Newspaper of the University of Southern California
Headlines
The mainline on junk literature
William S. Burroughs, Hubert Selby Jr., Jerry Stahl, and their writings on heroin abuse are all linked together by "The Algebra of Need." From the rerelease of Burroughs' early spoken word album featuring selections from his novel "Junky" through Selby's new live CD, addiction and its consequences in art and reality continue to fascinate America.
Diversions, page 12
The dark side of the stock market
Columnist Leif Ueland discusses how he turned two friends and his brother into risk junkies. Four men caught up in the stock market thrill — the writer, cautious and in the game for the long haul, the writer's brother, who scoffs in the face of risk, and two friends who lucked out their first go around.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
MOCA houses pop art exhibit
The Museum of Contemporary Art will be housing an exhibition of works by Claes Oldenburg, a prolific figure of pop art in the 1960s, whose works range from drawings to collages and sculptures. Throughout his career, Oldenburg focused on the metaphorical potential of familiar objects to create new forms and infuse the commonplace with life, wit and alternative meanings. The exhibit will be on display through September 3 at MOCA at California Plaza, 250 S. Grand Ave.
The museum is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is $6 for adults, $4 for seniors and students with an ID and free for MOCA members and children under 12. For recorded information on current exhibitions, education programs and special events, please call the MOCA information line at (213) 626-6222.
Nuclear cuts unresolved after two days of talks
The topic of Russia selling nuclear reactors to Iran was too hot to handle when Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin met during V-E Day celebrations two months ago. On Friday, their deputies fared no better.
After two days of talks, Vice President A1 Gore and Russian Prime Minister Viktor Chernomyrdin failed to resolve the dispute that has cooled relations between the two powers since January.
Russia, which says Western nations have taken advantage of the Soviet collapse to cut them out of lucrative markets for nuclear and other technology, has signed a billion-dollar deal with Tehran.
The United States has argued against it, saying Iran wants to use the technology to build nuclear weapons.
Resolving the issue was one of Gore's key assignments for his Moscow summit. Instead,
the two men decided to decide later.
"That discussion is still going on," Gore told reporters at the close of the meetings with Chernomyrdin, whom he
Elans to meet again in Decem-er in Washington.
More than 100 Russian technicians are preparing Iran's Bushehr energy complex for the two light-water nuclear reactors — which Russian officials insist are still scheduled for delivery.
• Chernomyrdin echoed Russian insistence that the deal is not weapons-related.
"Iran will never be allowed to acquire nuclear weapons," he said.
Gore and Chernomyrdin found common ground on other issues, however, signing several agreements on economics, the environment, nuclear and space issues.
(See Russia, page 2)
Affirmative action ruling fuels debate
By Trevor Kaufman
Staff Writer
Though the immediate implications of the Supreme Court's recent affirmative action ruling are somewhat ambiguous, the controversial decision has already affected the university by prompting heated debates across campus.
In a 5-4 ruling on June 13, the court held that race-based preferential treatment is almost always unconstitutional, dealing what could be a fatal blow to most federal affirmative action programs.
"It hasn't been determined how it will be implemented in the state of California," said Linda Nolan, the director of USC's affirmative action office.
"We must wait and see how
the university will be affected. We, of course, employ a large percentage of minorities, and that won't change."
It is unknown how and if the ruling will alter admissions procedure, scholarship selections, or university hirings, but many students have already taken up sides on the issue.
"If we get rid of affirmative action, how do you control racism?" said Jamie Kim, 24, a sociology major.
"Symbolically, it's very important. I don't know why they targeted affirmative action instead of looking at the sources of racism.
"I think when you sit down and look at affirmative action it's flawed, it's reverse racism, but what does that mean?" said
Sammy Lo, 24, a business major.
"Without it, it's been proven that minorities don't get their fair share of jobs. I hope the Supreme Court is thinking about what there is to replace it with. Sure it's flawed, but what else is there?"
Many students sided with Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, who wrote that the Constitution protects persons, not groups.
"Affirmative action is nothing but state-sanctioned discrimination," said Chad Brazington, 22, a business major.
"Just because there is some good in the outcome does not morally justify the discrimination. You can say neither that 1 am more deserving nor less deserving than someone else
beause of my skin color — it works both ways."
Steve Prettyman, 21, a communications major, said the ruling may help to pull together different ethnic groups on campus.
"It's difficult for people to honestly feel equal when different people are treated differently by the university and by the government," he said.
Pamela Porter, director of the Department for Black Students, said it is too early to decide the fate of the policy because there isn't enough substantial data to accurately gauge its effectiveness.
"Affirmative action is relatively young, less than 30 years old, so we're measuring the baby before it has left the incubator," she said.
Suspect found after spate of
thefts on Row
By April Haitsuka
City Editor
Early morning quake upped to magnitude 5.0
The magnitude of a North-ridge earthquake aftershock that rattled the area last Monday was upgraded to 5.0, seismologists said.
The jolt, originally estimated at 4.9, was one of the nine largest aftershocks of the Jan. 17, 1994 Northridge quake that killed 61 people.
The revision by scientists at the California Institute of Technology and the U.S. Geological Survey was issued Thursday in the weekly report of the Southern California Seismographic Network.
Quake magnitudes are often updated as more seismographic stations report.
The 5.0 shock rattled shelves and awakened people at 1:40 a.m. Monday. As an earthquake in its own right, it had two foreshocks and 40 aftershocks, including one magnitude 3.3.
The largest Northridge aftershock was magnitude 5.6, a minute after the main shock.
Monday's was the largest since a 5.2 jolt on March 20, 1994.
Seismologists Kate Hutton and Lucy Jones said in the weekly summary that the magnitude of Monday's aftershock was within expectations.
"Readers who may be concerned about the size of this week's aftershock at this late date should recall that aftershocks decrease in number with time, but the relative number of small to large remains the same," the report said. "Large, late aftershocks are certainly possible and expected statistically in some percentage of aftershock sequences."
At the start of 1995 seismologists said that statistically speaking the Northridge sequence should produce over the year about 17 magnitude-3s, about two magnitude-4s, and there was about a 25 percent chance it would include another magnitude-5.
— from the Associated Press
The Department of Public Safety arrested a suspect for a burglary at the Sigma Nu house on Tuesday whom they believe to also be responsible for a number of other burglaries in the residential area north of campus.
Officers arrested the suspect behind the Bank of America after pursuing him through backyards from 660 28th Street, said Deputy Chief Bob Taylor of DPS. Residents who saw the crime positively identified the suspect as the burglar.
"We think the person we arrested Tuesday is reponsible for all the burglaries on 28th Street and other burglaries in the north campus area," he said.
(See Sigma, page 2)
The PI Kappa Alpha house on 28th Street
Is
I
Fll# photo
one of several houses hit by burglars recently.