Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 166, NO. 30 | Friday February 27, 2009
InDEX
4 · Opinion
5 · Lifestyle
8 · Classifieds
10 · Crossword
12 · Sports
Mafia mishap: A roundup
of five classic and recent
gangster films. PAGE 5
Not in OT: Men’s basketball team
falls to Cal in overtime. PAGE 12
By rohan venkataramakrishnan
Daily Trojan
Six of the 10 candidates running for may-or
of Los Angeles traded barbs Thursday
in a debate at USC hosted by the Political
Student Assembly.
The candidates are running against in-cumbent
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who,
though not present at the debate, is consid-ered
by most to be a shoo-in for the post, in
the March 3 elections.
Facing an audience of about 40 students,
supporters of individual candidates and
Los Angeles Police Department officers, the
participants discussed a number of issues
including gang violence, the city’s finan-cial
situation and their reasons for running
in a race that is largely seen as unwinnable
against Villaraigosa.
“They say it’s going to be a miracle if any-one
beats Villaraigosa,” said Craig Rubin, a
candidate who is a minister and former ac-tor.
“But, you know, I work at a church.”
Rubin, who mentioned his appearance on
the TV show “Weeds,” said his pro-medical
marijuana stance gave him a large enough
constituency to win the election. Rubin
said if he were elected, his biggest priority
would be to bring jobs to the city and integ-rity
back to the business community.
Stevan Torres, a write-in candidate
whose campaign helped organize the de-bate,
said the biggest problem in Los
Mayoral candidates convene at USC for debate
| see debate, page 2 |
Alexandra Tapley | Daily Trojan
Debate · Mayoral candidate Carlos Alvarez addressed the audience Thursday night as two of his opponents, Phil
Jennerjahn and Craig Rubin, looked on. Alvarez said he is running as a representative for the Socialist Party of America.
By laura nelson
Daily Trojan
Police entered a USC music class Wednesday morning
to arrest graduate student Daniel Hansol Oh on a charge
of sexual molestation of a Fullerton girl during the weekly
violin lessons he taught.
Oh, a 26-year-old graduate student studying violin per-formance,
was booked into the Fullerton City Jail, where
he later confessed to molesting three more of his violin
students, Fullerton Police Sgt. Mike MacDonald said in a
press release Wednesday.
MacDonald, who declined to be interviewed, said in
the press release that Oh might have been teaching as
many as 15 girls at the time.
Oh is being held in lieu of $250,000 bail, pending ar-raignment.
In light of the arrest, Thornton School of Music Dean
Robert Cutietta issued a statement to music school staff
Wednesday.
“Graduate student Daniel Oh faces serious charges
brought by Fullerton, Calif. police for activities that took
place in Fullerton and which are unrelated to the univer-sity,”
Cutietta wrote in an e-mail. “There was, and is, no
threat to the USC community from this incident or this
individual.”
The Department of Public Safety was not involved in
the investigation or subsequent arrest, DPS Capt. David
Carlisle said.
“They just called us the day they began their investi-gation,”
Carlisle said. “This has always been their inves-tigation.”
Until the victim, now 16 according to the Orange
County Register, came to police in December 2008,
Fullerton police had not heard about the alleged molesta-tion,
MacDonald said in the press release.
“She had told her pastor about the molestations,”
MacDonald said. “He urged her to go to the police.”
After the victim came forward, police launched an in-vestigation,
which later revealed that the victim, then 11,
began taking violin lessons from Oh in 2003. The moles-tation
occurred over a span of three years until December
2006, MacDonald said.
Student arrested
on campus in
molestation case
Student Daniel Hansol Oh has confessed to
molesting four of his violin students, police said.
By laura nelson
Daily Trojan
Authorities arrested a suspect
Wednesday who they say is responsi-ble
for the majority of recent personal
thefts at the Lyon Center.
Department of Public Safety officers
detained 25-year-old Lance Johnson
near Doheny Memorial Library and
summoned the Los Angeles Police
Department for reinforcement, who
booked him for grand theft and took
him into custody.
Johnson, who works as a janitor in
the Lyon Center, has since confessed
to LAPD officers to committing Lyon
Center thefts “in the double digits,”
said DPS Capt. David Carlisle.
Police arrest
man for Lyon
Center thefts
DPS officials say the suspect
has worked as a janitor at
the Lyon Center for two years.
| see johnson, page 2 |
By ana cosma
Daily Trojan
Offering increased financial aid opportuni-ties
for students and grant money for universities
nationwide, the recently passed federal stimulus
package will provide relief for students and facul-ty
at USC.
Under the American Opportunity Tax Credit
included in the economic stimulus package, the
federal government will allow students to write off
up to $2,500 worth of annual education expens-es,
including $700 to account for the cost of text-books.
This tax credit represents an update on the
existing educational tax credit, which could only
be used to offset tuition.
Jennifer Grodsky, the executive director of
USC Federal Relations in Washington, D.C., said
the majority of students who come from low- and
middle-income families will be able to take advan-tage
of tax credit, which makes college more af-fordable.
The American Opportunity Tax Credit will be
made available for students and families this year,
and as up to $1,000 of the tax credit is refundable,
students may qualify for a refund check, Grodsky
said.
To further offset the cost of higher education,
the government has also pledged to raise Pell
Grant awards by $500 a year and increase the
amount of money available for federal work-study
programs.
Susan Ikerd, associate dean and director of
Financial Aid, said USC might gain an addition-al
$1 million for the federal work study program,
some of which might go into USC’s Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grant program award-ed
to lower-income students to supplement Pell
Grants.
Stimulus package has benefits for students, researchers
Financial aid experts say USC might
be able to receive $1 million for the
university’s federal work study program.
| see stimulus, page 3 |
Students and the stimulus
In effect for 2009-2010
Up to $1,000
of the credit
is refundable.
Up to
$2,500 tax
credit for
annual
education
expenses.
Full credit
available
to those
making less
than $80,000
($160,000 for
joint filers).
Partial credit
for those
making be-tween
$80,000
and $90,000
($160,000 and
$180,000 for
joint filers).
The American Opportunity
Tax Credit has benefits
aimed at lowering the
costs of higher education.
| see arrest, page 2 |
While six out of 10 candidates took
part in the debate, Mayor Antonio
Villaraigosa did not participate.