HEALTH A MEDICINE
at USC
By MARGARET KENNELLY
Staff Wnler
A USC students ecstasy overdose Feb. 10 has heightened concern about an increase last semester in the use of the drug on campus, said Bob Taylor, deputy chief of the Department of Public Safety.
“We had four or five ecstasy-related cases last semester, more than we've had in the past," Taylor said.
The most recent case occurred early last Saturday morning when a USC student called DPS and reported a possible ecstasy overdose. When DPS arrived on the scene, a girl said she had tried the drug at a rave party in East Los Angeles and was having a bad reaction to the drug
Ecstasy, the clubbing and rave scenes hottest drug, has proven to be permanentiy destructive to parts of the brain critical to thinking, memory and pleasure.
A popular yet illegal combination of hallucinogens and metham-phetamines, the drug has become increasingly popular among students on campus.
Medically referred to as MDMA, Ecstasy, with street names X-TC, E, lovers speed and Adam, has been widely used at underground raves for 20 years. The “designer drug" has more recently become a fad in the I see Ecstasy, page It i
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
WEDNESDAY
-♦-
February 21, 2001
Of interest...
Editorial Director John Burgoon takes a stand against the computers that rule our lives /4
Newt Digest 2	Opinions	4
Staff Editorial A	Lifestyle	11
The Buzz 11	Classifieds	24
Crossword 28	Sports	28
vol. CXXXXII. no. 28 www.usc.edu/dt
As you decide who to vote for in this week’s Senate election, turn to our special reference guide to the candidates /14
Patel campaign under fire
Senate: Election Commission sanctions candidates twice, considers additional complaints filed against the ticket
By JEFF SKLAR A KATIE WERNER
Staff Writers
As the first day of Student Senate elections drew to a close, the Senate Elections Commission met Tuesday night to consider multiple complaints filed against the presidential and vice-presidential slate of Hema Patel and Craig Brooks.
Multiple candidates have filed
several complaints against Patel and Brooks alleging that they participated in a variety of illegal campaign activities, ranging from illegal campaigning
•	by Senate chief of staff Kimberlee Chu to violations of the Elections Code by campaign volunteers.
Meanwhile, Patel and Brooks resumed their campaign Tuesday after formal sanctions twice stopped them from campaigning over the holiday weekend.
The Elections Commission suspended Patel and Brooks from campaigning on Monday—a university holiday, but still an official ‘campaign day”—for violating Topping Student Center policies by placing signs in illegal locations.
This complaint, which was filed by Program Board Executive Director Michael Matoba, stated that “groups that were working for the Patel/Brooks slate used false pretenses to gain access to posting space on campus while they also violated Topping posting policies."
I see Patel. page 1C I
ELECTION
-4-
Senate’s web site crashes during first day of voting
By AMELIA WONG
Contributing Writer
The Student Senate election web site was disabled throughout much of the day Tuesday, the first day of elections, because of a problem in the site’s HTML code, said Dan Oliver, director of elections and recruitment.
I see Election page 16 !
A light moment
Sharing
laughs.
A group of delighted students look on as USC’s
improvisational comedy troupe, Commedus Interruptus, puts on its weekly show in front of Bovard Auditorium on Friday afternoon. Here, the group performs its name elimination game.
Fall victim continues slow recovery
Palaver editors unfazed by their struggle for funding
Escobar Freshman who fell from window last semester gaining strength, brother says
By ADINA DIAMOND
StaffWriter
Freshman Thomas Escobar continues a slow but steady recovery from his fall from the fourth floor of Marks Tower in early December, said his brother Andrew Escobar, a senior majoring in political science.
Thomas Escobar, a Spanish major, has been transferred to the rehabilitation unit at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. He is considered to be in a light coma since he cannot
“He has a good chance of... fill recovery. The doctors are really optimistic."
-e-
ANDREW ESCOBAR brother
follow commands consistently, but is showing signs of improvement, his brother said.
“He is becoming more alert now." Andrew Escobar said. "He is gaining his strength. He is looking around and moving a bit"
Although Thomas Escobar cannot speak because of tracheotomy tubing, his brother said that doctors are look-
ing into removing it in the near future.
Doctors are hopeful that Escobar will recuperate without any lasting effects, although the process will take a long time. He may remain in the hospital until at least May or June, his brother said.
"He has a good chance of...full recovery," Andrew Escobar said. “The doctors are really optimistic."
Even though Escobar’s condition is improving, the accident has taken a tremendous toll, his brother said.
“It's been tough on the family," he said. “The family is getting more ragged."
Andrew Escobar said that the best way to support his brother is to “keep praying for him."
Literary: University favors events over publications, but magazine perseveres
By CHRISTIE CLOUGH
Contributing Writer
The editors of Palaver, USC's largest literary magazine, face a constant struggle to generate enough money for their annual publication, but they do not oppose the way the university handles funding, said coeditor Lili Loofbourow.
Loofbourow and Tosh Prasad, co-editors of the magazine, recently
reflected on the joys and frustrations of publishing Palaver as they prepare to put together its third edition. Monday is the deadline for submitting poetry, short fiction or artwork to the student-run magazine.
Financial restraints restrict Palaver to a black-and-white, 70-page format, printed only once a year, said Prasad, a senior majoring in psychobiology and political science. As a result, competition for a space in the magazine is fierce-
"We are unable to put in all of the work we receive, which puts us in a very difficult position of having to I see Palaver, page 11