Student claims guard guilty of molestation
By Ralph Sanchez
Staff Writer
A graduate student has claimed that she was sexually molested in University Village by one of their security guards.
The case has been turned over to the Los Angeles Police Department for investigation. LAPD detectives said a suspect Who works for the University Village security guard force has been charged with a misdemeanor and will be taken before the city attorney this week to determine if he should be taken into custody.
The incident took place outside of the Baskin-Robbins ice cream parlor at 11:45 a.m. on May 1.
“I was going to Baskin-Robbins,” the student said. "I was going past the Hallmark shop when I noticed a security guard coming toward me: He w alked right into me, grabbed me by my breasts and said something (obscene)."
She said she was shocked and didn't say anything as the guard just smiled at her and walked away.
The student does not wish to be identified for fea rof vengence by the security guard. "I'm really frightened of what this security guard may do next."
The student reported the incident to Belford Houston, head of University Village security.
She said he was very nonchalant about the whole thing and "didn't even offer an apology."
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Commuter bus may aid in gas shortage
trojan
Volume LXXVI, Number 55 University of Southern California Tuesday, May 8, 1979
Approximately 25,000 commuters at the university may soon have a way to fight the gas shortage by booking passage on a special commuter bus.
Dennis Archambault, operations manager at the Trojan bookstore, has proposed the idea for a bus that would meet commuters at a central location and take them directly to campus.
"It would save gas and the headache of waiting in lines to get gas. Also with the limited parking situation on campus a few less cars would be an aid to the university," Archambault said.
The bus would hold about 50 passengers and would make one trip a day, picking up people at 8 a.m. and leaving the university at
4:30 p.m.
In the future, Archambault would like to have four buses running coming from the north, south, east and west of the university.
"The four central locations I see as good possibilities are El Monte, Long Beach, Glendale or
Pasadena and Santa Monica."
Archambault's bus is still in the planning stages. He approached RTD with the idea, but was told they did not have any extra buses. They also told him they were not interested in dealing just with students because of the variety in schedules.
"I'm looking for at least three-fourths of the bus to be composed of faculty and staff, but really anyone who is willing to pay up front could get a ride," Archambault said.
Archambault called a number of private bus lines to inquire about renting a bus. "The average cost per passenger came out to be between $40 and $60 a month. That's a lot of money; I don't know if that would be a savings to very many people," Archambault said.
The regular fare on an RTD bus would figure out to about $30 a month per person, but Archambault hopes to get a reduced rate.
"I'd like to get in to talk with Mayor Bradley and tell him, look
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OT photo by Marsha Traager
NEW PARK—The new E.F. Hutton & Company Park was dedicated today after the company s annual stockholders' meeting. The park is located in the triangle bounded by the Eileen Norris Theatre, the Bing Theater and the Annenberg School of Communications.
University’s practices under review
By Bob Conti
Staff Writer
Some colleges and universities may be dealing in unethical and possibly illegal practices, said a report compiled by the Carnegie Council on Policy Studies in Higher Education.
The council said that colleges, in an effort to remain financially solvent, desperately recruit students. This recruitment, the council believes, is the factor leading to the ethical deterioration.
One contention the council views as leading to ethical decay is "inflation of grades by faculty members."
The university reviews the grades given out each semester by all faculty members. If it sees that there are an unusually large amount of high grades, the Academics Standards Committee requests the teacher to explain.
"We contact the chairman (of the department that handed out the high grades) and ask for an explanation," said Allan Casson, associate professor of English and chairman of the committee.
He said because the university is too small for grade inflation to exist, an irresponsible teacher
could inflate marks for only a short time.
Juanita Mantovani, assistant dean of Student Affairs, said different departments have different standards and there is no across-the-line rule for each school.
Mantovani said while it is possible for a professor to increase the number of high grades in a given class, it is difficult to prove that a professor increased the marks due to the lack of a bottom line.
"On the whole," Mantovani said, "the faculty is conscientious of its responsibility."
David Wiesen, chairman of the Department of Classics, said students feel "they pay and deserve their A.’ "
"Students come in here, weeping hot tears, telling me how their futures depend on that A,' " he said.
Wiessen said although there is student pressure to give better grades, the university 'urges to deflate grades."
He said many students believe that not receiving a good grade will prove to be a problem when applying to post-graduate school or applying for a job.
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Merchants work toward rehabilitation of Vermont area for senior citizens
By Alice Ragenovich
Staff Writer
A group of 40 merchants is working together to rehabilitate shops along Vermont Avenue in an attempt to make the community a better place for senior citizens.
"While I was growing up old people were treated like gods. I'd like to see us get back to that. The old people are the history of the community and you can't have a community without history," said John Black, president of the University District Merchants Assn. Black owns a bowling alley that is located on Vermont Avenue.
"All of us in the association are aware of the deterioration of the area. We hope to revamp the shops," Black said.
The merchants formed a group so they could qualify for city, state and federal loans to revamp their shops and attract customers, Black said.
The association is working with the University Village merchants. "We're all trying to cooperate with each other. If one area attracts customers, it stands to reason that an overflow of customers will go into the other area," Black said.
He and the other merchants are working with the city to attract customers to their shops and at the same time to make the area more appealing to senior citizens.
The association has asked the city to install benches up and down Vermont
so the old people can rest, ' benches could alleviate some of the loneliness of the old people because they can talk to each other and thev'll come out of hiding and be seen by the young people," he said.
There are facilities for senior citizens in the university area. A new senior citizens clubhouse will be located on 35th Place near an area where 120 units of senior citizens apartments are under construction through the Normandie 5 project.	4
An old Victorian style house on Halldale Street in the middle of a clearing planned as a park is being transformed into a clubhouse for senior citizens by the Los Angeles Citv Parks and Recreation Department.
The association has also asked the city to install better lighting, to plant trees and to mark crosswalks on the streets
The association is working with the city to get additional parking space along Vermont. "We need more parking and we're using two areas on the corner of Je/ferson and Catalina," Black said.
The association is hoping to qualify for funds under the Commercial Area Revitalization Effort program. The program helps businesses to beautify the interiors and exteriors of their build-ings.
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