Andrus Center head gives opinions, views
By Gina Becchetti
Assistant City Editor
One administrator does not think the university has been seriously harmed by the bad publicity received in the last year because of controversies involving the Middle East Center and the presidential search.
“I think it’s still a great university,” said James Birren, executive director of the university’s Ethel Percy Andrus Gerontology Center. “I think if we get a president who is a good choice, people will rally around him and in a year everything will be forgotten.”
Birren, a trim man of medium build, with lively blue-gray eyes and short white hair, does not look his 62 years. Although his entire career has been in gerontology, Birren has opinions on many subjects, including the presidential search. He believes the president’s position is really two jobs which should be filled by two people.
“There is a need for an inside president of distinguished background—a noble laureate—who would be provost or academic vice president,” Birren said. “This man would attract scholars to the university.
“If the outside man would be from public affairs but not necessarily of high scholarship,” Birren said, “he would have to gain the support of the Southern California region.”
The university needs one of its own graduates—a doctor, lawyer, or successful businessman who loves this place—to be the outside man, someone who is used to relating to this community, Birren said.
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Football controversy continues
Debate team loses another coach
A DAY AT A FAIR — Representatives from nearly 50 campus organizations attended the fifth annual Student Activity Fair in Alumni Park Wednesday. In addition to displays set up by various clubs and student health organizations, the Student Awareness Task Force showed two
Photo by Hugh Robinaon
films on apartment burglary and bike theft. Shown here at the Students Concerned For Israel booth are Neil Howard, Mark Finley and Debbie Azoff who are celebrating the exchange of Ambassadors between Egypt and Israel last Tuesday.
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Volume LXXXVIII, Number 17 University of Southern California Thursday February 28, 1980
Eiline Kingsley announced her resignation Tuesday during a meeting attended by 35 members of the squad, according to Kelli Sager, the squad captain.
Shoup said Kingsley would be assigned, to another position, and that she has no plans to replace Kingsley with anyone else.
Kingsley’s resignation will have no effect on her current duty as a teacher’s assistant in the Communication Arts and Sciences.
Both Sager and Garrison, who were present-at Tuesday’s meeting, said Kingsley announced her resignation after a number of squad members inquired into her involvement with the university's investigation of DeBross.
“I voluntarily resigned because I disapproved of the operations of the debate squad at this time at
USC.” Kingsley said. “There have been allegations made and many people questioned DeBross resigned as a result of those allegations. And there is a university investigation pending in the matter.” Garrison said that a number of squad members believed Kingsley had supplied university officials with information regarding DeBross’ alleged misconduct during a closed-door conference she had with university officials sometime last December.
Garrison said Kingsley had acknowledged at the meeting that she had spoken with university officials about DeBross, and was asked then not to mention the meeting to anyone.
“Our members were basically concerned that she (Kingsley), had (Continued on page 5)
Tuition hike stirs student reactions
By David Romero
Staff Writer
By Steve Stern and
Richard Bonin
In the aftermath of John DeBross’ resignation as director of the university debate squad, the assistant director of the squad has been told he will not be rehired next fall and a debating coach has resigned.
Lee Garrison, assistant director of the squad, said he will continue working through the end of the semester. He said June Shoup, director of Communication Arts and Sciences (formerly the Speech Communication department), told him the department prefers someone with a Ph.D. to assume the directorship vacated by DeBross last Tuesday.
DeBross was forced to resign amidst a university investigation into course credits he had slated to give varsity football players for classes they had not attended.
Sources said Garrison would be asked to leave because “he was too close to DeBross.” Garrison acknowledged that the decision not to rehire him might be tied to his association with DeBross, which dates from 1971 when Garrison became a student debater. “I guess I might by guilty by association,” Garrison said.
DeBross, director of forensics since 1963, does not have a Ph.D.
MOSCOW GAMES
Boycott seen as beneficial
Several members of the Student Senate see little alternative to accepting the 14.9% increase in tuition rate included in the university’s proposed 1980-81 budget.
At the senate’s meeting Wednesday, overall dissatisfaction with the hike on the part of students and other constituencies was discussed, but there was some agreement that opposition would not be fruitful.
Although approximately 2,600 students signed a petition within the last week stating their opposition to the tuition hike and some have talked of demonstrations. Chip Hughes, financial coordinator for the senate, said next year’s budget is fairly legitimate and there is little that students can challenge.
“We can have the demonstration, but if there’s no flexibility, there's no flexibility,” he said.
Some senators said other students had not expressed much confidenr getting any results from the petitions. “It’s a situation where we re measuring our power against their’s (university administrators’) and obviously we have less,” Hughes said.
The university has taken steps to offset the burden of the university's increased financial need on students. Money has been taken from unrestricted endowment income without cutting into the principle and put into the operating budget.
“They (university administrators) showed us some facts and figures which indicate significant energy savings at the university since 1972.” Hughes said. The savings are reportedly around $500,000.
There was concern at the meeting that the university may be backing itself into a corner by trying to eliminate budget deficits through tuition increase. Some senators felt an increase in tuition would discourage prospective students and cause some students to transfer to other schools. A telephone survey of students to gauge their possible actions is planned.
A decrease in enrollment might cause the university to fire some instructors and senators said this would result in re-evaiuation of the budget. Hughes said next year’s increased salary allocation for faculty had already been knocked down to 11% from 11.5%.
THE ODD COUPLE — Actor George Burns gives Deborah Harry, leader of the rock group Blondie, a kiss at the Grammy Awards held Wednesday night at the Shrine Auditorium. For more photos see page 11.
By Carey Jue
Staff Writer
A United States boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics will not only send a definite, nonthreatening message to the Soviets but will hurt them economically, according to Andrew Strenk, an instructor of history and swimmer in the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.
“By boycotting the Olympics, we are depriving the Soviets of an economic and prestige victory,” Strenk said.
Strenk is writing a doctorial dissertation on Sports in the Cold War: The Political and Diplomatic Uses of Sports in East-West Rela-
tions, 1945-76. The Russians have been channelling money into the Olympic Games, constructing new athletic facilities, hotels, and restaurants and organizing media promotion campaigns, Strenk said.
With the boycott, the Russians will lose the chance to demonstrate that their way of life is better than the American way of life, he said. The West Germans estimate that the Russians have already spent $30 billion preparing for the Olympics. They have built a new airport and improved and beautified urban areas, Strenk said.
The U.S. Department of State announced last Thursday that 23 countries have pulled out of the
Games while 19 others are considering making the move.
If the boycott continues, only countries from the Communist bloc and the third world may compete in the Moscow Games.
West German and American tourists traditionally spend the most on tourist items and other local goods. In the event of a boycott, the Russians can expect a definite decline in sales of commercial goods like trinkets. T-(Continued on page 2)