USC bowled over by MSU
Sports, page 32
Unified Germany may pose threat
Viewpoint, page 4
Resolutions for new year
Life / Arts, page 13
on
JL-J
trojan
Volume CXIV, Number 1
University of Southern California
Wednesday, January 9,1991
Peeping tom
Edward Siegel I Daily Trojan
Richard Cho, a senior majoring in psychobiology and political science, looks for one of his textbooks at the University Bookstore. According to the College Stores Research and Education Foundation, college students nationwide can expect to pay up to $250 for their books this semester. See story on page 10.
Access to crime statistics required
Law mandates campus security data be printed
Saved from extinction, Coliseum to get facelift
By Holly Ziemer
Staff Writer
Though it has been saved from demolition, plans to renovate the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum are being drafted and construction may begin as early as January 1992, officials said.
The proposed renovation is expected to displace both the USC Trojans and the Los Angeles Raiders football teams for at least one year.
Last spring, the Coliseum, a National Historic Landmark, faced possible demo-
lition because of a bill introduced to the legislature by State Senator Art Torres. The bill would have required any modernization plans for the Coliseum to conform with state and federal standards for rehabilitation of historic structures.
But discussions between Torres and Mayor Tom Bradley resulted in a compromise to save the historic characteristics of the Coliseum while making it possible to update the interior of the stadium for sports and cultural events. Torres then (See Coliseum, page 25)
By Katie Sweeney
Staff Writer
A new state law effective Jan. 1 requires all universities to make campus crime statistics and security information available upon request to all school applicants, students and employees.
This legislation comes just two months after President George Bush signed similar legislation requiring colleges and universities to publish and report campus crime statistics.
"What this legislation basically says is that you, as an incoming (or current) student, can ask for this info»-mation and it will be provided to you," said Sheila McNichols, press secretary for Assemblyman Pat Nolan, who sponsored the legislation.
University Security Chief Steven Ward said the university already makes crime and security information available to anyone who asks for it.
"We have always made (campus crime) information available on request," he said. "Typically I get a few requests each year, mostly from parents."
Ward said he is pleased with the new law.
"I testified in favor of it a couple of years ago," he said. "We supported it from the beginning."
The motivation for the legislation came after two girls were murdered on college campuses in 1986. One of the girls was murdered on the campus of Saddleback
College in Mission Viejo.
The other victim was raped, beaten and mutilated in her dormitory at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, McNichols said.
McNichols said previous attempts to pass legislation making campus crime information available did not pass because they required schools to report the statistics to a proposed central reporting agency.
Because of the large amount of money involved in establishing a central agency, the prior legislation could not garner enough support to pass, she said.
The new law does not make any reporting requirements, nor does it contain an enforcement mechanism to ensure the statistics are reported accurately, McNichols said.
Under the federal law, known as the Student-Right-to-Know Bill, campus crime and security information will have to be given to all current students and employees, regardless of whether it is requested.
In addition, incoming and potential students and employees would have access to the information upon request, said Richard Jerue, staff director for the House Subcommittee on Post-secondary Education. This bill was signed Oct. 30.
Universities are required to begin publishing this information by Sept. 1, 1992, Jerue said.
Schools will also be required to report these statistics to the U.S. Department of Education, he said.
Ward said it is likely that the federal and state regulations will conflict on some points.
"Whichever one has the more comprehensive requirements, I'm sure that's the one we'll adopt," he said.
(See Laws, page 6)
Minority scholarship ruling sparks debate
Controversial opinion thrusts alumnus into national spotlight
By Michael Utley
Gty Editor
No matter how good the USC Law Center may be, with its top-20 ranking and powerful alumni, there is one thing the school doesn't teach: how to survive the transformation from obscure Washington bureaucrat to controversial political lightning rod.
The media blitz alone is enough to send anyone packing, vowing never again to set foot within the confines of the District of Columbia.
University alumnus Michael Williams — Law Center Class of 1979 — went through just such an experience last month following his decision in an Arizona case involving the legality of minority scholarships.
Though he says he will stay in his position as assistant education secretary for civil rights, Williams has retreated from the flurry of criticism and debate, which surrounded his ruling that scholarships administered by universities receiving federal aid may not be awarded solely on the basis of race.
Williams, who is black, has refused to comment on his decision because of what he called "recklessness and sensationalism" he feels has characterized recent press reports.
After the Bush Administration asked him to revise his
(See Williams, page 24)
Michael Williams
Decisions won’t affect USC’s racially based financial aid
By Michael Utley
Gty Editor
Despite the recent controversy surrounding minority scholarships, university officials said Tuesday that two rulings from the U.S. Department of Education concerning the use of race-based scholarships will have no effect on any scholarships awarded by the university.
Cliff Sjogren, dean of admissions and financial aid, said though both rulings seemed to be ambiguous and confusing, neither has any power to override university policy.
Sjogren also said he has not been contacted by any government agency regarding minority scholarships.
"First of all, what we have to keep in mind here is that this university awards very little financial aid based on race," Sjogren said.
"But second, I don't see anything wrong with awarding race-based scholarships. We have special financial aid and admissions programs for certain populations," he said. "American universities have always done that and I think it has served us well. I make no apologies for that."
Most minority scholarships awarded on a racial basis come from university alumni groups that raise money from private sources, Sjogren said.
The money is administered by the university, but all of
(See Scholarships, page 2)