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Not ill Kansas: USC faces the Sun Devils at the Coliseum Saturday in a Homecoming matchup. Will playing at home help the Trojans?
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NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
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November 5, 1999 Vol. CXXXVIII, No. 47
A real smash
Matt Scott I Daily Trojan
Banding together. The rock band Smash Mouth performed in Hahn Plaza on Thursday night for the annual Homecoming concert. Hundreds of students turned out to see the group sing its smash hit “All Star” and other songs.
Group to Pass the Can during game
Organization: Troy Camp will be collecting money at Homecoming to fund its summer program
By ANNE WONSONO
Staff Writer
It’s time once again to “Pass the Can” around the Coliseum at the Homecoming game.
More than 700 volunteers will be seeking donations Saturday from those attending the USC-Arizona State football game to raise funds for Troy Camp’s annual summer program.
The donations fund a weeklong summer camp for children attending neighboring schools, said Monika Roy, fundraising director of Troy Camp and a junior majoring in biology and comparative literature.
Founded in 1948 as the Fraternity Community Project, Troy Camp — the university’s official philanthropy — is now a student-run volunteer organization that sponsors the camp, organizes year-round programs — such as dances, potlucks and sporting events — and provides tutoring and mentoring.
Pass the Can is Troy Camp’s largest annual fundraising event, as the Homecoming game “has the biggest turnout than any other events on campus,” said Sabrina Miller, a senior majoring in education.
At halftime, the marquee will display information on Troy Camp and volunteers will pass cans throughout the stands, except the student sections.
“We feel that it’s better to focus on other areas at the Coliseum (because) students tend to have not as much money and things tend to get more rowdy at the student section,” Roy said.
Last year, Troy Camp raised $17,000 from the event, and “we plan to match that this year,” Roy added.
Troy Camp organizes other fundraising events throughout the year such as Shakey’s night, when a certain percentage of customers’ restaurant bills are donated to the organization; Songfest, a musical competition between campus groups; and Knight Bowl, a bowling competition sponsored by I see Camp, page 3 I
Students to take part in pilot survey
Study: 1,000 USC sophomores and seniors to answer questions about the university’s education
By JIN WOO
Staff Writer
To improve the quality of higher learning in the United States, the National Survey of Student Engagement has randomly selected students from about 60 colleges and universities — including USC — to participate in a pilot survey this fall about their educational experiences.
“We are very excited about a survey that on a national basis — in a rigorous and systematic way — addresses understanding what undergraduate student’s perceive to be their own experience,” said Katharine Harrington, the director of Undergraduate Programs. “Because that is solely lacking in the kind of data that is collected by agencies such as US News and World Report. We think that it is important and worthwhile to have the student voice represented.”
Ranking systems have traditionally determined the quality of undergraduate education by rating student selectivity, faculty credentials, resources and programs offered at each institution; they have not specifically interviewed students.
About 1,000 USC sophomore and seniors will participate in the survey.
In The College Student Report, students will be asked to answer questions regarding college activities, educational and personal growth and their personal opinions about the schools. They will also be surveyed on how and where they spend their time at school, the quality of their interactions with faculty and peers, what they have gained from their classes and their assessment of other aspects of the collegiate experience.
To exclude the potential for bias in the sample, it will be conducted on a random basis rather than a voluntary one — a standard researching technique, Harrington said.
Next spring, the first annual survey of second-semester freshmen and seniors will take place at more than 250 colleges and institutions. To be included in the study, universities will pay $275 plus $2 for each student surveyed, said Jo Anne Bunnage, NSSE program associate.
Students chosen for the survey can summit their response either through mail or the NSSE web site using the response number sent to the participants.
The University of Indiana, where NSSE is based, will
I see Survey, page 2 I
USC business class takes advertising project on the road
Academics: Working with dealership, student will present cars on ‘Route 99’
By ANNE WONSONO
Staff Writer
A student marketing class is making the drive down Route 99 a little easier.
Marketing 406’s student-run advertising agency will present its vehicle marketing project on campus Nov. 16 — “Route 99: Road To The Millennium, Let Felix Drive You” — and entice students to purchase one of five General Motors vehicles.
Sponsored by the car manufacturing company, the 5-year-old class allows students to
obtain real life experiences of running a marketing campaign. EdVenture Partners, a liaison company, provides students with clientele to work with and serve as the consultant of the program, approving budgets and proposals before they are presented to a client.
This year students, in their self-started company ADvention Promotions, are working with Felix Cadillac and Chevrolet, an independently owned company operating under the umbrella of General Motors. Felix donated $2,500 to the project.
“We mainly used this program as a tool to help students while letting everybody know that we care about the community around us,” said John Antoun, vice president of Felix Cadillac and Chevrolet, located on Figueroa Street.
The theme of the project is a road trip along Route 99, which runs from Lake Tahoe to South Beach Florida. The class will display
five cars on campus — including Cadillac and Chevrolet vehicles provided by Felix — that will represent a city along the route. Students can participate in games, such as a scavenger hunt for Felix the Cat, inside each car.
There will also be a special guest appearance by Felix the Cat and a surprise band sponsored by Campus Circle magazine, said Erin Yolland, a senior majoring in public policy and management.
The class will also be selling $1 raffle tickets for a trip for two to Las Vegas to raise funds for Troy Camp. Felix Cadillac and Chevrolet will match the proceeds collected. Organizers said they hope to donate a total of $5,000 to the organization.
This is the second year that Felix has participated in the marketing class. Last year, Felix contributed more than $10,000 for the program, Antoun said. The company also
sponsors similar programs at Los Angeles City College and Los Angeles Trade Tech.
“We want to help building our future, (which lie in) our students,” Antoun said. “We thought that this would be the best way. We’re your neighbors. Hopefully they’d (USC students) think of us whenever they make a purchase or service their cars and give us a chance to be their favorite dealers.”
ADvention Promotions is divided into different departments such as visual and copy advertising, public relation, reports publishing, event coordinators, research and fundraising and budget.
Students applied for positions and departments they were interested in at the beginning of the semester and interviewed with Carol Motley, a visiting professor who teaches the class.
I see Marketing, page 3 I