nmi
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
The Pure Frustration
Matt Childers
(right) and the
USC defense
couldn't stop
a last ditch
Stanford
touchdown.
USC loses
aeain /16	/
ii
if
*
TUESDAY
October 24, 2000
Of interest...
American society may not rejlect the Old World, hut class distinctions stdl important / 4
News Digest	2	Opinions	4
Letters policy 4	Lifestyle	7
The Buzz	7	Classifieds	12
Crossword	13	Sports	16
vol. CXXXXI, no. 39
www.usc.edu/dt
No public word on Thursday concert
Event: Program Board officials say they will release the name of Homecoming band once they receive a signed contract
The board has “no concern at all over the contract being signed'
MICHAEL MATOBA executive director Program Board
By KATHLEEN FLYNN
Contributing Writer
The band scheduled to rev up students for this weekends Homecoming game was still not officially announced Monday, with Program Board still withholding the name of the group set to play Thursday night in Hahn Plaza due to delays in contract signing.
The board has "no concern at all over the contract being signed,” said Executive Director Michael Matoba, a senior majoring in business administration. But the band still has not returned the contract ensuring that they will indeed play, thus preventing any advertising of the event or any public announcement of the band's identity.
Although this leaves little time to inform students about the concert, Matoba said, “I think the band is large enough that word will spread about it fast"
The delay in announcing Thursday’s band is not the first contract problem Program Board suffered this year. Under former Executive Director Barrett Reiff, the Welcome Back Concert featuring Incubus was delayed a month due to different types of contract issues. That controversy eventually played a role in bringing about Reiff s dismissal from his position.
Matoba assured students that the current contract problems will not lead to the same outcome.
“We had more delays than expected in the negotiation process...but those have all been resolved," he said.
Nearly two years earlier for Springfest 1999, Lenny Kravitz was advertised to play on campus, but because of
I see Event, page 3 I
Speeches ignite Order of Torch
Honor: Members reveal personal stories while vying for title of Mr., Ms. USC
| By MICHELLE BADEA
Contributing Writer
Reflecting on their personal lives — from childhood nicknames to family sacrifices — members of the Order of the Torch pondered the question “Who am I?” before a panel of judges Monday night.
Two of the 12 seniors — who are recognized for their scholarship, leadership and service — will be named Mr. and Ms. USC at Thursday’s Homecoming Rally.
While each had their own style of presentation — some crying.
some laughing — many of the students said Monday that their parents were instrumental in how they perceived themselves.
For some, like Suchitra Ananth, who said her father recently suffered a heart attack, parents helped them deal with adversity. She said that she looks to her father “as an example when facing struggles and challenges" and that she seeks out “knowledge and power to help her emerge from struggles."
Chris Deal, who said his parents were the foundation for who he is today. Pradeep Prasad also focused on family.
”1 am my father’s drive and courage to be successful in this country...and my friends’ inspiration," Prasad said.
Angela Pan said her parents	7TlO
instilled her “Chinese values and cul-	•
ture" and her teachers and professors	Qpfj n»<
gave her "American culture and the hunger for knowledge."	♦
Her love for travel and her work	For a
with underprivileged children helped	complete
shape Anusha Ramanathan’s world listing of this view, she said.	year’s Order of
“USC has heightened my aware-	the Torch
ness of diversity in the world," she	members, turn
said.	to	page	6
Other students, like Stephen Sohn, said they did not know the answer to “Who am I?" But through the Joint Educational Project and the Emerging Leaders Program and by being an Orientation Advisor. Sohn said it is "important to have someone believe in you."
I see Honor, page S I
Graduate, professional conference to focus on race
GPSS: Annual event will draw hundreds of participants to USC campus to explore issue ‘within and outside academia’
“We want to really examine new understandings of the subject of race by exploring how it is framed within and outside academia.”
—♦—
RIGOBERTO RODRIGUEZ, GPSS Academic Programming Chair
By SARAH JIMENEZ
Contributing Writer
Racial issues will be the focus of the Graduate and Professional Student Senate’s fourth annual interdisciplinary conference that will be held April 6,2001 at the USC Davidson Executive Conference Center, GPSS officers announced last week.
The conference, titled “Beyond Black and White Reception: Race in the 21st Century," will focus on five main theme areas, which include the representation, identity and history, education, policy and economics, and the science and medicine of race.
The purpose of the conference
is to promote interdisciplinary thought and practice among graduate and professional students with a topic that attracts the energy and concern of students, said Academic Programming Chair Rigoberto Rodriguez, a graduate student in geography and this year’s conference chair.
“We want to really examine new understandings of the subject of race by exploring how it is framed within and outside academia," Rodriguez said.
GPSS hopes to bring in a diverse group of participants, Rodriguez said. Undergraduate, graduate and professional students, community
members, civic leaders, social activists, faculty, public scholars and theorists will discuss the evolution of race and its role in people’s daily lives through academic presentations, personal experiences, performances, artwork or exhibits. This is the first year undergraduates will be allowed to make their own presentations at the conference, Rodriguez said.
“The conference committee has focused on getting a lot of breadth and depth on the subjects of race and ethnicity," said GPSS Social Programming Chair Tom Bustamante, a graduate student in urban planning and conference committee member. “We want to consider all facets of race and ethnicity.”
GPSS aims to draw 500 participants for the conference, with about
half the audience comprised of graduate and professional students, a third comprised of community and civic leaders and the remainder made up of faculty and undergraduate students.
The conference will also feature two forums in Bovard Auditorium that will consist of a broader audience targeted at about 800 to 900 people. The first forum will discuss how society has historically arrived at its current understanding of race,
and the second will examine the legal aspects of race and the implications of policies it presents. GPSS is trying to arrange for one of the Los Angeles radio stations to broadcast the second Bovard forum.
Race is often only discussed in isolated groups and often does not include people and organizations outside of the academic world, Rodriguez said. He said that he hopes bringing a diverse group
I see GPSS. page 3 I
_____.sari
Viera Zakharov l Daily Trojan
Awaiting the Torch. Members of Order of the Torch answered the question, “Who am I?" Monday night. From these 12 members, Mr. and Mrs. USC will be chosen and announced at Thursday's Homecoming Rally.