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Volume LXXV, Number 17	University of Southern California Wednesday, October 11,1978
Students protest at NBC to gain objective coverage of Olympics
By Mary Bird
Staff Writer
"We're trying to persuade NBC to give an objective picture of life in the Soviet Union/' said Mindy Fox, a university student.
Fox was one of 150 to 200 Jewish students who protested in front of NBC Studios in Burbank Sunday. The network will be covering the 1980 Olympics from Moscow.
Students from USC, UCLA and Occidental College participated in the protest.
Fox said the goal of the rally was to convince NBC to present a "true and objective picture of society in the Soviet Union."
The network would be objective by "showing the problems of the Jews there," Fox said.
The demonstration lasted about two hours and involved walking from nearby Buena Vista Park to the Burbank Studio. A rally followed with a speech given by Terry Magady, chairman of the Jewish Student Action Coalition, who organized the demonstration. Silent prayers were given for dissident Jews.
Magady also said he hoped network participation would be a “newly gained influence to prevent the Soviet Union from massacring Jews or
making mass arrests prior to the arrival of the tourists."
Soviet Jewry protests have increased in the past year and "point to a more active generation of university students in the 1980s," in contrast to the past decade of relative student passiveness, Magady said.
The coalition plans to meet with NBC officials and hopes for a favorable response. Officials for the coalition said NBC has been favorable to Nazi Jews in the past when they aired the film Holocaust earlier this year.
When questioned about NBC's stand, an NBC spokesman said in a prepared statement that "NBC certainly respects the right for any legitimate organization, such as this (coalition), to demonstrate their position, but the U.S. Olympic Committee plans to participate in the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Therefore, NBC plans to cover the event rather than deprive the public of a major sporting event."
The spokesman declined to make any further comment, responding to a different charge that NBC should not cover the 1980 Olympics at all.
If Sunday's demonstration didn't bring about an adequate response, there would be more rallies and demonstrations in the future, Fox said.
Academic affairs study says absentee professors miss average of 3 classes
By Niki Cervantes
Staff Writer
About one-third of the students sampled in a survey said they had significant problems with professors' absenteeism.
The six-question survey, conducted by the Office of Academic Affairs, was mailed to 200 randomly chosen junior and senior students this summer. Responses were received from 84 students.
When asked how many class sessions professors had missed in one semester, 77% of the students said up to 3 sessions, 18% said between 4 and 8 and 5% said professors had missed over 8 sessions.
Almost 70% of the students questioned also complained of faculty members not being available during scheduled office hours. Those complaints were aimed mostly at part-time professors, Baker said.
The survey was triggered when the Academic Standards Commission discovered increasing numbers of students trying to drop classes late in the semester because of a large number of professor absenses. (The commission reviews complaints as well as petitions for incompletes and late drops.)
"I think this survey shows we have a definite problem. It has made us very aware of that. But the survey actually turned out better than we expected. . .I'd heard so many horror stories from students about teachers disappearing for weeks," said Marilyn Baker, the assistant to the vice-president of academic affairs.
YOU CAN EAT THEM
Brownie points take shape as good guys’ reward
By Carole Long
Staff Writer
Finally there's a reason to try to earn brownie points. You can eat them!
Rich Melcombe, a 22-year-old entrepreneur, has decided to put more meaning behind the once imaginary and facetious award.
Brownie Points have entered the realm of confectionary excellence as chocolate fudge brownies.
But these are no ordinary brownies. Behind the product stands a slogan — "Brownie Points. . .only when you deserve them."
"If a person has done a good deed or been really nice to others, they deserve Brownie Points," Melcombe said.
"They're something you could give to a boyfriend or girlfriend or just to someone that you want to tell that you care about them."
Melcombe wants his Brownie Points to be a gift people would feel good about giving.
Besides Brownie Points brownies, the logo is also car-
ried on tote bags, bike bags, greeting cards, shirts and buttons.
The Brownie Points line will soon be coming to the university bookstore.
This is the only bookstore where they will be sold.
"USC is my alma mater so I thought it would be a good kick to have them sold here," Melcombe a 1977 alumnus said.
"We get a lot of guys selling gimmick-type products like bellybutton stickers and pyramid power medallions, but Rich's program has some style to it," said Sheila Hickey, bookstore boutique buyer.
Brownie Points products will also be sold by Buffums, Robinsons, Broadway, I. Magnin and other department stores and boutiques.
Melcombe's business acumen comes from many years of experience.
In junior high, he started his own lawn-mowing business. He bought a lawn-mower and hired six friends to work on Saturdays. This endeavor brought him $100 a week.
In his senior year in high school, Melcombe and a friend produced a play and made a $2,000 profit.
At the university, Melcombe booked bands for his fraternity, was editor of the Row Run, and started a lemonade stand.
Melcombe's story as "the lemonade man" was included in a book by Ronald Sobel called "What tver Became of Free Enterprise?"
Melcombe bought a Wack wrought iron lemonade stand from an antique store and asked some USC cheerleaders to sell the lemonade. The lemonade was served with a cherry and a sprig of mint.
Melcombe's lemonade first appeared at the Broadway Plaza.
"The first day we were sold out and by the end of the first week we were outselling Carl's Jr. and other stores in the mall, so we got kicked out," Melcombe said.
Melcombe then took his stand to the LA City Mall and the Arco Towers.
Within a year he was offered • a nationwide franchise but decided against it.
"I decided I would rather get my degree than spend the rest of my life selling lemonade, so I dropped the business," Melcombe said.
Melcombe conceived the idea of Brownie Points in the summer after he graduated.
"I wanted something that could grow and develop into something big, not just a one-product affair."
* In three months, Melcombe had designed his own logo and organized a positive product that he hoped would sell.
Melcombe first presented Brownie Points to Buffums.
"When they saw the bag, right away they pulled out a purchase order. It was unbelievable," Melcombe said.
The response was the same at all the other stores Melcombe approached.
Melcombe will be holding a promotion for his products in the bookstore on Oct. 31, Halloween.
"This was very informal. We just wanted to get an idea of the problem. The suvey didn't include enough students and not all of the different majors were included either. But what's important is that we've realized the problem and can make the faculty aware of it," Baker said.
The most common statement in the responses was "I'm glad somebody is finally asking."
Mark Thompson, a senior in urban planning, agreed. "I don't know if faculty and administrators really listen to what students say. But I was glad they gave me the chance to tell them what I thought," he said.
Baker isn't sure of exactly how the survey will be utilized. A special committee is currently being formed to study the problem. They will use the survey as a guideline during meetings.
GREAT BEGINNINGS — The Annenberg Center for the Amencan Expenence begins to take shape as construction work goes into its fourth month. DT photo by Doug Gray.