University of Southern California
A NOON-TIME NAP Pho,° by Bin *0'"ard
The scene of the noon Bitch-in yesterday was just about as quiet at noon as it was following the unsuccessful rally.
Rally opposing languages fails
An unsuccessful rally was held yesterday at noon in front of Tommy Trojan in an attempt to have an open forum bitch-in against the language requirement, said Ed Hurst, the main speaker of the rally.
Hurst said that the bitch-in was to get support for making the language requirement optional as proposed by the ASSC Academic Affairs Committee.
"USC is behind the other major universities—Stanford. UCLA and most Ivy League schools.-' Hurst said. “The University of California as a whole has eliminated it."
Hurst agreed with Chuck Jones, chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, who said that as long as students “cannot master language in three semesters, the purpose behind the requirement is defeated.''
Hurst said that the reason for the shortness of the rally was. “those people expected to speak were not around." He asked the crowd if anyone wished to speak in favor of language requirements. No one responded and the rally died out.
After Hurst left the stage, small groups gathered to discuss the rally.
Richard Baldwin, a junior in biology, said, concerning foreign language classes. "If you can t come out speaking well after three semesters, why do it? ‘
Steve Smith, also a junior in biology, thought that the stimulation was lacking in foreign language teachers, and that “they can get away with it because the courses are required. "
One member of the group, a junior in philosophy. Dennis Foster, argued for the present language requirement. He said that the presence of a language requirement “narrows down the people
(Continued on page 3)
REVIEW
DAILY © TROJAN
VOL. LXII NO. 81
^0 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
THURSDAY, MARCH 4. 1971
Conflict develops over constitution
By NANCY MYERS City Editor
The ASSC Executive Council and the Election Commission are in conflict over the status of the general elections.
In a meeting Tuesday evening, the council approved the new ASUSC constitution and voted to suspend the general elections until students could vote on the new constitution.
But the Elections Commission has refused to agree to the freeze. "They don't have the authority to do that. ' said Charlene Bandurraga. elections commissioner, referring to council s vote to freeze the election procedure. “The Executive Council has the authority to approve the Election Commission . . . Once that's done, they don't have anything to say about it."
“Since the election process has already begun, we say it can't be interrupted." said Melanie Robertson, a member of the Election Commission.
But Sam Hurst. ASSC president, sees things differently. “It's only logical to have the constitutional election before the general election. he said. “We have a constitutional crisis as a result of a mutiny by the Election Commission."
The new constitution eliminates one of the vice-presidents, two of the six graduate representatives. senior class president. Associated Men's Students and Associated Women's Students presidents from the council.
If the general election is held before the constitutional election, and the constitution passed, a question would arise as to when the new constitution would take effect.
If the new constitution were to take effect upon approval by the voters, a second general election would have to be held because the positions of student representatives would be changed.
Another option is to let the officers elected this spring serve their terms of office under the existing constitution, and have the ASUSC constitution take effect May 1. 1972.
Neither of these alternatives are satisfactory
LAS CHANGES
to the council members.
An Executive Council meeting to finalize voting dates will be held today at 4 p.m. in the Student Activities Center.
The Election Commission is holding its ground, claiming that the council can't change election dates.
But the council, maintaining that the commission is under its control, will present two alternatives at today's meeting:
—Hold the constitutional election March 10, general elections March ‘23 and 24 and have run-offs March 31.
—Hold constitutional elections March 16 and 17. begin campaigns for general elections April 12 and hold the general election April 20 and 21. Run-offs would be April 28.
If the Election Commission does not agree to either of these proposals, two choices remain:
—Temporarily suspend the election code to overrule the Election Commission.
—Remove Miss Bandurraga as election commissioner and replace her with someone willing to cooperate with the council.
“If they (the council members) insist on setting a date for a special election . . . I'll take it to the Student Court," Miss Bandurraga said.
“The best option is to hold the constitutional election March 10." said Hurst. “If the Election Commission doesn't cooperate." he said, “the council may move to supersede its own by-laws because of the gravity of the situation. "
Miss Bandurraga explained her reasons for refusal to change the dates: “The dates for the elections were set in mid-January. They had the opportunity to change things before, but they waited until the last week to do it."
The commissioners have put a lot of work into setting up the elections, said Hurst, and they are hurt because the council wants to change things at the last minute.
“It's inconvenient to her ... it could have been done earlier. But we re not asking her to break any rules, we re just asking her to bend them a little." Hurst said.
New curriculum referred
At the Curriculum Committee yesterday. Chuck Jones, one of four student members, introduced two proposals on behalf of the Associated Students that did not appear on the agenda.
The first, which calls for the altering of undergraduate degree requirements for students in the College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, would alter curricula so that students could
choose between seven of 10 areas of study, thus avoiding the foreign language requirement.
Dean Henry Reining, who chaired the meeting in Dean John Cantelon's absence, outlined the procedure for consideration of the proposal.
“There are a lot of specifics to be considered before a final decision can be made on this
'New Paper' appears
By KIP STRATTE
A publication geared to political satire and named the “New Paper was recently initiated by the Pentagon Press, a group of USC students who call themselves a mental commune.
Denny Thomson, one of the publication's editors, described its purpose in an article written for the first edition.
The New Paper “is really nothing more than our feeble attempt to make you happy. aware, and alive with no strings attached." said Thomson. "After all. that s a hell of a lot more than Amerika is giving you free."
The first issue carried poems, quotes, quips and comments concerning topics ranging from “The Pill (why you can t get them at the Student Health Center, and where you can get them), to “Trash" (take yours to the Reclamation Center behind the Hancock Building).
For the academically inclined. Thomson
included a 15-question “Current Cosmic Events Quiz." Question number five of the quiz was. “USC stands for (a) university of social concern. <b> USA with the C equivalent to the A. (c) underemployed students association, or (d ) all that it shouldn t"
Another asked. “Ronald Reagan is: (a) an actor, (b) a fascist facsimile of his father. Attila the Hun. (c) the fascist gun in the West, id) all of these, (e) and many more"
The correct answers were not published. However. Thomson wrote that the answers “may be found in your level of consciousness and in tomorrow's very coming."
Exactly who's behind the. New Paper?
(Besides the Pentagon Press).
“We are NOT." Thomson explained. "Communists. mental masturbators. Weathermen, a F'ree Press sub-division inhibited, frightened Americans. Trojans, nor something for Richard Nixon to be
proud of.
“W7e ARE . . . alive, loving, stony, nationless, enemies of the war(s). pioneers of tomorrow's reality, insane (at least we admit it) ... In essence, we are what we
eat."
The publication did not list what they had eaten.
Yet the New Paper does get serious.
An article by Lowell Ponte discussed the role of the Daily Trojan. Ponte criticized the exclusion of a new weekly section for the Daily Trojan called SCene.
SCene was discontinued when university funds were removed because the section allegedly didn't conform to prearranged guidelines.
Yet until we know the future of the New Paper, we can ponder a Pentagon Press puzzler: “If Nixon is alone in a room, is anvbodv there?"
proposal." Reining said. "Since this proposal involves the entire LAS. we must look at courses as they now stand, and change the working of the proposal to specifics."
In the second proposal, which was written by Michael Trope, a lower-division seminar in "amalgamated studies" has been requested.
The proposal would give lower-division students the opportunity to specialize in a major field of study, to receive individual attention from a professor. and to see an overview of the LAS through a series of guest lecturers.
$235 theft
Burglars took a tape player and an AM-FM radio valued together at $235 from a first-floor room at Trojan Hall last night.
Witnesses said the theft occurred between 9 and 9:20 p.m. The burglars climbed over a low fence, forced a window open and cut the screen to enter the room, which faces Figueroa Street.
Jerry Kohlenberger, freshman in engineering, and owner of the equipment, called the LAPD shortly after he found his room scattered with paper and the machines missing.