PROTEST BANNERS
Volume CVII, Number 62	University	of	Southern	California	Wednesday,	December	7,	1988
JAMES SU / DAILY TROJAN
Banners protesting the university's refusal to divest in companies doing business in South Africa have been hung between the Student Union and Bovard Administration buildings. A protest rally on the issue is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. today in front of Bovard.
trojan
Despite 5.0 jolt, Rose Bowl safe for Jan. 2 game
Kevin Cullinane
Staff Writer
Although the epicenter of Saturday's 5.0 earthquake struck a fault beneath the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, students should not be discouraged from attending the Jan. 2 showdown between USC and the University of Michigan, a university safety spokesman said.
The epicenter lies 10 miles beneath the Rose Bowl stadium, said Larry Ehrmann, university safety administrator. The stadium has been "seismically braced" to withstand a higher degree of energy, he said.
An earthquake follows the same rules as a 3,000-pound gorilla — it does whatever it wants, Ehrmann
"Students should be more concerned with freeway hazards than with being injured at the game," he added.
Falling debris is the major risk of an earthquake, Ehrmann said, adding that bleacher seats will not pose a threat should a tremor occur during the Rose Bowl game.
The possibility of the bleachers collapsing are very slim, and spectators would probably not be seriously injured, unless they were under the seats, he said.
Marne Newton, a graduate student in electrical engineering, said she plans to attend the game and is unconcerned with being injured.
"I'm not scared because there is nothing to fall on me," Newton said. "Most of the pressure was released last weekend."
Mary Parke, a teaching assistant in the environmental geolo-(See Stadium, page 3)
GE classes dissatisfy students
Undergraduate hearing finds individual attention missing
By Chris Eftychiou
Staff Writer
The quality of the university's general education program needs improvement, students and faculty members said Tuesday in an open hearing at Taper Hall of Humanities about the freshman experience.
Of the more than 30 people who attended the hearing, conducted by the President's Commission on Undergraduate Education, many expressed a need for greater student-teacher interaction while
others delineated the advantages and drawbacks of honors programs such as Thematic Option.
The hearing was moderated by Larry Singer, chairman of the commission.
In many classes, the professor's approach is "do these assignments and take these tests. Teachers should consider what we're doing when we leave the classroom," one student said.
Another student said his college professors expressed less interest in individual students than his high school teachers did. He said the freshman year, being a transitional period, should include more individual attention.
(See Freshmen, page 3)
Sister, friend halt student in attempt to leap out Fluor
By. Chris Eftychiou
Staff Writer
A male student attempted suicide Sunday by prying open a window screen in his Fluor Tower in order to jump from an upper floor window, University Security said.
The student used a kitchen knife to pry off the screen, but his sister and a friend were able to take the knife away from him, said Sgt. John Lewis of security.
The student refused to seek advisement from counseling services and was released to his sister and friend after speaking to security for 30 minutes, Lewis said.
"Basically we talked to him and we cooled him out," he said. "It's pressure. Finals are coming up and boyfriend-girl-friend problems are also entering into the equation."
The incident is the third suicide attempt this semester at the university. On Oct. 31, a man attempted suicide while visiting his girlfriend at Century Apartments. He fired a gun and the bullet grazed the back of his neck. The man was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital for treatment.
On Nov. 12, a male student attempted suicide at Hillview Apartments by slashing his right wrist. He was taken to County-USC Medical Center and then released.
Lewis said the recent number of attempts is not unusual.
"I don't see it as a recent upsurge or a downward trend in any way," he said.
Program allows students to ‘take USC home’
Recruitment effort enables participants to promote university in high schools, help increase admissions
By Scott Mullet
Staff Writer
As part of the university's recruitment efforts, students can now sign up to participate in a program that enables them to promote USC and recruit for the next academic year.
Sponsored by the Student Committee on Admissions and Recruiting, "Take USC Home" is an effective recruiting method, said Raquel Watts, the program's chairwoman.
Participants are given a packet containing program information sheets and campus paraphernalia that they can distribute when they return to their high schools during the winter break.
At their alma maters, USC students answer questions and provide general university information to high school students, said Watts, who is a sophomore majoring in public administration.
"When USC students come back to their high schools, it makes a great impression on the high school students," she said. "It's an effective (recruiting) tool because the students do it and high school students respect college students' opinions more than counselors."
The program, initiated more than eight years ago, has helped increase admissions, Watts said.
"After speaking to students, (program representatives) get the interested students' information and relay that to the USC admissions office."
For their participation, Watts said stu- -dents receive a $5 gift certificate from the University Bookstore.
Apart from the certificate, students find the experience enjoyable, said Lisa
Wright, a junior political science major who has participated in the program for the past two years.
"I heard about it my freshman year, went to the (Tommy Trojan) table, picked up the booklet, went home and I loved it," Wright said. "I was the only liaison between USC and my high school for two years."
The program recruits effectively because prospective students ask questions regarding USC life rather than technical questions, she said.
"There is a sophomore here right now that I recruited from my high school," Wright said. "I talked to him one on one about the financial aid here."
Students who came to USC partly
through the program's efforts said Take USC Home is effective.
"He said the place was great," said Ed Becker, a sophomore business administration major who met writh a Take USC Home representative. "He turned me around 180 degrees."
Because program representatives often know the students they meet with, the representative has a great deal of influence over them.
"Being from a small school, I was close to a lot of people," said Elizabeth Sabin, a sophomore drama major involved in the program for the first time.
"Once they are aware of the real school and the 'University of Spoiled Children' is downplayed, I'll get positive feedback," Sabin said.
Students interested in the program have until Dec. 16 to sign up, but the table by Tommy Trojan will only be open this week from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.