Style of Surfers
Members of local ska-punk band Homegrown, formed in Orange County, exude mysteriously bratty charm / 7
DM TROJAN
Student newspaper of the University of Southern California
WEDNESDAY
------------♦--------------
August 28, 2002
Of interest...
Having sex in a Catholic church is sacreligious, offensive and warrants punishment / 4
News Digest	2	Calendar	2
Opinions	4	Lifestyle	7
The Buzz	7	Classifieds	12
Crossword	13	Sports	16
vol. CXIVII, no. 3 www.dailytrojan.com
Financial matters keep Senate busy
Fund: Discovered money requires organization to set precedent for adjustment
By ROBB FERRIS
Staff Writer
No plans have been made for the allocation of the $94,413 found unexpectedly by Student Senate Adviser Laura Kawano last spring, but it is still considered a “high priority,” said Senate President Matt Weir, a senior majoring in economics.
After discussing the issue extensively over the summer, members of
Senate chose to leave the decision of	nnliilK &
what to do with the money up to its	UUIIdl O (X
legislative branch.	SOHSO
The decision, made at the Senate retreat in San Diego earlier this	♦
month, was left to the senators	Plans for
because they most directly represent	the $94,413
students, said Senate Treasurer Josh	discovered
Martin, a senior majoring in interna-	unexpectedly
tional relations.	at the end
Senate members also discussed	of last year’s
possible uses for the fund, including	Student
a popular suggestion to use it to start	Senate
a Senate endowment, to which more	will be
money could be added later. The	determined by
interest from the account	would	be	this year’s
I see Senate,	page	6 I	legislature
Sitting pretty. Student Senate President Matt Weir and Vice President Lauren Geissler spent the summer working with other members of Senate to plan for this school year.
Med school applications down nationally
Medicine: Keck no exception to trend, but officials saw increase in number who finished full process of applying
By DENISE OSHODI
Staff Writer
The increase of completed USC Keck School of Medicine applications surprised the director of admissions this year.
Primary applications to medical schools have declined nationally from 46,965 in 1996 to 34,859 in 2001, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges. The organization is still collecting data for 2002.
The number of primary applications to the Keck School decreased for 2002 also, but the number of applicants who finished the full application process increased by 200. This increase is rare. The number of completed applications is usually directly proportional to the number of initial applications.
The reason may be because of the rigorous expansion within the school, said Robert McCann, director of admissions at the Keck School of Medicine. Recent changes in curricu-
lum and a new early decision program are making the school more attractive.
The increase in the number of completed applications to the medical school possibly reflects a national trend, said Gina Moses, pre-health academic adviser and baccalaure-ate/MD coordinator. She predicts a surge in medical school applications nationwide next year or the following year.
The official statistics for the 2002-2003 school year have not been released, so no one is absolutely sure how many applications there were nationally.
“It would be unlikely for medical I see Applications, page 8 I
Fewer
Doctors
Primary applications to medical schools have dropped nationally from 46,965 in 1996 to 34,859 in 2001. Data for 2002 has not been released
Thornton diversity instantly attracts new dean
Music: Raised in family of music, Cutietta knew he would work in field since 10
By ART PRIROMPRINTR
Staff Writer
What do electric bass and choral music have in common?
Not all that much, most would say, but to Robert Cutietta, the new dean of USC’s Flora L. Thornton School of Music, they are both part of an eclectic musical background that he said is an important reason why he fits so well at Thornton.
“Where is my background? It’s all over the map,” Cutietta said. “I think that’s important because this school, in a positive sense, is that way ... very few schools of music are doing everything like we are here.”
Thornton, nationally recognized for its excellence, has a diverse array of programs, from more traditional programs in classical and jazz performance to others in film scoring, recording arts and electric guitar.
Cutietta’s background is just about as varied and diverse. As a musician, his main instrument is the
electric bass after majoring in classical guitar in college. After college, he worked as a studio musician doing pieces such as pop songs in commercials. Then, Cutietta said he fell in love with choral music and became a choral conductor, teaching at the junior high and high school levels.
He also has an extensive background in the fields of music research and education. Author of five books and more than 50 articles in various publications, Cutietta has conducted extensive research in music psychology and education.
“I was going to college and fell in love with doing research," he said.
Specifically, his research dealt with how people learn music and how the brain processes music, a topic Cutietta finds personally fascinating.
Most recently, Cutietta served as director of the School of Music and dean at the University of Arizona.
It’s all part of a love of music that began quite early for Cutietta, who came from a musical family.
“My dad played piano all the time, and my brother, who was older than me, was a drummer and just played constantly,” he said.
1 see Cutietta, page 11 I
Art Priromprintr I Daily Trojan
Natural talent. Robert Cutietta began his duties as the new dean of the Thornton School of Music on July 1.
Minor examines neighborhoods for city workings
Academics: Nine-course program a version of graduate curriculum that looks at life in different parts of metro Los Angeles
By MELANIE ZAHAR0P0UL0S
Staff Writer
Lauren Akins couldn’t sit still as she told her Architecture 375 class about how excited she was about the new minor she was taking on.
“It is everything I wanted,”
Akins, a sophomore majoring in geography, chattered away about the new minor on urban neighborhood, of which Architecture 375 is the introductory core course.
Other students also discussed their reasons for signing up for the upper-division architecture class.
“The class seemed enigmatic,” said Todd Gonzales, a senior majoring in planning and development “There was no faculty listed, and there were no books for it in bookstore.”
The introductory class of nine will launch the Urban Neighborhood Studies undergraduate program, the toned-down version of an interdisciplinary graduate program that has been running for the last two years, said Robert Harris, professor of architecture and head of the master’s of architecture program.
Harris has been credited by colleagues as the driving force behind the program’s creation, melding aspects of architecture, education, social work and planning to study the key elements and problems of neighborhoods within the urban communities.
“The premise of the program is that if you really want to know about life in cities, you really better know about neighborhoods,” Harris said. “They have been studied for years in academic circles. The sort of great studies were done in the Chicago area, but in a place like Los Angeles, you can observe things that are happening all over the world.”
The minor is one of the first truly interdisciplinary offerings at the campus, said Gary Rhodes, director of the USC Center for Global Education. Tenured professors
I see Minor, page 3 I
“The premise of the program is that if you really want to know about life in cities, you really better know aboutyour neighborhoods
ROBERT
HARRIS
professor
architecture