Newspaper of the University of Southern California
Wednesday January 21,1998 Vol. CXXXIII, No. 8
Headlines
Trojans head into enemy territory
l-ess than a week after losing in one unfriendly arena, Stanford's Maples Pavilion, the USC men's basketball team visits UCLA tonight at Pauley Pavilion, where it has not won since 1993.
Sports, page 20
No traps with this wooden horse
Moving along at a gallup, Troy Rep, a theater company comprised of USC alumni and staff members, unbridals its first play "No Wooden Horses" to much praise and celebration.
Diversions, page 7
Wake up and smell the liberty
Editorial Columnist Christian Cooper laments the new high in political apathy among young people in America, made especially bad by a concurrent rise in activism opportunities.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
Valentine's photos, minister to speak
Today is the last day to have a free Valentine's Day photo taken. Pictures will be taken in front of the bookstore from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• ••
The Trojan Christian Faculty/Staff Fellowship will sponsor a speech on "Ministering in the Secular Campus," given by Rae Mellichamp, a retired professor of management science from noon to 1:15 p.m. Thursday.
The event will be in the University Religious Center. Anyone planning to attend must call Don Ludwig today at (213) 740-5891.
• ••
Scenes for the American Music Awards will be filmed from 2 to 7 p.m. near the Shrine Auditorium today. Outside dialogue and driving scenes will be filmed, and equipment will be stationed at various points. There will be intermittent traffic control as well as filming from a helicopter.
Daitylrojan
Reporter criticizes media
By Ben Berkowitz
Assistant City Editor
CNN political analyst Jeff Greenfield spoke about the relationship between the media and politicians and the lack of
fublic attention to the news
uesday night in Bovard Auditorium.
Greenfield was openly sarcastic in his speech about the current state of American politics.
"We are in the least interesting political period of my lifetime, and possibly of the 20th Century," ne said. 'The conventions of 1996 were the lowest rated in the history of television."
Greenfield, who won Emmys in 1985 and 1990 for his coverage of South Africa, and an Emmy in 1992 for a special on Ross Perot, was speaking as part of Spectrum s Tuesday night speaker Aeries.
"I've coached candidates in debates, I’ve spun the press, and for 20 years, I've been a member of that press," Greenfield said.
The event was moderated by David Brancaccio, the host of the nationally syndicated business radio program Marketplace, which is produced by KUSC (91.5 FM).
Greenfield recently moved to CNN after 15 years as a reporter for ABC News. There he provided commentary for World News Sunday and Nightline. He also worked as a convention floor reporter and elections analyst. Starting in June, he will host a television version of the magazine TTrw for CNN.
He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1964
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Amber Otto / Daily Trojan
Jeff Greenfield, analyst and political beat reporter, addressed writing students and USC community in Bovard Auditorium Tbesday.
and later received a law degree from Yale University. In addition to reporting, Greenfield also worked as a senate aide and speechwriter for former Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and as chief speechwriter for former New York City Mayor John Lindsay.
He turned his sarcasm on members of the media and individual politicians.
"We are thousands of people at
a convention chasing a non-existent story," Greenfield said. "I once suggested that we use hand puppets(instead of politicians)."
One of Greenfielcl's main criticisms was that people do not pay attention to wnat is happening in the world anymore.
"We are also at a time when it's easier to avoid the news than at any time in history," he
(See Greenfield, page 14)
Incident
triggers
gun
policy
debate
By Marie Bergeonneau
Staff Writer
A complaint against the Department of Public Safety was filed last week by a maintenance employee after a DPS officer pointed a gun at him.
Ron Schultz, a physical plant worker, was painting in the College Academic Services building about 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, when two DPS officers came in with their guns drawn. Schultz had entered the building, located across from Taper Hall of Humanities, without disabling the alarm code. DPS received a burglary call from the alarm center ai)d sent officers to investigate. Once inside, Officer Lawson Tatum recognized Schultz as an employee, yet Tatum pointed his gun at Schultz, both sides said.
"I want to piss you off so that you will tell your supervisor what happened," Schultz said Tatum told him.
Tatum said he pointed his gun at Schultz on purpose since it is
Eart of DPS policy. "If they don't ave the code, they're not supposed to enter the building," said Lt. Art Blair, Tatum's boss, adding that employees get the
(See DPS, page 3)
Asian economic crisis follows students
By Gina Szeto
Staff Writer
Many international students are financially crippled and unable to return to school due to Asia's economic crisis which has caused the monetary rates of exchange to plummet and inflation to grow rapidly.
Of the 457,984 foreign students enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities during the 1996-97 school year, 57 percent came from Asia, according to the Los Angeles Times. The countries
suffering most in the Asian financial crisis are South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.
At USC, there are approximately 500 Korean, 200 Indonesian and 100 Thai students enrolled, said Dixon Johnson, director of the Office of International Services.
Serious concern about the crisis has led to mass media publicity from CNN, NBC and the Los Angeles Times last year.
We didn't have enough (currency) to pay back loans that we
owed to the United States and other countries," said Kwan Choi, a Korean international student and a junior majoring in accounting. "The Korean president said things would become stabilized within a year and a half/
Some international students are being asked by their parents to tighten their belts, while others were told to return home.
"This is a private issue for most people. In some cases it can be a serious problem; for others, it's just a matter of
adopting a more frugal lifestyle,'' Johnson said.
"I know a Korean guy who has to leave USC because of this," Choi said. "My parents are asking me to restrict my spending, but it's not like I don't want to."
USC will not know the impact of this overseas financial crisis until the end of the month at the deadline for spring semester enrollment.
"It's not unusual to have a fall
(See Asia, page 24)
Financial aid application deadline nears
By Angela Sperber
Staff Writer
The deadlines for student financial aid are rapidly approaching during the next few months.
Students are offered a variety of aid, ranging from grants and loans to work study. For example, students can obtain Federal Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, PLUS Loans, Consolidation Loans, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Perkins Loans.
The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) must be completed by Feb. 16. Federal income tax returns for students and parents must be completed and signed by
the April 15 deadline.
"The biggest disappointment is for students who are late,' said Cathy Thomas, associate dean of Enrollment Services and director of Financial Aid.
Approximately $400 million in aid is distributed each year, $200 million of which
hile half of the money given by the unineed, anyone is eligible
versify is based on
goes to undergraduates, Thomas said
ww‘ 11 nl • * ■
;ity for a loan.
"One of the great benefits of USC is the Availability of financial aid," said Samantha Witt, a freshman majoring in psychology. "This makes it possible for me to attend this university."
USC also offers scholarships which are
not need-based. The best source for scholarships is the World Wide Web, Thomas said.
FastWEB (www.fastweb.com) is the most informative site, Thomas said. It is a free search of more than 180,000 private scholarships as well as loans from more than 3,000 sources, according to a brochure published by the Guidance and Admissions Committee and The College Board.
Other sites include the Financial Aid Information Page, at www.fmaid.org, The College Board at www.collegeboard.org and www.salliemae.com.
Each of these provide information on scholarships, including availability and eligibility requirements.