"It was like I was drowning... The only thing / could think of at the time were stories ofpeople being trampled at European soccer games"
DYLAN AMBAUEN, sophomore, computer engineering
Victory turns violent at Coliseum
Open and Shutout
Trojans blank Bruins, 27-0, for their third straight win against UCLA, earning them a trip to a bowl game /12
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
MONDAY
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November 19, 2001
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Of interest...
Lynn Redgrave's miraculous performance raises ‘The Simian Line’ to the next level / 5
News Digest 2 Insider 3 Opinions 4 Lifestyle 5
The Buzz 8 Classifieds 8 Crossword 9 Sports 12
vol. CXLIV. no. 57	www.dailytrojan.com
Mason Poole I Daily Trojan
Reaction. Students were piled on top of each other after attempting to leave the stands and storm the field at the Coliseum Saturday.
Game: Student rush field after first shutout against UCLA in decades, some say officers overreacted
By JENNIFER MEDINA
City Editor
Hundreds of students who stormed the field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday were trampled by fans or hit by safety officers after USC’s first shutout against UCLA since 1947.
As soon as the clock ran out on the game, students from 30 rows up poured onto the field to celebrate.
At least three people were injured and taken to California Medical Center for treatment
Witnesses said Los Angeles Police Department officers and Coliseum event staff pushed and hit the fans with batons.
The Coliseum operates a private security force for USC games, using police officers on a contract basis, LAPD officials said.
Department of Public Safety officials declined to comment Sunday. USC administrators were unavailable.
“There was just no crowd control," said Dylan Ambauen, a sophomore majoring in computer engineering.
After sitting at the front of the student section during the game, Ambauen moved to the aisle near the end of the fourth quarter.
Seconds after students began to move to the field, Ambauen was crushed face-down on the cold concrete steps with dozens of students
Mason Poole t Daily Troian
Possible injury. A student collapses after a police officer pulled her from a pile near the Coliseum's student section after Saturday’s football game. She was taken to a nearby hospital and treated.
walking on top of him. As the weight of the crowd pressed on his ankles, thighs, back and head, Ambauen tried to protect his 5-foot-ll, 165-pound body. He continued to breathe by holding himself in a push-up position.
“It was like 1 was drowning,” he said. “1 was caught in a tidal wave of people ... The only thing 1 could think of at the time were stories of people being trampled at European soccer games.”
A person standing above Ambauen lifted him from the crowd by the armpits and brought him to the field. He stood on the field in a state of shock before being put on a body board and taken to the hospital
in an ambulance. Cynthia Cherrey, assistant vice president of Student Affairs, was at the hospital when Ambauen arrived, he said.
Ambauen had cuts and bruises up and down his body Sunday and was walking with a limp. Doctors also said his ligaments and tendons were torn.
LAPD officers were not positioned to protect the crowd, Ambauen said.
jack Hay, a sophomore majoring in business, moved onto the field, but a police officer pushed him back into the stands using a baton, he said. When he started to walk onto the field again, a police officer grabbed him and ripped his shirt, he said.
I	see Game, page 3
Mock trial team readies students for courtroom
Organization: Members learn from legal experts and try hand at homicide case
By HEATHER DEMETRIOS
Contributing Writer
Walking into a USC Mock Trial practice is like walking into a scene from the popular television series “Law & Order.” Clad in suits, rehearsing in a makeshift courtroom von Kleinsmid Center 258, students not only enjoy acting like lawyers, but also learn how a trial case works.
In a simulated courtroom, students compete against other universities using real-life court procedures. Students receive points for their performances. which, for lawyers on the team, include their opening and closing arguments, their use of objections and their ability to examine and cross-examine witnesses.
During competition, professional judges conduct the trials and students must interact with each other and the judge as if there were a real trial occurring. The competitions are
timed trials. Competitors are presented with a fictional court case, including evidence and witness statements. Participants must then build and argue a case with the information given.
The experience allows for students to gain insight on how the court system works, said Olu Orange, an attorney for the Orange County Public Defenders Office.
“Students involved in mock trial at USC ... learn how to think on their feet, effectively communicate their point of view and persuade others to adopt it through the framework of the American judicial system," he said.
Throughout the summer, 20 students. the pre-law advisor and educator coach, Monique Sosa, created the first official mock trial team at USC. Orange coaches the team along with two assistants, Laura Sjoberg, a graduate student in international relations and Tenicia Pitts, a graduate student in law.
Though Phi Alpha Delta, the campus pre-law fraternity, did compete in mock trial three years ago, it faced difficulties because it did not
have a coach.
“It was surprising that USC didn’t have a team," said Fernando Brito, a team leader and junior majoring in political science. “There was a strong interest with the students. Our coach found out USC didn’t have one, and so he contacted our pre-law advisor.”
During practice, team members determine all possible angles of a case and then use them and learn how to incorporate them into a trial setting. The coaches emphasize actual judicial trial rules in order to make the experience as educational as possible.
“Our coaches are really good. They are very experienced with mock trial and with working with new teams," said Elina Agnoli, a sophomore majoring in journalism, who often serves as a prosecution lawyer.
The team has weekly six-hour practices on Saturdays, Tuesday practices, required textbook reading and time outside of scheduled practices to go over their case for this season. which is a homicide.
“I've been told by several people that what you learn in mock trial will cover about a year in law school,” said
team leader Marc Habib, a junior majoring in industrial and systems engineering with a pre-law emphasis.
For many members on the team, the experience helps them to make important decisions about their future careers. While many are prelaw, they are not all certain that trial law is what they eventually want to pursue after law school.
“This will help me to determine to some degree whether or not 1 want to go into trial law,” said Dan Brown, a junior majoring in public policy and management who plays a lawyer on the team. “This is definitely helping me learn the legal terminology."
The USC team is divided into two smaller teams and each member plays a number of roles within the case, requiring each member to know all the varying aspects of the trial. The team’s first competition will be the UCLA Invitational, Jan. 11-12. Though this will be the team’s first competition together, Orange, who led the students he coached at Howard University to two national American Mock Trial Association championships, said that his new
team will fare well.
“They have really dedicated themselves,” Orange said. “Though . they have a lack of experience on the collegiate mock trial circuit they’ll fair well because of their dedication."
The activity is solely extra-curricular, but Orange is petitioning to create a mock trial class for credit
“(It’s) what you need for a top-ranked team," Orange said.
In addition to working towards making the activity more than extracurricular, members are also trying to find ways to increase their budget Because competing requires traveling, the team has been trying to solicit funds to help with the costs.
“We haven't had success securing a budget at this point" Orange said.
He also said that the team is hopeful that additional funding will not only help with the program’s costs, but also provide scholarship money, similar to what many other university teams offer.
But Orange said the students are ready for competition this season.
‘They do it because they love their school and the activity," he said.