Wednesday September 7,1994 Vol. CXXIII, No. 4
Weather
Sunny: 88°
There will be few high clouds and the sun will shine bright throughout the day. Expect the high in the upper 80s and the low in the mid 60s.
Headlines
v ’ *
Lollapalooza ’94: a sweaty good time
Sweltering heat couldn't dampen spirits at Sunday's show at Cal State Domin-
g
Pi
;uez Hills, where Smashing umpkins soared and second-stage bands got the respect they deserved.
Diversions, pages 14-15
Trojans horses trample Huskies
In the season opener, USC beat Washington, 24-17, at the Coliseum. Freshman tailback Delon Washington ran for 109 yards, while Shawn Walters scored two touchdowns.
Sports, page 28
Music: medicine for man’s soul
Listening to music is more than just a cure for boredom. Young people can relieve tension or escape the doldrums of everyday life by playing their favorite CDs.
Viewpoint, page 4
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		University	of Southern California
Costs rising at Cal universities
Tuition and fees are increasing at USC, others
By Tamra Fitzpatrick
Slaff Writer
Students are sweating a little bit more this year, but not because of rising temperatures. Tuition and fees have increased 70 percent since 1987, from $10,500 to over $17,000.
"Tuition has increased and services have decreased. Bureaucracy has gotten worse while we're paying more," said Jimmy Moye, Student Senate president.
Though students object, the university has no other choice but to raise the fees, said Veronica Tincher, executive director of Budget and Planning.
"There are certain things we can't avoid. We have code re-
quirements, such as bringing a building up to code, and security costs have grown," Tincher said.
"When we have those kinds of pressures, we try and look toward other areas to cut. We look for ways we can do things more efficiently," she said.
The reasons for the fee increases at USC are new buildings, such as the Leavey Library, and salary increases for faculty and staff, she said.
The dollar amount of faculty and staff salary increases is difficult to determine because of the varied type of faculty and staff at the university, Tincher said.
Tincher justified in part the raises by explaining, "We have staff who are in occupations that have heavy market pressures."
Yet the gift money received by the university is highly restricted, she said.
"Unfortunately tuition is what (See Tuition, page 8)
Run, Shawn, run!
L* -Jm A 41
1
Adrian Sander* / Dally Trojan
Tailback Shawn Walters scored two touchdowns as USC beat Washington, 24-17, on Saturday. See Sports, page 28.
Student's murderer awaits trial date
Prosecutors say they plan to pursue maximum sentence: death penalty
Jennifer Hale
Writer
The man who allegedly murdered a USC student nearly two years ago is awaiting his day in a Torrance courtroom, in what attorneys call a horrendous and violent stabbing murder.
Soy Song Lao, a 21-year-old Cambodian refugee and USC student, was murdered and stabbed 36 times while working at her sister's Gardena doughnut shop in October 1992.
Authorities expect to ask for the death penalty for Lester W. Virgil, 28, who is currently jailed for an assault he committed shortly after the murder occurred.
Virgil was charged with the murder Aug. 20, 1993, and is currently awaiting trial for special circumstances homicide during the commission of a robbery.
The pre-trial date, when attorneys will present their evidence
in the Torrance district court, is set for Sept. 19 and the trial should be scheduled about 45 days after, Los Angeles defense attorney Ralph Shapiro said.
"The murder trials are difficult because they're lengthy," Shapiro said. "Both attorneys require the time for the case and court must be available for the length of time which causes a lot of setbacks for U9."
Shapiro and District Attorney Mark Chomel are pursuing the
KSCR dissatisfied with performance of DPS armed officers hired to cover benefit dance
Event organizer says she was not properly informed about DPS’ fee
By David Thun
Staff Writer
After paying $380 for security at a benefit dance, one campus organization says they didn't get their money's worth, but the Department of Public Safety disagrees.
As general manager of KSCR, USC's student-run radio station, Karen Flentge was in charge of organizing KSCR's Club Underground benefit dance August 28th in the basement of Topping Student Center. One of her duties included arranging security for the event.
However, Flentge said she was not informed until two days before the dance that she had to pay a $380 fee for the
two armed officers provided by DPS, which had to be paid out of the money Club Under-
Sound raised for the Student ealth Center's free AIDS testing program.
"It was a great event overall but the fact is there's a huge difference between raising $625 and $245," Flentge said.
Standard university policy is for student groups wishing to hold a dance to coordinate their efforts with the Office of Student Activities which,' along with the students and DPS, determines if security will be needed and how much.
"Student groups come to our office saying they want to do something," Director of
Student Affairs David Crandall said. "Public Safety determines security and sets fees based on armament, the number of hours, etc."
"The presenters are responsible for conduct at the dance and are required to provide
Krsonnel at the dance," said puty Chief Bob Taylor of DPS. "We recognize that there are things they should not and could not do; (DPS officers) deal with problems that include things like party crashers and people with guns."
DPS provides two types of officers for student events: armed officers authorized to make arrests, and unarmed community service officers who do not have power of arrest but normally call armed officers if problems come up.
(See Security, page 19)
death penalty for Virgil.
"Right now, we're going for the strongest sentence possible, which is the death penalty," Shapiro said. "If Virgil is convicted under Special Circumstances homicide, he is likely to be sentenced the death penalty or the only other alternative, a life sentence without parole."
Chomel and Shapiro plan on using Virgil's long criminal background as a strong plea for (See Trial, page 9)
Pepper spray effective, but doesn’t work for everyone
By David Lipin
Staff Writer
Area police discovered the potential ineffectiveness of pepper spray during a confrontation with a prowler swinging a four-foot pipe. The event highlighted a failure of pepper spray against determined assailants.
Officers from the Exposition Park Police Department and the 'Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) discovered that ineffectiveness on July 18, 1994, when the spray failed to subdue a prowling suspect, as he swung a four-foot metal pipe at a police officer.
Sergeant Glen Hees of the Los Angeles Police Department training division said pepper spray, a well-touted tool of self-
defense, can be ineffective against assailants who are on
(See Spray, page 9)