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Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
Mos Def rocked McCarthy Quad Saturday night during Program Hoard's annual Springfest. 8
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April 17, 2006
Vol. CXI. VIII, No. 59
Acceptance rate dips to all-time low
USC receives 34,000 applications for next year and accepts fewer than 25 percent.
By MICHAEL STAPLETON
Contributing Writer
Freshman applicants to the class of 2010 faced a challenge that no other incoming class has faced before — the lowest acceptance rate in USC history.
The acceptance rate for next year's incoming freshmen was just below 25 percent, 3 percent lower than last year's rate of 27 percent.
USC received approximately 34,000 freshman applications this year and admitted approximately 8,400 students.
“The number of freshman applications increased by about 7.5 percent (approximately 2,400 applications) over last year." Timothy Brunold. director of admissions at USC wrote in an e-mail.
“Our application increases illustrate the fact that USC continues to be a very hot institution. Our 7.5-percent increase outpaced the national growth of the college-growing population," Brunold wrote.
Brunold pointed out that more high school students are interested in going to college than ever before, but colleges and universities are not expanding the size of their freshman classes.
High school seniors don’t just face the challenge of competing with students with higher GPAs and SAT scores: Now they have to compete with more out-of-state and international applicants, Brunold wrote.
According to the USC freshman class profile, this year’s freshmen had to compete with students from 2,672 other high schools all over the world. USC attracted nearly 6,000 international applicants last year, most of whom came from Hong Kong, India, Canada, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
Brunold said he was pleased to see even more applicants this year from the East Coast and other countries and attributed this geographic diversity to new marketing and recruitment efforts.
USC is not the only selective university to see decreased acceptance rates. Yale University's acceptance rate declined to 8.6 percent from 9.7 percent; Harvard University's rate sank to 9.3 percent; and Columbia University’s hit an all-time low of 9.6 per-I see Acceptance page 10
Number
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25
The rough percentage of applicants accepted to USC for next year.
7.5
use's
percentage
Increase in number of applicants over last year.
9.3
Percentage of students accepted to Harvard University for next year.
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Photos by Jonathan Moore, illustration by Zach Fon i Daily Troian
Experts say that the long-held drinking truism might not hold any truth after all.
By DIYA CHACK0
Staff Writer
Most college students can rattle off the saying, "Beer before liquor, never been sicker; liquor before beer, you're in the clear” and believe it enough not to mix their Corona with their Absolut.
Yet experts say that the order in which you drink the two types of alcohol doesn't matter; it’s the amount you drink that can lead to an unpleasant awakening the following morning.
Many USC students have attributed their vomiting, passing out and morning hangover to the fact that they mixed drinks the night before.
Ronald Alkana. a molecular pharmacology and toxicology professor at USC, however, said that the important factor is how much and how
fast you drink, not the act of mixing.
"Alcohol is alcohol," Alkana said. 'Therefore, whether you're having beer, wine, vodka or gin. you're just adding more alcohol to your stomach. The form in which you ingest it doesn't really matter."
Liquor is the purest form of alcohol. Vodka can be made with anything from potatoes to rye, while gin is usually distilled from white grains and juniper berries.
Beer, on the other hand, is typically composed of water, malt, sugar, yeast and hops, which gives beer its bitter flavor. There is still some controversy over whether congeners —
i see Bee». page 3
Air pollution worse than expected
Quick Fact
A USC study shows that pollution is worse in the early morning and late afternoon.
By BETH PALK0VIC
Contributing Writer
Americans obsess over how they look, scrutinize the contents of the food they eat and measure how many calories they’ve burned, but rarely think twice about the air they breathe.
A USC professor led a study that shows air pollution in Los Angeles
might be more harmful than previously thought.
“The risks in L.A. are actually two to three times greater to what was observed in earlier studies." said Michael Jerrett, associate professor of preventive medicine in the division of biostatics, who led the study.
The study found that deaths caused by pollution and smog were concentrated around downtown Los Angeles and Riverside County.
The study measured particles in the air associated with adverse health outcomes, such as premature mortality, asthma and lung growth
“It comes from any powerful fuel combustion: coal. gas. factories, cars,” Jerrett said.
There are a higher number of these particles near freeways.
“There is three to four times higher concentration of these particles near roadways and freeways." said professor Constantinos Sioutas. the co-director of the Southern California Particle Center.
Exercising caution
In fact, ‘people should be advised not to exercise during the early morn-i see Smog oage S t
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Exercising in the early morning or late afternoon might increase your intake of harmful air particles.
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