to feel like I'll be doing some good," she said.
"As student representative, she will deal with policy questions that face us, such as the future of financial aid programs," Goilihur said. "Financial aid is looming as a much more important issue than in the past."
(Continued on page 5)
trojan
Volume Cl, Number 5	University of Southern California	Wednesday, June 18, 1986
Preparing for non-passage of bill
Grad School changes remission tax policy
Commencement ceremony problems are evaluated
By Bryon Okada
Staff Writer
The university is working to alleviate problems that will result if a new' bill requiring graduate research and teaching assistants to pay tax on tuition remission is approved by Congress and President Reagan.
Provost Cornelius Pings expressed his wish to minimize the effects of the bill in a memo saying that the university administration expects the law to be changed.
So far there has been no legislation passed to continue the tax exemption on tuition remission. But such a bill has been approved by the Senate Finance Committee and is part of an approved House bill.
The bill has to be approved by Congress and the President to go into effect, and Pings noted that he hopes this would be done by mid-August.
If no law has been passed by the fall semester, the university will have to withhold additional amounts from graduate assistant stipends for those with Fall
1986	awards.
The tax bite for graduate assistant tuition can be as high as S3,000 per year for each student.
In a letter to graduate assistants, Marilyn Baker, associate dean of the Graduate School, expressed her hope that the tax reform bill containing the exemption would be passed to protect students from paying tax on tuition.
"We're optimistic that it will pass and that these things won't be necessary," Baker said. "If it does not pass, the university is concerned about the impact on RAs and TAs."
Any tax for 1986 which is not
withheld is still payable when the student files his 1986 income tax return, Baker said.
However, to ensure that the graduate students are prepared if the bill does pass, the university has decided to allow graduate research assistants who are enrolled in doctorate programs to submit a W-4 requesting an exemption from the withholding of federal and state taxes.
This is because Ph.D. candidates are expected to fulfill an amount of original research.
In addition, teaching assistants who are fulfilling a graduation requirement are also exempt from taxes on their stipends and their tuition remission.
As long as the graduate student is performing a service that is required for a degree, the tax exemption stands.
Those graduate students with an informal requirement of teaching or research should immediately have it formalized by submitting a proposal to the Graduate and Professional Studies Committee to ensure that they will also be exempt from the taxes.
Students should check with their separate departments to see if the requirements for their departments have been formalized, or if it is under consideration.
The Graduate School recently appointed a committee made of faculty and students to review and discuss possible solutions to the taxation problem.
It proposed that in addition to those measures taken, tuition awarded to graduate assistants be withdrawn and given out by the separate departments and schools in a scholarship form.
JOEL ORDESKY SUMMER TROJAN
Gradutes rejoicing as degrees were conferred at the 103rd annual commencement in Alumni Park.
By Catalina Santo Domingo
Staff Writer
Looking back at the university's 103rd Annual Commencement held on May 9, 1986, this year's ceremony had its strong and weak points that generated complaints from graduates and their families.
One of the problems was a loud written message that was sent across the sky. A light plane was hired to flv over the campus with a message congratulating one particular graduate and apparently, it flew lower than the usual.
The Federal Aviation Administration regulates the lowest possible altitude that these planes are allowed to fly.
Although the university would like a flight-free zone over the campus, the university cannot establish such a law, said Janet Cnaudhuri, assistant provost.
There were some areas where the speakers couldn't be heard by those in the audience, con-
tributing to several problems in the public-address system.
The sound system used for the commencement ceremony is under the supplier's contract.
G.A. Fleischer, the university marshall, says that a new sound system will be designed for the following year and more testing of the system will be done before the ceremony.
Prior to this year's ceremony, the trees within the Alumni Memorial Park were trimmed, causing some complaints that there was not enough shade. Since these trees are trimmed every five years, the absense of shade during the ceremony was a bigger problem this year.
Fleischer said that the commencement committee did not anticipate the affects of the tree trimming on the ceremony. Next year, the trees may not be trimmed within a few months of commencement.
Once again, there were no female speakers featured at the (Continued on page 5)