No leads
in recent
assault
DPS officials urge students to use caution after last week's late-night assault and burglary near 28th and Hoover streets.
wlvw.itailytrojan.com
February 1, 2005
master of her art.
7
Vol. CXI. VI, No. 14
By SUMAYYA AHMAD
Staff Writer
"It kind of brings it home. This isn't the safest place to be. There is always a possibdity of something happening and this brings it to light." —♦—
BRENDAN
CALLUM
sophomore
linguistics
Almost a week after a USC student was robbed at gunpoint, there have been no arrests made and the Department of Public Safety continues to work on the investigation with the Los Angeles Police Department.
The male student was mugged while walking along 28th and Hoover streets last Wednesday, Jan. 26 at approximately 3 a.m.
The student was walking by himself when he was attacked by the perpetrator.
The perpetrator stole the student’s backpack and then emptied the student's pockets, according the DPS incident report.
The perpetrator struck the student on the head and told him to not move, and then the suspect ran from the scene.
DPS and LAPD continue to work together on the investigation and to “analyze all criminal activity and develop strategic initiatives to reduce crime," Carol A. Hayes, director/deputy chief of administrative support services for DPS, wrote in an e-mail.
DPS encourages students to use Campus Cruiser rather than walk long distances, avoid walking alone during night hours or after dark and be aware of the potential dangers of the surroundings in the neighborhood, Hayes wrote.
Some students said they felt shaken by the incident.
“It kind of brings it home. This isn’t the safest place to be. There is always a possibility of something happening, and this brings it to light,” said Brendan Callum, a sophomore majoring in linguistics.
Callum, who lives at Parkside International Residential College, said that although he does not regularly walk off campus at night, he still goes with friends if he is forced to leave the campus area and enter the community.
He also said he stays aware of his surroundings, such as avoiding dark alleyways.
He does not carry pepper spray or any other weapons that could possibly defend himself from potential muggers.
"Honestly, if someone has a gun, what are you going to do with pepper spray?" he said.
Callum said that he will not do anything differently after the recent incident, but believes that other students are thinking about the possibilities.
The incident could possibly raise the awareness and sensibility of many students since it brings the potential for crime to happen in the area to the forefront, Callum said.
Amy Walls, a sophomore majoring in writing for screen and television, said the occurrence did not have much of an impact on her and that she will not change what she does.
Walls lives on 23rd and Hoover streets and walks home alone every day.
"1 just shrugged my shoulder and said, yeah, it happens. I don’t like to let it bother me. I pretend like it's not an issue," Walls said.
It is important for students to stay aware of the potential for crime in the area. Walls said.
Walls said that if she could, she would tell students, “Don’t be stupid. Have an awareness, but don't expect it to happen. If you do, you are more likely to be a victim.”
Role playing. Amber Kelly and Kyle Terry, actors from Catharsis Productions, perform a skit highlighting the public's perception ol what men and women want in a relationship. About 250 student athletes attended each of the two performances.
Learning sportsmanship
New program aimed at student athletes teaches lessons beyond the field.
By KARA NICHOLS
Staff Writer
A male and a female improv actor joke on stage as they imitate bad first dates, pick-up lines and gender stereotypes suggested by the audience. Suddenly the attitude changes, and it’s quickly a skit about date rape.
A young man appears on a television show, defending himself against an accusation of rape. He
describes how he and a girl had stayed up the previous weekend night talking, how she asked him over for dinner and how she kissed him at the kitchen table.
Tension builds as he describes the intimate details of the night, leading up the confession that she had said stop quietly, but he had not listened.
The scene onstage is stopped, and it is described as rape, to the surprise and disagreement of some in the audience.
She had said stop, so it is clearly rape after all, some in the audience said. But it was a quiet stop, and she did not physically try to stop him, making the situation a bit
murky, others argued.
“It mirrors what it could be like in a real situation,” improv actress Amber Kelly told the audience.
Monday night’s performance, called “Sex Signals," was part of a new mandatory program for student athletes to be held twice a semester to promote wellness, excellence and responsibility sponsored by Student Athletic Academic Services and Trojan Power Program.
About 250 student athletes attended each performance at Bing Theater, which was split into two shows because the improv group wanted a smaller audience.
“We hope that it will Be an I see Athletes page 13 I
Program addressed the need for awareness of what constitutes sexual assault.
The program was mandatory for all student athletes from all teams.
A strive for more gay awareness
INDEX
GLBTA and others reaching out to campus community to increase communication.
By CHRISTINA HUH
Contributing Writer
University and other organizations are making efforts to increase communication between the school's gay and lesbian population and the student body at large.
The campus overall is open to lesbian and gay students but there are still some instances of homophobia, said Anne Howard, president of the Ally Alliance.
There has not been a hate crime at the university in two years, but there are many unreported cases of hate speech, said Aita Romain, the executive director of the Gay Lesbian
Bi Transgender Assembly.
Romain said that the campus is not homophobic, but that students often stay in their comfort zone rather than explore the other communities on the campus.
“The quest to look into the other side is not the focus of this campus,” Romain said.
She encourages students “to feel uncomfortable, to feel like they’re the minority, in a group that is typically the minority."
“It’s important for people to reach out to people they don’t understand,' Romain said.
Michael Vacha, a member of the GLBTA executive board, also said that the campus fs generally accepting of the GLBT population.
“I feel like on a normal basis, when we’re at school and it’s in the I see Outreach page 3 I
"For US, it's mainly about tolerance ... and just education students and lots of other people about sexuality and relationships. " —♦— GARRETT THOMPSON resident coordinator housing
Iraqi elections show Bush Doctrine is working. 4
Men's basketball continues their struggling season. 16
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