dMte7 trojan
Volume CHI, Number 44
University of Southern California
Tuesday, March 17, 1987
Pings will receive internal inquiry report by Friday
University's legal counsel to represent researchers
Dr. Joseph Van Der Muelen, vice president for health affairs at the medical school (left), is part of a two-man inquiry team that is investigating the possible mishandling of radioactive materials at the Health Sciences campus, based on charges filed by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office on March 12. The university’s Office of the General Counsel, headed by William Hogoboom (right), will be handling the cases, including those of the researchers involved.
By Anh Do
Staff Writer
The university's general counsel office will represent the 10 faculty researchers at the Health Sciences campus who were charged last Thursday for violating state laws regulating the handling of radioactive isotopes, said Cornelius Pings, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.
The role of the office is to provide general representation for the overall interest of the university.
"We will represent all the doctors who were charged,'' said Michael Longo, a university counsel. “If we determine that outside counsel is needed, it will be paid by the university.
"We all have been instructed not to comment on the charges," said Michael Lai, professor of microbiology and one of the researchers charged.
In addition, the following nine researchers were cited.
•	Gunther Dennert, associate professor of microbiology.
•	Daniel Levy, professor of biochemistry.
•	Joseph Landolph, associate professor of microbiology.
•	Peter Vogt, chairman of the department of microbiology.
•	Robert Nakamura, associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology.
•	Walter Wolf, professor of pharmacology.
•	Robert Fournier, associate professor of microbiology.
•	Robert Maxson, assistant professor of biochemistry.
•	Frederick Singer, professor of medicine.
A 179-count criminal complaint was filed against the researchers and the university by Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn last Thursday for safety violations in the use of radioactive materials.
In response to the charges, Pings announced last Friday that the university will open an internal inquiry on the entire practice of the use of radioactive materials.
The inquiry is headed by Joseph Van Der Muelen, vice president for health affairs at the medical school, and Solomon Golomb, vice provost for research.
Pings said that he asked for a report from Van Der Muelen and Golomb by March 20.
Seating at Coliseum may be rearranged
By Bryon Okada
Staff Writer
Although the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission concluded that a $9 million seating reconfiguration is not feasible by the fall 1987 football season, Anthony Lazzaro, senior vice president of business affairs, said the "university is fully supportive of completing the seating reconfiguration plan."
Lazzaro said the proposed reconfiguration would significantly improve the Coliseum as a football stadium.
According to Richard Riordan, a commission member and chairman of the negotiating subcommittee, the reconfiguration would add portable stands extending over the track, creating 20 to 30 rows of seats. The stands would be removable for continued track use. Also, top-row seats would be removed, shrinking the capacity of the Coliseum by about 12,000 seats.
Lazzaro said the university has been overseeing Riordan's subcommittee to ensure that the seating plan is beneficial to the university's seating needs during the 1987 football season. The subcommittee was formed to discuss and revise a plan that could feasibly be completed by that time.
This is not a university project, nor does the university have a say in the decision to go with the seating plan worked out by the subcommittee, which met last weekend to decide whether or not the reconfiguration plan should be initiated, Lazzaro said.
"We've been in extensive discussion to do everything we can do to facilitate the implementation of the project, and do everything possible to get it done for the fall season," Lazzaro said.
The university has been discussing "what's involved in trying to get it done," he said.
Whether the plan is initiated, however, remains in the hands of the Coliseum Commission, which is currently trying to get more assurances from possible contractors bidding on the reconfiguration plan.
The subcommittee, headed by Riordan, should be able to decide
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Greek candidate only one to protest after election
Election guidelines rewritten for an “extremely fair election”
Finding the green under the rainbow
The Daily Trojan wishes to thank the efforts of Wally Bob-kiewicz, Student Senate president, in collecting funds from the large number of generous people at the university who donated so that we could provide the green color you see on our pages.
All this, in honor of St. Patrick's Day. May the luck of the Irish be with you today.	'
By Julia Kirkendall
Staff Writer
''My goal was to run a smooth election. . .1 think we ran an extremely fair election,” said Tom Becktold, chairman for elections and recruitment for the Student Senate, of last week's senate elections.
After talk last year of improprieties surrounding the senate elections, concentration was placed on rewriting election codes, Becktold said.
This year the senate focused its energy on doing things to educate voters, including having candidate position papers published during the week preceding elections and posting index cards stating each candidate's platforms at polling places, Becktold said.
In addition, Becktold said regulations were rewritten in an attempt to make them clearer and campaign rules were adjusted to discourage candidates from running together. Also, write-in candidates for the first time were eligible to win, Becktold said.
Voter turnout decreased 4.6 percent from last year. In 1986, 1,840 students voted in the elections, compared with 1,755 voters this year.
Large increases in turnout were experienced in the commuter and graduate constituencies, but decreases were experienced among Greek, residence-hall and student-community voters.
The votes are being recounted at the request of a candidate, but Becktold said he was confident the results were accurate.
The unofficial results of the 1987 Student Senate elections are:
•	Graduate / LAS — Sylvia Herzog, Daniel Salzer, G.N. Sridhar, David Wells.
•	Commuter — Khaled An-tabli. My Au, Lisa Hybsha, Kirk Kang.
•	Student Community — Phil Clement, Karen Hakan-son, Karen Lester, Marvin Young.
•	Residence Hall — Jim Ainsworth, Tara Brigham, Joyce Chao, Ron Delgado.
•	Greek — Christopher Bown, Gina Brown, Anthony Gatti, Michael Rodriguez.
Election results will be final by March 20, the deadline for candidate protests.
So far, only Greek candidate Rob Vinson has filed a complaint, Becktold said. Vinson's complaint charges that
two winning Greek candidates, Anthony Gatti and Christopher Bown, illegally posted materials, Becktold said.
Six of the newly elected senators were incumbents. The biggest upset occurred in the commuter race where both incumbent candidates, Sara Hirsch and Darren Abe, were defeated.
"I think we had a better caliber of candidates this year," Becktold said, explaining that this year's candidates had a better understanding of the rules, expectations and responsibilities involved with the available positions.
"People were very respectful of each other," said Hanh Cao, vice chairman of elections and recruitment.
The votes are being recounted at the request of a candidate, but Becktold said he was confident the results were accurate.
Candidates within a 10 percent margin of winning may request a recount, he said.
The current senate will adjourn and the new senators will be installed in office on March 25, said Wally Bob-kiewicz, president of the Student Senate. Mark Decker, senate vice president, will preside over the body until the new president, vice president, graduate speaker and undergraduate speaker are elected.
Decker is expected to sug-(Continued on page 8)