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University of Southern California
Vol. LXVI, No. 94
Los Angeles, California
Caucus asks revisions in student constitution
Wednesday, March 20, 1974
BY STEVE HESS
Assistant City Editor
A four-page constitution for the USC Student Association was referred back to its writers for reworking by the Student Caucus at its meeting Tuesday night.
The constitution, which would provide for a student government comprised of organizations similar to the current Programming Board and Student Caucus, was the prime topic
of discussion for nearly two hours as caucus members debated legal problems of the first draft.
George Bolanos. one of the constitution's writers, told the caucus that he needed feedback on the draft so that they could go over the rough areas.
The constitution, if approved by the Student Caucus, will go before the President’s Advisory Council for approval and will be voted on in a referendum later
Security officer titles changed due to ruling
BY ELLEN NORMAN
Staff Writer
A letter sent by the Los Angeles Special Officers Commission has forced Campus Security to stop use of the titles of chief, captain and lieutenant.
The letter, which was received last week, states that titles used in police departments and the military services may not be used in a security force.
John Lechner. director of Campus Security and Parking Operations said he believes the reasoning behind the rule stems from confusion that could result by use of the same titles as the Los Angeles Police Department.
“I really don't think that many people would mistake a captain on the LAPD fora captain inCampus Security.” Lechnersaid. “The ruling is just an arbitrary return to an arbitrary title.”
Lechner said that after the titles are changed, the officers will have the same influence that they had under their previous titles.
The force, under former titles, consisted of a chief and a captain, both of whom served under the director. Lieutenants were responsible for the patrolmen.
Lechner said the lieutenants will now be called supervisors. Men in charge of a shift will be called watch commanders..
The titles of chief and captain have also been discarded and new titles for these posts are under consideration.
Jim Bowie, who was previously called chief of Campus Security, said the change in title really doesn’t make much difference.
Lechner also announced the appointment of a new supervisor. Dan West. West is a former Hermosa Beach police officer with eight years of experience in security work.
“He knows what our job is all about,” Lechner said. “I think students will respond favorably to his style.”
West would not respond to a comment by one security officer that he was hired because he is antiunion.
"That is a matter of personal preference,” West said.
West said he believes public relations with both the students and the community is important.
"Public relations is 907r of my job.” he said.
this spring.
In that referendum, voters will choose between the USC Student Association constitution and the Voluntary Student Association as the form of student government.
Much of the discussion at Tuesday night’s caucus meeting centered around the titles for individual organizations within the constitution.
“People are going to be confused with new names, new titles and new organizations and we should use existing terms to help facilitate understanding,” said Peter Scolney, chairman of the Student Caucus.
As presented, the constitution calls for a Board of Directors which would take over the role that the Programming Board now fills and the continuation of the Student Caucus as a group that deals in matters other than the programming fee.
During discussion of the plan caucus members proposed the establishment of a third group, tentatively called the Board of Governors, which would consist of three representatives from each of the other two groups.
Considerable discussion concerning the make-up of the nine-member Board of Directors took place following the proposal. Bolanos recommended that a five-man block of students be elected as opposed to students being individually elected.
This met with sharp criticism from Scolney. who said that this was the same type of thing that eventually killed student government in the past. “Who would ever vote for that type of government,” he said.
In addition to the five members elected at large, the constitution called for four members to be selected by yet-to-be-organized coordinating councils.
These councils would consist of the Academic Affairs Council, Community Action Coordinating Council, Executive Affairs (Continued on page 3)
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£ il ALL HANDS ON DECK—Rose Montesano (left), Michael Erdley and Jennifer Richardson are ready to distribute balloons announcing the performance of On the Town. Leonard Bernstein's musical will be presented March 22, 23, 29 and 30 at 8 p.m. in Bovard Auditorium. Balloons promoting ticket sales will be given out today near Tommy Trojan. DT photo by Bob Chavez.
Budget aide says U.S. seeks spending limit
BY PETER WONG
Editor
The Nixon administration will try to hold federal spending in 1974-75 to $304.4 billion unless the nation faces a severe period of inflation or recession, a senior budget official said here Tuesday.
“We’re willing to take on Congress again and impound funds so that we can meet our budget target and keep total spending down if inflation is worse later this year,” Frederic V. Malek, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, said.
On the other hand, he repeated to the audience what he told reporters when the $304.4 billion budget was presented
BY MIKE MEYER
A substantial rise in the popularity of linguistics has led to the development of an undergraduate degree program.
The decision, which was made in the fall and goes into effect this semester, was influenced by the fact that many other major universities have recently adopted bachelor’s programs in linguistics.
Masayoshi Shibatani, acting chairman of the Linguistics Program, said that higher class enrollments and increased student enthusiasm prompted the department to submit a written proposal to the university’s Curriculum Committee.
The proposal, written by Eugene J. Breire, professor of linguistics, outlined the con-»« nt of the program and
Undergraduate major in linguistics offered
stated the reasons why the department believed it would be a worthwhile major. The program was then accepted by the committee.
Previously, linguistics was not offered as a major for undergraduates because the program was small, the number of instructors and classes was limited and greater emphasis was placed on the graduate program.
However, the introductory course is now being taken by 350 to 400 students yearly, and several of them suggested the possibility of the subject becoming a major.
“The ultimate goal of linguistics is to define what
human language is,” Shibatani said. “Linguists attempt to compare languages and discover common properties and regularities within each language.”
Linguists try to understand the system of vocabulary and grammatical rules for the language they are studying.
Sentences can be understood because humans require a set of rules or concepts, rather than simply memorizing certain phrases or words.
Shibatani believes people are born with mental mechanism for the acquisition of language, and that the uniformity of language de-
velopment is demonstrated by the ability of children in all cultures tograsptheirown language by the age of three or four.
“The degree to which languages are common has not yet been determined,” Shibatani said. “But looking at a great number of languages makes comparison easier.”
He said it is a common misconception that linguists must be able to speak several languages.
“Many linguists know only one language, but can do extensive linguistic analysis of their own language or of a foreign one,” he said.
The number of world languages is still unknown, and many ones that are known cannot be fully understood linguistically.
“We have not yet found a
(Continued on page 8)
Feb. 4 to Congress—that the Nixon administration would spend to avert a recession.
“Our first priority is to see that no one gets thrown out of work.” he said.
Malek criticized the procedures by which Congress currently considers presidential budget requests.
“The appropriations subcommittees in each house are like members of a family with their own checkbooks. They all write checks and spend money for their favorite programs, but no one is assigned to keep track of the totals,” Malek said.
“That is why President Nixon—and all other Presidents—have had to veto appropriations bills that have allowed for greater spending than they want and have had to impound funds for many programs.”
Presidents have always fought with Congress, Malek said, “but I don’t think any chief executive is going to solve the problem until Congress reforms itself.”
After he spoke to about 30 people in Hoffman Hall, Malek discussed budget-control reform legislation now under consideration in both the House and Senate.
“I favor it; I think it’s generally good legislation. It’s certainly in the right direction,” he said.
The legislation would establish new budget committees in both houses that would examine the presidential budget in its entirety and place a limit on total federal spending, subject to approval by each house.
He also supported the proposal for a congressional budget office that is included in the
(Continued on page 3)