Defense must plug holes
Sports, page 28
Enforcing liberal PC dictatorship
Viewpoint, page 4
Local rockers play with fire
Life / Arts, page 11
trojan
University of Southern California
Behind the eight ball
Daniel DeLa Rosa/Dally Trojan
Christopher Clark, a junior acting / drama major, lines one up as he shoots some pool in the Topping Student Center game room.
A year later, officials say plan working
By Roy J. Chung
Assistant City Editor
Exactly one year to the day after a presidential commission issued recommendations on how to improve the undergraduate experience at the university, administrators and faculty remain confident that the commission's plans are generally ahead of the collegiate pack.
The commission was charged in the fall of 1988 by former university president James Zumberge with "nothing less than a review of the entire undergraduate experience at USC."
In its report titled "A Blueprint For Excellence," the commission outlined recommendations — released Sept. 10 of 1990 — on how to improve everything from the general education program and the role of faculty in undergraduate affairs to the campus environment and matters pertaining to the Greek system.
General education at the university had been virtually untouched since the 1970s, the last time a major restructuring took place.
"When we carried out our study, we felt overall it was pretty good," said Lawrence A. Singer, chairman of the the commission. "In some ways we were way ahead of what other schools were doing. We already had put in place a structure that other schools are only now moving towards."
(See Improve, page 20)
More crime sweeps campus
Hit and run, gang incident dominate weekend reports
Volume CXVI, Number 6
Have you met...?
Cinema student films her history
By Julie Yamamoto
Staff Writer
There's something about filmmaking that seems to attract storytellers from al walks of life.
The lure of the industry captured Ellin Kavanagh, a 33-year-old graduate student at the School of Cinema-Television, while she was a research assistant at UC Berkeley.
Kavanagh listened to friends who worked for George Lucas' special effects company Electric Light and Magic and decided to pursue filmmaking.
"I'd be talking about platelets and people having cancer, and my friends would be talking about seeing Michael Jackson . . . (Filmmaking) sounded like a better job," she said.
Her storytelling journey is taking her to West Ireland in October on a Fulbright Fellowship. A $12,000 grant will fund her untitled documentary project, devoted to researching her family history.
"Living in L.A. can be a very isolating experience . . .
I became interested in going back to the origins of my family. And the origins of my family are in Ireland. What's so exciting about the Fulbright is that I can go and live where they lived."
Kavanagh will spend 10 months videotaping interviews with three groups within her family — those who emigrated to the United States and stayed, those who emigrated and chose to return and those who never left Ireland. She will talk with three of her great aunts, each nearly 100 years old.
She will do all the taping on her own and plans to balance her project with an Irish language course at University College, in Galway, and a directing internship at the Punchbag Theater, also in Galway.
Kavanagh has a focus for her project, but no expecta: tions as to what she will find in Ireland other than the Gaelic language still spoken in the region, the folk music and the coastal surroundings.
By Travis Smith
Staff Writer
Crime was in full force the first weekend of the school year as a private security guard at the Pi Beta Phi sorority was hit by a car while trying to foil a bicycle theft, according to University Security.
New facility criticized for usurping funds
By Roy J. Chung and K. Kay Devgan
Staff Writers
Four months after USC University Hospital opened its doors, officials remain confident that the facility will rise above its label as a "hospital for the rich" and evolve into a leader in the medical community.
"We expect this to be a center for excellence, one of the quickest places to turn research into medicine," said Curt Schroeder, chief operating officer at the hospital.
But while some officials sup-
In addition, residents at Windsor Apartments on West 28th Street were harassed by gang members Friday.
James Singh, who has worked the night shift at Pi Beta Phi for several years, suffered injuries to his left leg when he was struck by a yellow vehicle and
port the new hospital, others contend it ignores the county's indigent population and will pull resources from university facilities that already cater to those who cannot afford health care.
The $157 million facility is owned and operated by National Medical Enterprises Inc. (NME), a Santa Monica-based health care corporation. The hospital is staffed by the faculty of the university's School of Medicine.
NME predicted losses of about $15 million during the first year of operation, with hopes of breaking even by the third year.
Although officials said it is too early to release specific figures indicating the hospital's finan-
fell to the ground at 12:30 a.m. Monday.
He was taken to Orthopaedic Hospital by friends, where it was determined the leg was not broken.
Singh could not be reached for details about the incident.
University Security reported that the thieves were loading bicycles belonging to Pi Beta Phi members into the trunk of a car when Singh approached them.
The suspects backed out suddenly, stricking Singh and es-
cial performance to date, they are optimistic that those projections were right on target.
"It's looking great," said Cle-ve Sproule, director of marketing and public relations. "The break-even may occur a little earlier (than projected)."
The new facility, which stands just around the corner from County / USC Medical Center, is full of state-of-the-art medical equipment and is primarily geared to patients who can pay their bills.
The new facility opened its doors in May amidst concern that it would siphon resources
(See Hospital, page 19)
Nursing program alive / 6
Tuesday, September 10, 1991
caping with one bike.
Megan Lawrence, a senior majoring in political science and president of Pi Beta Phi, said the car has been seen in the neighborhood since the summer.
Several sorority members heard the car peel out, but no one witnessed the crime, Lawrence said.
Lawrence said Singh will return to duty in four or five days.
"His leg was hurt really bad . . . (it is) all bruised and swol-(See Crime, page 19)
$6,000 fire in Watt Hall
By Roy J. Chung and Aric Johnson
Staff Writers
A one-alarm fire broke out on the first floor of Watt Hall at 10:56 Monday night, bringing seven trucks and more than 28 firefighters onto campus, Los Angeles Fire Department officials said.
The fire, which broke out in a sculpting studio, was out by 11:45, and no injuries were reported at press time. Smoke was visible from outside the building, but no flames.
Chris Miles, a graduate student in the fine arts program, discovered the fire and (See Fire, page 19)
USC hospital draws fire