w trojan
Volume CVII, Number 40
University of Southern California
Wednesday, November 2, 1988
Violent incidents question safety
Suicide attempt, assault alarm campus
By John Matthews
Staff Writer
Two recent incidents of violence on campus — an attempted suicide by a non-university student and a kidnapping and sexual battery of a USC student
—	have raised questions about campus security and preparedness for such traumatic events.
After a man attempted suicide Monday night at Century Apartments, security officers and students were visibly shaken by the incident.
Security Officer Gerald Baker stood at a barricaded bedroom door trying to persuade a student's boyfriend, who attends California State University Dominguez Hills, to drop the .22 caliber pistol he was holding to his head.
"He was really shook/' said University Security Chief Steven Ward. "(The man) dropped the hammer on three empty chambers" before the gun went off, Ward said. The shot pierced his head, causing the man to drop the gun and fall to the floor.
Baker will undergo "an extensive debriefing" but will not accept any counseling, Ward said.
The Los Angeles Police Department had responded to the incident after receiving a call from one of the woman's roommates.
University Security then rushed to the scene after hearing about the incident over the police frequency. Ward said University Security will recreate the incident on videotape so that other officers can better pre-(See Reaction, page 6)
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KEVIN FLINT / DAILY TROJAN
The parking garage at Hillview Apartments. A student reported she was forced into her car in the garage last Saturday night, driven to a remote field, robbed and sexually assaulted.
Forum and debate highlight pre-election activities today
By Scott Mullet
Staff Writer
Pre-election activities on campus Wednesday will include an election forum at noon in the lounge of Von KleinSmid Center and a debate in Bovard Auditorium at 7 p.m.
The election forum will feature university faculty members who will discuss political financing and campaign reform, cam-
paigns and media, political attitudes and behavior, polling, the economy and the geography of American politics.
Richard Dekmejian, chairman of the political science department, will be the moderator.
The debate in Bovard features Phyllis Schafly, who helped defeat the Equal Rights Amendment, against Sarah Weddington, who won the Roe (See Activities, page 15)
Initiative coverage begins in DT today
Today the Daily Trojan will begin coverage of selected measures on next Tuesday's ballot. The schedule for our coverage is as follows:
e Friday: propositions 95
and 99.
• Monday: The auto insurance initiatives — propositions 100, 101, 103, 104 and 106.
Two oil-drilling propositions determine coastline’s future
Prop. 98 to upgrade education
Minimum state funding level supported by state educators
By Carole Cleveland
Staff Writer
Two oil-drilling initiatives have fired a battle between Occidental Petroleum Corp. and city officials over control of the Los Angeles coastline and the potential "environmental holocaust" that could result.
Propositions O and P will affect drilling along Los Angeles coastal zones and specifically a 2.5 acre area near Will Rogers State Beach in the Pacific Palisades.
Proposition P supporters say oil drilling by Occidental Petroleum in the Pacific Palisades will contribute more than 60 million barrels of oil and 120 billion cubic feet of natural gas to Califor-
nia's domestic energy supply, decreasing dependence on foreign energy sources.
In exchange for drilling rights, Occidental Petroleum will give the dty up to $275 million in revenue from the projed to hire additional Los Angeles police officers and to benefit California schools, parks and libraries.
"Ocddental has already been given approval to drill in the area by the dty of Los Angeles," said Cnig Steele, press spokesman of Proposition P. "We need to decrease our dependence on foreign imports of oil, and this is a good way to do it."
"Proposition P qualified for the November ballot with more voter signatures than any mea-(See Drilling, page 18)
By Kyra Phillips
Staff Writer
AMY SKJONSBY/DAN.Y TROJAN California Superintendent of Public Education Bill Honig speaking at last month's “Opportunity ’88” rally. Honig is an outspoken supporter of Proposition 98, which would establish a minimum funding level for California schools.
California schools have the largest average dass size in the nation and attention to essential subjects is lacking, say supporters of Proposition 98 — an initiative that aims to upgrade student achievement and teacher quality by establishing a minimum funding level for public schools and community colleges.
Opponents of the measure argue that it would raise taxes, increase bureaucracy within the school system and would not guarantee students a better education.
The initiative, if passed, would require the state to spend any excess revenues from its spending limit for public schools and community colleges, instead of returning the money to taxpayers.
In addition, school districts would be required to prepare and distribute "School Accountability Report Cards," which would report students' progress to the state at a cost of $2 million to $7 million a year.
The California Teachers Association, the main sponsor of the initiative, claims the measure will
(See Prop. 98, page 3)
Right-to-know initiative to require disclosure of information to public
By Scott Mullet
Staff Writer
The Consumer Right-to-know Initiative, Proposition 105, would require that certain information be disdosed regarding household toxic products, senior dtizens' health insurance, nursing homes, sponsors of certain state ballot measures and corporations selling stock in California.
The initiative's main sponsor is Consumers United for Reform, a coalition of different organizations interested in the components of the initiative, said Dan Scannell, executive diredor of CURE.
Proponents of the measure ar-
gue it will protect consumers from advertising deceptions, half-truths and evasions and will help citizens make informed, intelligent decisions by:
•	Making companies place warnings on toxic household products telling consumers not to pour them down the drain and pollute water.
•	Making insurance policy information understandable in order to stop the sale of fraudulent "medigap" insurance to senior dtizens.
•	Disclosing nursing home practices and safety violations.
•	Forcing advertisements for initiatives to disclose who really is paying for the advertisement.
(See Prop. 105, page 15)