Trojans beat Ducks, 85-56
Sports, page 20
Taxpayers ought to pick holidays
Viewpoint, page 4
Groundlings serve up fun
Life / Arts, page 7
or
]LJ
Volume CXVII, Number 5
University of Southern California
Wednesday, January 22, 1992
USC Medical Center subject of scrutiny for overcrowding
By Julie Yamamoto
Assistant City Editor
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors has requested a report from the county Health Department on the conditions of patient care at County - USC Medical Center following a report in the Los Angeles Times describing overcrowded conditions, said Judy Hammond, spokeswoman for the Board.
The Board also addressed the rumor that Tuesday's events, which included patients being left naked and in restraints on gurneys in hospital hallways, were staged to capture media attention.
"Even if the incident was staged to get media (attention), (the Board) still wants to know what can be done to correct the situation there," Hammond said.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Times reported that the patients, who were sick enough to have been admitted, were awaiting beds. Some were apparently left in a corridor for up to six hours.
"We are investigating whether this is a deliberate move to get press attention," medical center spokesman Harvey Kern said. "We are trying to find out who violated policy (by leaving patients in the corridor) to see that it doesn't occur again."
The medical center has been trying to alleviate persistent overcrowding, he said.
(See Report, page 12)
Pink slips hit campus
LAYOFFS
By Brian McDonough
Assistant City Editor
In what campus officials call a taste of things to come, 58 staff employees were laid off Tuesday in the facilities planning and management services department, according to Thomas Moran, vice president of Business Affairs.
The employees, 48 of whom came from the operations and maintenance department, learned of their terminations when they arrived at work Tuesday morning, Moran said.
"We picked the names over the last week or 10 davs," Moran said. "We've gone through and looked at how we can provide our services and hold down our costs."
Unskilled laborers, including carpenters, groundskeepers and sanitation workers, were let go on a basis of seniority, while skilled workers, including supervisors, were assessed according to their
89 Positions To Be Eliminated
31 vacant positions
58 current employees
$ 9% of 653-pefson workforce
Facilities Support Office
58 cutsl
Matt White / Doily Trojon
specific training and the necessity of the functions they performed, Moran said.
Of the 10 other positions eliminated, six were in the telecommunications department, two were in the facilities support office and two were in the planning, design and construction office.
The cuts, combined with 31 positions eliminated through attrition last semester, are expected to result in a $3.4 million savings over the next year, Moran said. All 58 were
2 Planning, Design & Construct
48 • Operations & Maintenance wm
full-time employees, according to a university press release. Most of the department's part-time employees were laid off last semester as part of the budget reduction program.
The facilities planning and management services department had 653 employees and a budget of $18 million. The layoffs represent an 8.9
(See Layoffs, page 5)
Movies made at USC help ease the budget crisis/12
Racist motivation?
News Analysis
Jeffrey Yakubuk / Dally Trojan
Five fires have been set in Fluor Tower.
Latinos suspect scare tactics
By Tracy Wilson
Assignment Editor
The Latino Floor — you can't burn down our pride.
These words mark one of the few posters stapled on the seventh floor bulletin board of Fluor Tower, which has been the site of five fires since last November. The series of blazes has the residents scared and frustrated — both with the arsonist and the university.
"They just get you a little nervous, scare you a little," said Ana Lievano, a freshman majoring in aerospace engi-
neering and a seventh floor resident. "At a real diverse college like this, this is the last thing I ever thought I'd be facing.
"I guess whoever's doing it really has guts or really hates us that much," Lievano said.
"Everybody thinks it's racially motivated," said Ricardo Recinos, a freshman majoring in mathematics who lives on the floor. "It makes me angry. . . sometimes we wait up and don't go to sleep."
But university and fire officials disagree (See Fluor, page 2)
l/back in business next month
Student representatives support Chronicle
By Julie Yamamoto
Assistant City Editor
V: The USC Chronicle, a student paper whose $45,000 per year Auxiliary Service subsidy was cut on Dec. 8, will resume bi-weekly publication on Feb. 3, according to a Jan. 15 announcement from V's founder and president Jason Brown and former editor and new publisher Sally Roever.
The Student Senate and University Residential Student Community, groups made up of elected student representatives, have passed statements of support for V's continued publication and search for alternative funding.
URSC pledged Jan. 15 to investigate
possible avenues of funding, including a portion of the student programming fee, said Hans House, president of URSC.
"We would like to see a residential newspaper like V exist," House said. "Members of URSC actually created V, so it is definitely in our best interests to have a residential (student) newspaper."
Each student in university housing pays $36 per year to the programming fund, which is used to support a number of student programs.
Fifty percent of the fund goes to residential building programs and is controlled by building staffs and governments, where there are active governments, said Ken Taylor, director of the
Office of Residential and Greek Life.
Twenty percent of the fund goes to URSC, while ten percent goes to the Residential Education Programming Board, which helps fund educational programs for university housing residents, Taylor said.
The remaining twenty percent is split between supporting faculty interaction programs and publishing mass communications for student programs and brochures such as “City Smarts" and "Walking Tour," pamphlets that outline the North University Park area, he said.
"We asked URSC to look into the situation to find out if there is money not being used," Roever said. "At the end of each year, not necessarily all the money is spent. We believe that there is money (See Publication, page 5)
Student may face financial aid woes as deadlines for next year loom
By Tiffany Tai
Staff Writer
As 1992 kicks off with an economic slump, many students at the university are reminded that once again it is time to fill out their financial aid applications for the next school year.
Recent demographics indicate an increase in students applying for financial aid from 50 to 57 percent of the USC student population, said Jim Tilton, senior associate director of financial aid.
"It is important to say that we are seeing some of the effects of the recession through the number of students applying for financial aid," Tilton said.
Abhinesh Ram, a junior majoring in business administration, said that the recession may also affect his search for work-study positions.
"I think it would be hard for me to find a work-study job due to the recession and budget cuts," Ram said.
"Colleges across the country are looking at (the recession) and are devising some way to accomodate these students (to attend) college," said Cliff Sjogren, dean of admissions and financial aid.
"I think we have a very good financial aid packaging plan," Sjogren said. "Last year, we met 100 percent of the applicants' demonstrated financial need."
Though the commitment to meet 100 percent of the demonstrated need is made on a year-to-year basis, the (See Financial aid, page 13)