Newspaper of the University of Southern California
Headlines
Thompson looks and plays the part
For USC forward Tina Thompson the hair has to be just right. But that's not all, she has the game to match her perfect hair. The sophomore averages 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Sports, page 20
A word or two to media mavens
The media elite must realize that what they present effects their society. Media conscience is necessary to ensure that the public is presented with views not encouraged by advertising revenue.
Viewpoint, page 4
Art history talk; comedy tonight
Art historian Howard Sin-german will be giving a visiting artist lecture today at 4 p.m. in Harris Hall 101. Sin-
!;erman is an assistant pro-essor at the University of Virginia. He lived in Los Angeles from 1976 to 1988, ana returns this week as a contributing lecturer for the Sherrie Levine Retrospective at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
• • •
"Commedus Interruptus," USC's premier comedy improvisation group, will be performing a night of im-prov comedy with the internationally known "Purple Dragon" of Yale University tonight at 9 p.m. at the Hillel Jewish Center. Tickets are $4.
• • •
The USC Symphony, conducted by Daniel Lewis, performs Thursday at 8 p.m. in Bovard Auditorium. Admission is $5.
Wednesday March 8,1995 Vol. CXXIV, No. 36
If you think the hood is bad...
"Once Were Warriors" is a glimpse of family life in New Zealand's industrial slums. Factors of gang-related violence, domestic abuse and alcoholism make the film hard-hitting for L.A.'s urban residents. Diversions, page 7
Escort will pick up on Trousdale
By Midori Clark
Staff Writer
Student complaints prompted Escort Services to quickly reverse a recent decision to discontinue service on Trousdale Parkway, said Escort student employees Sean Callahan and Pete Young.
The change in Escort service lasted only one night, and ended after Rick McCormick, field services manager of Transportation Services, received numerous calls from upset students, said Callahan, who was supervising Tuesday's shift. Escort resumed service on Trousdale on Friday, March 3.
The new policy was designed to help make USC a pedestrian-friendly campus. Last year's daytime closure of McClintock Avenue was a similar step taken to reduce campus traffic. The university's ultimate goal is to remove vehicle traffic altogether, with cars directed into a parking structure and people walking to their destinations, Callahan said.
Callahan, a sophomore who has worked for Escort since the fall of 1993, said his passengers commented on the change.
"They were not terribly upset, but they were surprised when they found out that they would have to walk to 34th Street to get picked up," Callahan said.
He said avoiding campus streets caused driver delays and longer waits for students.
Young, a senior who has worked for the service for three years, said that he was also glad to see the decision overturned.
"It is a detriment to the escort service and the students," Young said.
Escort vehicles will continue on-campus service for the time being, but the future of service on Trousdale, as well as other campus streets, is still being discussed.
Diplomat honored at assembly
By Richard Cordova
Staff Writer
Edward J. Perkins, the U.S. Ambassador to Australia, discussed the importance to both America and the university of building a relationship with the new community of Pacific Rim countries, after receiving an honorary degree at the 1995 Academic Honors Convocation on Tuesday.
Perkins urged his audience to do "the things that make a difference, not the things that destruct."
University President Steven B. Sample bestowed the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws on Perkins at the ceremony in Bovard Auditorium.
"(Perkins is) one of the most distinguished and accomplished American diplomats of this generation," one who has shown a "commitment to the highest ideals of mankind,'' Sample said.
Perkins, who earned a master's degree in public administration in 1972 and a doctorate in 1978, both from USC, praised the university and its extensions
FN* Photo
Edward J. Perkins
for "institutionalizing the concept of the community and what it can do" both at the national and local level.
He said the concept of community is extending internationally, binding the nations of the Pacific together to address economic, trade, environmental and health concerns.
Professor George A. Olah, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize for chemistry, was awarded the Presidential Medallion for what Sample called "contributions to (See Honors, page 13)
Power generators outpaced by outage
Rains to blame for blackout that lasted for hours
By Anisa Abeytia
Staff Writer
Although there have been two power outages on campus so far this year, officials said the university maintains only enough generators to keep emergency equipment running.
"The majority of the buildings have standby generators for fire alarm systems, exit lighting and critical equipment only," said John Welsh, director of engineering services.
Sixty buildings on campus were without power for approximately two and a half hours Sunday, Welsh said, but witnesses in the Student Union confirmed that the outage lasted for three and a half hours. Half of the campus was without power. Parts of the adjacent community were affected also.
In addition to the eight housing facilities without power, some others experienced what
Director of Housing, Jeff Urdahl called "brownouts," or flickering electricity.
"We had staff here on Sunday," he said. "As soon as power was brought up and stabilized, ACCESS was Drought up. We had battery back-up going most of the time, but we also had to rotate in new batteries."
Heavy rains caused the outage, Welsh explained.
"A DWP circuit breaker tripped due to a 'flashdown' caused by water leakage onto their equipment," he said.
This has been the second power outage this year, but because it was on a weekend fewer office workers were affected.
"Obviously all buildings that were considered unsafe would be closed" in the event of a weekday outage, Welsh said. "This would be decided by individual departments, presumably depending on their need for electricity."
There were also some minor problems Tuesday morning in the housing facilities, but Urdahl belives that the problems have all been corrected.
CourtMy ot tfw School of PubHc AdmlnHtratton
George Bush and Steven Sample honor comedian Bob Hope at Ides of March benefit.
George Bush recognized by Public Administration
Ides of March dinner raises over $1 million
By Michelle Ladd
Editor
The Ides of March fell early this year for the School of Public Administration.
Though former U.S. President George Bush joked that the Secret Service warned him not to attend an event named for the day on which Caesar was assassinated, he accepted the Julius Award given annually by the School of Public Administration at its scholarship benefit.
"The Julius award — they named a salad
for him and now I get an award, too," Bush said in his acceptance speech.
This year's Ides of March, held on Monday at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, raised $525,000 for the scholarship fund and an additional $515,000 in designated gifts, according to a School of Public Administra-tionpress release.
"This has been the most successful Ides of March in USC history," said Jane Pisano, dean of the School of Public Administration and vice provost of external affairs.
She added that "so far this year, major pledges and gifts to the school total over $8 million."
(See Bush, page 13)