Thursday March 24,1994 Vol. CXXII, No. 49
Weather
Today there will be mild wind from the east and a good chance for rain throughout the day. Temperatures will peak in the 70s by mid-day and drop into the 50s in the evening
Inside
Women of Troy take on Virginia
No. 2-seed USC must get past the Cavaliers tonight at 6:30 p.m. in a tough NCAA Mideast Regional semifinal at Fayetteville. Ark., to keep its Final Four hopes alive.
Sports, page 16
Hoops pic misses the cultural mark
"Above the Rim” tries hard to be a noble study about the urban plight of a high school basketball star versus his desire for success, but ends up being one stylish shoot-out.
Diversions, page 7
Child-loving book misrepresented
USC Professor James Kincaid finds fault with and responds to the oversimplified and inaccurate portrayal of his views on children in society published in Wednesday's Daily Trojan.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
Visiting professor to speak at lunch
A special guest speaker will be at today's Christian Fellowship Brown Bag Lunch at the University Religious Center.
Tatiana Akishina, a visiting professor in the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, will speak for fellowship and encouragement.
The lunch will begin at noon and last an hour at the University Religious Center, room 108. The lunch is for faculty and staff, who must bring their own lunch. RSVP to Ron Blackwelder in aerospace engineering or Don Ludwig in intramural recreation.
Newsp aper of the Universit
of Southe rn California
Pump up the volume
Sourabh Sarkar / Dally Tro|an
A sound engineer fiddles with knobs and buttons and levers as Spirits of Action plays at Tommy Trojan in the background.
Student Senate positions filled; Moye president
By Nik Trendowski
Staff Writer
Jimmy "Shabazz" Moye, a student community senator, was elected president of the Student Senate at the first Student Senate meeting of the new year last night by a vote of 10-6.
"I'm very happy and ready to move the organization forward from the strong foundation left by President Don Hansen," Moye said.
Though Moye was elected by a vote of 10 to 6 after only two voting rounds, narrowing the field from five, the vice presidential race was much more contentious.
After six rounds of voting, Greek senator Sarah Zuercher became vice president over residence hall senator James Emerson by a vote of 9 to 7.
Student community senator Laura Lee also ran for vice president but received only one vote in the first count.
"I feel good about my actions in senate already because I didn't make any behind-the-scenes deals," Lee said. "I kept my integrity and objectiv-
(See Senate, page 2)
By Gayane Keshishyan
Staff Wnter
Spirits in Action, an organization run by USC students that puts on an annual event similar to the Special Olympics, was awarded a 1994 Saturn Award yesterday for its teamwork, initiative and contributions to the campus community.
Chosen from among 10 other groups — including Troy Camp, Creating Attitudes for a Rape-Free Environment and Project Read Aloud — Spirits in Action received recognition and a $1,000 prize, which will be used to fund their April 9 event this
year, since many businesses that normally donate food and other goods have put efforts into earthquake relief.
Spirits in Action, which is in its sixth year of operation, consists of six different committees in charge of such things as fundraising, recruitment, the Spirit City Carnival, advertising, equipment and T-shirts. These 20 to 25 students all work together to organize an event similar to Special Olympics.
About 150 mentally and physically disabled students from participating schools all over (See Saturn, page 2)
Sourabh Sarkar / Dally Trojan
The members of Spirits in Action, led by Tim Needham (front, second from right) and John MacRIII, accept the Saturn Award.
Thirty-eight people licensed for pepper spray
Course allows use of debilitating defense weapon
By Roy Nwaisser
Staff Writer
Muggers beware! Thirty-eight members of the USC community are now armed with and licensed to use pepper spray after attending last Friday's training session.
The session was composed mostly of students, but some USC staff members and even an officer from USC's Department of Public Safety attended. Most of the people who took the class were interested in the extra measure of self-defense offered by pepper spray.
"1 took the class to protect myself," said Tajrena Alexi, a graduate student studying neurobiology. "It helps me psychologically ... I know what to do now by taking the class and seeing the video."
Veronica Cruz, a senior majoring in accounting, agreed.
"I have just been carrying a whistle, but now I have an increased sense of security," she said. "The video was very informative ... I feel more confident with the pepper spray."
Most of the people who took the class were women, with only a handful of men present.
"It is very necessary for all women to carry, and, if threatened, use pepper spray without hesitation," said Myra Gartz-man, secretary of the Office of Student Activities.
DPS Lt. David Ritch said pepper spi
line of self-defense.
Pe,
er spray is the best available
"I carry a gun, but I also carry pepper spray as a first defense. I would rather spray someone than shoot him," Ritch said.
The effects of pepper spray are intense and immediate. According to the training manual, an assailant's eyes are forced
shut. The assailant suffers intense, spasmodic, uncontrollable coughing, causing him to double over in pain.
Any exposed skin that comes into contact with the spray will have an acute burning sensation. Mucous membranes such as the eyes, nose, sinus cavities and upper respiratory system are especially vulnerable to the spray.
Upon contact with the spray, these areas swell and become inflamed, causing the person to have difficulty breathing and lose muscular strength, stamina, coordination and balance.
DPS Sgt. John Lewis believes so strongly in pepper spray that he recently volunteered to be sprayed in a demonstration conducted by the LAPD for DPS trainees.
"It is one of the worst possible decisions I have ever made in
my life," Lewis said. "I felt like 1 had the worst possible sunburn, just shaved, and then put on Aqua Velva 2000."
After being sprayed, he was immediately rushed to a shower, where he washed for 20 minutes, but it was 45 minutes before he was fully functional, Lewis said.
Having been exposed to the active ingredients of tear gas and Mace while in the military, Lewis said he would much rather be sprayed with those substances than with pepper spray.
"If someone sprays me with it, I'm going to fear for my life because they can do anything they want to me and I'm not going to be able to defend myself," Lewis said. "If I was threatened with it, 1 would be justified in using deadly force. You don't want to bring the spray to a gunfight."
From a security standpoint,
(See Spray, page 6)
Spirits in Action wins Saturn award
Company honors campus group for innovation, community work