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Solstice, unity celebrated
Si//1 eslival brings together over 60 peace, labor arul social justice oiganizatutns m support of /jolitu id discussion, delnite and action
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Drspitr gi ay cluuds 411(1 dllzzlr. thou sands ol pet)(»l*“ celebrated the summer m>1 slu r at tlir Sul Frstlval in Mi Artliui I'drK on Satuiday
I'olilK al opposition to thr wai in Iraq ihuinnalrd thr frrr rvrnl. which was enti tin!' lakr lia( k thr World." Thr festival Ira tuird loui stagrs. morr than 4<) hvr music gioups and ovri III) (moths
Organizations irpresrntmg a widr rangr ol cultural, rrllgious and political virw points passrd out political information pamphlet*, which ranged from opposition to the Hush administrations foreign policy to local issurs
Frstival attrndre Yong bin Yuk, a mrm bn of Korean Americans for Prate, rxplainrd thr rrasons for hu groups involvement.
"We are a coalition of 15 Korean organi zations formed to oppose the war in Iraq,"
he Mid. 'We need Ut do komrtfiUig to rrvi Ullte and look forward to a better world" Yuk described the festival at a rare opportunity lo be with organizations repre senting groups all over the world
"You get to talk to them - learn their cultures and their struggles,* he said
james Leffrrty, a member of the National l.awyerl Guild in l.os Angeles who also serves on the streruig committee for the International Answer Coalition agauut war. said he believes the war in Iraq motivated people to attend the festival.
His group organized many of the protests against the war held in lxu Angeles I sm F*«tlvaJ page S I
Concert. The Sol Festival featured four stage* with music al acts from 10 am to 7 pm.
Pottermania strikes college kids, too
College students among those who waited for hours to be among first to buy latest installment of popular Harry Potter series
By KIM SIM
Staff Writ*!
When the fifth book in thr Harry Potter series was finally released on Saturday after three years of waiting, children and their parents were not the only muggles who made a trip to the bookstores to buy a copy of the book. College students were there, too.
Most bookstores across the country stayed open all night on Friday in order to sell "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
That was the earliest “The Order of the Phoenix" could have been sold under contractual agreement with the book's publisher, Scholastic.
Vrunda Rathod, a sophomore majoring in biochemical/biomedical engineering, was among those who made the late-night trip to the bookstore for an early copy of the book.
Kathod had waited in line with friends from University of California at Berkeley. New York University and University of California at Los Angeles at the Borders bookstore in Long Beach since 10 p.m. Friday night for a ticket that would allow her to buy the book at 12:01 a.m.
“It's very magical,” said Rathod, who had reserved her copy months in advance. “It’s well written. It’s a good story. Harry Potter is the perfect hero — he’s a normal kid so everyone can relate to him."
The latest in the Harry Potter series was released amid much fanfare. Many adults and children alike arrived at the Borders in Long Beach dressed as wizards. Some were decked in the customary burgundy
I see Potter, page 3 I
. '	Jill Nordahl I Summer Trojan
Magic glasses. A Barnes and Noble employee passes out Harry Potter glasses to anxious fans at the “Harry Potter Midnight Magic Party" on Friday. v ,,
Media overdoes SARS talk, expert says
Professor of microbiology among those who say extensive media coverage of diseases creates unnecessary fear
By PATRICK KINMART1N
Staff Writer
When its first case was discovered last November, the severe acute respiratory system virus, commonly known as SARS, was little more than an early morning news item on CNN.
By April, when 1323 suspected
cases and 49 deaths were reported, it at times rivaled the war in Iraq for national headlines.
Now. with the virus under control and at its zenith of just over 8,500 cases, it is the subject of AM talk radio, best-selling books and the newest episode of the hit television show, South Park Has SARS, just as quickly
as its outbreak ripped through 32 countries in seven months, captured the imagination of much of the American public?
“Absolutely," said Michael M.C. Lai, a distinguished professor of molecular microbiology and immunization at USCs Keck School of Medicine. “SARS has become part of society’s everyday thinking."
I.ai, known in China as “the father" of the coronavirus (from which SARS derives), expressed concern
about the publics paranoia over the outbreak Monday after returning from Taiwan, where he had been helping fight the virus since May 8.
Along with SARS, Lai mentioned the West Nile Virus and Monkeypox as other infectious diseases that many people have become overly infatuated with in trying to avoid.
“A lot of people are afraid they will acquire the viruses, yet they have a better chance of getting hit by a car I see SARS. page 10 I
Projects study life on red planet
Professors work to make Mars exploration safer and search for signs of life
By LAUREN BONIFACIO
Contributing Writer
With the launch of NASA's second Mars rover, Opportunity, delayed from today until Saturday night, the Red Planet is certainly getting media coverage.
For USC professors Gaqrav Sukhatme and Kenneth Nealson, however, Mars is more than just a blurb on the news.
Both are involved in projects relating to the exploration of the planet
Sukhatme, an assistant professor of computer science and associate director of the School of Engineering’s Robotics Research Laboratories, works directly with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to make Martian spacecraft landings safe.
He does this by implementing the laboratories' autonomous robotic helicopter. The helicopter acts as an inexpensive stand-in for a multi-million dollar spacecraft to test JPL’s new technologies and landing algorithms.
The helicopter flies over different terrain, from grass to more rocky, Mars-like surfaces, in order to test a full range of the mock spacecraft’s landing capabilities.
"It’s both important and cool because it has immediate and varied applications," Sukhatme said in an interview with USC News. “We're clearly providing support for a technology that NASA will use immediately."
As robots and spacecraft become more intelligent, they will open the door for more advanced space explo-I see Mara, page 2 t
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