Newspaper of the University of Southern California
Janitors strike against ServiceMaster
By Jennifer Arrache
Staff Writer
With cries of "no justice, no peace," janitors and union representatives gathered outside of Gate 5 on McClintock Avenue Wednesday night to encourage the arriving night shift workers to join a strike in protest of alleged unfair treatment by ServiceMaster, the university's cleaning service company.
The strike was prompted by the arrest of two union representatives by the Department of Public Safety Wednesday afternoon. University officials found the representatives to be in violation of a earlier restraining order, which limits union protests and demonstrations on campus.
"The university has a restraining order with certain terms and conditions to it and these people are breaking the terms and conditions," said Maurice Hollman, executive director of facilities. "They are obstructing traffic entering the campus and employees who are trying to come to work are being harassed at the gate."
Members of Service Employees International Union, Local 399, allege that the representatives were arrested for talking with tne workers they represent, not for any actions of protest. Local 399 is not recognized by USC administration, although it has been organizing on behalf of university janitors.
Students supporting the janitors believe that the restraining order should not apply to them.
"The restraining order is meant to be for people who are working for the union or
Troy Witt / Daily Trojan
Striking janitors tell a co-worker not to go in for his shift Wednesday night.
who are in concert with the union and for those who are involved with protests or demonstrations, and today the people who were arrested were not doing either of those things," said Jessica Walsh, a graduate student in geography who is a member of the Student Support Committee, a student group organized in support of the janitors.
University officials, however see the arrests as being in accordance with the restraining order.
"The union representatives were on cam-
pus in-violation of the temporary restraining order, they refused to leave and they were arrested," Hollman said.
Organizers began the strike outside of the campus gates after realizing that any unrest on university grounds would result in the arrest of more demonstrators. Members of the union and other janitors stood outside Gate 5 at 10 p.m. in order to discourage night shift employees from going to work and to
(See Strike, page 2)
Quality of music facilities in question
USJKj
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Thursday Decembers, 19% Vol. QOQX, No. 65
Headlines
USC breezes past first-round match
The USC women's volleyball team found the going easy in its first-round NCAA playoff match against Southeast Missouri State. The Women of Troy swept the Otahkians, 15-2,15-5,15-1.
Sports, page 20
Season's greetings, holiday films await
Film Editor Scott Foundas previews a few of the upcoming holiday film releases. Included are "Everyone Says I Love You," "Mother" and "The Whole Wide World."
Diversions, page 10
Apologies, thanks to John Robinson
Editorial writer Christian D. Orr offers a public apology to Coach Robinson for the stabs and blows he doled out to him this semester and thanks him for a football victory he will never forget.
Viewpoint, page 4
F.Y.I.
Concert at Bovard, Hanukkah party
The USC Community Orchestra will be holding a free concert at Bovard auditorium at 8:30 p.m. tonight.
For more information, call 748-6875.
• • t
The Jewish Student Union will be holding a free Hanukkah party today at 7 p.m. at 3300 S. Hoover Blvd.
There will be traditional Hanukkah food, such as latkas and sufganiyot, music, dancing, dreidel spinning and the lighting of the meno-rah.
For more information, call 747-9135.
• • •
The Latino Student Assembly will be holding a party at 7 p.m. today, immediately after a Christmas Posada Procession.
The party will be held at 1320 W. 29th St. and the cover charge will be a wrapped and tagged children's gift or monetary donation.
By Nik Trendowski
Staff Writer
. Students in the School of Music have decried the quality of the practice rooms in the Performing Arts Annex as well as the lack of practice space on campus, but upcoming vacancies in School of Music buildings may soon begin to remedy the situation.
Currently, the school's approximately 800 students may practice in instructors' rooms on campus, in private spaces or in a limited number of practice rooms at the Performing Arts Annex on Figueroa and 32nd streets.
Celina Guerrero, an opera singer and university employee affiliated with the School of Music who also got her undergraduate degree at USC, deplored the recent addition of fans—with warning signs about defacing them—in the Annex practice rooms, which she described as dusty and inadequate.
"There's no air. I mean, you can't even breathe," Guerrero said. "It's very dirty, and it's far (away from campus)."
Guerrero said she would often warm up for vocal performances in the Norris Theatre women's restroom, because it had better acoustics than areas outside the
music school buildings, where some instrumental students often practice.
"Given the facilities the School of Music has at present, 1 don't think it's very fair to the students at all," she said.
Carol Clary-Weber, a graduate student in vocal performance, denounced the practice room situation even more vigorously.
"It's scandalous," she said. "This is one of the largest and most prestigious music schools in the country. It's truly scandalous, at the price that people pay to go to USC."
Clary-Weber said she has previously taught at California State University, Los Angeles,
and said there are more practice rooms per student there despite the smaller size of the program.
"I keep wondering where the money's really going," she said. "The teachers 1 have aren't getting it."
Students can pay $150 per lesson, Clary-Weber said, but instructors are paid less than a third of that amount per lesson.
Clary-Weber noted that USC, along with Indiana University, is considered one of the country's best music schools within large universities.
According to information from the Indiana University School of Music, its 1,500 stu-
(Sff Music, page 3)
Studying hard or hardly studying?
Jonathan Ingalla / Dally Trojan
Jose Salcedo and Yazmin Tebha, sophomores majoring in biology and Richard Chan, a sophomore majoring in chemistry, study for finals in Fluor Tower.
Classes stress importance of group learning
By Jason S. Grant
Staff Writer
As finals approach, students and faculty are finding tnat working and studying in groups provides an advantage in schixil and the workplace.
"I'm going to study both individually and with some people and I think it'll help because you get different insights into certain problems," said Rick Takatani, a senior majoring in accounting. "You have your strengths and other people have their strengths and together you can help each other out."
Working in groups is characteristic of human experience, architecture professor Bob Harris said "It's the way of the world and we can teach good skills in a way that's honorable and responsible," he said Students and professors of various majors (See Teamwork, page 3)