Impressionist exhibit at LACMA — Performance
Volume Cl, Number 8
trojan
University of Southern California	Wednesday, July 9, 1986
RUDI ALEXANDER SUMMER TROJAN
Groups of youngsters participating in the National Youth Sports Program are in training all over campus, including Cromwell Field.
GSLs to be disbursed in two checks
By Bryon Okada
Staf Writer
The Guaranteed Student Loan, a federally insured loan that helps many students cover the high cost of tuition, is changing from an annual to a biannual format.
Instead of one check being distributed in September, two checks of half the value of the loan will be sent out at the beginning of each semester, said Michael Halloran, dean of admissions and financial aid.
This new' format was part of the budget reconciliation act for the fiscal year of 1986, Halloran said. It provides a cost-saving measure for the government, as well as protects “the integrity of the program."
Halloran said the government pays a lender allowance of about 8 percent because the GSL checks are paid in whole annually. This means that the government has to pay interest on the whole amount. Bv splitting the payment into two parts, the government saves one semester's worth of interest for each student.
It may not seem like a lot, but Halloran said that it is a substantial difference when all the checks are
added together. For each student, half of the amount of their GSL will be held for three or four months, saving the government the interest earned during that time.
Also, he said that the move v'ould pr otect the program's integrity, because half of the loan is protected against default.
Halloran said that many studies have shown that first-time students have' the highest rate of dropouts among universitv students. Under the old format, they would still receive the entire amount of their GSL, even if they dropped out after the fall semester.
Under the new program, the second loan check wTould not be given out to those students who do not enroll for the second semester, saving the university half the amount of the loan.
The program, which was adopted this month, will take effect during Fall 1986 registration, with students receiving the same amount of money they would get under the old program, only in halves.
Halloran said that the program would be permanent and no change could be forseen in the future.
As far as money management, the system has
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USC receives three Defense Dept, grants
By Bryon Okada
Staff Writer
The university has received three multi-million dollar grants from the Pentagon for research in the fields of chemistry and engineering, said Leonard Silverman, dean of the School of Engineering.
A total of 86 five-year grants were given out by the Defense Department.
Two of the three grants given to the university were in the field of engineering, focusing on optical computing and the controlling of turbulence, Silverman said.
The grant in chemistry is for the study of fast transient processes, said Brent Koplitz, research associate in the chemistrv department.
The university is fortunate to get three grants, Silverman said. Most other universities were granted only one.
According to Silverman, these grants, which arose from the University Research Initiative Program, are geared “to build up the capability of the university for research in national defense."
The university does not engage in classified reaseach, however.
The projects are focused on areas where the university should have good research capabilities for the "indirect help" of the Defense Department, Silverman said.
The majority of the research money will go for student support programs and the purchasing of the necessary materials and equipment for the studies.
Silverman emphasized that these grants are for basic research — no specific devices will arise as a result of the studies.
Optical computing, one of the grants given to the School of Engineering, deals with the building of large computers which will use optics instead of electronics.
According to William Steier, one of the co-principal investigators in the project, electronics cause many limitations that can be alleviated by using optic beams instead of wire to transfer information or computations.
This project will receive SI million per year, depending on the un-cciUiir.ties of the federal budget. Only one year of funding is actually guaranteed, but the project should last five.
The other engineering project, with a total budget of S4.24 million, will be in the area of aeronautical engineering.
Larry Redekopp, one of the co-principal investigators for this project titled "Dynamics and Control of Turbulent Sheer Flows," said this would study the random, erratic nature of fluid and how to control it.
According to Redekopp, this area of study is "verv important for rocket propulsion" as well as for the development of "new, innovative airplane designs."
This grant results from the demand for aircrafts that can travel rapidlv with a high degree of maneuverability.
The grant to the chemistry department is titled "Center for the Study of Fast Transient Processes" and will be concerned with energy transference in chemical reactions.
According to Koplitz, the project will deal basically with lasers as a means of transferring energv to gain a better understanding as to "howr and why things react."
Koplitz said this grant will go to developing "aids to the scientific community in general."
New bus route from Encino may stop at the university
By Rhoda Fukushima
Staff Writer
The Department of Transportation is considering changing a commuter bus route between the San Fernando Valley and downtown Los Angeles to indude a stop at the university, said Dennis Archam-bault, special programs administrator of the department of security.
“The Department of Transportation created this route nine months ago using Proposition A funds, but with only 25 percent ridership it was not making money," Archambault said.
With increased ridership from the university, the department could keep operating the route and not raise fees, he said. The route begins at 5140 Havvenhurst Ave. in Encino and ends at 11th and Flow'er streets downtown.
“We had fairly good ridership interest," Archambault said, although publicity only began at the end of the last school year. A handful of people from the universitv rode the bus during a trial run May 14.
"It was very comfortable, not crow'ded and we made very good time," said Jeffrey Keller, telecommunications coordinator .
The buses have airline-type seats and overhead reading lamps.
The cost of a one-way trip is SI.75. University students and faculty would receive no discounts, Archambault said.
The trip takes approximately 30 to 45 minutes.
"It took me the same or less amount of time as it does when I'm driving myself," said Lee Peterson, a university financial analyst. "And I was able to get things done which I can't do if I'm driving, like reading the newspaper or doing some work from the office."
The route operates five days a week. Buses leave Encino at 6, 6:45 and 7:30 a.m. and downtown at 4:15, 5 and 5:45 p.m.
RUDI ALEXANDER SUMMER TROJAN
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