NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
Just short Cal scored with 25 seconds left to beat the USC women’s water polo team, 3-2, in the title game of the MPSF Tournament.	otl
Within the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, 98 percent of the faculty hold doctorate degrees.
N«w works: The theater festival, put on by the Playwright’s Initiative, showcases young talent.
April U, 1999 Vol. CXXXVI, No. 82
Kravitz pulls out of concert; USC to file suit
About 300 athletes and 600 volunteers assemble for the games for the disabled
Springfest Reasons behind rock artist’s absence unclear; more than 5,000 stay for other bands
By KODI HIRST
Staff Writer
By JENNIFER MEDINA
Student Senate Writer
Nearly 300 athletes gathered at Cromwell Field Saturday to compete in the 11th Annual Spirits In Action Games for the Disabled, which many participants deemed a success.
“Today has been beyond my dreams how it turned out," said Lynn Tran, Spirits in Action director and a senior majoring in public relations. Tran credited the success of the event to the nice weather and the “amazing” volunteers.
“There is always the fear that we won’t have enough volunteers," Tran said.
More than the 600 necessary volunteers came to participate.
“We invited 300 athletes, and we need at least twice as many volunteers,” Tran said.
The event required so many volunteers because each athlete was paired up with a buddy. That buddy becomes the athlete’s constant companion for the day, often cheering the athlete on as they compete. The rest of the athletes helped with participant sign-up and timing the events.
“Buddies come back for their athletes and athletes come back for their buddies,” Tran said, estimating that 70 percent of the athletes return each year.
“I see so many familiar faces every year," said Tran, who has been involved with the games for four years.
Renee Klein, a special education teacher at Dorsey High School, has been bringing her students to the games for seven years and said that this year has been the best yet.
“It gets better and better each year," she said. Klein said it’s the buddies who
I	see Spirits, page 19 I
USC will file a lawsuit this week IBj^H against rocker Lenny Kravitz, who failed to show up for Saturday’s Springfest concert, which more than ML ^ Bn
5,000	people attended in Hahn Plaza.	Wi
Kravitz and his representatives	*-
will be sued for breach of contract, flHCZ. members of Program Board said.
Barrett Reiff, concerts director of	Kravitz
Program Board and a sophomore majoring in accounting, said that he was not offered any reason for Kravitz not performing. However, Raquel Tolmaire, who acted as Kravitz’s agent for Springfest and signed a contract for him early last week; said she notified Reiff on Wednesday night that Kravitz would not be the head liner for Springfest.
Tolmaire is a friend of Kravitz’ girlfriend, not his agent nor representative. She said she initially agreed to have Kravitz perform at USC only after someone by the name of Jeremy Lamer, who is not a USC student, told her on March 30 that Kravitz was needed to play a benefit concert for children. Tolmaire said Kravitz would play even though he was already scheduled to play at the Reseda Country Club as a favor to his girlfriend.
She said Larner then pressured her to sign a contract on Monday. After signing the contract Wednesday she took it to her lawyer, who then made revisions. Lamer told Tolmaire that the revisions would not be implemented, she said. She called USC Wednesday but was told someone would call her back. ** After nobody from USC returned her calls, Tolmaire said that she received a phone call from Larner, who told her that USC was avoiding booking agents to save money.
Reiff said he heard rumors Thursday among agents and booking managers in the music industry that Kravitz would not be coming to USC.
Reiff then called everyone he knew that had any relationship with Kravitz to find out if they could confirm the rumors. Reiff said that he called Tolmaire who assured him that Kravitz would be coming. However Reiff said he continued to hear mixed reports from others.
“In an industry like this one, you have to follow up on
lame Macias I Daily Troian
Giving a hand. USC student volunteers at Saturday's Spirits in Action aid athletes from schools throughout Los Angeles County during a wheelchair race.
rumors until they are completely put to rest,” Reiff said. “Sometimes you can tell when somebody is full of it."
I see Springfast page 2 I
Students learn about guns to prevent misrepresentation
Seminal: Journalism and cinema schools collaborate for lecture and firing range session
By JEANNE KLEIN
Staff Writer
An array of rifles, handguns and shotguns were laid out on two tables Friday as USC students walked into a lecture titled “The Real Truth about Real Guns,” which was given so that journalism and cinema-television students could learn enough about firearms to avoid making errors on air
and in print, event organizers said.
Eighteen students learned about basic firearm terminology, capabilities,' laws and safety at a lecture in Annenberg School for Communication before participating in a “live fire" instructional session at the Los Angeles Gun Club.
“The purpose of this (program) is to provide technical knowledge in order to avoid mistakes in print journalism and in films," said T.J. Johnson, a National Rifle Association training counselor and main speaker of the event. Johnson said he has never had an accident with guns during his 20 years of training.
Johnson wants people to understand firearms and identify misconceptions about them in the news and
on film.
Journalists need to learn about firearms so that their writing can be more accurate, said Ralph J. Ortolano, one of the organizers of the event and a graduate student in print journalism.
“(For) journalism students in the real world, a lack of experience in firearms will make it difficult for them to accurately report the function of weapons if they were to be used in a crime," said Michael Phipps, safety manager and weapons specialist for the School of Cinema-Television.
Other organizers agreed.
‘Because guns are a subject in the news, they need to know the facts," said Jane M. Barlett, an NRA instructor and an industrial hygiene specialist with the USC Safety and Risk
Management department. “And USC is all about education.”
Students in the cinema-television graduate writing program were interested as well because they write screenplays involving firearms, Ortolano said.
*(A familiarity with firearms is also useful for) production students that handle guns in the course of their employment, like with a prop gun, which can be just as dangerous as a real gun,” Ortolano said;
Phipps serves as a consultant in the cinema-television school because there are students who have never come in contact with weapons before, he said.
If a prop weapon is used in public I see Quit*, page U I
“The purpose of this is to provide technical knowledge in order to avoid mistakes in print journalism and in films’
TJ. Johnson
training
counselor
NRA