Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
v.dailytrojan.com
October 25,2004
Vol. CXL VII, No. 45
Biking their way through L.A. traffic
Students ride motorcycles to campus to save money on gas and time in traffic.
By WHfTNEY JOHNSON
Contributing Writer
Despite the dangers of motorcycle riding, some USC students use it as a way to cut down on frustration in infamous Los Angeles traffic, as well as a way to save money on parking and gas.
Adrian Zaw, a senior majoring in theater, began riding in 2003 to try and better maneuver through the frustrating congestion of Los Angeles
traffic.
The results were immediate, he said, as it took no time for everything he expected to take effect.
On his new motorcycle, he suddenly found himself able to cut through traffic instead of burning time idly sitting in his car waiting to move forward.
Zaw’s friends and family reacted as expected, he said. “Well of course, all of your friends are in admiration. 'Oh wow, you have a bike — how cool, how crazy, how dangerous, how sexy, how stupid ," he said.
But Zaw confronted the dangers he expected to face just as immediately.
. "You’re guaranteed to crash within the first six months of riding," Zaw said. “And to drop your bike within the first su months of riding.
I did both."
New riders are prone to dropping their bikes because if the bike leans too much in one direction, the rider's body will not be able to support it and fresh riders are not yet used to being in the position required for riding the bike without losing the necessary balance, Zaw said.
It is most likely to occur when a nder is at a stoplight or about to take off from standing still, he said.
“It’s a lot more dangerous than I see Motorcydo* page 13 I
Many new motorcycle riders crash and drop their bikes within the first few months of riding because they are not used to balancing the bike.
Stumpos
Raiders
disbands
The group ceased all formal activities, such as holding parties, and then informed USC.
By J. CHRISTINA HUH
Staff Writer
Students suspected by USC administrators of being members of the Stumpos Raiders group said they disbanded and ceased all formal activities after the university threatened to suspend or expel anyone affiliated with the group, USC officials said.
The group agreed in late September not to hold any formally organized parties, to drop new friends and to cut formal contact witb their members, said Sean, a member speaking on behalf of the group who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“When they asked for specific limits, I declined to provide any because they simply need to cease all operations as an unrecognized group,” Denzil Suite, assistant vice president of Student Affairs, wrote in an e-mail.
The notification of the disbandment was casual because “there was no formal group so there was no formal closing ... it was like 'OK. we can't have parties’.'’ Sean said.
Representatives from the group notified Panheilenic Council sororities and Interfratemity Council of their breakup, Sean said.
In an open letter published in the Daily Trojan SepL 27, Michael L Jackson, vice president for Student Affairs and enrollment services, wrote that student “participation in Stumpos Raiders, or any group that has been banned from the campus for cause, is grounds for suspension or expulsion from the university community.”
Group concents
The main concern with underground groups such as Stumpos Raiders is they are operating without the oversight that university-recognized organizations have, Suite said.
Currently, members of the group “are afraid of suspension” because “they don’t know the boundaries right now," Sean said.
Another concern is that the group of friends will be held accountable for individual behavior, he said.
The current Stumpos Raiders organization is not a formal group, but a large group of more than 50 friends, Sean said.
Most of the friends are USC students, but students from Loyola Marymount University and local junior colleges are also in the group, said Sean, an alumnus of LMU.
Also, many in the group grew up with each other or played high school sports together, Sean said.
The group also includes former Stumpos Raiders members from the formal group, which disbanded in January 2005, he said.
Jackson’s open letter also said the underground group was running under the names of “RS Entertainment" and "Kappa Alpha Iota."
I see RaMor* page 2 I
Zoom. Avi Mukherjee, a second-year doctoral student studying industrial and systems engineering, rides his Ducati 749 motorcycle on the streets around USC. Although Mukherjee has ridden for seven years, he said his mother still worries he will get hurt.
Percentage of women in real estate program up
More than 30 percent of this year's Master of Real Estate Development class is women.
By CATHERINE LYONS
Contributing Writer
This year, a flood of entrepreneurial female students hit USCs l,usk Center for Real Estate.
A recent class profile shows that more than 30 percent of this year's Masters of Real Estate Development (MRED) class is composed of women This is an improvement from the
previous four years, when the percentage of women in the class averaged 17 percent.
Sonia Savoulian, the Lusk Center's director of Alumni and Student Services, attributes this increase in interest in real estate to the flexibility of the profession.
“We have found that women graduates frequently become entrepreneurs beta use they want flexibility when raising their families." Savoulian said. “It is wonderful to get to a place where women are now in a male-dominated )ob."
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