lor and herbal medicine expert Varro Tyler will be pr at a discussion on the future of herbs and plants
. today at the Mayer Auditorium of the Keith
^—Jing on the Health Sciences Campus, re is free but registration is required, information, call (323) 442-1381.
sat
HEADLINES
Slamming Start. The 4-0 USC men's basketball
team is off to its best start since the 1988-89 seastm
when the Trojans also opened 4-0.	■Wj ___ icwbj AU
Too many kid*. The media hype surrounding the McCaughey septuplets’ first birthday ignores fertility drug dangers, Ben Davidson says.	^
FORECAST
WEWESHW
dtrojantuac.adu
http://nrww.MK.Mlu/dt
N E VVSP APER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFOR N I A
' 2, IMS Vol. CXXXV, No.
High number of obscene phone calls reported
Crime: Officials say an unknown ‘perverted’ male suspect may be calling random people
By RACHEL CAMPBELL
Staff Writer
Reports of obscene phone calls have been on the rise this semester sparking an investigation by the Department of Public Safety.
The increase is largely due to one per-
son, said DPS Deputy Chief Bob Taylor.
“We have one perverted suspect out there making calls," Taylor said. “We are investigating a couple of people right now in connection with the calls."
Many of the reported calls are similar. “Currently the suspect we are looking at calls a female and says, ‘I’m masturbating for you,’" Taylor said.
DPS is investigating the calls by using phone taps. *We can put taps to trace telephone numbers,* Taylor said. “We have to have the consent of the victim who tells us when the person calls, then we can trace the phone number of the caller.’
The calls started before the semester
began when many students were not on campus.
“In the beginning the calls were directed toward RAs and people in student housing early (before classes started),* Taylor said. “It was obvious that he knew who he was calling."
Although the calls were directed toward certain people initially, it is possible that the suspect is now finding random female names and phone numbers from the USC online directory.
“This one particular guy is strange,’ Taylor said. “Sometimes he asks for a particular person. Sometimes he will call the same person three or four times a day and sometimes he will call three or
four different people in the same day,	1
but he always calls females.’	“We have one
The current suspect follows a certain perverted type of behavioral pattern, said Dr.
Bradford King, director of Student Counseling Services.	there makin6
“Some men call to hear a woman’s	calls."
voice and masturbate while on the —— phone,’ King said. “These men are try- Bob Taylor ing to fulfill their own fantasies and it is Deputy Chief best to hang up on them quickly.*	DPS
Taylor agreed that hanging up is the best tiling to do. “A victim should not engage in a conversation with the person because it encourages him,’ he said.
(see Calls, page 3)
Price comparisons show best bargains
\32nd
Street Market proves to be closest, most convenient, cheap
By LANEA AUSTIN
Staff Writer
In a comparison of prices between the on-campus Good Neighbor Pharmacy, 32nd Street Market and Ralphs, the local stores most shopped by students for tpi-letries and other commonly used items, 32nd Street Market proved to be the most affordable.
The comparison consists of such items as deodorant, lotion, shampoo, razors and other items sold in Good Neighbor Pharmacy, which are also available at Ralphs and 32nd Street Market; and the overall opinion of students on their prices and location of places where they are sold.
Good Neighbor Pharmacy, formerly known as USC Pharmacy, is located on the first floor of the Student Union building. It placed second for prices and first for convenience to students, according to
tltfe comparison conducted by tbe Daily Ttojan. Ralphs, located on
Vermont Avenue and Adams Boulevard is farthest from campus and the most expensive.
“You can’t compare us to 32nd Street Market or Ralphs,’ said Louise Lewis, a retail assistant at Good Neighbor Pharmacy. “We’re dealing with chains. They get stuff in bulk quantities at cheaper rates."
“We do tiy to sell (products) for as little as we can,’ said Robert Holbrook, director of Good Neighbor Pharmacy. “When 1 worked at Sav-on (drug store) we could buy thousands of products and sell at cheaper prices, but we just don’t have the buying power to do that. We carry a wide selection of generic products (despite) our limited shelf space. Students could shop wisely and buy generic products to save money."
The prices at Ralphs, despite being part of a large supermarket chain, are about 50 cents higher than those at Good Neighbor Pharmacy on items compared. Prices at the 32nd Street Market, which is presumed to be corporately larger than Good Neighbor
(see Prices, page 6)
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Ralphs card: Savings or consumer profile?
By CLINTON LUKENS
Staff Writer
A Ralphs Club card was an unexpected necessity for USC student Will Greenberg after he moved to Los Angeles from Texas.
When buying school supplies from Ralphs at the beginning of the year, Greenberg, a freshman majoring in theater, signed up for
the discount card intending to save money.
When Greenberg received the card, he was unaware of the marketing purpose behind the card.
Ralphs Club cards, which more than five million customers own statewide and are a year old, are designed to collect consumer data for certain products in order to find out which items are popular.
Ralphs only discounts frequently purchased products with the Ralphs Club card.
"We wanted to show something for our shopper loyalty,’ said Terry O’Neil, manager of corporate communication for Ralphs.
O’Neil said Ralphs offers daily bargains through a dual effort with
(see Kalpha, page 2)
torttmlCT: Student group declares time for finals preparation, awards
By AMANDA CARACCI
Staff Writer
The most dreaded time of the semester is approaching, and fear is in the air. Students are cracking open books and cramming information in hopes of acing their finals.
Appropriately, this week has been declared Academic Honors Week by the
Academic Honors Assembly. The group is sponsoring a series of activities and lectures to inspire students to do well academically.
“Our purpose is to encourage students to work hard,’ said Irene Park, director of Academic Honors Assembly and a senior majoring in English.
The Academic Honors Assembly received funding from Program Board allowing this week’s schedule of events to take place. The group will also recognize honor societies and it plans to recruit some honor students.
“It’s beneficial to take time out so people don’t lose sight of their academic goals,* said Kimberly Blevins, president
of College Bowl and a junior majoring in histoiy.
“We took time to support our sports team, now the emphasis is on academics,* Blevins said referring to Troy Week, which revolved around the USC-UCLA football rivalry.
“It’s hard to promote only academics at a university,” said Ted Yang, chief of staff of Golden State Invitational Model United Nations and a sophomore majoring in biomedical engineering. “People are here for more than just academics. Students are searching for their personal interest and looking for what they might accomplish in the future.”
(see Academic, page 3)