Spikers fall for first time
Sports, page 24
iir..-
Four wheels are better than two
Viewpoint, page 5
Pretty, empty ‘Johnson’
Life / Arts, page 9
trojan
Volume CXIV, Number 54
University of Southern California
Monday, April 8, 1991
SHARPER
University recruits best and brightest
By Jordana Bieze
Staff Writer
We've already signed eight of them. They're some of the most actively recruited high school seniors in the country.
Their numbers are better than in any other year.
And with tuition continuing to rise, the price USC is willing to pay for these recruits is the highest it's ever been.
This particular group isn't being recruited by the athletic department. They won't win any NCAA championships or boost ticket sales.
But they just might go on to become Nobel laureates, Academy Award winners, engineering geniuses or political leaders. The kind of alumni who help the university attract better and brighter students. A nice return on a long-term investment.
These recruits are the 1991 freshman Trustee Scholars.
They come from as close as Long Beach and as far away as New York. Their interests range from cinema to business to biomedical engineering. Their mean grade point average is (See Trust, page 15)
Plans begin for campus arena
10,000-seat structure to take over land occupied by tennis courts, drama center
By Oscar C. Villalon
Staff Writer
Construction plans are underway for a university events center that will provide the campus with an arena for basketball and other events, university officials said Friday.
The multi-purpose arena will be located directly northwest of Cromwell Field
on McClintock Avenue, said Mark Jones, director of university architectural services.
The practice tennis courts and the Drama Center will be demolished and replaced by the arena. Also, Dedeaux Field and the football practice field will be "reworked" to make room for the arena, Jones said.
The arena will provide 10,000 seats for basketball games and between 6,000 and 2,500 seats for various concerts and theater programs, depending on the expected turnout, Jones said.
A proposal for the arena was made last September by Mike McGee, university athletic director. At that time, concerns were raised about the added parking problems an on-campus arena would create.
"The details haven't been worked out, but through intelligent planning . . . (the arena) can handle parking close to it," Jones said. The center would be next to Parking Structures A and B.
Part of the plan for the center calls for an above-ground walkway that would connect the arena's promenade level to the top bleachers of Dedeaux Field and would extend to Marks Tennis Stadium, Jones said.
From an urban-design point of view, it is essential to build the arena on the same axis that the Doheny Memorial Library, Bovard Administration and Physical Education buildings follow, he said.
The arena will be about the size of the Physical Education building so that it "fits" visually, he said.
The proposed large capacity will be accomodated by sinking seats into the ground and using tiered levels to make it "a lot more compact," Jones said.
"The overlapping seats will not interfere with the audience's line of sight," he said.
The architectural firm Ellerbe Beckett was chosen in February by the university to design the events center. As of yet, there are no definite dates for the start of construction on the arena or for its com
(See Arena, page 7)
Mike Berger/Dally Tro|an
This view from Kaprielian Hall overlooks the planned site of the university events center. The Drama Center and tennis courts will be removed to provide space.
Senate begins to rebuild
Leader aims to alter image
By Liz Washburn
Staff Writer
Some have charged that he is the cause of the Student Senate's negative image, but Sam Sheldon, newly elected president of the organization, said he plans to lead the group of junior politicans through a "monumental year" of mending and reshaping.
Sheldon, the only returning member of this year's Senate, said his main goal is to rebuild the foundation that has almost been destroyed in the past few years by infighting between the graduate and undergraduate factions, which split last week into two separate organizations.
The fighting led to an attempt by graduate senators to impeach Sheldon while he was vice president. Earlier in the year, undergraduates had attempted to impeach the graduate president, Steve Webber. But Sheldon says it will be dif-
(See Sheldon, page 18)
Jordan Serlln / Dally Trojan
Sam Sheldon
Vice president looks ahead
Jordan Serlln / Dally Trojan
Heidi Siegel
By Liz Washburn
Staff Writer
Heidi Siegel, one of four newly elected Greek senators, has found herself not only a new member of the Student Senate, but one of its new leaders as well.
Siegel, who was elected to the post of vice president last week, said that even though she is a novice within the organization, she plans to bring to her work experience gained as a political science major.
"I understand a lot about the bureaucracy and how to get things done through the right channels," said Siegel, a junior also majoring in history.
She became interested in politics as a member of the College Republicans during her freshman year.
"I care about the world and I want to make a difference," Siegel said.
She hopes to attend law
(See Siegel, page 18)
.....— |
Housing reports drop in applicants\
By Brian McDonough
Staff Writer
Priority Period applications for the fall semester showed no major change from the previous year, university officials reported Friday.
The Office of Housing and Dining Services received 573 fewer applications this year than they did last year, said Ken Hennesay, housing counselor. Part of this decrease may be attributed to a much higher number of vacancies compared to last year. There are currently 433 empty spaces, he said. Last year the vacancy number was much smaller, though Hennesay did not have the exact figures.
There is probably a slight decrease in applications for fall, Hennesay said, but an exact percentage was not available.
Last year's 18 percent drop in freshman enrollment hurt the housing office, forcing staff cutbacks and consolidation of empty spaces. With
university-owned housing no , longer in high demand, the i housing office has been at- j tempting to compete with non-university apartments, Hennesay said.
"We've tried out different options . . . such as offering unfurnished apartments, more single spaces and two-bedroom apartments for two people," he said. "And we've been making the Priority Period process easier (for students)."
Improvements in the Priority Period application process have made it easier for students to obtain the type of housing they want, Hennesay said.
"Unpicked housing assignments will be available immediately for those not happy with their assignment," said Hennesay.
So far, the housing office has announced no plans to close facilities to counter possible low enrollment.