Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 168, NO. 21 | Wednesday September 23, 2009
InDEX
2 · News Digest
4 · Opinion
7 · Lifestyle
11 · Sudoku
12 · Classifieds
16 · Sports
Career Guide: To get a jumpstart on the
job search before Thursday’s career fair, see
the Career Guide supplement. PAGE S1
Straight shot: The Women of Troy
have their sights on the title that
eluded them last year. PAGE 16
By Sydney champion
Daily Trojan
Application numbers to Teach For America contin-ue
to rise, though the growth may be less the result of
increased interest and more the result of decreased job
opportunities.
Though specific application numbers for USC were
unavailable, Tracy St. Dic, recruitment director for
TFA in Southern California, said the organization,
which recruits recent college graduates to teach in un-derprivileged
areas for two years, has seen an increase
in applications, likely because of a combination of ris-ing
interest levels and an uncertain job market.
“Nationwide, we’ve seen a phenomenal increase in
applications,” St. Dic said. “I expect to see the same
trend at USC this year.”
But it might not be just a soaring interest in the TFA
program that is bringing in the extra applications.
Kyle McNeal, a senior majoring in international rela-tions,
said the poor economy is one of the main reasons
he chose to apply for TFA.
“The horrible job market was pretty much a key rea-son
that I applied to TFA,” McNeal wrote in an email. “I
definitely wouldn’t want to be entering the job market
by traditional means right now.”
McNeal hopes to land a stable job that can help him
pay off housing costs and school loans.
“I have a lot riding on my application to Teach For
America,” McNeal wrote. “Teach For America seems
like a great way to avoid the difficulties and unpredict-ability
of a messy job search.”
Still, St. Dic did not think the struggling econo-my
was the primary reason for the increase in inter-est.
Instead, she cited USC’s location and surrounding
community.
According to St. Dic, because of USC’s geographical
In tough job
market, TFA
applications up
Students say Teach For America offers a chance
to teach while waiting for other opportunities.
| see tfa, page 11 |
By mimi honeycutt
Daily Trojan
While some students are staying close
to home to save money, Trojans continue
to traverse the globe, defying a national
trend.
A recent survey conducted by the
Forum on Education Abroad found that
overseas study enrollment is down for
the first time in decades. USC, however,
does not seem to have followed suit.
Although exact numbers for USC’s
study abroad program are not yet avail-able,
Overseas Studies Program Assistant
Veronica Gomez, said, USC’s attendance
numbers “don’t appear to match [the
study] now.”
The study, conducted between
August and September of this year, sur-veyed
the study abroad percentages for
165 colleges, including public, private,
international and US-based provider
organizations. Sixty-six percent of all
schools, and 58 percent of private univer-sities,
reported plunges in study abroad
enrollment.
“This could be fairly typical — in a
given year you might have certain insti-tutions
that have decreased enrollment
— but it does seem the majority are re-porting
a downturn in enrollment,” said
Brian Whalen, president of the Forum.
Down nationwide, study abroad still strong at USC
Unlike some other schools, USC
allows students to use financial aid
money toward study abroad costs.
| see abroad, page 11 |
By sarah waliany
Daily Trojan
Facing a rapidly changing me-dia
industry, Ernest J. Wilson
III, dean of the Annenberg
School for Communication and
the newly elected chairman
of the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting, hopes to make pub-lic
media once again a vehicle for
civic discourse.
Elected chairman last week,
Wilson is the longest serving
member currently on the board of
the CPB, a non-profit corporation
established by the federal govern-ment
aimed at promoting public
media services for United States
citizens.
“The CPB is supposed to fos-ter
civic engagement, education ...
news and entertainment and cul-ture
through noncommercial me-dia,”
Wilson said. “At the highest
level, the goal is to help Americans
lead more democratic, informed
and satisfying lives.”
Wilson said there are three
goals he intends to pursue during
his one-year term as chairman
— increasing dialogue, bringing
public media into the digital age
and improving the diversity of its
content and audience.
“Public media is at a cross-roads,
beset with many technolog-ical,
demographic and econom-ic
challenges,” Wilson said. “My
goal is to pursue three themes —
greater dialog with the relevant
publics, more digital media and
greater diversity in the content,
audience and management of the
system.”
Wilson’s colleagues at
Annenberg lauded his in-depth
knowledge of the media and said
he was the perfect candidate to
lead the CPB.
“He’s extremely bright and
knowledgeable about media is-sues
and has a deep commit-ment
to public media, especial-ly
media functioning with the
public interest in mind,” said
Geneva Overholser, director of
Annenberg’s School of Journalism.
Kay Heitzman, executive direc-tor
of public affairs and special
events at Annenberg, said Wilson
is a great collaborator and a great
thinker.
“He has a broad perspective on
global communication and has
many wonderful traits that I am
sure helped him to become the
chairman,” she said.
As chairman, Wilson will set
the agenda for the CPB and occa-sionally
act as a spokesperson. He
said he is hoping to drive the CPB
toward discovering ways of using
noncommercial media to improve
the lives of Americans in the pres-ent
economic crisis.
Previously, Wilson served on
the CPB board as the chair of the
Digital Media Committee and of
the Public Awareness Committee.
Already, the CPB has support-ed
workshops, seminars and oth-er
activities instructing people
on how to deal with the mortgage
crisis. The CPB has also provided
funding to local radio stations.
Wilson, however, is hoping to find
ways to use digital media to make
an even greater difference in peo-ple’s
lives.
Wilson said his new position
will not take him away from his
duties at Annenberg.
“It won’t affect the time com-mitment
much, since I have been
chairing the most active commit-tee
on the CPB Board — the new
Dean of Annenberg to chair Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Ernest Wilson III plans to use
his experiences as chairman to
inform his work at Annenberg.
| see wilson, page 11 |
Mannat Saini | Daily Trojan
Taking charge · Annenberg Dean Ernest J. Wilson III was elected
chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting last week.
Amaresh Sundaram Kuppuswamy | Daily Trojan
Overseas · Kamisha Brooks (right)and Jordann Zbylski (left), both sophomores majoring in theatre, speak with representatives from
USC’s Office of Overseas Studies about the opportunities available for study abroad and the expenses associated with the programs.