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Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
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Wednesday, October 29.2003
Vol. CXL1V, No. 45
Leftover fees still in debate
The battle rages on
fire helicop lers dump gallons of water onto
Senate executive cabinet kucm about unallocated $lM,(HK) in April
By BRIAN REED
Slall Wmei
Student Senate lias not yet dec id ed what to du with the $98,750 in unallocated funds left over from Iasi yeai seven weeks after Chris Ward, Senate treasurer, first publicly announced the discovery of the money.
According to an initial timetable Ward put forward in mid-Septembei Senate was supposed to announce its final decision tomorrow.
The origin*) pfot for utfng the money called for Senate to gather student input, with senators making the final decision on allocations.
Up until two weeks ago, senators had not made any progress in decid ing what to do with the money, Ward said. Al that point, the executive cabinet stepped in to provide direction, he added.
Justin Obra, a residential senator, said it is unfair to say senators had not done anything about the money.
Senators have been busy trying to find a solution to the question of whether student organization representatives should have a vote in Senate, Obra Mid.
"(The executive cabinet) brought
ii	up right when things were getting heated." Obra said
The delay in allocating the money has been coupled with new information surfacing this week that the Senate executive cabinet has known about the money since April.
Heather Larabee. director of campus activities, said the executive cabi net had been notified of the unallocated funds before the summer recess, in late March or April.
"They knew about it from day one,” said Larabee, who, along with Patrick Bailey, served as Senate advi sor during the spring semester last year.
Senate President Harold Mann, who l|ggan his term on Apiti 1, did not
inforffi the senators of the funds until August. Obra said.
At that tim^ Ward said he was notified of the money about a week before the news was broken to the senators and student body.
Ward made the first public announcement of the funds Sept. 9. Ward corrected his earlier statement in an interview Thursday, saying he misspoke and that he had been told of the money in late April or early May.
When asked if senators should have been told about the money when the executive cabinet found out about it, Commuter Senator Shant Ashdjian said, "Of course.”
The executive cabinet did not I see Im«U page 17 I
the scorched hills of Porter Ranch, where the Stmi Valley fire has spread aftei it crossed the Ronald Reagan free way Monday. At press time, 16 people had died and 1,500 homes had been burned More than 600,000 acres had been burned and officials suspected that $2 bil lion had caused
On Tuesday, the U.S. Defense Department began pro viding mill tary assets, Including air craft, to help firefighters. See page 2.
Fair helps hungry
USC professors say youths who are mentally active reduce risk of Alzheimer’s.
By SHERfHE-ANNE STACY
Contributing Writer
A new study conducted by a team of USC researchers has found that engaging in mentally stimulating activities during young adulthood can reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.
“What can clearly be taken away from this study is that the differences between people are really lifelong changes," said -Margaret Gatz, coauthor of the study and a professor of psychology.
The disease, which causes the gradual loss of brain cells, affects 4.5 million people in America, according to the Alzheimer’s Association.
After the onset of Alzheimer's dis-
ease, dementia usually occurs. Symptoms indude memory loss, difficulty with learning and performing everyday tasks and eventually loss of language skills.
The results of the study, which were published in a recent issue of The Journal of Gerontology, show that people who stay active mentally are less likely to develop the disease.
Taking infohnation gathered from the Swedish Twins Registry, the study followed Swedish twins bom between the years of 1886 and 1925.
In 1960, the twins were asked to answer questions about things they had done in the earlier years of their lives.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the subjects were tested for dementia. In 107 of the cases, one twin had Alzheimer’s disease and one did not
After analyzing the data, researchers found that the twin who I see AldMtaMr*, page 18 I
29th Street
reopens after facelift
By WHilAM GOODWIN
otait writer
k ri Saturday night, students lsipped chardonnay and dined on rib eye steak, as strains of dassical guitar wafted through a local restaurant
Those who did not like rib eye were out of luck, however: The restaurant had run out of the other items on the menu.
The students were dining at the recently remodeled 29th Street Cafe, which has become an upscale dining option qlose to campus. Ownership of the restaurant recently changed hands for the third time and the caft’s new owners are trying to create a dassier image for the cafe that will attract not only USC students but members of the community as well.
“We wanted it to open up so that when the door opens, everyone goes, oh, this is really nice,” said Ann Dorr, the new owner of the cafe.
The cate reopened three weeks ago featuring a redesign that emphasizes formal sit-down dining. Previously, the cafe had centered on a bar-like atmosphere with lots of standing room.
“The prior owners... had a better understanding of the culture of
I see CaM. page 17 I
cased foods from countries around the world.
“The purpose is to give the kids on campus, whether international or domestic, an idea that there are other countries on Earth,” said Maurice Boueri, the director of public relations for ISA and a Ph.D. student majoring in electrical engineering. "There are different types of food you can try, and you can also discover the culture of the people who are selling the food. They actually come from those countries, so you can ask them about the food, about their culture, and why they came here. The people get more involved in the world.”
The cuisine of 13 different countries was available for students to sample in exchange for the donation or the purchase of canned goods.
“The people don’t buy the food," Boueri said. “They buy cans and then they donate them. In exchange for cans you can get ethnic foods, but you can still bring your own cans so that you do not have to buy the cans here.” All proceeds from the event will be used to benefit local food banks and shelters, as well as the overall cost of running the event, said Santiago Kow, a 2002 USC graduate.
Kow. who has worked with ISA on the International Food and Culture Fair for the past six years, said that the event usually draws in 2,000 to 2,500 people each year.
In addition to the ethnic cuisine I see t—4. page IS I
The International Food & Culture Fair collect cans, money for local food banks
By KAREN LINHART
Contributing Writer
Students looking to immerse themselves in different cultures from around the world came to Alumni Park Tuesday afternoon for the 24th Annual International Food and Culture Fair.
Hosted by the International Students' Assembly, the fair show-
Inventory. Andrea Lau, a sophomore majoring in business admirv istration, counts cans for the fair.