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SINCE 1912
DM TROJAN
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
MONDAY
September 30, 2002
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Makeshift skate park near USC, famous for its talented progeny, comes under fire by officials / 7
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vol. CXLVII, no. 24 www.dailytrojan.com
Military OK’d to recruit lawyers
Colleges toot own horn by mailings
Image: Peer-assessment survey accounts for quarter of schools’overall rankings
By KOULA GIANULIAS
Contributing Writer
Throughout the last decade, USC moved up 20 places to rank No. 31 in U.S. News and World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges 2003" index. In 2000, USC was named “College of the Year” by Time magazine.
These are just some of the achievements USC can brag about. But when does publicizing a university’s reputation go too far?
Some university leaders have resorted to mailing promotional material — much like the letters parents send to relatives during the holidays to boast about their kids’ accomplishments — in an attempt to impress their peers and improve annual rankings.
“I know that President (Steven B.) Sample receives these materials all the time,” said Holly Bridges, executive director of public relations projects. “It’s become pretty transparent now as an effort to sway opinion to boost their reputation in the eyes of people who vote.”
“Many universities have hired consultants who tel! them to mount aggressive marketing campaigns to boost their peer-assessment rating, which accounts for 25 percent of the overall U.S. News ranking,” said Daniel Levin, vice president for publications for the Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges.
The peer-assessment survey factors in the opinions of university leaders about a school’s academic programs. Though it is completely subjective, it counts for a quarter of a university’s overall U.S. News score.
Three people at each institution — the president, provost and dean of admissions — rank the reputation of other schools in their category on a scale of one to five, with five being the highest.
“Schools really have the least control over this component of the rankings,” said Maryann Gray, associate vice provost of academic information and infrastructure. “They send questionnaires out to every school, and we don’t really know what the respondents are basing their vote on. Some of them may have old information.”
So, some school leaders have taken it upon themselves to update their peers by hiring consultants or using their own public relations departments to spread the news about their accomplishments, Levin said.
“In my own research, university presidents are saying they get swamped with this stuff,” Levin said.
I see Competition, page 10 I
Policy: Law School must include armed forces at interviewing event despite their rule to exclude gays
By ANGELA RUEDA
Contributing Writer
In an unwilling effort to comply with the U.S. Department of Defense’s discriminatory policies against gay students, USC Law School will host the military for the first time in its on-campus interviewing program Tuesday, Law School officials said.
Greek: Group of men return, settling in after overcoming initial recolonizing issues
By SUSHMA SUBRAMANIAN
Staff Writer
Frederic Le Cao didn’t rush, didn’t pledge and never went through hazing. Yet, he’s the president of his fraternity, Delta Tau Delta, which moved into a house on the Row this fall.
Le Cao’s involvement in the Greek system began with a teacher’s recommendation and a formal meeting.
Last year, DTD representatives recruited Le Cao and other USC stu-
Threatened by the U.S. Air Force of losing $300 million to $500 million in federal funding, the Law School gave in to allowing military recruiters full access to programs and facilities of the school, Matthew L. Spitzer, dean of the Law School, wrote in a letter to students.
Under pressure of putting at risk student loans, work-study and research funds, USC, along with other law schools around the county,-will now facilitate recruitment of law students by the military.
But Law School officials have publicly expressed their discontent with the new measure.
dents to recolonize at USC. Alumni had already gone through USC housing to get a house even before reforming the fraternity.
DTD was an active chapter at USC in the past
“The Delts” came to USC in February 1941 but left in 1992 because of low membership.
Rather than adding enforcement to the weakening structure of its organization, DTD decided to leave and make a fresh return.
“We’re back in the very house where we started when we first came in 1941,” said Jim Bowersox, President of the Western Pacific Division of DTD.
“We recruit and enroll students based in part on our nondiscrimination policies,” Spitzer wrote in the letter. “And we wish to assure our students that they will receive equal treatment while enrolled at USC.” The Department of Defense, however, has not signed the nondiscrimination agreement
“By federal law, the military is limited in its ability to allow entry for a variety of reasons that generally would not apply to other employers,” Department of Defense officials said, citing age and disability as examples.
Since the nondiscrimination policy was enacted in the 1970s, the Law
DTD also once lived in what is now the ONE Institute on Adams Boulevard.
“The Delts have had a great history at USC,” Bowersox said. “It’s one of the best schools in the country, and we wanted to get back to an important campus.”
DTD also has chapters at Chapman University and the Universities of California, Riverside; Irvine; and Los Angeles, which just started this week.
The national organization began recruiting members in September 2001. DTD sent three chapter consultants to USC. The fraternity has nine consultants who travel through-
School has not allowed military recruiters to be part of its on-campus interviewing program. Students who were interested in applying for a job with the military were able to meet with recruiters at the ROTC building on campus, however.
As a member of the American Association of Law Schools, USC Law School was required to inform students of the military’s discrimination policies, to hold discussions for faculty and students on these issues and to actively support gay and lesbian student organizations.
Between 1997 and 2001, the mil-I see Military, page 11 I
out the country by division and work with chapters to ensure that they are up to national standards.
The chapter consultants worked with professors and administration to get referrals and contacted and interviewed students who were interested.
Le Cao’s organizational behavior professor turned in his name to a consultant
Le Cao’s interest peaked at the thought of joining a fraternity, and soon he and others became the founding fathers of DTD’s USC colony.
Fall rushes have shown similar interest in the fraternity. DTD recruited 14 new members.
I see Delts, page 10.1
Toe to head
Upside down.
Brittany Daniels, a prebusiness major, and "Colt Teuscher, a business administration international relations major, practice headstands in the shade away from the sun on Intramural Field, behind Heritage Hall.
Michael Ward I Daily Trojan
Fraternity snags original spot on the Row