dtroj an6usc.edu http://www.uac.Mlu/dt
NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
April 13,199*
Vol. CXXXVI, No. 83
Checking out th« goods. Ladan Danialian, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering, examines jewelry and hair accessories
for sale in Hahn Plaza Monday. Sterling silver rings, necklaces and earrings, as well as key chains, were available at the booth.
Precious metals
Did you know...
Forty percent of USC business alumni hold the top positions in their companies.
On fire: Freshman outside hitter Brook Billings has been an explosive player his entire life, but it hasn’t always been positive.
: Writer Hang Long argues that corporate sponsorships bring USC down.__A
Off ths Win	2
Roundup	2
Ths Buzz	7
CtaaaMMi	12
Crossword N
USC officials considering Kravitz suit
Concert: Program Board clarifies middle agent Jeremy Lamer’s role in artist's booking
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Student Senate Writer
USC officials said Monday they are “looking into the possibility” of filing a lawsuit for breach of contract against rock star Lenny Kravitz, who failed to perform at Saturday’s Springfest, and his representatives.
Craig Springer, director of cultural arts and facilities, said the administration is looking at the contract with USC’s counsel to determine what options are available. Springer said he does not know when a final decision will be made.
Jeremy Lamer, owner of J.L. Entertainment, served as a “middle agent" for the event and booked Kravitz along with PJ. Ollson, Goldfinger and Tha Dogg Pound. In the past, Larner has booked acts such as KRS-One and Common Sense for Homecoming and Troy Week, respectively.
“As one college, USC does not have a whole lot of buying power,” said Barrett Reiff, concerts director of Program Board and a sophomore majoring in accounting. “Using a middle agent gives us more buying power. Artists receive numerous offers every day, and they go with whoever gives them the best argument. We have to present ourselves in the strongest way possible.”
Larner worked with Raquel Tolmaire, who signed the contract for Kravitz, and said he was confident she would bring Kravitz to the USC campus.
Tolmaire, who is a friend of Kravitz’s girlfriend and not his agent, said Lamer pressured her to sign the contract and that she “never really had a chance to read it”
Tolmaire said she did Reiff a favor by helping him try to find another act Thursday night.
“She did it realizing she was on the line and would be sued if she didn’t provide a comparable headliner,* said Reiff, who will serve as executive director of Program Board next year.
Reiff said middle agents have also been used to bring bands like Blink 182 and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy to campus to save money.
Lamer said he was not sure how much money he made to bring the acts to campus and that he does it as a favor.
‘I don’t need to make money on this,’ he said. “I like USC; that’s where I wanted to go to college. I did this because I like (Reiff).*
Reiff said he met Lamer, who knew Tolmaire, last fall.
I see Springfest, page • I
Councilmember to be elected today
Community: District that includes USC to choose representative from the three candidates running
By KODI HIRST
Staff Writer
Members of the Eighth District, which includes USC, will go to the polls today to decide who will represent them for the next three years in the Los Angeles City Council.
In addition to incumbent Mark Ridley-Thomas, John Caldwell and Sandra Farrington-Domingue are also
running for the council seat.
Both Caldwell, 39, and Farrington-Domingue, 51, said that Ridley-Thomas is unresponsive to his constituents and vow that they would work more closely with the members of the Eighth District.
“The main reason I am running is to increase services to the Eighth District,” Caldwell said. He added that his main priority is to be responsive to members’ requests, be it stray dogs or potholes, and said that a councilman is a conduit between his constituents and City Hall.
Ridley-Thomas’ platform focuses on his revitalization project, which began in 1992 after the civil unrest, and improving the economic conditions in the Eighth District.
“Efforts on Exposition Park are very
visible,” said Lizanne Fleming, communication deputy for Ridley-Thomas. “A lot of work has been done and is being done in the park.”
Ridley-Thomas’ campaign materials cite 29 businesses that have been completed during his two terms in office, with three others currently under construction.
“As more successful businesses come, more people will want to live there," Fleming said.
The Eighth Annual Revitalization Report, a statement by Ridley-Thomas, said $155 million in new projects have been completed and 175 jobs created in the Eighth District since last year’s report
Ridley-Thomas, 43, recently received an award from a USC architecture guild in
I see Elections, page 21
Spielberg donates $500,000 for CGI, advanced media room
Gift: Director joins others in funding Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts, set to open in 2001
By JENNIFER LOUISE BRANDT
Staff Writer
Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg donated $500,000 to the School of Cinema-Television to fund a classroom for state-of-the-art computer graphic images and advanced media, Dean Elizabeth Daley said last week.
The classroom will be located in the Robert Zemeckis Center for
Digital Arts, which Daley said will be completed in 2001.
The center will include the most advanced technology for training filmmakers and television creators of the future. Zemeckis, a graduate of USCs cinema school, partially funded the new center with a $5 million donation in October.
Spielberg’s gift is the latest of several given to the school, including a large gift funding construction of a digital sound stage named after the late Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa.
“Steven is such an enthusiastic supporter of the School of Cinema-Television,’ Daley said. “In particular, he understands how vital it is for young filmmakers to be trained on the most advanced technological systems — the same ones used by professionals. This
gift from Steven ensures that they’ll continue to receive cutting-edge instruction in CGI and new production technology.* Spielberg agreed that working with advanced technology is the best way for students to succeed in the industry.
Tm a long-time admirer of the hands-on education filmmakers receive at USC,” he said in a written statement. "There’s no better way to learn. I imagine a new generation of creative risk-takers emerging from this program — filmmakers with both creative vision and, through the new digital arts center, the technical sawy to achieve their dreams.’
The 35,000-square-foot Zemeckis Center will replace the Performing Arts Annex at 30th and Figueroa streets. It will join other proposed multimedia
development in the Figueroa Corridor stretching from downtown Los Angeles to USC. The building will be completely renovated and new equipment installed at a cost of approximately $15 million. Construction is set to begin in June.
The CGI and advancement classrooms will include non-linear digital editing and shooting systems; digital stages with motion-control computers; a screening room with studio-quality 16mm, 35mm and video projection capabilities; suites for digital sound and picture editing; and digital composing equipment, according to a written statement.
The Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts will be available only for students in the cinema-television school, a dean’s office spokesperson said.
‘I imagine a new generation of creative risk-takers emerging from this program.’