Friday
January 21,1994 Vol. CXXII, No. 7
Weather
Morning fog will clear by mid-day, leaving blue skies for the afternoon. Watch out for showers over the weekend. Today's high will be in the 70s and the low will be in the 50s.
Inside
USC blows big lead against ASU
After taking a 14-point lead in the first half, the USC men's basketball team surrendered 35 points to the Sun Devils' Stevin Smith and lost, 87-62, at the Lyon Center.
Sports, page 8
Corps director conducts tour
Carol Bellamy, President Clinton's appointee as Peace Corps director, is conducting a nationwide college tour seeking volunteers. She stops at USC next week.
Headlines, page 3
Our liberties are now disappearing
In an age of liberalism gone amok, the foundation of our country, freedom and democracy, arc being threatened. It is time for us to fight back by casting ballots.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
Historian gives talk at Commons
Joyce Appleby, professor of history at UCLA and an expert on Thomas Jefferson, will be giving a talk on Saturday, Jan. 22, at noon, in Commons.
The speech, entitled "The Myths and Realities Surrounding the Life of Thomas Jefferson," is the keynote address at the initiation brunch for new pledges to the Xi chapter of Phi Alpha Theta.
Admission to the address is $15 for Phi Alpha Theta members and $20 for nonmembers. Tickets are available at the door.
For information, call Christina Marsden at (213) 765-8158.
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DaMroian
Deed results in donation
By Victoria Manley
Staff Writer
Two USC students earned the university a financial donation when they stumbled upon the lost wallet of Daniel Meyers, managing partner of First Marblehead, a corporation in Massachusetts.
The two women, whose names are unknown to USC faculty, found the wallet by Meyers' car and kept hold of it until he returned. The students then explained what happened, and returned the wallet that had fallen out of his pocket.
"They kindly returned my wallet, and when I offered them a reward, they declined," Meyers wrote in a letter to Michael Halloran, associate vice president of External Affairs, following the incident. "I tried to insist, but they said if I wanted to do something for them, I should make a donation to USC."
Meyers was pleased by the response and agreed to make a donation to the university, based on what had happened.
"That is what I call school spirit," he wrote. "If you could please tell me how to make a donation to USC, 1 would be pleased."
Halloran received the letter from Meyers in mid-December. He was pleased with the letter, and distributed it to several members of the faculty to expose the story.
(See Donation, page 3)
Sourabh Sarkar / Daily Tro|an
Rubble from the toppled chimneys of the Student Union lies on Childs Way.
The day after
Fraternity undergoes reorganization
Sigma Nu action seeks to correct past hazing, alcohol problems
By Melanie Asp and Summer Price
Staff Writers
In concordance with a nationwide "recolonization" of the Sigma Nu Fraternity Inc., the USC chapter has undergone a membership review by representatives from the national headquarters, resulting in a decrease in active undergraduate members. The overall restruc-
turing of the fraternity includes new recruiting and re-education of members.
After interviews with about 50 active members, 20 to 30 men either volunteered or were asked to "disassociate themselves" from undergraduate activities of the fraternity, said national officials of the fraternity. Those "departing in friendship" will not lose their membership,
Scholarships honor local USC students
By David Lipin
Staff Writer
The Russell Caldwell Neighborhood Scholarship Fund received nearly $30,000 in donations this year as compared to $22,000 in 1992. There are presently 22 students receiving the scholarship, six of whom were admitted to USC in the fall of 1993.
The fund also provides recipients a faculty mentor.
The scholarship committee awards a yearly $3,000 scholarship to one incoming student from each of the following nine neighborhood high schools: Belmont, Crenshaw, Dorsey, Fremont, Huntington Park, Jefferson, Los Angeles, Manual Arts and Roosevelt.
Increased donations were obtained when USC's Retired Faculty Association published announcements of tne scholarship in their bi-weekly newsletter. Previously, the fund was
advertised only once a year.
"Increased donations resulted from retired faculty members' interest in helping neighborhood youth, especially after the riots. Also, the Financial Aid Office encouraged us to increase our fundraising efforts because they had less funds to work with. The Norman Topping Fund contributed additional funding and gave us a shot in the arm,'' said Helen Zeiler, chairwoman of the fund.
But the scholarship fund is intended to provide more than just financial assistance.
"The program was designed so that individual professor mentors would become friends with the students," Zeiler said. "The professors could offer a place for students to go if they nad a problem. Some (students) even stay in touch."
Yet, Oswald Elizondo, a freshman majoring in electrical (See Caldwell, page 3)
however, and will be granted alumni status upon graduation.
"They're not being kicked out," said Chip Stuart, the fraternity's chapter advisor. "They're still Sigma Nus. It's just that both the national reps and the guys in the fraternity agreed that we had to make it back to the flagship."
In October of last year, some of the fraternity's national representatives visited the university to aid in the implementing of the main program of the recolonization, or LEAD — Leadership, Ethics, Achievement and
Development.
During their visit, allegations of hazing and alcohol violations within the Sigma Nu chapter surfaced.
"It was a mess," said one representative. "Sigma Nu had the potential of becoming an animal-house frat."
LEAD has been put into effect in Sigma Nu chapters nationwide in an effort to get back to the ideals upon which the fraternity was founded. Using the LEAD premises, the directors of the national fraternity hope to (See Sigma, page 2)
DMV targets drunk drivers under age 21
New law lowers maximum blood alcohol content
By lack Whitman
Staff Writer
The California Department of Motor Vehicles has instituted a new "zero tolerance" law that allows the department to suspend licenses for a full year when they catch people under age 21 with a blood alcohol content of .01 or higher.
The measure, which went into effect on Jan. 1, revises a previous one that allowed 18 to 20 year olds with a blood alcohol content of .08 or lower to escape even a reprimand.
Before the "zero tolerance" law, even young adults of 16-18 years didn't have to worry if stopped with a blood alco-
hol content of .05 or less.
As part of the law, a police officer who believes a driver is driving under the influence may request that the driver take an alcohol test.
If the driver refuses, the officer may take away the driver's license on the spot.
Another measure instituted in conjunction with the "zero tolerance" law relates to DUI sentencing.
According to state law, "DUI sentencing provides that a conviction for operating a vehicle with a suspended or revoked license shall be considered a prior conviction when sentencing a driver who is subsequently convicted for DUI."
The bill that made this change in drinking laws was introduced by Senator Quen-(See Tolerance, page 2)