Thanksgiving is a mm) chance for SSjyrwional { IfrTy*. students to learn about f- T American Jpj) traditions
California Since 1912
vember 25,2003
dailytrojan.com
Vol. CXL1V, No. 64
By ZACH FOX
Staff Writer	« 'y •:.	j
' Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department will become more prevalent around campus in the upcoming weeks in order to cut down on the amount of students violating bicycle laws.
While a specific schedule has not be#n outlined for when a police officer will be on campus to issue citations, the presence of LAPD officers will be felt, said Kobin Surendranath, senior-lead LAPD officer.
LAP!) is also pursuing the idea of sending a task force of 10 to 15 officers to patrol all day long in tlie area surrounding campus, specifically focusing on the area of Hoover Street and Jefferson and Adams Boulevards.
The task force would probably be sent out in two to three weeks, but might be started as soon as this week, Surendranath said.
^. “You’ll never know when, how often or for how long an officer will be there,” Surendranath said.
The number of students violating bicycle and pedestrian laws has become a problem the	has to address, especially since the police department has received multiple citizen complaints of students on bicycles becoming a danger on the road, Surendranath said.
"“We’ve had several accidents and a ton of what, we call ‘near misses,”’ he said. "We don’t want to cite students, but when were getting all these complaints, we have to do something."
The violations that officers will be citing include not walking ones bike across a crosswalk, riding a bike on the left side of the road and jaywalking.
Surendranath said that he would spend as much time as his schedule allows to writing tickets to students violating bicycle and pedestrian laws this week, however.
Surendranath started writing these tickets in the area around campus on Wednesday, Nov. 19.
"I wrote eight tickets in half an hour and I ran out of
I see Citations, page 3 I
Rachel Elias I Daily Trgan
ises students to .take precautionary measures.
Careful. As idenity theft increases nationally, the Department of Public Safety
Three incidents of campus identity theft have been , reported since last month.
ly increasing to 161,819 by 2002.
The projected total for this year is 210,000.
John P. Matthews, manager of crime prevention and community education for the Department of Public Safety, said he believes this issue is a fairly common problem.
“In todays society, we are required, in a sense, to give this info for day to day activities,” he said. “When we charge something online, order a credit card, we’re actually providing personal information to a second party. That’s the bread and butter of identity thieves."
During the past month, there have been a few incidents where suspects obtained credit card and bank account information and made various pur-
chases and withdrew funds.
According to DPS reports, a staff member's payroll checks were stolen and cashed at the Bank of America in the University Village on Oct. 31.
On Nov. 10, a student reported that unauthorized purchases were made with his credit card account number, and, on Nov. 11, withdrawals were made from a student s bank account in King Hall.
Though DPS has not found the suspects, these incidents are random and there is no indication that they are in any way connected to one another, Matthews said.
“There is no information that there is anyone targeting students on I see Fraud, page 3 I
The projected nationwide total for identity theft is 210,000 cases, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
BY NICOLE BILBREW
Contributing Writer
As statistics show the number of incidents of identity theft on the rise, students should take precautions to help protect themselves, a Department ot Public Safety official said.
The number of incidents of identity theft has dramatically increased, according to the Federal Trade Commission Web site. In 1999, the total number of victims tallied was 1,380. In
2000,	this number rose to 31,117, steadi-
INDEX
Doctor received patent to change drugs such as insulin into oral form
said.
A method of converting peptide-based drugs to the oral form could revolutionize the way drujp are delivered, Shen said. Deemed the “Holy Grail" of the industry, it would be possible to create many drugs once the ability to deliver peptide drugs orally exists, he said.
Since 1994, Shen has been researching and designing methods to do this. The problem involves an enzyme in peptide-based drugs that cannot pene trite the gastrointestinal tract
Shen discovered how to couple a peptide to a lipid by using a special linker, which is what his newest patent cover^. This linker increases the permeability of the drug through the gastrointestinal tract and enables the drug to enUr the Wood stream, releasing the peptides in the body ‘This is an important element in
Since 1994, O Wei-Chiang Shen has been researching methods to transform iryectiorvbased peptide drugs such as insulin Ihto oral drugs. His latest potent protects a linker he found that permeates the gastrointestinal tract.
By LINDSEY DAVIS
Contributing Writer
Recent research by a pharmacy professor is making headway toward the “Holy Grail" of drug delivery.
Dr. Wei-Oiiang Shen. a professor in the School of Pharmacy, received his sixth patent in Jtt* for his ongoing study involving the oval delivery of peptide drugs.
At the moment, peptide-based drugs, such as inaalln, cannot be taken in oral form. Instead, the drugs are usually ghra thtough injection and this proteas Ii inconvenient and painful. Shen said	J
"Our focus is how to convert pep tide form to ora) conception," Shen
For many freshmen. Thanksgiving is a first time to go home since August 6
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New* Digest—2 Upcoming—2
Opinions._______4 Lifestyle__M
OsMifieds.------1 Sport* ...—12
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V	•	J
Tribute At a bench in the breezeway pf the bust ness school, a friend left a memorial honoring Darrin Dunigan. who died in November 1996.
Today: Sunny. High is 66. few
is 47.
Tomorrow. High 70, km 50.