Monday
October 18,1993 Vol. CXXI, No. 34
Weather
The week starts out on a good note. Morning fog will dissipate by the after noon. Expect the high to reach into the cool 70s, while the low is in the chilly 60s.
Inside
NBC’s Monday night freak flick
"Moment of Truth: Stalking Back," a movie about a family's struggle to bring a lunatic stalker to justice amidst non-existent laws in the system, premieres tonight.
Diversions, page 7
USC pounds Oregon State
The Trojans held the Beavers' wishbone offense to 223 yards rushing in a 34-9 win on Saturday. Wide receiver Johnnie Morton broke the USC record for career receptions.
Sports, page 16
Clinton running tests with health
Americans are just guinea igs for the government's ealth care experiments. Ambiguities in policy will lead to confusion, less choice, and higher expenses for everyone.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
Alan Cranston to address USC
Former California senator Alan Cranston will speak tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Leonard Davis Auditorium in the Andrus Gerontology building.
Cranston will address the Gorbachev Institute and the developing situation in the former Soviet Union. Cranston currently serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gorbachev Foundation / U.S.A.
The event, part of the USC Spectrum distinguished lecture series, is co-sponsored by the Center For Multiethnic and Transnational Studies, the Student Senate Political Affairs Committee and the Student Senate Speakers Committee.
Admission to Cranston's speech is free.
Newspaper of the University of Southern California
Decrease in DUI incidents on campuses
By Tracy Marshak
Staff Writer
Sept. 21 — a USC student is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol. Less than two weeks later, a second student is followed onto campus by California Highway Patrol officers and arrested for the same offense. Problems associated with drinking and driving can range from non-inci-dental arrests to irreconcilable consequences.
These individuals may be cited for showing questionable judgment, but they will not be held accountable for contributing to figures that reflect a steady decline in the number of alcohol-related traffic deaths among young adults.
News Analysis
According to the 1993 Fatal Accident Reporting System of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the number of alcohol-related fatalities has dropped from 5,841 in 1982 to 3,252 in 1992. However, the NHTSA estimates about 1.2 million people were injured as a result of crashes involving alcohol, which equates to almost one person every 26 seconds. Almost half of all traffic fatalities were alcohol-related.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Denise Daeley has been at the division's central Los Angeles office for about five years. On October 2, Daeley was one of the officers who arrested a male student in Parking Structure C after observing him driving in a manner commonly associated with alcohol-impaired driving.
"It seems that after organized events at universities or schools, there can be an increase in the number of drunk-driving arrests," Daeley said.
(See Alcohol, page 2)
Dam the Beavers
Laurel William* / Dally Trojan
USC defenders bottle up an Oregon State running back. The Trojans beat the Beavers, 34-9, on Saturday In front of a Homecoming crowd of 44,363 fans.
APASS offers more than support
By Quyen Do
Staff Writer
When she first arrived on the USC campus from high school four years ago, Anh Truong, a senior majoring in accounting said, "I was overwhelmed with the size of this campus. I didn't know anybody." Lost in her new environment, she carried a map with her to find her way around campus.
Truong found the Asian Pacific American Student Services office and the support she received "helped me make it through my years at school here."
"I went there because I felt the office has a close connection to my cultural background," Truong said.
Through APASS Truong discovered a helpful resource center which provides her with information on scholarships, leadership projects and workshops on university issues and off-campus issues.
She said she frequents the office to read Asian newspapers and magazines, and sometimes, to look for employment opportunities in the surrounding areas.
Most of all, she said APASS is a place that she can go to find out more about the events happening on campus, and at the same time, Asian community events that relate to her.
Jeff Murakami, APASS director, said the department developed 10 years ago result-
ing from protests of multi-racial student groups expressing the need for an office which serves as the advocacy and resource center for the growing Asian Pacific American population at USC.
Murakami said the number of incoming Asian freshman students has increased from 12 percent in 1982 to 25 percent in 1992.
"APASS is a student service department that pays particular attention to issues of race and experience of Asian Pacific Americans," Murakami said.
He said APASS is not exclusive to servicing only Asian students.
(See APASS, page 6)
Music scholarship honoree passes away
By Nekeidra Shegog
Staff Writer
Pete Pontrelli, an acclaimed saxophonist in the Los Angeles community, died of natural causes at the age of 95 on Oct. 11, in Camarillo, California, but top saxophone players at USC will continue to be aided by the Pete Pontrelli Endowed Music Scholarship.
Pontrelli, though not a USC alumnus, was a great fan of the USC Trojan football team during the 1930s. His son, Mike Anthony Pontrelli, a 1955 graduate of USC, established the scholar-
ship in the School of Music in honor of his father. The first award given in 1983 totalled only $55, but the award received by student saxophonist Errick Clements in 1993 was $524.
"Sammy Sax," as Pontrelli was known during the '20s, began his musical career in Bari, It- • aly where he played the trumpet from the age of seven for one daiiar a day.
"He would travel to nearby towns from sunrise to sunset where he would give the gift of music," said Pontrelli's great nephew Adam Gallagher, a se-
nior majoring in cinema production at USC. "He's been the greatest inspiration to me that I can possibly hope for."
At 16, Pontrelli travelled to the United States and worked for the Southern Pacific Railroad and played in a band. It was at this time that he would discover the instrument that would make him a legend in his field, the alto saxophone. Trumpet and sax, however, were not the only two instruments Pontrelli could play. He also mastered the clarinet and accordion.
"If you play the accordion
you'll never miss a day's work," Gallagher recalled his uncle say-ing.
Using his multi-talented techniques, "Sammy Sax" started practicing in L.A. clubs like Cinderella Roof and the Red Mill, two older well-known clubs during their time. In addition to his musical activities in the mid-'20s, Pontrelli started his own band performing at the Southland Piers, a dance club.
By the early 1940s, Pontrelli bought the Figueroa Ballroom with Gallagher's grandfather, (See Obituary, page 2)