Friday October 1,1993 Vol. CXXI, No. 23
Weather
The cooling trend will continue through the weekend. Expect a clear and sunny afternoon with the high in the pleasant mid-80s, while the overnight low drops to the chilly 60s.
Inside
Trojans plunge into Desert Swarm
The USC football team travels to Tucson to take on No. 12 Arizona and the best defense in the nation on Saturday. The game will be televised live on ABC (Channel 7).
Sports, page 8
Comedienne to light up UCLA
Ellen Degeneres, veteran of sitcoms, "The Tonight Show" and a dozen years of stand-up touring, will make what she says is her last tour appearance at Royce Hall tomorrow.
Diversions, page 4
F.Y.I.
GLASS to mark Coming Out Week
The Gay and Lesbian Assembly for Student Support will host a series of educational, social and cultural events on campus in celebration of National Coming Out Week from Oct. 4 to 11.
The week will begin with "Out in Histoiy" at Hahn Plaza on Monday from 11 to 2 p.m.
There will be visual displays of famous gay, lesbian and bisexual men and women as well as a timeline of the gay movement.
A gigantic triangle, symbolizing pride for the gay, lesbian and bisexual community, will be unveiled from the spires of the Bovard Administration Building docktower.
For more information regarding National Coming Out Day or GLASS - USC's National Coming Out Week celebration, please contact Jayzen Patria, director of promotions for GLASS -USC, at (213) 740-5650.
The GLASS office is located in Student Union 409.
Mlchdl* Mayart / Dally Trojan
Graduate student Lisa Miller carries balloons by Alumni Park.
Up, up and away
Beating verdict hangs with jury
By Tracy Marshak
Staff Writer
Defendants Damian Williams and Henry Keith Watson listened intently yesterday as prosecutors finished a point by point rebuttal to defense attorneys' lengthy closing arguments in the so-called Reginald Denny beating case.
Edi M. O. Faal, Damian Williams' attorney, said the defendants were being singled out and used as scapegoats.
"I think we're going to win," he said. "There's a lack of credibility by the prosecution."
Deputy District Attorney Janet Moore called portions of the defense's final statements "absurd and unreasonable," as she methodically reviewed the charges.
She closed by stating that even in the midst of a riot everyone is responsible for his or her own actions.
As the court proceedings wound to a close, organizers from several local groups voiced their confidence that the impending verdict will reflect the pair's — Williams, 20, and Keith
Watson, 28 — innocence.
Paul Parker, chairman of Free the L.A. 4 + , said, "I don't see how 12 of them will come back with a guilty verdict." He antici pated a hung jury.
Parker's brother, Lance, was a defendant in a separate trial relating to the April 29, 1992 beating case.
"I believe Edi was excellent," he said. "The brothers have been over-charged since day one.
Mollie Bell, seasoned activist and a member of Free the L.A.
4	+, feels that the trial is just one more example of the problems African-Americans have always had to face.
"As long as there's no justice there will never be peace," said Bell. "There's no way these four can get the blame for it."
Bell said she feels the incident at Florence and Normandie was a spontaneous reaction to the verdict that came out of the King beating case and spurred a nationwide violent reaction.
"Civil disobedience is not only my right, it's my responsi-(See Trial, page 2)
Student talked out of suicide on Marks Tower
By Duncan Martell
Staff Writer
A USC student stood on a ledge near the roof of Marks Tower residence hall for about an hour early yesterday morning, threatening to jump until a USC Department of Public Safety official persuaded him to come back into the building, said DPS officers.
At 6:45 a.m., a passer-by noticed the freshman, a Marks Tower resident, poised on the ledge of the building's south side about four feet below the roof and called DPS.
DPS officers arrived and contacted LAFD and LAPD for assistance.
Lt. David Ritch of DPS said approximately 12 fire engines responded, and firefighters inflated a large rubber mattress below the student.
The student, who had written a suicide note, was experiencing family and school problems, Ritch said.
DPS also notified Deputy Chief Robert Taylor, who was elsewhere on campus at the time of the incident.
Taylor went to the building and "hung over the ledge for about an hour and finally talked him in," Ritch said.
After the student came in from the ledge, DPS officers escorted him to the on-campus Student Counseling Center for care, Ritch said.
This was the eleventh suicide attempt by a USC student this year, and the first of the semester, said Sgt. Craig Baxley of DPS.
Ritch urged students battling with depression and suicidal thoughts to seek help.
"The key point is before (the depression) gets to that point, there's a lot of help available," he said.
Bradford King, director of Student Counseling Services, said the Student Counseling Center is an excellent source for help and
support. All counseling services are free of charge.
King said that for students in an emotional crisis, a counselor is available 24 hours a day and can be contacted by calling DPS at (213) 740-4321 and requesting to speak to the on-call counselor.
The Student Counseling Center offers not only emergency counseling, but also individual and group counseling. A psychiatrist is also on staff to assist students or prescribe necessary medications.
King also said severe depression can often precede a suicide attempt, and there are many signs of problematic depression.
He noted four easily observed signs.
e Moderate to strong changes in behavior such as undue irritability or radical mood swings.
e A chronic and sustained change in sleeping habits. King said among students, the most common change is a dramatic increase in sleeping.
e Significant changes in eating habits and acute weight loss or gain not due to dieting.
e Isolation from others and activities or withdrawal from activities that one had found enjoyable.
King said friends and roommates can easily notice these signs and suggest help to the depressed and potentially suicidal individual.
Depression can have many causes but is most often reactional, King said.
Moving away from home for the first time, pressure from parents to perform academically, dissatisfaction witn scholastic performance or the breakup of a relationship can cause students to become depressed, King said.
He said that, while nearly everyone has experienced profound sadness, a pervasive (See Depression, page 2)
Recipients of Town and Gown awards honored
By Quyen Do
Staff Writer
This year, $702,000 was awarded in 202 Town and Gown scholarships to USC graduates knd undergraduates who have been selected on the basis of academic achievement, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores, participation in outside activities and financial need, said Marjorie Lick-feld, chairman of Town and Gown.
Town and Gown held an annual luncheon to honor scholarship donors and recipients yesterday.
Cori Barron, Casey Grigg and Shannon Thurlow were three recipients the organization's members said tney felt best represented their ideals. The three students addressed members at the afternoon gathering.
Barron, a senior majoring in public relations, devotes her free time to the community, working for the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. Through the fellowship, she makes weekly visits to convalescent homes near campus. Barron also said she spends her time interacting with teenage girls at a local housing project. She also participated in post-riot clean up projects in Los Angeles.
Barron said USC is unique because ''we are face-to-face with the urban problems." She said this community gives people the opportunity to offer help and not just talk.
Casey Grigg, a four-year recipient of the scholarship, has demonstrated excellence in academics and service to the community.
"He's a nice, well-rounded person," said Aimee Walker, scholarship co-chair.
(See Awards, page 2)
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