THURSDAY
-i-4,-
April 24,2003
Of interest...
Trousdale Parkway sign that compares Bush with Hitler is an insulting piece of bad rhetoric/4
Opinions
Crossword 17
(I Roundup 2 Classifieds 16
vol. CVUII, no. 62 www.dailytroJan.com
Get Your Laugh On
two-page
SComics
spread featuring strips and frames from new student artists /10
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
About 200 students and faculty gather at Hahn Plaza to commemorate the lives of their ancestors at Wednesday night event
By KEVIN MERICKEL
Staff Writer
With a brisk wind blowing across Hahn Plaza, a chilling gust struck the hearts of Armenians as real-life accounts from the Armenian genocide in 1915 were read at the annual candlelight vigil Wednesday night.
Men were taken from their homes at gunpoint and shot. Women and children were dragged miles and thrown into a pile being executed with bayonets and swords killing everyone, said Samuel Kadorian, a genocide survivor.
He said only the bloody tip of a sword brushed against his cheek, leaving a deep cut. He sees a patch covering his healed wound every day while shaving.
The wound healed, but the scars live on, he said.
For Kadorian, the patch is a frequent reminder of the execution of his friends, family and neighbors.
“1 cannot forgive, and I cannot forget,” Kadorian said.
There are similar stories of genocide survivors who were exiled from Armenia and Anatolia to Syria and died in the sweltering desert and of starvation, said Karlynn Piloyan, public relations representative for USCs Armenian Student Association, in an e-mail.
The candlelight vigil set up by the USC ASA and other local university ASA chapters commemorates April 24 as the day of remembrance of the genocide that occurred during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.
Genocide by definition outlined at the Dec. 9, 1948, Genocide Convention is “the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group.”
Ittihad or Young Turks carried out genocide against 1.5 million Armenians, Piloyan said.
The vigil’s many speakers, poems and music celebrated the lives and the Armenian culture.
For many people, the Republic of Turkey is not the same government that committed the acts of genocide, but it is still responsible in some ways, said Ardashes Kassalchian, government relation director for the Armenian National Committee of America.
I see Vltfl, page 12 J
Soothing voice. Soseh Keshishiam sings at Hahn Plaza at the beginning of a vigil honoring Armenians who died during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. About 200 people came to the event.
Ralphs Co. makes downtown debut
Residential dining to offer nonfreshmen meal plans
Residents say California grocery store chain is much needed in the area
BY LI DIANA PORTALES
Staff Writer
Downtown Los Angeles will soon boast its first large grocery store, a convenience that residents say is lacking in the area.
Ralphs Grocery Co. will break ground in May on the corner of Flower and Ninth streets, becoming the only retail-chain grocery store in the area.
Ralphs signed a lease for the downtown site April 11 after negotiating with the city of Los Angeles for three years, said Irving Bonios, the senior vice president at NA1 Capital Commercial, the real estate firm representing Ralphs.
The store will encompass
SOO,500	square feet with underground parking.
"We did a search of all available parcels, and this parcel was unique,” Bonios said. “It has easy access to
parking with parking down below (The developers) are also building
1,500	units on the block so we will have a ready audience.”
The Ralphs store will be built with the help of the Community Redevelopment Agency, a group dedicated to revitalizing the city. CRA is contributing $7.5 million toward the project, Bonios said.
Downtown residents said they were relieved that a grocery store was finally being placed in the predominately corporate area.
Esther Crawford, a resident living on Grand Avenue, said she looked forward to shopping at a major grocery store.
“Everyone has to shop for food, but the closest market is Grand Central," Crawford said. “But the food is never fresh there. Oh yes, I would go (to Ralphs). They really need a supermarket there ... A lot of people do business in the area but not for the residents."
Tamara Wiseman, a security guard at the Skyline condominiums on Flower and Ninth streets, said she heard positive comments from the
tenants of the building.
“The tenants in this building are professionals, lawyers and doctors, and 1 see them come and go all the time,” Wiseman said. “They've all said they would be happy to have a store so close. Its going to be convenient"
Karla Ness, owner of Minuteman Press, which is also located on Flower and Ninth, said she has seen significant changes in the 11 years her printing press has been in business.
“A lot more people have moved into the district,” Ness said. “Suddenly, there was a surge of residents, and the city is changing."
Downtown has seen demographics shift in recent years, said Charles Lagreco, associate dean of the School of Architecture. The neighborhood has increased its emphasis on lofts and attracted upper-class residents, he said. .
“Once a critical number of this target audience move to downtown, then the corporations follow,” Lagreco said.
Peter Gordon, professor at the School of Policy, Planning and Development, said a grocery store I see Ralphs, page 14 I
New options implemented after some students say they do not like to go shopping
By SHERRY ANNE RUBIANO
Staff Writer
Commuters and other students who want to eat at residential dining halls at a discounted price will be able to do so next year with two new meal plans.
The Community 25 Plan and the Community 50 Plan are new optional plans for commuters, graduate students and others who are not required to buy a meal plan.
The Community 25 Plan will offer students 25 meals at EVK and the International Residential College at Parkside dining hall, and $50 in dining dollars. This plan will cost $200.
For the Community 50 Plan, students will receive 50 meals at EVK and Parkside, and $100 in dining dollars.
This plan will cost $375. If students run out of meals during the semester, they may repurchase the plan as often as they would like, said Jeff Miller, senior manager of residential dining.
Hospitality Services decided in the fall to offer this plan after results from student surveys showed that some students who lived close to campus were interested in buying a meal plan because they did not want to cook or go grocery shopping, Miller said. Some students also said they wanted to eat in residential dining but could not pay the retail rates.
“It’s our way of trying to get them more integrated into the student community” Miller said.
Some students said this new plan is beneficial for new students and students who commute to the university.
“As a sophomore or freshman living off campus, it would be an appealing option since you get to interact with students more," said I see Food, page 13 I