dk% trojan
Volume LXXXIX, Number 62	University ot Southern California	Thursday, January 8, 1981
Officials react to admissions policy
By Kevin Polk and Mary Meloch
The university's admissions policy represents "a real ethical commitment on the part of the university to the academic success of its students,” said William Weber, chair of the university admissions committee. "It recognizes our position as a major university"
Weber, a chemistry professor, was one of several university faculty and staff members who discussed the importance of the policy approved by President James H. Zumberge in Dec. 24.
The admission policy, which was the result of a year's work bv the committee, is unique because most schools do not have a policy c.aling with specific numbers, Weber said. No other private university in the country has a general admissions statement available to the public, he said.
"We have formalized an admissions policy that was not formalize'* ‘ >re," said Dr. Joseph Kertes, another member of the committee. "That is an important step in the university's credibility. It represents a formalization of the underlying philosophy of the university about the kinds of students we want at USC."
We* "r said !'iat the public statement of poiicv is an important change in '.he -dmissions process. "It may not sound like it is a major change, but actually it is," he said.
Weber cited some of these changes.
The Admissions Office will now process all applications for admissions. In the past, various departments could admit students under special circumstances. Now there are two ways of getting accepted to the university, regular admissions and the Freshman Access Program, Weber said.
Specific criteria for admitting applicants has been set. Those criteria include grade point average, SAT scores, letters of
'The admissions policy is unique because most schools do not have a policy dealing with specififc numbers'
recommendation, and a sample of the student's writing. The policy stresses that admission to the university is not determined by a rigid formula and "each individual student is considered as a unique totality." The grade point average is only one of many factors considered.
The Admissions Office will use a new formula to calculate the applicants' grade point averages. Only grades earned in academic subjects will be used. "For instance," Weber said, "a course in music history would count, a chorus class wouldn't. Math counts, but auto mechanics doesn't."
The regular admission minimum standards are 2.7 GPA and 700
combined SAT score. However, "a student with both the 2.7 and
700 will probably not be admitted, while a student with a low score
in only one of those might be," Weber said. Most students
admitted to the university have a 3.4 GPA combined with a 1040
SAT score. Students below a 2.4 would have to be considered by
the sub-committee of the admissions committee which would
review them and make recommendations to the Admissions Office.
Both the sub-committee and the Admissions Office must agree
before the student will be accepted.	.. .
r	(Continued on page 16)
Staff photo by Stava Hyman
TUNNEL FUN — Children playing hide-and-seek at the university-affiliated John Tracy Clinic on Adams Boulevard.___________
Iranian student faces dilemma
Hostage seizure causes problems
By Moon Lew
For the typical college student, life seems complicated enough with taking exams, worrying about grades, earning a diploma and looking for a job. But for the Iranian student in the United States, these problems seem incidental compared to problems caused by the American hostage crisis.
A 21-vear-old junior majoring in public affairs, who asked to remain anonymous, has learned to take life on a day-to-day basis.
"I have insecurities about whether I'll be able to stay here in the United States," he said.
On the day the hostages were taken, the stu-dentrecalled he had feelings of guilt and of paranoia.
"I was walking through University Village with some Iranian friends and we felt that people were looking at us," he said. "It was very hard to tell what people were thinking."
As reports of skirmishes between Iranians and Americans around the country surfaced, the student's uneasiness grew. At one point, he even lied about his nationality. "I said my father was Iranian and that my mother was Italian."
No hostility has been directed towards him
during the hostage situation, but stories from friends still make him insecure. He admitted this uneasiness has also taken its toll on his ability to study.
The student was bom in Iran, but left at age 11 for boarding school in England. He stayed there for seven years and at age 18 came to the university.
"It was the in thing for parents of the upper-class to send their kids to England or the U.S. for schooling," he said.
His father was the director general of the Ministry of Justice under the shah and now holds the same position under the Ayatollah Khomeini. His mother has been in England since 1977 receiving cancer treatments.
"When I call Iran to talk to my father, we know the phone is bugged so we can't really say what we want to say. The same is true of the mail. It is checked."
He said the shah was good for his family but admitted he was bad for the majority of the people.
"The whole system was corrupt.The downfall of the shah was due to people being fed up with (Continued on page 15)
University to be cleared of charges in employment suit
rY'
By John Lamb
Staff Writer A preliminary decision handed down by the U.S. District Court states that the university will be cleared of all charges of discrimination brought against it by a former university instructor.
According to the decision sent to the David Malone, dean of humanities, by presiding U.S. District Court Judge A. Wallace Tashima, there existed no evidence that any of the actions taken by the university were discriminatory.
The two charges leveled at the university by Joanne Purcell, according to Malone included the following:
o	The university discriminated against Purcell because she is a woman.
c The university interfered with Purcell while she was seeking other employment. She charged, in effect, that the university blackballed her.
A third charge of breach of contract was made in Purcell's initial complaint against the university, but was dropped during the course of the trial.
In the preliminary statement, the judge added that because the university had not discriminated or interfered with Purcell's attempt at getting other employment and, by her own admission, had not broken any contract, there was no reason to address the issue of damages.
"In effect," Malone said, "every charge was found to be, in the judge's own
words, 'totally unsupported by the evidence provided (by Dr. Purcell).' "
Purcell had asked for approximately $166,500 in damages, which broke down to $36,000 for three years of unemployment, $3,000 (which was the difference between her salary and that of her male colleagues) for each year she worked,
56,000	for additional damages and $1,500 for attorneys fees.
Judith Williams, an attorney for the university, pointed out that the final decision from the U.S. District judge has not been made available to the public, but should be made soon.
The attorney said the only thing the university will (Continued on page 16)