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Monday April 19, 1993 Vol. CXIX, No. 60
Weather *OC
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It's going to be a wonderful day. There will be some clouds, but never fear — the sun will shine brightly. Expect a high in the pleasant 70s and lows in the cool 50s.
Festival smells like spring spirit
On Saturday, USC's annual Springfest, with its combination of day and night events, entertained varying crowds of both fans from afar and Trojan aficionados. Among the highlights was headliner Social Distortion's energetic set under the stars.
Diversions, page 8
Swimmer dies in two-story fall
Megan Holliday of the USC women's swim team died Saturday night from injuries suffered when she fell two stories while attempting to gain entry to her home.
Sports, page 20
Waco’s Messiah speaks his Word
This David Koresh yahoo is probably just a nut . . . but isn't that what they said about Jesus Christ? Maybe the New and Improved Testament could shed some light on the subject.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
Black Women’s Caucus forum
Political, civil rights leaders discuss plans for rebuilding
By Michelle Ladd and Tracy Wilson
Staff Writers
Celebrating a new beginning for the city of Los Angeles, Governor Pete Wilson joined the Rev. Cecil Murray, Mayor Tom Bradley and civil rights leader Jesse Jackson in an energetic and joyous service at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church yesterday.
"It isn't every Sunday we have to celebrate the salvation of a city," Murray told the congregation and special guests, including County Su-(See AME, page 3)
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The Black Women's Caucus will sponsor a professional black women's forum Tuesday, April 20, at 5 p.m. in Topping Student Center, room 201.
Prominent black women in the fields of business, education, engineering, entertainment, medicine, law and psychology will be speaking.
For more information, please call Racquel Innis at (310) 671-5625.
City reactions to charges mixed
Mood of ‘partial relief’ prevails as campus, community respond to civil rights verdicts and look at L.A.’s future
By Mike Carlson and Tracie Tso
Staff Writers
At 7:06 a.m. Saturday, as the first guilty verdict in the Rodney King federal civil rights trial was released, Ben Palacia pumped his fist in the air in celebration.
Sgt. Stacey Koon was found guilty, and Palacia felt that justice was served. He danced in front of his typing business at 53rd Street and Vermont Avenue as the second guilty verdict for Officer Laurence Powell was read, then stopped as Officers Timothy Wind and Theodore Briseno were found not guilty.
"I'm disappointed that Briseno was not found guilty. But that's how our system would have it — a system which I believe failed miserably last year. It's partial relief," said Palacia, 37, a native of Belize.
Palacia's "partial relief" summed up the feelings of most Angelenos. The convictions finally ended the trial that had hung over the city for the past two months. Yet fears of a biased judicial system and possible civil disturbances still haunt the city.
"I believe it's a sugar and salt type of relief. There is no full satisfaction," Palacia said.
But university officials were satisfied with the campus response to the verdicts.
"This is going fine, we've had no calls from parents or students yet. A minority of (Greek) houses had decided to leave when the verdicts were announced, but those houses have not left yet, at least not to my knowledge," said Ken Taylor, director of the Office for Residential and Greek Life.
"An informal survey has shown that over two-thirds of the students in residential and Greek housing are in the campus area today. It really contradicts the notion that USC is such a commuter school," Taylor said.
Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Kristine Dillon also did not anticipate any problems on campus.
"Things went very smoothly in the execution of the emergency plan. We have been doing drills for the emergency center for two years," Dillon said.
Edward Trickey, Dillon's assistant, manned phones after the announcements. "Most of the
(See Reaction, page 2)
USC athletics investigated under Title IX
Dryer company says fires due to arson
By Tracie Tso
Assistant City Editor
A representative from the clothes dryer supplier for the university said Friday the company is convinced the series of dryer fires at the Webb Tower complex is the work of an arsonist. Meanwhile fire department officials said they have yet to determine the cause of the latest fire last Wednesday.
David Kent, director of uni-
versity relations for Web Service Company, Inc., said, "As far as we can tell, you have a firebug in that building."
He said he is convinced the problems are arson-related after having retrieved and inspected two of the three dryers that caught fire. He said they will retrieve the dryer from Wednesday's fire.
Kent added that he believes a person is placing clothes in the
dryer and igniting the materials. The company has been following the Los Angeles Fire Department's arson unit investigation.
LAFD determined one of the two earlier dryer fire incidents to be of "suspicious origin," while the other resulted from poor mechanical maintenance — a "spark, ember or flame that escaped from gas equipment," according to reports.
Kent criticized LAPD's han-
dling of the investigation and said LAFD reported that the fire was caused by gas from the dryers. Kent said this was impossible when all the dryers are electric.
The most recent fire was reported on Wednesday at 9:55 p.m. when a student went to retrieve her clothes from a dryer located on the fifth floor and smelled smoke in the laundry (See Webb, page 6)
Jim Sabo / Daily Trojan
These USC rowers and other female athletes may get the short end of the equity stick.
By Matt White
Assistant Sports Editor
On Thursday, April 14, in the lavish Crystal Ballroom of the Biltmore Hotel in downtown Los Angeles, USC's women's sports community held its annual banquet, this
year entitled An Evening With The Stars.
University President Steven Sample gave the introductory speech as Associate Athletic Director Lisa Love, the senior woman in USC's Athletic Department, acted as master of ceremonies.
Love acknowledged Karen Stanley, the newly named soccer coach, who will form a team this summer and begin competing next spring, and then, one by one, called each of USC's eight women's varsity athletic teams to the front of the ballroom.
A senior member of each team gave short (See Title IX, page 6)