University of Southern California
SUMMER
TROJAN
VOL. LXIII
NO. 14
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 11, 1971
Modernization of post office near completion
Modernization of the USC Mailing Services is nearly complete. the Business Office has announced.
The Post Office building, at 926 W. 35th St., has been repainted and generally renovated. New equipment has been added, and the building will hold an
open house for university personnel Aug. 19 from 1 to 5 p.m.
In addition, secretaries and administrative personnel will attend two briefing sessions on the mailing services Aug. 17 at the Faculty Center. The postal staff will discuss mail processing, services, and postal rates.
Congress of Strings performs final concert
Izler Solomon, music director and conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony, will conduct the last concert in the 1971 Congress of Strings series Thursday at 8 p.m. in Bovard Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.
The program will include Pachelbal's Praeludium. Chorale and Fugue, Bach's Choral Prelude, Arensky’s Tschaikovsky Variation. John Stanley's Concerto for Piano and Strings, and Bloch's Concerto Grosso No. 2.
Solomon, an award-winning violinist, exchanged his solo instrument for a full orchestra at the age of 21 when he was asked to take over the leadership of the newly-formed Lansing Symphony.
He went on to head orchestras in Illinois, Ohio and New York prior to his appearances as guest conductor of the Indianapolis Symphony during the 1955-56 season which led to his present appointment in 1956.
He also was music director of the Aspen Music Festival from 1956 until 1961 and has conducted the Flagstaff Summer Festival since its beginning in 1966.
Solomon has been guest conductor with many of the major American orchestras and has appeared in the same capacity with orchestras in England, Israel, Germany, Austria. Norway, Canada and Mexico. He also has conducted opera performances in the Hollywood Bowl and at the New York World's Fair.
A new booklet on the operations of the USC Mailing Services will be distributed at the sessions.
It will give details for mailing, whether it be simply interdepartmental mail or a bulk mailing throughout the area.
“We are updating our procedures to give the university community better mail services,” a member of the postal staff said.
The modernization project was directed by Anthony Lazzaro, associate vice-president for business affairs, and Arnold Shafer, director of the physical plant.
The USC Mailing Service provide all the postal services of the university, from delivery of students’ letters to mass mailing of form letters.
BAMA TICKETS
Student admission to the USC-Alabama football game on Friday night, Sept. 10, will be free by presentation at Gate 21 of either last semester’s ID card, fee bill, or fall 1971-72 permit to register or fee bill.
THE ROPE TRICK Photo bv
The American flag which waves outside in front of Bovard, refused to come down recently. A local fireman had to climb up the fire-truck ladder to retrieve flag. Sources later revealed the flag could not be lowered because its rope was broken.
Police suggest stop-theft advice
By PETER WONG City Editor
By taking a few steps beforehand, students and staff can better protect their property against theft, Officer Tom Roberts of the Los Angeles Police Department said recently.
Roberts pointed to the substantial number of stolen-property cases, in recommending preventive measures to cut down the possibilities of burglary and theft.
He said that of 78 case reports filed by police officers in a recent three-week period for the LAPD's Southwest Division, nearly 25 percent of them dealt with on-campus incidents, including 12 reports on burglaries and 6 on thefts. Similar incidents in students’ off-campus apartments had not been included in the on-campus total.
The officer stressed the need for students to write down the serial numbers of such equipment as TV sets, stereo players and tape recorders, and put the list in a safe place.
“If equipment is stolen, and the owner cannot furnish its serial number in the LAPD crime report, there is almost no chance for its recovery,” Roberts said. “The owner will not be able to prove that he is the legitimate holder of the equipment, even if we do get it back.”
But the chances for successful recovery of stolen property are much improved if the owner can furnish a serial number in the crime report, he said.
Computers constantly check out serial numbers of recovered items with sev-ial numbers listed in the crime reports. If two numbers match up. the owner can then recover his property because ownership is established.
If the serial number is not given in a crime report, however, there will be no way to match up recovered items with their owners, for ownership cannot be established
For example, a calculator valued at $550 had been stolen from Seaver Science Center. The owner, however, was able to give the calculator's serial number in the
crime report.
Sometime later, the computers matched the serial number of a stolen calculator with that in the crime report, and the owner got his machine back.
Roberts said that in many instances, those who steal property will attempt to pawn their new-found merchandise for cash. Police often check items in pawn shops with computers to see if they were on the crime report.
In this case, the calculator was found in such a shop and identified as stolen.
Still later, the original thief was caught trying to take other items from the Seaver Science Center.
The man. who had been on the maintenance crew at USC, had continued to steal other machines and pawn them off at the same shop.
“We hope to catch the repeaters,” Roberts said. “But students have got to help us. The burden of proof ownership of equipment lies with the owner — not with the thief. You have to prove that the equipment is yours, but the thief doesn’t have to prove anything.”
Roberts suggested that when secretaries and other administrative personnel leave their desks for a short time — even for minor errands out of the room — they should not leave valuable items accessible to possible thefts.
“A secretary may leave the room just to get a cup of coffee and will leave her purse under her desk. This is unwise, for a passer-by may snatch the purse without notice, or simply take the money.” he said.
“It takes just a few seconds to open up a file cabinet or desk and lock it securely.”
Roberts also warned against youngsters from the immediate neighborhood wandering around the buildings with no apparent business on campus. “if secretaries see this going on, they should call Campus Security officers. It s possible that the youngsters could take something from the offices."
For students in dorms and off-campus apartments. Roberts had some advice
for preventing burglaries.
“When you’re in, valuables should not be out if you are in another room and the front door is open. Why provide temptation for others?”
Security is tougher to maintain when one is out, Roberts said, and the average student is out of his living quarters for most of the morning and early afternoon. Therefore, additional measures are necessary.
For students who live in buildings with sliding-type windows (this includes buildings of the Men’s and Women’s Complexes) the window should be shut and a piece of wood should be placed in the sliding area when they are away, Roberts said.
“This will prevent the window from being forced open from the oustide. True, there may be some discomfort because the window is not left open for air when you are out — but it’s better to have the window open only while you are in than to have a theft of your radio, tape recorder, stereo set, typewriter, TV set, or any other item you might have in the room.”
He noted that this preventive measure was especially important for dorm rooms on the first floors of buildings, where entry is easiest from the side-<? walk.
The officer also emphasized mutual cooperation by residents in an apartment or dorm to prevent burglaries.
If a stranger should walk out of an apartment or room with some equipment, particularly if it is covered up in some way, an observing student can take the following measures:
•	Watch the suspect and see where he is taking the equipment. (It usually goes to a nearby car).
•	Write down the license number of the car.
•	Get a description of the suspect, but don't walk up to him and stop him.
•	Report the theft to the LAPD's Southwest Division (at 485-2585) or Campus Security.
Roberts said the LAPD personnel can handle such cases more effectively.
although he said that he was not criticizing Campus Security in any way.
“Our first job is to get and save property,” he said.
Locks for bicycles were also men-
•	tioned as a theft-prevention device.
It takes only a minute to lock your bicycle, and the time spent will help guard against theft, Roberts said.
“There’s a big demand for bicycles and a huge backlog of orders at many shops. If you’re not careful, you could spend weeks without a bicycle. Besides who can afford to get two bicycles? How many bicycles are insured?”
Roberts also said that bicycles should be locked to some fixed object and not left in the open. “It’s very easy to pick up a bicycle standing by itself.
“Locking your bicycle, even during a quick visit to a friend, will save you headaches — and prevent its *heft.”
Door locks should be of the kind that will not open if a thin object such as a credit card is slipped into the door, Roberts said. “Most people don’t worry about their locks and don’t check them, until a theft occurs and then, it’s too late for preventive measures.”
It is important that you write down your bicycle serial number and keep it somewhere, Roberts said.
Roberts pointed to the increasing use of bicycles and the corresponding rate in theft. “Many thieves try to take out the original serial-number plates. By an extra etching, you can make sure of your ownership.”
The officer also suggested that a light be turned on when one is not in with the curtains open. “If you tell your neighbor this, and if he sees something suspicious inside while knowing you are away, he can call the police. Otherwise, if the curtains are closed, he may think you are at home.”
Roberts said that these preventive measures would help students and staff members, but he did not claim any guarantee against criminals.
“There's only one policeman for every seven criminals, and we need everybody's help to prevent crime. ”