Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 174, NO. 25 | Tuesday September 27, 2011
InDEX 2 · Quick hits 4 · Opinion 5 · Lifestyle 8 · Classifieds 11 ·Sudoku 12 · Sports
Sweet treat:
The Los Angeles
Luxury Chocolate
Salon proves to be
delicious.
“Banning smoking is clearly a
step toward a healthier campus.
It would be repetitive to outline
the extensive lists of the
negative effects of smoking.”
Hot start: USC opens its
season with
wins in singles
over No. 10
Texas and
No. 34
Michigan.
sports 12
lifestyle 5
opinion 4
weather
Sunny
hi 82
lo 62
today tomorrow
Sunny
hi 77
lo 62
By Francesca Bessey
Daily Trojan
Though national SAT scores were the
lowest on record this year, according to
College Board, USC’s median scores for
the incoming freshman class rose 20
points, making the middle 50 percent of
scores between 1750 and 2100, according
to the Freshman Profile and Admission
Information 2011-2012.
The national average for the SAT was
1500, down six points from last year.
The downward trend affected each
section of the SAT test, with averages
dropping three points in reading, one
point in math and two in writing.
Critical reading scores were the lowest
on record.
Dean of Admission Timothy Brunold
said the drop in scores might be
attributed to a decreased emphasis on
SAT scores in the college admissions
process, including at USC.
“Test scores are neither the primary
quantitative factor we consider, nor are
they the most predictive quantitative
factor used,” Brunold said.
Michael Fox, a senior majoring in
international relations, said SATs are a
good tool for comparing students, but
should not be the determining factor of
admissions.
“For someone who is aspiring to be
something, a test is an objective way of
placing you against your peer but at the
end of the day, it is just a number,” Fox
said.
Brunold said any increase in the
university’s median SAT score was
incidental.
“Each year we don’t specifically set
out to increase the average SAT score of
the incoming class, but these constant
increases are primarily a ref lection of
USC’s ability to attract very capable
students,” Brunold said.
Brunold said a strong high school
grade point average and extracurriculars
are a more accurate predictor of success
for admitted students.
“Our studies confirm that test
score results can help us predict how
a student might perform academically
at USC,” Brunold said. “But they are
most valid when used with many other
factors, most notably high school [GPA]
and strength of high school.”
University median SAT score increase 20 points
College Board reported critical
reading scores at the national
level were the lowest on record.
Admissions
Kristy Pyke | Daily Trojan
In memoriam
President C. L. Max Nikias speaks about Sidney Harman, a Leadership Institute board member who passed
away last April, in Town & Gown. Several prominent members of the USC community attended the memorial
celebration for the former editor-in-chief of Newsweek and husband of former congresswoman Jane Harman.
GPSS
By Stephanie Lam
Daily Trojan
USC Graduate Professional
Student Senate will announce the
launch of a new program today
that will allow graduate students to
check out iPads from Leavey Library
starting in spring 2012.
The program is expected to
help graduate students remain
competitive in the job market, Jaclyn
Selby, GPSS director of academic
affairs, said in an email.
For graduate students to remain
competitive in this job market, it’s
helpful for them to be able to have
access to an iPad for even a short
time to be able to explore new
applications in their respective
fields, or to test out new teaching
methods in the classroom,” Selby
said.
Selby said the iPads will benefit
undergraduate students who have
graduate students as teaching
assistants.
“Having even a few of these
iPads available for check-out could
have some tremendous benefits to
graduate students on campus, and
indirectly to the undergraduates for
whom they are TAs,” Selby said.
Some students, including Zach
Cianci, a freshman majoring in
business administration, are not
convinced the iPads will be useful or
worthwhile.
“It just doesn’t seem practical,”
Cianci said. “Students would have
to either have an iPad or an Apple
laptop to transfer everything.”
Ekaansh Anand, a graduate
student studying computer science,
said she will probably not use the
iPads, though she sees them as
beneficial for graduate students.
“I probably wouldn’t use this
unless I forgot my own laptop, but
this is a privilege earned by graduate
students,” Anand said.
No decision has yet been made
regarding how long students will
be able to check out iPads, nor
regarding whether additional
libraries will offer the service.
GPSS will host a digital graduate
student multimedia tools workshop
to inform students about technology
available to graduate students today
at 1 p.m. at the Forum in the Ronald
Tutor Campus Center.
Leavey to let grad
students rent iPads
The program is intended to
help graduate students stay up
to date with new technology.
Kate Mock | Daily Trojan
Source: College Board SAT Data Tables, Freshman Profile
and Admission Information 2011-2012