Internships provide link for jobs
By ALI RUBIN
Contributing Writer
Internships and field experience have become rlsuml staples for all college graduates seeking to procure a job in todays economy, and a necessary element in sculpting a standout application.
Over the years, the focus of employers has drifted from the students with a 4.0 grade point average to those who have proven themselves and their abilities through previous work — and know how the “real worid" operates.
lt also works to the benefit of students to gain exposure and experience in the many companies that practice “in-house hiring."
Employers recruit more than 50 percent of their new full-time employees from “in-house” internship programs, according to published information from a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, available at the Career Manning and Placement Center, also known as the CPPC.
“Employers in all fields agree that internships give students a competitive edge in the job market,” said Kirk
Snyder, associate executive director of the CPPC. “Employers seek candidates with excellent communication skills, problem-solving abilities and creative thinking skills — internships are a prime way to develop these attributes.”
Eileen Kohan, executive director of the CPPC, said that a students experience in their field of study and their track record is starting to become more important in a search for a job.
“If you have experience in a certain field and then decide to continue in that area, you’ll be a more appealing
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No. 35
Katherine Beck I Daily Trojan
Ught rail. A Metro Blue Line train arrives at the Pico Boulevard station in downtown Los Angeles. The proposed Expo Line would also serve this station, as well as USC’s University Park Campus.
Local leaders weigh in on a proposal to build a light-rail line next to campus.
By JASON CARTER
Staff Writer
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is planning to build a light-rail line connecting USC's University Park Campus with downtown Los Angeles and Culver City, but community leaders disagree about its design and cost-effectiveness.
The Expo Line, an electric-pow-ered train designed to travel down the middle of Exposition Boulevard on its way from Downtown’s Seventh Street Metro Station to Culver City, could be completed by 2012, said Steve Brye, MTA project manager.
The MTAs ultimate goal is to
extend the line to Santa Monica, Brye added.
In order to keep an open space between campus and the communities south of Exposition Boulevard, “the university’s position all along has been that (the line) should be underground between USC and Exposition Park," said Curt Williams, vice president of USC’s Capital Construction Development The MTA board directed its staff not to study the possibility of tunneling the line because construction costs for an underground rail line are much higher than laying street-level track, Brye said.
The university is concerned that the Expo Line will act as a barrier between campus and the community south of Exposition Boulevard, Williams said.
Jon Gibby, general manager of
Exposition Park, disagreed.
The Expo Line would not be a greater obstruction than the Exposition Boulevard median and the street's 60 mile-per-hour traffic, Gibby said.
The Expo Line would benefit Exposition Park by attrafcting visitors who could not come otherwise, Gibby added.
Funding is the biggest obstacle facing the Expo Line project, Brye said.
The MTA has enough funding for preliminary engineering for the Expo Line project, but will need additional funding to begin construction, Brye said. Preliminary engineering will be finished some time next year.	\
Funding for the construction has become possible because outgo-I see Expo Um, page IS I
Complaints regarding Senate operations brought up during Diesdays debate
By BRIAN REED
Suff Writer	_
Student Senate continued debate on a proposed constitutional bylaw ‘amendment Tuesday night that would grant a Program Board representative a vote in the organization. -
The student government voted on the amendment twice, failing to pass it in each case. The final vote at the end of the meeting stood at 6-4 with one abstention.
An amendment to the bylaws requires a two-thirds majority vote.
The proposed resolution would enable the Program Board Assemblies Representative to vote on Senate resolutions.
Currently only senators, who are elected by the student body, are allowed to vote.
The resolution's proponents say the bylaw> amendment would allow student organizations to have an additional voice to Senate.
The Program Board assemblies representative would provide “a different eye and mentality on how Senate spends money,” said Andrew Ritter, a Greek senator.
Critics of the resolution said it would allow for double representation for certain portions of the student body.
Student representation on Senate is broken down based on constituency: residential, commuter, and Greek.
The number of eadi type of senators is based on the number of students in each constituency.
Adding a Program Board representative vote woyld change that dynamic, said Jenny Lorch, director of campus affairs.'
Students who are involved in organizations that are a part of the Program Board assemblies would be represented twice: by their senators, and by the Program Board assemblies’ representative.
Not every student is involved in an organization represented by assemblies.
If the resolution parsed, it would not be the first time in Senate history that student organization representatives would have a vote in student government
Organisation representatives held
a half vote in Senate up until last spring.
Near the end of Matt Weirs administration last year, Senate passed an amendment to the constitution bylaws that took away organization representative votes.
Senate had originally intended to reinstate the votes, but the term ended before it could take action. The current Senate administration then inherited the issue.
This is the second week in a row in which Senate discussed the resolution during its weekly meeting. Senate failed to pass the amendment last week by a vote of 6-4.
While the question of represents tive votes was not resolved Tuesday night, the debate brought up several potential shortcomings in Senate operations.
The authors of the resolution, Shant Ashdjian, a commuter Senator, and Ritter, said there had been no discussion among senators outside of Senate meetings on the proposed amendment
The amendment was tabled last week, but nothing changed since then, Ritter said.
Ashdjian and Ritter had asked the other senators to bring any changes they Would like to see to the amendment to them at the end of last week’s meeting.
Ashdjian said he had not received any input on the resolution all week.
Ritter said he was worried that nothing will happen on the resolution because Senate keeps tabling the amendment
Senators have been working on a solution to the representative vote issue since its summer retreat
Another member of Senate said senators were not as in touch with the student body as they should be.
Matt Casebeer,‘executive director of Program Board, told senators he thought some of them have not effec tively polled their constituents on the proposed amendment
“If you are going to make a huge decision, you need to talk to the student body,” Casebeer said.
,He added that insufficient communication between senators and students is a problem he has witnessed for the past three years as a part of Senate.
Ashdjian called Casebeer s com ments “offensive” and "misleading.’’
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Authentic Mexican food and culture can be found less
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