DAILY TROJAN F
Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912
is one of USC’s many unknown stars.
www.dailytrojan.com
August 29, 2006
Downtown project to add green
Grand Avenue development will act similar to New York City’s Central Park.
By JACQUELINE LEE
Staff Wfiter
Plans for the redevelopment of downtown Los Angeles are underway as nearly 100 residents, students, architects and community activists met Aug. 19 for the Grand Avenue Project’s second park outreach meeting and workshop at the National Center for the Preservation of Democracy in downtown Los Angeles.
The Grand Avenue Project is an implementation plan to design a gathering place on Grand Avenue that will take advantage of existing city landmarks such as the Disney Concert Hall, city hall and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
“It’s a First Amendment right,” said Aaron Paley, president and cofounder of Community Arts Resources.
“L.A. has a deficit of public spaces. It’s a city about personal space. The idea here is to create a new model for how public space can be created for everyone to just be together in public space. We all enjoy it when we're there, but it’s a rare occurrence.”
The plan is 3.8 million square feet of mixed-use development (commercial, residential and public space) that will stretch along Grand Avenue from Fifth Street to Cesar Chavez Avenue. The park will be in the heart of Los Angeles, surrounded by the county courthouse, Los Angeles Public Library Central Library and the performance theaters. The development will be built around a 16-acre park that connects the cultural and civic buildings similar to Chicago’s Millennium Park and New York’s Central Park.
“I like Millennium Park, but I don’t think we need to be (like) a Millennium Park,” said Sara Daleiden, a USC graduate student in public arts studies. “We just have to turn downtown into a place where people feel like they can actually live.”
I see Redevelopment, page 6 I
“But will the city deter the homeless from using this public space? Will the city be blocking access to any group? Will the park alienate anybody?” —♦— BECKY DENNISON member Community Action
Joel Zink I Daily Trojan
Bid night. Members of Alpha Chi Omega wait outside on 28th Street for their new pledges. Both fraternities and sororities welcomed new pledge classes last weekend, with Greeks flooding The Row Sunday as sororities greeted new members with signs and cheers.
Greek bids at record highs
Quick Facts
Both Greek councils report record-high recruitment numbers for this semester.
By CATHERINE LYONS
Staff Writer
Students emerged from last week’s rush activities with Greek letters across their chests, with both Iriterfratemity and Panhellenic councils reporting record numbers of new members this recruitment period.
This fall, 347 male students accepted bids from the 18 participating IFC fraternities. These results represent an increase from the past two fall rushes. Last fall’s rush brought in 333 pledges and two years ago 324 students were welcomed into pledge classes.
This year’s rush crowd is one of the largest in several years, said Sagar Patel, IFC vice president of recruitment
Patel said that Beta Theta Pi’s
recruitment numbers are not included in the current statistics. Beta will recruit in the coming weeks, after returning from suspension, Patel said.
Each house reported a good turnout throughout rush week, and the ending pledge-class size ranged from seven to 30 new members.
“The numbers show the improvement in itself and the quantity, but we improved a lot on the quality of guys,” Patel said. "We got a lot of students to come out, whether they took a bid or not, they understand the nature of Greek life and they at least had an experience of Greek life.”
Students were generally happy with their rush experience as well.
“I haven’t had a problem with dry rush. I’ve had a lot of fiin. I like seeing all the houses and not being as structured as sororities,” said Logan Campbell, a freshman majoring in business administration.
Austin Lyman, a freshman major-
ing in broadcast journalism, agreed.
“When I first got to USC, I wasn’t planning on rushing, but when 1 got here, I got to walk around and meet different guys in the fraternities,” Lyman said. “What I found out was a fraternity is more than just a place for guys to get drunk. It’s a place where guys can meet friends for life.”
Students who accepted bids will take a survey later this week regarding their rush experiences. The survey includes questions such as what they thought of rush, if they were ever offered alcohol and how rush can improve. Houses will be fined if their pledge class does not complete the survey, Patel said.
Overall, Patel attributes the high turnout to hardworking fraternity members, rush chairs and IFC board members, who patrolled every event throughout the week for alcohol, women and other infractions.
Rush events included an open I see Greek, page 3 I
347 male students accepted bids in 18 IFC fraternities.
Fraternity pledge class sizes range from seven to 30 members.
UC minority enrollment on the decline
Minority enrollment in UC schools have been declining since 1997, while USC has increased minority enrollment.
By ASHLEY ARCHIBALD
Staff Writer
Ninety-six black students enrolled in the UCLA freshman class this fall, the lowest number in the past 10 years.
Of the 10,487 students admitted to the university in fall 2006, about 2.3 percent were black.
In comparison, USC’s freshman class was 5.4 percent black as of Aug 21. In California, the population is 6.7 percent black, according to the 2000 U.S. Census.
This “crisis,” as Janina Montero, vice chancellor of student affairs at UCLA, called it, is not confined merely to the black population of UCLA, but to minority admissions across the University of California system.
One cause of low minority admissions is Proposition 209, a bill passed in 1996 that prohibited the use of “preferential treatment” toward any group on the basis of race or gender in the public sector.
“Before the passage of Prop. 209, UCLA had the highest number of African-American freshmen in the UC system,” Montero said. “It pains us that this has changed.”
The result is the elimination of affirmative action in the public sector and the outlawing of targeted racial quotas and recruitment practices, said David Cruz, a professor in the USC Gould School of Law.
“Prop. 209 limited the ability of public institutions to act in a race-conscious fashion,” Cruz said.
The USC student body opinion on
White — 16,145 Asian — 13,084 Hispanic — 5,570 Black — 1,503 American Indian — 312
1997
White —19,685 Asian — 19,685 Hispanic — 9,750 Black — 19,896 American Indian — 344
2006
Proposition 209 is mixed.
“I can’t see how a university could take so few (black students),” said Janessa Currier, a sophomore majoring in health promotion and disease prevention.
On the other hand, the equal-opportunity ideal of Proposition 209 attracts some students.
“I don’t think there should be a specific number of African-American
I see Admission, page 3 I
INDEX
'Snakes’ marketing shows the next wave in ads. 4
One year after Katrina, students reflect. 7
News Digest.....2 Lifestyle............7
0pinions.........4 Classifieds.....12
Sudoku...........5 Sports...........16
WEATHER
Today: Mostly sunny. High of 89, low of 67.
Tomorrow: Mostly sunny. High of 87, low of 66.