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Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
THURSDAY
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February 1, 2001
Of interest...
Editorial Columnist Tim Crockett warns of the perils of taking any death lightly / 4
News Digest 2	Opinions	4
'SCribbles	4	Weekend	7
SCotnix	18 Classifieds	16
Crossword	17	Sports	20
vol. CXXXXII, no. 16 www.usc.edu/dt
Students now involved in faculty hiring
“My best guess is that the undergraduates will probably be in agreement with everybody else involved on what they think of the candidates.”
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BETH MEYEROWITZ dean of faculty
Residents’
parking
addressed
By JOHN M. CLEARY
Staff Writer
One-hundred twenty local residents met with senior management of Staples Center Wednesday night to discuss longstanding concerns about Staples Center and the proposed Sports and Entertainment District Organized by the Figueroa Corridor Coalition for Economic Justice, the meeting addressed issues ranging from affordable housing and displaced residents to increased traf-
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Academics: History and comparative literature departments send out invitations to participate
By KATIE WERNER
Staff Writer
A pilot program to involve undergraduates in the hiring of faculty is being launched in USC's history and comparative literature departments.
When looking to fill an opening in the staff, departmental search committees invite the top applicants to the university to check out the campus and give guest lectures. Under the pilot program, students will now be recruited to listen to the
candidates’ lectures and provide feedback to the committees.
“The faculty is very enthusiastic about having students involved in the process,” said Beth Meyerowitz, dean of faculty.
The history department has invited students in the history honor society to participate, while the comparative literature department has sent out e-mails to select students.
The hope is that student feedback will provide more depth to the committees evaluation of a candidate. Undergraduate students have never been prohibited from joining the faculty hiring process, Meyerowitz said, but this is the first time they have been actively recruited as participants.
“My best guess is that the under-
graduates will probably be in agreement with everybody else involved on what they think of the candidates,” she said.
The program was a major goal of Student Senates department of Academic Affairs. YiShaun Chen, the director of Academic Affairs, contacted Meyerowitz with the idea, and the two have worked together on the project
‘Student Senate realized the
importance of having undergraduate students involved in the faculty hiring process, and thus, undertook this project as one way to have students' voices heard,” said Chen, a junior majoring in psychobiology.
“We hope that the pilot procedure proves to be successful so that student involvement and input can be included in all future faculty hires,” she added.
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Housing
delays
plague
residents
Housing: From cold showers to broken Ethernet jacks, students are waiting longer than they would like for housing repairs
By KATIE FLYNN
Stiff Writer
Campus
Headaches
PART 3 OF 3
Investigating
common
student
concerns
Spark-ting. Delisha Milton, an Olympic Gold medalist and player on the WNBA Sparks, autographs a picture for junior Kristine Yamaki at Women in Sports Night. Milton is a rising star in the WNBA and looks to have an excellent season.
Poor attendance cripples speech
Women: WNBA star tells small audience women have growing role in sports
By LAYLAN CONNELLY
Contributing Writer
Women's sports are evolving to another level, women are playing above the rim and you will see it in the future, said Delisha Milton of the WNBA Los Angeles Sparks in a speech in Taper Hall Wednesday night
Milton came to USC to speak on behalf of athletes and express what they go through, including the challenges they face, she said.
“Opportunities are opening up for women. They are able to play professionally and support their fami-
lies." Milton said. “You are seeing women coaching and managing football, baseball and basketball teams."
Patrick Averbach, director of Women's Basketball Operations and Marketing for USC has seen first hand the interest in womens sports. Ticket sales for USC’s basketball team has almost doubled since last year.
“Women’s sports are growing— you can see that in the Olympic movement and the amount of female participation," Averbach said.
But the disinterest in women’s basketball could be seen by the lack of attendees at the speech. Only 15 people attended.
Attendee Tiffany Jackson attributed the small turnout to ineffective promotions.
“I’m disappointed more people didn’t come because they missed out on a good speech,” Jackson said.
Nonetheless, Milton continued with her speech, detailing what she has learned as an athlete.
“Athletes are a unique breed of people because they have to balance things across the spectrum. Someone is always going to want you to be at his or her beckoned call. The ultimate challenge is sacrifice,” Milton said.
Milton spoke about dealing with society as an athletic figure.
“Society sees us as a whole group. But I’m only one person. They put us in as the league, the team and myself. Why does myself have to be last?” Milton said. “Someone will always be
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“Womens sports arc growing— you can see tluU in the Olympic movement and the amount of female [xirticipation
PATRICK AVERBACH director Womens Basketball Operations and Marketing
Cold showers, broken Ethernet connections, dirty pools and flooded floors are only a few of the problems some residents of university-owned housing face. And while Housing officials say they address these inconveniences as quickly as they can, some students say they are not satisfied.
When a student reports a nonemergency problem, the report is sent via work order through the applicable customer service center. Housing officials said they usually fix problems within a week, but some students have horror stories of waiting four days for hot water or living without Ethernet for months.
“Our goal is to have 50 percent of all work orders complete in 24 hours,” said Jeff Urdahl, director of Housing administration. “We track the work orders in a database, and we know we are on base. Beyond that, depending on the extent of the problem, it shouldn't take more than three or four days.”
But some students tell a different story.
“My Ethernet didn't work all last semester," said Michelle Wong, a freshman majoring in psychology and international relations. “I filled
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