No solution seen for parking
By LAURINDA KEYS Staff Writer
The amount of campus construction underway combined with USC's inability to expand due to off-campus construction, is causing a severe parking problem for which there are few long-range permanent solutions.
But John Lechner. director of Campus Security and Parking Operations, has announced some temporary arrangements until the university is done going through what he called a “period of expansion and confusion."
On January 30 parking lot D. now used primarily by dormitory residents, will be closed for construction of a new three-story parking facility. Sections of the lot will be closed off one-bv-one during the month of January. Lechner said he would try to keep 35th Street open as a throughway for loading and unloading if it was not needed for the construction crew. But he said it would no longer be available for all-dav parking for cinema students or dorm residents.
When lot D is closed, lot B on 34th Street will be open only to dorm residents for at least the first week. Lechner said if he finds that all the spaces are not being used he will then open
some on a first-come-first-served basis for commuting students with permits and those willing to pay 50 cents per day.
At that time, lot B will have a 24-hour guard and lot D will have a 16-hour guard.
Non-resident students who now use lot B will have no place to park east of McClintock Avenue. Lechner said if they wish to park on campus they will end up parking in lot 31. He urges those who may buy parking permits for the spring semester to keep this in mind.
Lechner said those who feel paying $5 per month for a parking permit is too much for parking so far away, should try to park on the city streets. He said those who come to campus only one or two days a week should not buy a parking permit. They should pay the 50 cent per day rate, or park on Exposition Boulevard, or in the non-university owned parking lots across Figueroa Street.
Parking Lot E and the area on Hoover Boulevard will be open only to faculty until 5 p.m.
Lechner said that the best thing for students looking for parking to do is go directly to the space west of McClintock Avenue, instead of searching for a space in areas they will not be allowed to use.
He said parking lots S and 33 are usually filled up right away but there is always space in lot 31. He said lot I off of 37th Place is usually empty because people. instead of turning right at the guard station at University Main Entrance 1, continue up Hoover Street looking for non-existent space in lot K and end up parking in a fire lane.
Lechner said all the new lots that will be built from now on will be made esthetically pleasing with trees and bumpers. Lot 31. where the parking space is. is rather a dreary place because it is not a permanent lot. Instead of being covered with good six-inch rolled asphalt it is downgrade and oil. a semi-permanent asphalt.
Lechner said parking at other schools he has been to is more expensive and further away than that at USC. UCLA has a shuttle bus service by which students park their cars miles away and take a scheduled bus to campus.
Some schools, such as Harvard, have never had parking problems because the university leaves the problems to the students. “Just this year Harvard got into the parking business and now they have the same problems I do." Lechner said.
The structure at parking lot D, scheduled to be built over the summer, was
delayed because some members of the administration did not think the university should be in the parking business.
But Lechner said if the university did not provide parking, the owners of the surrounding property would charge exorbitant rates.
He said the future for campus parking looks bleak. All the property east of campus will become shopping centers and malls so students who have always parked there will want parking permits. The area on the other side of Vermont Avenue will go into construction soon and parking there will be available.
Lechner didn't see much hope aside from an adequate rapid trasit system or mandatory car pools. “We may reach the point where six people have to come in each car. One with four people would be kicked off campus." Lechner said jokingly.
But that joke prediction may come true or USC may have to get out of the parking business, and let students fend for themselves.
What Lechner needs most now, however, is cooperation. He said. “Anyone with specific problems can direct them to me and 1 11 answer them, but 1 11 answer the same way for everyone with a similar problem."
University of Southern California
VOL. LXIV NO. 39
LOS ANGELES,CALIFORNIA
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 1971
YOUTH HIGHEST OFFENDERS
Captain says USC ignores district crime
By DENNIS B. COOK
USC has a commitment to help alleviate this community's problems and as of now it has not fulfilled, said Captain Homer Broome of the Southwest division of the LAPD.
The Southwest district includes USC. the Row. and most of the surrounding area.
“I hear of the university making great discoveries in many broad fields, but it has failed to look into its own backyard to help solve the problems which directly affect this community's safety and well-being," said Broome, who is one of two black captains in the LAPD A special concern of Broome is the increasing crime among the youth of this district. He explained the problem as such: Over the past year this area has seen a 19.9% in burglary and a 2.7rc increase in auto thefts. The crimes are committed by people from inside the com-
munity and are not the work of outsiders. The majority of offenders are adolescents.
The police force has started programs to keep the youths from wandering the streets, but this does not hit the heart of the problem.
“Our programs assist in curbing violence and keeping the lid on things," the captain said, “but it does not hit at the core of the crime problem.
“The question of why the youth of this community commit crimes lies at the core. Why a kid would steal a car when he has one of his own sitting at home is what must be answered." he said.
The question cannot be answered with the typical responses given about ghetto areas. “The youth of this community are not economically starving like the kids in Watts or in the ghettoes of Chicago or New York,” Broome said. Most of the kids have enough food to
eat and good clothes to wear. The only way to arrest the problem is to answer the question why. he said.
This is where the university can help because it has the people and the recources to tackle this problem, he said. The police do not have the trained personnel for this work.
“This is the kind of problem that the university should concern itself with. It is not only academic but it affects the safety of the community and this includes USC." he said.
However, this is not the only way that the students and faculty can get involved in community affairs. Broome pointed out. The people would appreciate their assistance in any of the projects now being run.
“I know that my office would love their help in our community relation programs." he said.
Broome said that very few people from the university know about the Basic Car Plan. The
plan has the same nine officers patrolling one of the six areas of the district. These officers meet once a month with the people of their district to exchange ideas about crime prevention and community relations.
Other programs the police offer are the Explorer Scouts for ages 14-19 and the Deputy Auxiliary Programs for ages 9-14. Both groups are involved in recreational activities for the community youth.
Broome mentioned that the community center of USC is doing an excellent job but “we need many more things like it." The work that the students are doing in programs sponsored by the university is very commendable. “Their participation shows the community that they are aware of the situation and are willing to do something to help." he said.
But Broome said that he was very distressed that few students are involved in projects
which originate in the community itself.
Interrelations between USC and the community could only lead to improvement, he said. “By having one of the major universities of the country right in the community it makes the young people think about the necessity of a good college education."
As for crime at USC, Broome said that the student disturbances are very small.
In one incident a citizen called a report that he heard gunfire from the Row. When the police went to investigate they found out that it was only some fraternity members throwing cherry bombs off their roof, he said. “The officers could have easily mistaken it for a volley of gunfire and might have returned the volley, " Broome said.
The major crime problems concerning the university are auto theft and burglary, he said.
Lee Blackman, ASSC vice-president for academic aifiars, says his most important goal is to give students the maximum return for their dollars.
This goal places emphasis on the five project committees under his direction—conference, course evaluation, Experimental College, Forum for Student Awareness and literary magazine.
He is particularly pleased with the progress of the course evaluation guide and the Experimental College.
“This is the first year in a while that the guide will appear. There is no doubt in my mind that it will be published on time,” Blackman said in an interview last week. The last guide was published for the 1968-69 academic year.
“We hope to make the guide a continuing operation.”
Blackman also praised Experimental College: “It has never been as successful as it is now. It’s a big break for some classes to receive credit at the 49(1 level (independent study).”
Though his first priority is student programs, Blackman believes that another important facet of his office is its relationship with the entire university
structure.
This goes far beyond the ASSC’s Academic and University Affairs Councils, which he heads. But most work is done through these councils.
Blackman said that within the month, the General Education Committee will issue its report on requirements in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences. “The Academic Affairs Council will do research on the committee’s findings. I hope there will be much student response to the report.”
The council will also work on proposals to revise the definition of an incomplete and to expand the pass/ no pass system for greater student access.
“In this task, the council will act as a sounding board to improve the present curriculum. In fact, this is the clearinghouse for academic proposals," Blackman said. “We help students formulate proposals, then we serve as a vehicle between the student and the department, between the student and the administration.”
The vice-president also has high hopes for the University Affairs Council, which coordinates student activity on university committees.
(Continued on page 2)