By Michael Schroeder
News Editor
President Jimmy Carter's program of voluntary' wage and price controls will probably limit the university's ability to raise tuition next year.
If the controls are enforced, the university would only be allowed to raise tuition 8.4% —or $11 per unit to a new price of $151 per unit.
John Curry, assistant to Zohrab Kaprielian, executive vice-president, told a President's Advisory Council committee Friday that the prevailing opinion at the national level puts institutions of higher education under the voluntary' controls.
Under current economic conditions, the controls would be .* limiting in their effect on expected price increases at the university — meaning a tuition increase of more than $15 per unit was being contemplated.
Although the planned presen-
Voluntary may limit
tation of the first draft of the university budget was withheld a week, the resource management and planning committee listened to Curry during a major portion of its meeting Friday. He presented the current opinions on the wage-price control question for universities such as USC, along with responses from Kaprielian concerning the committee's recommendations for the past year.
Curry said higher education is trying to be relieved of the guidelines, but that officials within the Carter administration have said the controls apply to educational institutions.
This would present a problem for universities because the in-
wage, price controls 1979-80 tuition hike
stitution as a whole has "negative productivity" — the more people in a class does not mean a better education for each student or a better school.
"We in education think that productivity is having more faculty teaching less students," Curry said.
The technicality of an 8.4% limit would also present an obstacle for USC in particular because the bookkeeping system here requires a full-dollar tuition rate.
An 8.4% increase would mean $11.76 per unit, which translates into a maximum $11 jump for next year.
If there were not any price controls and the university wanted
to raise tuition to the 8.4% level, it would probably round it up to $12 per unit instead of down.
"Students continually accuse us (the administration) of rounding up — and they're right," Curry said.
Although the guidelines will limit the increase in tuition, wage increases in higher education may not be held to the 7% wage -and-benefit limit that is part of the President's anti-inflation package.
This puts the university in the unusual position of being able to pay more, but not being able to collect the money and disburse it, Curry said.
Room and board and other charges levied by the university
will fall under the new controls, Curry said.
The committee discussed the current controversy over the Middle East Center and decided to look at the possibility of having a liaison with the committee overseeing the center.
The financing of the center also came under scrutiny by the committee. Talk centered on the effects that the center and other such activities connected with the university might have on university fundraising in general.
"Are we competing against ourself as far as donor funds are concerned?" asked Paul Gray, a member of the committee and professor of quantitative business analysis.
The question of "opportunity costs" for the university donors was seen by several members of the committee as a problem with the association of new academic divisions with the university.
^hoian
Volume LXXV, Number 34
University of Southern California
Tuesday, November 14, 1978
University denies endowment loss due to Mideast center
The university has denied charges that donors retracted promises of $1.5 million in endowments since the Board of Trustees approved the Middle East Center.
Negotiations for a $1 million gift to the School of Perfortning Arts for the construction of new cinema facilites mav have been called off by the donor, said sources who wished to remain anonymous.
Warner Communications may have been the donor involved in the negotiations, sources said.
Warner Communications in New York was unavailable for comment.
Hilary Lloyd, director of media programming for the Center of Humanities, said the school is still submitting proposals to people to raise money for the new cinema facilities. "We have
not been turned down by anyone."
Another $500,000 was donated to the university for a chair. The funds were diverted to the Middle East Center by an administrator, sources said.
Roger Olson, associate vice-president of university affairs, said no funds have been diverted. "No money has been withdrawn from Toward Century II within the last six months."
Olson said money is being given for chairs but no situation like the one described has occurred.
Traditionally, until gifts to the university are contractually finalized, they are not considered binding.
Even with a noncontroversial gift, no one would want to talk about it because it may upset negotiations, sources said.
City Council approves redevelopment change
By Robin Oto
Assistant City Editor
The Los Angeles City Council has approved a change in the Hoover Redevelopment Project permitting community housing on two of the last land parcels adjacent to the university.
The 2.6-acre site was originally designated for commercial use.
"I was down at the City Council and urged them to accept it (the proposal). It's helping us carry out our commitment to build units for the community venture for low income housing," said Leonard Wines, associate vice-president of university affairs and executive director of university relations.
The university agreed to double the number of units in Century Apartments and build 300 units for community housing in order to obtain ownership of Century early this year.
Raymond Watt, chairman of the board of Watt Industries and vice-chairman of the Board of Trustrees, agreed to develop and build the 300 units on behalf of the university.
"He's an acknowledged major builder — he'll end up owning and renting them (units) to persons subsidized by the government.
Without him, the university could not have said we'll build 300 units," said Wines.
Students now occupy 102 units in Century Apartments and community residents occupy residents occupy 48 units.
Once the first 150 new units are built, community residents in Century will move in and students will occupy the rest of the Century units, said David Lewis, chairman of the Hoover Redevelopment Project.
"The site is only big enough for about 100 units. The developer is looking for other sites in the community," Lewis said.
Lewis said the new housing will be similar to the Century complex.
The land had been offered for commercial use for over 10 years, Wines said.
"It apparently was simply the judgment of lending institutions — that the area was not one they wanted to invest in for commercial development.
"It was simply a case of not being able to get funding," Lewis said.
The Hoover project was originally approved in 1966.
LIGHTING PROJECT PLANNED
Murder prompts safety review
DT photo by Larry Drum
UNDERCOVER — Everyone took advantage of some sort of raingear Monday as the campus was pummeled with precipitation. Even the “little people” on campus had to escape the first drenching of the season.
By John Antczak
Staff Writer
The murder of a university-student Sept. 28 has prompted a review of campus safety by a committee of faculty, staff and student representatives.
Although the kidnap and murder of Rosemary Cobb, a graduate student in cinema, occurred off campus, it sparked a concern about safety for Allan Casebier, a professor of cinema.
At Casebier's request, members of the various university constituencies formed the committee, within four weeks of the murder.
In addition to Casebier, committee members include Suzanne Nora, Student Senate chairman; John LeBlanc, Faculty Senate chairman; Michael Bocchicchio, university architect; Anthony Lazzaro, vice-president of business affairs and Virginia Boyack, project director of the Gerontology Center.
As a result of a night-time walk Nov. 2, a $75,000 lighting project was approved for areas of the campus that the committee observed were underlighted.
The committee also met with Carl Levredge, director of Campus Security, and is considering ways to make the university community aware of crime problems.
Casebier said the committee may buy space in the Daily Trojan to print the daily log of crimes on the campus. Casebier said it was necessary to raise students consciousness of their vulnerability to crime.
This point was made apparent on the committee walk, when the group found a back door to Birnkrant Residence Hall unlocked, Casebier said. Just two days later, on Nov. 4, an armed robber entered through the unlocked door and held up a student.
On the walk the committee identified Alumni Park, Fagg Park, Childs Way and the area between the business and law schools as areas with inadequate lighting. In other places existing lights simply were not turned on.
Bocchicchio said the lighting requested by the committee was part of the general improvement plan that will eventually turn the university streets into pedestrian malls.
But, Casebier said, those plans were still two to five years down the road and the committee wanted immediate action.
The new lights will be high pressure sodium lamps, characterized by a powerful orange glow.