USC freshman dies at Pardee Tower
Authorities have not
determined cause of death of international student.
By KRISTIN MAYER
Staff Writer
A 17-year-old international student died early Saturday morning after falling from the eighth floor window of Pardee Tower, officials have confirmed.
A groundskeeper discovered the body of the student at approximately 6:20 in the morning Saturday, said Carol Schmitz, director of residential communities in the Office of Residential Education.
The victim, whose name has not been released because he was a minor, came from India and was a member of the Trojan Hall residential community, Schmitz said.
Police have yet to conclusively determine the nature of the fall, but think it was an accident and not a suicide.
“I believe that they decided that it was accidental," said Los Angeles Police Department Sgt. Tony O’Brien.
The Department of Public Safety responded and immediately turned the case over to LAPD, where a police investigation is currently underway, said Lt. Gloria Graham, head of the DPS crime prevention unit.
LAPD’s homicide team arrived at the scene to conduct an investigation.
DPS Chief Aaron Graves did not have any additional information on the case.
“One officer told me one thing. Another officer told me another thing,” Graham said.
This uncertainty mirrors the confusion among students, staff and officials alike.
Joel Zink l Daily Trojan
In memory. Flowers, candles and mementos are placed as a memorial to a freshman who died Friday night when he fell off the eighth floor of Pardee Tower. Police have not yet identified whether the fall was an accident or a suicide, but think that the fall was accidental.
Schmitz emphasized that officials might never know. "It’s not really known if it was an accident or if he intended to jump, Schmitz said.
University Counseling Services and theOfficeofResidential Education held three sessions Saturday night to inform students and offer support.
At the Trojan Hall session residents said they had seen the victim as late as 3:30 a.m. Saturday, Schmitz said.
According to the student’s friends, his interactions with people Friday night did not seem different than any other night, Schmitz said.
"There will be lots of people speculating about who he was,” Schmitz said. “It’s important that he be respected as a friend, a classmate, a roommate and a loving son."
The student played many roles on- and off-campus and in all these places there will be grieving and loss, Schmitz said.
“More than trying to figure out why someone died, it’s most important for us to be a support for each other and to remember him and to create a memory of him that recognized his life as a loss that's very
deeply felt by many, many people," Schmitz said.
School officials do not know which students affected by the death might need counseling, she said.
"Ifyou're reading this article right now, the person sitting beside you might have been one of his dear friends," Schmitz said.
Dr. Mary Andres, a psychologist with University Counseling Services, attended the sessions in Trojan Hall, Pardee Tower and Marks Tower Saturday evening. She encouraged students to be gentle with themselves during the next couple weeks.
Oftentimes students experiencing grief overlook the basic necessities of food and sleep, Andres said.
"One of the things we can do is share our reactions to this with other people and find out who needs a hug," Schmitz said. "We are a family here at USC."
All the resources to deal with loss are provided to students on campus, Schmitz said.
These include the counseling center, resident advisers, the Vice President of Student Affairs' office, friends, professors and family.
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INSIDE
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Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
January 24,2005
Vol. CXI. VI. No. 8
Some houses violate
Sign language not part of USC schedule of classes
Two fraternities receive probation, and the third has their rush capped at five.
By REBEKAH SANDERS
Staff Writer
After a week of dry rush events strictly regulated by the Interfraternity Council, three houses received penalties for individuals violating the no-alcohol policies, but most fraternity members and rushees followed the rules, the council found.
The IFC judicial board gave two houses probation and capped one house’s pledge class at five members for the spring semester.
IFC president, John Ellis, a junior majoring in political science, declined to disclose the names of th# i •buses.
"(The fraternities) knew how tough we were,” said vice president of rush, Sagar Patel, a sophomore majoring in biological sciences.
Capping the pledge class at five, he said, was very strict
That fraternity is now appealing the decision, said executive vice-president of judicial affairs, Carl Koelbel, a junior majoring in international relations and economics.
The judicial board will meet early this week to make a final decision.
Giving probation to the other two fraternities “is like a slap on the wrist,” said IFC vice president of public relations, Matt Hughes, a junior majoring in international relations.
“It’s saying that something happened, and it wasn’t right, but you dealt with it well,” he said.
Further action would occur if the fraternity violates rules at any time during the rest of the semester, Hughes said.
On Tuesday night, the first official day of rush, IFC officers made routine inspections of the houses and found a rushee drunk with a bottle of his own alcohol, Hughes said.
Members of the house told IFC they did not know the rushee had brought the bottle since he had come at the last minute to the event, Hughes said.
“He was the last guy who jumped in the back seat of the car. Nobody was able to see it,” he said.
The rushee was sent home immediately when IFC brought the issue to the attention of the fraternity and no further violations happened during the week at that fraternity.
On Wednesday night a few hours after an event had ended. IFC officials
rush rules
found an older student drunk and holding a bottle of gin inside another house, Hughes said.
IFC members were unable to get his name, he said, before the student ran back out of the room, yelling, “I’m going back to TKE!”
It was not confirmed whether the student was actually from TKE or not No alcohol was found at the house, Ellis said.
That house, not TKE, was given probation as well.
Also on Wednesday night, Ellis personally "caught five guys (from a different house) at the bar ordering drinks" at a venue, he said.
No rushees were involved, he said.
At the same house, at an earlier date, IFC officers had walked through and found “a big pile of empty bottles of beer that weren't there the last night" Hughes said.
That fraternity house received the pledge cap.
"All the infractions this week weren't whether the rushees were getting alcohol." Patel said.
“What ended up happening was seniors who have been through seven wet rushes wanted to get drunk themselves,” he said. “And they still got in trouble."
Despite a growing trend, USC does not count classes as a foreign language.
By LESLIE JONES
Contributing Writer
The study of American Sign Language in the United States has increased by more than 400 percent over the last four years, making it the fastest growing language studied in the country, according to the Modern Language Association.
But USC does not offer ASL classes for its foreign language requirement and has no plans to do so in the
INDEX
Men's basketball can't hold on for victory over Cardinal. 16
Lines, forms and requirements should be eliminated at USC 4
News Digest.....Sports..................IS
Opinions*________4 Classifieds_______12
near future, wrote Jane Cody, associate dean of academic programs, in an e-mail.
According to the Los Angeles Times, one analysis showed that in the last year more than 28,000 students took ASL classes in California community colleges. The number of colleges that accept ASL as part of their foreign language requirement is increasing.
The last time USC formally reviewed its stance on ASL in relation to foreign language curriculum was five years ago. USC does not view ASL as a foreign language because ASL
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WEATHER
Today:
Partly cloudy. High 71. low 51
Tomorrow:
Few showers. 66,51.