Student Newspaper of the University of Southern California Since 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | VOL. 174, NO. 47 | Friday October 28, 2011
By Denise gonzalez
Daily Trojan
Women’s involvement in the science,
technology, engineering and mathemati-cal
subjects is higher than ever, as a great-er
proportion of women have received mas-ter’s
degrees in those fields than before.
There was a 5.4 percent increase in mas-ter’s
degrees awarded to female students
in biological and agricultural sciences and
an 11.1 percent increase in the number of
master’s degrees awarded to female stu-dents
in health science, according to the
Council of Graduate Studies.
This marks a trend in higher education,
where women are excelling in fields that
were traditionally dominated by men.
Melora Sundt, associate dean for aca-demic
programs, said the increase in in-volvement
of women in these fields is ex-pected
to change some long-standing
biases. She said having more women in
these fields of study can help them serve
as role models, and become the rule rather
than the exception in these fields.
She said, however, that though more
women are entering the STEM fields in a
greater number, they have not had an im-pact
in all of them.
“You’ll find different proportions by
type of major. Physics probably hasn’t
reached parity yet,” Sundt said. “So, while
the overall proportion may have shifted, it
could be due to gains in particular areas,
while others have remained the same or
even decreased.”
Alex White, an undeclared sophomore
who plans to attend medical school, said
she often feels the presence of the biases
against women in her math and science
classes.
“[Men] look at me like I am not compe-tent
and like I don’t know what I am do-ing,”
White said. “It’s unfair but you can-not
let people’s biases deter you from
achieving your goals. You have to hold
your own and not let that discourage you.”
Sonia Hua, a junior majoring in geron-tology
on the pre-health track, said she
was aware of the historical lack of women
in the health sciences field, but they nev-er
prevented her from pursuing her goals.
Instead, she said they made her more de-termined.
“This bias hasn’t directly affected me
in any way, I mean, no one approached me
and told me I couldn’t be a doctor because
I’m a female,” Hua said. “It shows both men
and women that females can accomplish
whatever they set out to achieve and that
gender is not a factor. This is good news for
me because there are positive statistics to
support my decision to enter this field.”
Michelle Leclair, a junior majoring in
chemical engineering with an emphasis
in petroleum engineering, said the bias
against women has always existed but, as
more women enter the science fields, that
gender bias has disappeared.
“There is a certain drive in myself and
other engineers to compete with the men
or out-compete in order to stand equally
InDEX 2 · Quick hits 4 · Opinion 5 · Sports Extra 12 · Sudoku 14 · Classifieds 16 · Lifestyle
Community
By Cursta McCullom
Daily Trojan
Community reaction to The Village
at USC, a residential and recreational
plaza planned to replace USC-owned
property north of Jefferson Boulevard,
was mixed at an open house at the
Galen Center Thursday.
Cardinal Gardens, Century
Apartments, the current University
Village and other surrounding
buildings will be torn down to
construct a center that aims to
modernize the area. The Village
will include student housing,
shops, restaurants and green space,
according to its website.
“The primary goal is to really
enhance and improve the quality of
life while we are living and going to
school at USC,” said David Galaviz,
executive director of local government
relations for The Village. “We really
want to create the best college culture
for current and incoming students
and we feel The Village can assist in
that.”
The plans for the center designate
300,000 square feet for classroom,
artistic and presentation space,
which Galaviz said is intended to
improve the academic atmosphere.
Additional housing in The Village for
students, faculty and staff is intended
to encourage students to informally
meet with their professors in new
locations.
USC plans to furnish the
reinvented Jefferson Boulevard with
more lighting and possibly build a
Dept. of Public Safety substation
within the center. The Village will
also be closed off from cars, allowing
protected transportation on the
walkways or bike lanes.
Residents shared different
attitudes toward USC’s expected
redevelopment of Jefferson Boulevard.
Residents unsure
about The Village
At an open house, community
members had mixed reactions
to the proposed plaza plan.
| see Village, page 2 |
Zhiyi Feng | Daily Trojan
Meet the parents
Mindy Pharris (right), an ambassador at the Ronald Tutor Campus Center, gives parents tours of the campus
center Thursday as part of Trojan Family Weekend. Hundreds of parents are expected to visit campus this
weekend. Events for parents include a Junior Trojan Scavenger Hunt and tours of Doheny Memorial Library.
Find coverage of Saturday’s game against
Stanford in our Sports Extra on Page 5.
Science degrees awarded to women increases
The number of female students
receiving master’s degrees in health
science increased 11.1 percent.
Academics Spirit
By Arlene Washington
Daily Trojan
The USC Spirit Leaders will debut a 40-foot banner
to roll over student section Saturday at the student
section to raise student spirit.
A few minutes before kickoff against Stanford,
spirit leaders in cooperation with Trojan Knights and
Helenes will walk to the top of section 23 and direct
students to hold their hands up for the banner to roll
over them.
The idea came from banners typically rolled over
crowds at other sporting events, said Shana Schwartz,
associate head coach of the Spirit Leaders.
“In the past we’ve done card stunts and other
things that haven’t been successful,” Schwartz said.
“We had seen the banner at some professional soccer
games and really began to look into this as one of our
new ideas to raise school spirit along with the large
trojan head f lag we run out during games.”
The spirit leaders hope for the banner to appear at
every home game.
“Hopefully students will want to come earlier to
be a part of this new tradition,” Spirit Leader Captain
Emily Gee said. “I hope for this to be a symbol that
our student section is there and supportive no matter
what.”
Josh DeMilta, a junior majoring in broadcast
journalism, said the banner could help students show
support for USC during the game.
“A banner would help the student section be more
spirited and I’m all for the idea,” DeMilta said. “We
need something like this to become more cohesive as
a group and really show our presence at the games.”
Schwartz said she has been satisfied with the
school spirit of the student section so far and believes
this will only make it better.
New banner to be
unveiled Saturday
Spirit Leaders hope the new 40-foot sign will
enhance school spirit at home football games.
| see Women, page 3 |
Percent increase in master’s
degrees awarded 2009 to 2010
Women Men
Health science
Biological and
agricultural science
11.1 percent 5.6 percent
5.4 percent 8.5 percent
Kate Mock | Daily Trojan