University of Southern California
Volume LXVII, Number 89	Los Angeles, California	Tuesday, March 11,1975
Daily
Trojan
University plans Touton repair job
BV STEVEN HAWKINS
StafT Writer
The university will undertake an immediate renovation program at Touton Hall to make conditions there comparable to those of other residence halls.
Room-by-room refurbishment, additional social areas, and such essentials as plumbing, heating and electricity will be covered in the program, said Randy Rice, administrative assistant in charge of housing.
The building, acquired by the university in 1955. was built in the 1920s. More than 120 men live in the four-story building.
Failure to comply with fire ordinances recently adopted by the city almost forced the evacuation of the building last Tuesday. The building still has not been cleared after several inspections.
The final problem lay in the efficiency of fire doors installed last fall. Rice said
Residents in the hall had jammed open the fire doors and the doors would not close properly as a result. The Physical Plant repaired the doors last Friday and the final inspection was due Monday.
The university does not know whether the inspection was held, since inspections are normally conducted without the presence of a university official.
The city will notify the university this morning ofthe results of their inspection if it was completed Monday.
Letter to administration
The threat of an evacuation prompted a letter from Dave Albert. Touton Hall president, to several university administrators.
“The letter brought attention to the fact that the university wasn't telling us anything: it cleared communication.” Albert a sophomore in business, said.
STAR ATTRACTION—No matter how observant we are, there The camera of DT photographer Shuji Ito saw Doheny Library as are some things a camera can see which we cannot. But sometimes the center of a dazzling display of light. Ito got this brilliant effect with a little creativity we can get a glimpse of what we're missing. by using a zoom lens and a star cross filter.
In the past. Touton residents have often complained about conditions at the dormitory. The walls and ceilings are very br it tie and are easily damaged, said Jim Moore, a sophomore in business administration.
In addition.the hot-water heater often malfunctions and residents have gone for days without hot water, he said.
Other problems have included poor maintenance. Moore said that because the dorm is old. Operations and Maintenance puts Touton at the bottom of its priority list.
The renovation program is intended to bring the residence hall up to the standards of other dormitories, Rice said.
Heating, plumbing and electrical facilities are all to receive corrective work. Rice said it may be necessary to totally revamp some of the facilities. Many are so outdated that parts are either unobtainable or difficult to find.
A major item in the renovation program is the building’s elevator. Although originally designed for private use, the elevator receives extensive use from residents.
$17,000 repair
The elevator is safe, but does need repair, Rice said. A total revamping of the system would cost up to $17,000. An alternative to the expensive work on the elevator is to simply restrict its use. Rice said.
Under this plan, only the head resident ofthe dorm would have a key to the elevator, which would be used only by the maids and for moving heavy items.
This system, presently used in the Harris Plaza Apartments, would release the money to be spent on other dormitory improvements. Rice said.
Rice said his personal priority was the individual residents’ rooms. He will consult with the
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USC, Hoover agency blamed for poor facilities for the retarded
BY TOM ROSA
Staff Writer
A group of parents of mentally retarded children have blamed the “top brass” at USC, the Hoover Redevelopment Agency and the Los Angeles Board of Education for lack of adequate facilities at the Ninth Street School.
Last week the parents staged a protest at the school, located at 820 Town St.
They were protesting a recent decision by the Community Redevelopment Agency Board of Los Angeles allowing the construction of luxury garden apartments on the corner of Jefferson Boulevard and Orchard Avenue instead of a new center for the retarded students in the Hoover Redevelopment Project area.
“We were tired of being told one thing and receiving something else in return,” said Ailen Sullivan, president of the Ninth Street School Parent Guild.
Sullivan was referring to a four-year delay by the Los Angeles Board of Education to find new facilities for trainable, high-school-age mentally retarded students whose present school was two-thirds destroyed by an earthauake in 1971
Over 300 mentally retarded students are presently occupying the part of the building that was not destroyed in the earthquake.
“For the past four years our children have been going to a school with no recreational facilities, gymnasium, cafeteria or showers,” Sullivan said.
“The part of the building not destroyed in the earthquake is the oldest part of the structure and
included only administrative offices and some classrooms,” Sullivan said.
She said that 18 bungalows were brought in for classrooms, but even those are in need of repair.
"If another earthquake should occur, our children could easily be crushed.” she said
She said the parents were looking for a new five-acre site.
“The money has always been there, but the Board of Education never found an appropriate site," Sullivan said.
She said she is concerned that federal money for the project may be diverted to fund other centers for the mentally retarded in Los Angeles.
“This is the only center for school-age mentally retarded students in Los Angeles. We have to maintain it,” Sullivan said.
The center trains 14- to 21-year-old mentally retarded students so they may become productive members of society by learning a salable skill.
The Board of Education responded to the plight of the Ninth Street School by telling parents that a site would soon be found for construction.
“During the last four years the Board has proposed only three or four sites for construction.” Sullivan said.
s»ne saia mat one of the sites was too far outside the center of Los Angeles to be used by the students.
Another site was under an airplane route and was constantly subjected to loud aircraft noise, she said.
A year ago. the Board of Education told the parents that a vacant lot on the corner ot Jefferson Boulevard and Orchard Avenue in the Hoover Redevelopment Project area could be the site for the center.
“The location across from USC sounded great to us," Sullivan said "The site was centrally located and would allow university students in special education to come over and work with the students.”
However the Los Angeles Community Redevelopment Agency Board decided Feb 19 that housing was more in line with the original plans of the Hoover Redevelopment Project than a center for the trainable mentally retarded.
“The Board of Education wasted a year on this site." Sullivan said. "They were just trying to appease the parents by telling them that the site would be available for the center."
She said the "top brass" at I SC was very visible at the meeting and exerted pressure on the Redevelopment Agency Board to back the housing
The February meeting was attended by Chancellor Norman Topping. Leonard R Wines, associate vice-president for university affiars, Anthony D. Lazzaro, vice-president of business affairs and Michael M. Preston, director of property management.
At the meeting. Wines and Topping reaffirmed the university's desire that housing be built on the
site.
Topping and Wines were unavailable for com ment on the parents’ protest.
The site was originally intended for extended housing when the Hoover Redevelopment Project was initiated nearly ten years ago.
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SCENE OF THE CRIME—Los Angeles police officers survey the damage at the University Bookstore, searching for clues to a weekend robbery. Among the items stolen were wristwatches, calculators, radios and an-
tennas. Estimates of the losses were not yet available, and the Los Angeles Police Department had no suspects. See story page 5. DT photo by Shuji Ito.