Teams are back in Pac
/ IS(, Arizona State and W ashington will battle for the
Pacific-10 Conference crown
in football / 20
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S T N CE I 9 1 2
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
WEDNESDAY
ST, MM
Of interest...
AngpU Flight Railway needs to be reopened as part of the downtown revitalization / 4
News Digest 2 Sta/f
Opinions 4
Roundup 12 Ciauifisds it
Crossword 17 5/wrte 20
vol. CXUV, no. 2 <www.dailylfqtan.ooni
Programming fee stays steady
During the past 10 years, the fee remained the same only three times
Housing
search
continues
Students who were new to the H3 process waited outside the Housing Semces office for hours on the first day of school
By LIDIANA PORTALES
Staff Writer
Every year, a line of homeless students wraps outside of Parking Structure X the first day of classes, patiently waiting for their chance at university housing. This is the line for desperate students who still have not found a place to live.
USC has a very tight housing market and every year and many students rely on last minute placements.
This year, Julian Krotser, a junior majoring in busi ness, waited early Monday near the front line in a beach chair, book in hand.
“I got here at one in the morning," Krotser said. “And that’s not even a big deal. I’m number 43, so that means there were 42 people who got here before 1:00 a.m."
Krotser said he was commuting to school for now but wanted housing near USC.
“I’m staying optimistic,” he said. “From what I’ve heard, I have a pretty good chance.”
After move-in day, USC dissolves its waiting list and goes by a first-come, first-serve basis. As of early Monday morning, only 60 spaces were left but many more students were lined up.
Because the university only guarantees spaces to freshmen, housing is a tight market at USC. All students who went through the R3 process as returning students eventually found a place to live — those on the waiting list were offered spaces by the second week of June.
Many students new to the R3 process were not offered housing, so they lined up in the morning and waited for a customer service representative to call them up.
“Whether all of these students outside find housing with us, I doubt it,” said Jeff Urdahl, director of Housing Services. “The line is too long.”
Urdahl said more spaces might open up in the next couple of days, as residents fail to show up at their designated apartments. Housing urges those who do not find a spot the first day to call in every day to check availability.
Urdahl also advises students to be flexible and have multiple options in mind. For students who don’t find university housing, there are alternatives.
Housing4Students.com, a Web site that advertises vacancies in the USC area, offers free help in the housing search, Urdahl said. About 345 properties are listed,
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Commons power fails during lunch
Burned wiring blamed for power outage that lasted about an hour and a half
By RACHEL GALLEGOS
Staff Writer
Commons, the Upstairs Cafe, the USC Card office and the Mail Stop were shut down Tuesday during the lunch rush because of a power outage.
The outage began around 12:30 p.m. and lasted until 1:45 p.m. Donald Ranasinghe, director of
retail operation, said the outage occurred because a breaker in the building tripped.
“The wiring was burned from heat," he said.
That breaker operated all of the equipment in Commons which stopped working during the outage. Despite this, all of the facilities remained open and still provided service, even though they were limited, Ranasinghe said.
At Commons, Betty Crocker remained fully functional with power. All of the cash registers and lights at Main Street and Wolfgang
Pucks went off. however.
David Corral, manager of dining at Main Street, said officials immediately worked on getting the power back up by contacting workers from facilities management to work on the problem.
Corral said the power outage was only in Commons.
Workers from Commons left their registers to watch the doors. Most of the front doors were closed, except one door that let students in the building and one to let them out One door was open on the book-I see Blackout page 3 I
“(I)just wanted to grab a quick bite to eat”
WILL FOLEY freshman undecided
By BRIAN REED
Mall Wrltri
Hie programming fee stayed the saint from Iasi yeai, a rare occur mice during the past several years, said Student Senate President Harold Mann.
The fee, which currently stands al $59 per undergraduate student pei year, went up $2.50 per semestei in the fall of 2002 aftei increasing by $3.50 in the fall of 2000 and $7 in the fall of 1999
It was the third time in 10 years that the fee remained unchanged Matt Weir, last year's Senate presi dent, chose not to recommend an increase, Mann said.
This spring however, it will be Mann's turn to recommend a programming fee change to Michael Jackson, vice president of student affairs, Mann added
The possibility of a program ming fee increase is not out of the question since higher Senate operating costs could force budget squeezes foi next year
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Ftesh faces. Student Senate Vice President Deborah Lammon, far left, discusses Tuesday night’s Senate agenda with (left to right) Senators Mike Naple, Justin Obra and Daniel Kenny
University Bookstore gets a face-lift
By SUSAN TAM
Staff Writer	.
Part one of the Pertusati bookstore construction was completed before the start of classes, but bookstore officials say more cosmetic work will be done next month.
A new grand front entrance complete with automatic doors is only one of the many finished improvements on the 14-year-old bookstore, said Mark Ewalt, associate director of the bookstore.
The layout of the bookstore, with its escalators in the center, is similar to a department store, following a trend that was popular in the 1980s, Hwalt said.
Today, however, USC is trying to update the bookstore’s image, with
brighter lighting, wanner colors, and an atmosphere more conducive to browsing, Ewalt said.
For the past two years, USC has been planning on making improvements. The process included visiting hotel lobbies and bookstores at Duke, Stanford, John Hopkins University and University of Pennsylvania to get ideas, Ewalt said.
The first phase of remodeling was completed before school started, and the second phase should begin around Sept 15, Ewalt said. So far, the store has been re-tiled and has new carpeting and paint
During the second phase, red cherry wood will be placed on the columns, bookshelves and counters on the ground floor. There will be nine permanent cash registers to the
right of the entrance, Ewalt said.
The bookstore does not have plans to add a coffee shop, but could include one in the future, Ewalt said.
Next to the front door, there will be a new grand piano, which will be used for student performance groups in conjunction with the Thornton School of Music.
The old layout for the bookstore caused traffic and confusion, Ewalt said. Students walking in saw cash; registers, people surrounding the escalator, the bag-check counter, but not books.
Many students liked the new look.
“It's appealing to the eye. I like it," said Maher Meida, a junior majoring in kinesiology, as he sped through the line for the third time this week.
Ann* MwfctOukM I Daily Trojan
Hot spot Pertusati University Bookstore renovations include a new reading section in the northeast section of the store.