Eyes on Prize
The USC mens water polo team has its eyes on another NCAA title with a young squad leading the way/16
SINCE 1912
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
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September 19, 2000
Of interest...
Have you had your homogenized ethnicity today? Did somebody say McDonald's? /4
News Digest	2	Roundup	2
Opinions	4	Lifestyle	7
The Buzz	7	Classifieds	12
Crossword	13	Sports	16
vol. CXXXXI, no. 15
www.usc.edu/dt
er
L.A. suffers through walkout
MTA: No end in sight after first weekday of bus and train drivers’ mass strike
By BRENDAN LOY
Assignment Editor
Downtown Los Angeles baked in a heat wave and broiled in discontent, inconvenience and anger Monday as the MTA bus and rail strike entered its third day — and, more significantly, its first workday — with no immediate end in sight.
"It's going to be one of the toughest days ever in Los Angeles,” county supervisor Gloria Molina told Channel2000.com early Monday.
In the heart of the city Monday, evidence of the strike was everywhere.
The absence of MTA buses driving down the streets was, of course, one obvious sign, but the image of a mother walking home from work with her baby on her shoulder was almost as unmistakable.
Closer to campus, the unusual overcrowding on the “F" line of the DASH — which is not affected by the MTA labor dispute — was another indication that a strike was afoot
Throughout the county, freeway overcrowding was another clear sign of strike-induced trouble. Freeway traffic, always congested in Los Angeles, was 5 percent heavier than usual — a "pretty dramatic" increase, according to nbc4la.com.
The inconveniences were enough to inspire some significant resentment against the unions.
“Twenty-five thousand dollars a year for a bus driver is plenty," one DASH rider declared. “Why should we be paying these people $80,000 a year? If they want to make more money, they should go back to school and get into a different profession."
The MTA contends that many of its drivers make between $50,000 and $70,000 a year, according to various news sources. The drivers' union counters that drivers only make $50,000 with overtime pay, which the MTA is trying to take away.
Not all bus riders blamed the union, however. A group of several dozen members of the "Bus Riders Union,” a group that advocates for public transit customers, rallied with striking bus drivers during a down-
I see MTA. page 13 I
Hey, ho, whos to blame? MTA has got no shame,"
MTA
STRIKERS
Hundreds
to attend
national
gathering
URSC: Student organization will host housing conference on USC campus; visitors to experience Trojan pride
By KATIE WERNER
Contributing Writer
Trojan pride will be taken to a whole new level at the end of May when residence hall dwellers from across the country descend on USC for the 2001 conference of the National Association of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH, pronounced Nih-KERR).
University Resident Student Community successfully made a bid over the summer to hold the 2001 NACURH conference at USC from May 25 to 27.
“The conference is a chance for (resident advisors) and kids to get new ideas to bring back to their own campuses," said Laurel Golden, a sophomore majoring in public relations.
NACURH serves as a leadership organization that provides resources and support for students in residential housing. It is affiliated with building government and URSC.
“This is a great way to learn how the school works,” said conference chairperson Dawn Alley, a junior majoring in gerontology.
USC students organize and lead the entire conference. Members set up everything from food and housing to entertainment and security. The conference will kick off with a "Walk of Stars” down Trousdale Parkway as the various schools show off their pride. The theme of the conference is “Becoming a Star."
The rest of the agenda includes hour-long programs during which different schools can learn and exchange ideas about new ways to bring pride and excitement to their campuses. Programs address all aspects of residential housing.
"Basically, we’re giving everyone else three days of what it’s like to be a Trojan,” said Sergio Ramirez, a senior majoring in public policy and the contact between
I see URSC, page 111
Matthew Giedlmski I Daily Troian
Walking the line. Metropolitan Transportation Agency workers picket the streets of Los Angeles for a new contract. As a result of their Strike, more thon 450.000 commuters who regularly ride MTA buses and trains during the week were without transportation.
Falun Gong followers seek solace on campus
By REBECCA ZAK
Contributing Writer
As the sun slowly rises each morning over the sleeping campus, participants in the USC Falun Club gather outside the von KleinSmid Center and move gently through five simple positions designed to stimulate the mind and heal the body.
They are doing more than just defying conventional wisdom regarding college students’ sleeping habits; they are practicing the ancient religion Falun Gong.
On USCs campus, the practice of Falun Gong has few drawbacks — aside from the early hour. But for international students from China, practicing Falun Gong means that
RELIGION &
ETHICS
they risk deportation, imprisonment and even death for their beliefs if they return to their homeland.
"I was going to go back to China with my husband this summer and my family almost killed me,” said Simone Gao, a 1999 graduate and participant in the USC Falun Club. “They said, ‘You can't go back. You're going to be put in jail and the whole family is going to be in trouble.' So I can’t go back. I’ve
been here for almost two years without going back. I feel sad."
Gao is not alone. Many who practice Falun Gong are forced to live in fear of persecution from the Chinese government
Calvin Lou, a Falun Gong follower who helped to raise public awareness about the practice at the Los Angeles Festival of Health on campus this past weekend, told a similar story.
“We just had a couple who tried to go back to China to see the husband’s father," Lou said. “He’s dying. The (Chinese customs officials) found a book in their luggage and they were arrested. Anyone who dares (to practice Falun Gong publicly) will be arrested. They will be sent to a labor camp without trial."
I see Religion, page 111
Rebecca Zak l Daily Troian
Inner calm. Practicers of Falun Gong, shown at the Health Festival on campus this weekend, are persecuted for their beliefs in China.