Daily |p Trojan
University of Southern California
Vol. LXVI, No. 67_Los Angeles, California	Thursday, February 7, 1974
Aid allocations face challenge
Topping
BY PETEK WONG
Editor
President Nixon has asked for some $2 billion in student aid funds to be spent nationally in 1975-76. but the manner in which he has allocated the funds is certain to be challenged by Congress again.
In the budget he submitted Monday to Congress. Nixon seeks SI.3 billion for the Basic Opportunity Grants Program. $250 million for the College Work-Study Program, and $430 million for the Federally Insured Student Loan Program.
However, he asked only $6 million for the National Direct Student Loan Program and nothing for the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants Program.
Although these funds are included in the budget for the year starting July 1, the money is actually spent the following year.
Those who are sophomores now will be affected most by the expected battle between Nixon and Congress over the allocation of federal student aid funds, because the dispute will be over the level of funding in their senior year.
Excluding insured loans. USC students are receiving a total of $4.6 million from federal aid programs in the current academic year.
“I have a very negative reaction to what President Nixon is proposing this year,” Pamela Walbom. director of the Student Aid Office, said in a telephone interview.
“I don’t think his proposals would be a success in any way —not unless the basic grants
recalls the growth of L.A.
BY STEVE HESS
Assistant City Editor
When Norman Topping retired from the presidency of USC in 1970 after twelve years in that position, he took with him many memories and honors. Among them was recognition for developing the Master Plan for the university.
Since the announcement of that overall plan in 1961, the university has raised $150 million and built more than 40 new buildings. In his last year here, USC was admitted into the prestigious Association of American Universities.
But Norman Topping has been involved in the community more than many realize.
“I went to high school here when the population of Los Angeles was less than 500,000.” Topping said
in an interview.
"I have seen this community change from the way
I remember it in 1923 to what it is today.
Two factors
'Two very significant developments in the community have shaped our way of life in very large ways.”
One of the important factors in the development of Southern California was bringing in water from the Sierras.
“Except for a few wells that had been in use for years, there was no water here that could support more than a few hundred thousand people.
“The other factor which I think, had perhaps more impact on us, and is even more important today than when it was first done, was when Henry Huntington brought the Southern Pacific into Southern California.
“Without that railway we really had no connection with the east and middle west. But the South-
ern Pacific did more than increase our connection with the east, it caused the beginning of the big red railway—the Pacific Electric Railroad."
Railway formed suburbs
Topping said that it w as the big red railway that helped form the suburbs that now surround Los Angeles.
“Wherever the big cars went, the people followed. When the cars went into the San Fernando Valley, the people followed. Developers built homes and the people moved in. It was a fantastic
system.
‘ When I was a kid here it was possible to get on that red car and go all the way to Balboa or Santa Monica or even over to Hollywood. One of my favorite places was the Huntington Library,” Topping said.
The library and surrounding botanical gardens are named after Henry Huntington.
Topping said the train system was very fast and economical. “It had beautiful distribution and provided service all over the basin.”
Red Cars* decline
Then in the late 1920’s, when the automobile became readily available to the public and began to increase in numbers, the red cars’ importance lessened.
They were no longer efficient. The public stopped riding them and started buying cars. The red cars made their last run from Long Beach to Los Angeles in 1966.
“The important thing about this was that the people lived near the tracks and the stopping points of the railroad. And because of this localization, the freeways we now have almost exactly follow the old
red car lines.	(Continued on page 3)
JEP continues to expand programs
The Joint Educational Project (JEP) is expected to expand this semester to involve students on a wide variety of tutoring assignments in seven community schools near USC.
JEP officials expect the program to involve almost 1,000 USC students this spring. Last semester there were 850 participants in the program.
At the start of the project in the spring of 1972. 200 USC students from five departments worked in the program.
This semester there is still no exact number of those participating because students are
still registering for the program, but directors have predicted that the number will reach 1,000. There are now 25 departments involved.
The project has grown tremendously in its short existence, despite the fact that the tutorial program at USC has been discontinued.
Class credit for tutoring seemed much more appealing to many students than did tutoring for the experience or to help underprivileged children.
The major growth of the project has been with its minicourses. These are weekly pro-
grams on a particular subject planned and led by USC students for a community school class.
Mini-courses are popular with community students from elementary grades through high schools. This semester miniassignments will be available in many departments including English, speech communication, political science and geography.
USC students participate in the project as part of their regular course work for a participating class. The class may require work in the project or it may be
an option for some other class assignment.
The JEP assignments are made primarily by the teachers and are expected to correlate to the class.
This has not always been the case. Last spring, a student from a Spanish class was supposed tc be assigned a school in a Spanish-speaking area. But instead he tutored Black, non-Spanish speaking children in math and got credit in her class.
Barbara Gardner, JEP director, said that the project’s administrators are not always successful in getting assignments
(Continued on page 5)
FROM RED CARS TO RAPID TRANSIT
INVOLVES SEVEN AREA SCHOOLS
program performs much better than it has so far."
The basic grants program was enacted in 1972 and funded for the first time last year.
Money is still available from the $122.1 million appropriation for 1973-74 so that students who have not attended college before April. 1973. may apply for basic grants. The current maximum is $452 per student. *
"We are encouraging students to apply for that money, but as for next year (1974-75). the applications for that program haven't been printed yet,” Walbom said. “It’s in bad shape.”
Under the basic-grants program, money is channeled directly to needy students, currently to those from families with under $12,000 in income.
(Continued on page 2)
‘Hedda Gabler’ offered at Stop Gap
Judge Brack (Renee Larson) attempts to seduce Hedda Gabler (Kim Sodol) in a scene from the Master’s Company production of Hedda Gabler. which opened Wednesday night at the Stop Gap Theatre.
^ The play will continue through Saturday. Cur-
tain time is 8 p.m.
Tonight’s performance is sold out. A limited number of tickets are still available at $1.50 each for Friday and Saturday night. They may be reserved by calling 746-SHOW.
DT photo by Gehrig Ikeda.