Jim Sabo/Dally Trojan
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a clothes dryer fire In Webb Tower Tuesday night and over 200 residents were evacuated.
Fast
Forward
Thursday March 11, 1993 Vol. CXIX, No. 39
Weather lOC
4 I
Partly cloudy skies are expected. Pleasant afternoon temperatures will continue for the rest of the week. Today's high should be 71 degrees and the low will drop to 50 degrees.
Inside
Easterly sees future in Anton
Senior Joni Easterly thinks she and freshman Jody Anton are cut from the same mold, and that Anton has the ability to lead the USC women's basketball team into the future.
Sports, page 16
Sample remarks on LAS college
Responding to some criticism, university President Steven Sample has sent a letter to the university community addressing the importance of the College of Letters, Arts & Sciences.
Viewpoint, page 4
Stars speak about varying ‘Aspects’
Sarah Brightman and Barrie Ingham, who carry lead roles in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical "Aspects of Love," talk about their experiences with the production.
Diversions, page 8
F.Y.I.
Bing Theatre sings Sondheim’s tunes
The School of Theatre's annual musical, "Side By Side By Sondheim," directed by Dennis Cornell, opens Thursday and runs through March 20 at Bing Theatre. Performances are Thursday through Sunday evenings at 8 and Sunday matinees at 2. Student tickets are available for $3 and general admission is $7.
The school is also producing "The Imaginary Invalid" at the Massman Theatre in the Drama Center (next to Marks Tennis Stadium) through Sunday. Specially priced tickets are available for students and for groups of 20 or more.
Webb Tower fires prompt LAFD arson investigation
By Tracie Tso
Assistant Assignment Editor
Though initial reports cited mechanical malfunctions as the cause of the fire at Webb Tower Tuesday night, the incident is under arson investigation by the Los Angeles Fire Department due to the increasing number of fires on campus, fire officials said.
"Basically it's a routine investigation. We have had a series of fires at USC and we've devised a list of suspects," said Arson Unit Investigator John Little, who is heading the investigation.
According to University Security reports, there have been two dryer fires that have occurred at Webb Tower within the last two weeks. Additionally, a resident discovered newspapers on fire in the lobby of the building on March 1.
"We did have a series of fires
(at USC) but I think they subsided," Little said.
He said it seems the frequency of fires have just recently flared up again.
Little would not disclose information on whether the suspects included staff or students. He said the investigation is in the early stages and information is sketchy.
"We're just working on different leads," he said.
University Security reports indicate that the fire officials initially determined a mechanical malfunction in the dryer caused it to overheat, igniting Tuesday night's fire. According to Security reports, LAFD officials later said the fire was of "suspicious origin" after inspecting the re-
By Kim Smith
Staff Writer
Former presidential candidate Ross Perot will include the university on his speaking tour of California, appearing at Bovard Auditorium Saturday afternoon at 2:30.
Perot is making seven stops in California to discuss United We Stand, America, the political party he organized during his campaign, said Mike Brinker, UWSA national organization staff advisor.
"(He'll talk) about government issues, government reform — pretty much what Ross talks about. The economy, the national debt — he won't go without talking about those things," Brinker said.
Perot, the Texas billionaire who became one of the most successful independent candidates of the century during the recent presidential election, will appear in Los Angeles as part of a membership drive for UWSA, Brinker said.
mains of a trash can fire on the 11th floor of the building.
A residential protection officer had extinguished the fire minutes before the dryer fire broke out on the floor below.
University Security and fire authorities said they found the coincidence suspicious.
(See Fire, page 11)
The university is the only Los Angeles location where Perot will speak on this trip, said Brandon Shamim, director of the Speaker's Committee.
"We're pretty proud to be the only place," Shamim said.
Brinker and Mike Church, the president of the university's UWSA chapter, approached Perot personally after a meeting in Berkeley three weeks ago, Brinker said. Perot confirmed on Saturday that he would be visiting USC.
The short notice caused problems for UWSA, which scrambled to publicize the event, and for the Speaker's Committee.
"It's going to be very interesting," Shamim said.
"We had some complications getting Bovard, since two groups were already scheduled there, but one canceled, and the other said that we could have it from noon on, when we needed it. It's been a real cooperative effort," he said.
(See Perot, page 2)
Just imagine
Jim Sabo / Dally Trojan
Tim Misuradaze (stocking cap) stars in “The Imaginary Invalid” by Moliere, playing at the Massman Theatre through March 13.
Tokuda speaks out
Local Asian-American news anchor talks about career, minority issues
By Elson Trinidad
Staff Writer
When KNBC-TV anchor Wendy Tokuda began her career by applying to a Seattle television station, a "minority recruiter" there told her they would not hire any more minorities. They offered her a lower position job in the mailroom, and then a job as a housekeeper.
Tokuda turned down the offers.
"Things have changed a lot since then,"
she said. "People think twice before doing things like that."
A native of Seattle, Tokuda eventually landed a job as a secretary, then as a television reporter.
Sitting at a desk rather than standing behind a podium, Tokuda spoke to a small, intimate group of just over a dozen people at Mudd Hall Tuesday morning and reflected on her 20 years as an Asian-American broadcast journalist.
Tokuda's appearance on campus was part of the Asian Pacific American Heritage Festival.
"Having more people of color in the television news field makes the news much more representative of what the world really is," Tokuda said.
"It was a different thing to be an Asian in television," she said, "There were so few of them."
(See Tokuda, page 3)
USC hosts Perot for speech tour