u
Wednesday July 17,1996 Vol. CXXV1II, No. 10
Headlines
Cardinal and gold go for the gold
It's been a while since the Olympic Torch was in Los Angeles to launch its crosscountry journey, but some USC athletes have worked hard this summer to follow the torch's light to Atlanta to compete in tne Olympics. Twenty-four Trojans will be fighting on in events starting this weekend, so here's who to look out for to cheer on Team Trojan.
Feature, page 6
Change is more than loose coins
Encounters with panhandlers and the homeless are daily occurrences in this city, but actual help offered to them by average citizens is scarce. Guest editorial writer Benjamin Acker suggests that instead of throwing the next homeless person you see your spare change or a crumpled dollar, offer him or her some advice or direction on where to find real help.
Viewpoint, page 4
Final issue of Summer Trojan
Today's issue of the Summer Trojan is the last for the summer of 1996. The staff thanks you for your readership.
Publication for the fall's Daily Trojan will resume on August 22 with the annual Orientation Issue of the paper, a compilation of university news, features, opinions and sports as well as the "how-to's' and "what-not-to-do's" of USC life.
The first regular issue of the Daily Trojan will be published on August 29, the second day of classes.
Entry level positions are available in all sections of the Daily Trojan, including city reporters, copy editors, sports, diversions and editorial writers, photographers and artists. Anyone interested in joining the staff next fall is encouraged to call the office at (213) 740-5667 or (213) 740-8829.
• • •
See you in the fall!
F.Y.I.
Newspaper of the University of Southern California
Trojan initiates neighborhood watch
Community to benefit from program monitoring area north of campus
By Kamron Barron
City Editor
Rudy Cordova hopes that community activism will erupt in the streets north of the USC campus in an effort to pull together and unite residents in the area to combat crime and improve the streets and housing, he said.
Cordova, a junior majoring in psychology, recently completed a 10-week Los Angeles Police Department Community Academy course which moved him to begin a neighborhood watch program and implement projects in the North University neighborhood between Adams and Jefferson boulevards and Vermont and Figueroa streets.
"I've always had the notion of doing this, but because of time constraints 1 didn't," Cordova said. "I figured that now is the time to do it."
Cordova, who was appointed as an at-large member and north area representative last semester by 8tn District Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas, works as a liaison to the community to help initiate progress.
An alley Between 29th and 30th streets, in addition to a house on 29th Street, have been targeted by Cordova for improvements, he said.
For about three months, Cordova said he has been con-
tacting city officials regarding the installation of lights in the alley to prevent criminal activity. Officials have already been out to survey the area.
"We have a bunch of transients that go back there," he said., "A lot of transients help themselves to more than just aluminum cans, they help themselves to whatever the can get their hands on."
He said lights, spaced about 300 feet apart, should be installed soon.
Bob Taylor, deputy chief of the Department of Public Safety, said many lighting changes have been made in other alleys in the North University area through efforts made by USC officials, but other areas still need lighting enhancement, including the alley between 29th and 30th streets.
"There have been a number of improvements that have been needed in the north campus area," Taylor said. "There was a major improvement in the alley behind 28th Street and in other alleys parallel or perpendicular to Figueroa."
A nouse on 29th Street, which had been previously deemed a historical monument, had been damaged by a fire iast winter when transients used the site for drug and other criminal activities, Cordova said.
"Local transients and drug-
Brandan Hancock / Summer Trojan
This house on 29th Street, allegedly home to illegal activity and transients, may be tom down to aid area security.
users have been using it as a hang-out and they probably started the fire to keep warm," Taylor said.
After about nine to 10 months of contacting and working with city officials, Cordova said he expects to have the house demolished soon.
"In order to have the house destroyed, the state of California and the city of Los Angeles have to sign off on the demolition permits, because it was once a historical monument," he said. "We hope to have it out when students return to school in September."
addition to community
epte
In
clean-up projects, Cordova said he would like to see a neighborhood watch and a patrol program implemented Cordova said that he hopes to eventually have a block captain and an assistant block captain for each block in the North University area, and ideally have about 50 volunteers to watch and report crimes in the neighborhood. Responsibilities would include attending meetings about three times each month and distribute crime-related information to residents in their areas, he said.
(See Watch, page 3)
Campus crime bill to enforce disclosure
Campus Crime Legislation Timeline
1986 Two young women are murdered in California college dormitories. Connie McClery, mother of one of the women, establishes Security On Campus to promote campus crime awareness.
1989	USC officials testify before Congress on behalf of the pending Campus Security Act.
1990	Tte Student-Right-to-Know and the Campus Security Act are signed into law by President George Bush.
1992 The California Open Campus Police Logs Bill is signed into
law by Gov. Pete Wilson.
1996 U'S- Rep. Howard "Buck"
McKeon introduces a resolution to strengthen the Department of Education's role in enforcing the Campus Security Act.
By April Haitsuka
Staff Writer
The law may have been set in ink years ago, but reports of inconsistent public disclosure of crime information have renewed interest in changing federal campus crime legislation to ensure student safety.
U.S. Rep. Buck McKeon, R.-Calif., introduced a resolution to Congress last
week, which would--------------------------
require the Department of Education to take a more active role in enforcing the Student-Right-to-Know and Campus Security Act of 1990.
New students are often caught up in the excitement of the college milieu and may not aware of the dangers they may face, McKeon said.
"That's why it's imperative that colleges and universities provide students with accurate and complete data with respect to crime trends on campus and security precautions which will help students from becoming victims," he said.
The bill is pending review by the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, said Armando E Azarloza, spokesman for McKeon.
Colleges and universities are required to report campus crime and violence statistics annually, but testimony sent to the House Subcommittee on Postsecondary
The university was in favor of freedom of information, so people could know information about crime in the community.
—Bob Taylor DPS Deputy Chief
Education revealed that compliance with the law varies throughout the nation.
USC, for example, was one of the first universities to advocate the dissemination of crime information to the public, said Department of Public Safety Deputy Chief Bob Taylor.
"USC was one of the first universities to testify in 1989 before Congress for (the Campus Security Act)," Taylor said. "The university was in favor of freedom of
--------------- information, so people
could know information about crime in the community."
"One of the main sources of difficulty since the legislation was passed is the standardization in protocol of how crime is reported," Taylor said One area in which DPS exceeds the law's requirements is theft reporting, he said.
The law requires reports on rapes, assaults, burglaries and other major crimes, but the category of theft is not included Theft is the most prevalent crime on all university campuses,
aylo
Wh
/hile the student body receives crime information on a regular basis from a pmactive campus security body, many schools do not have such established relationships.
The Student Press Law Center, a nonprofit organization that offers free legal advice to student journalists, submitted testimony chronicling the difficulties faced by campus news organizations try-
(See Crime, page 2)