Daily |j| Trojan
University of Southern California
Volume LXVIII, No. 63	^°s Angeles, California	Thursday, January 8, 1976
Educators must be realistic in spending, says HEW official
By Don LaPlante
executive news editor
With the drive by President Ford to cut federal spending by $28 billion in the coming fiscal year, people in education will have to be realistic about what is necessary and what may need to be cut, a federal official said this week.
Marjorie Lynch, undersecretary of health, education and welfare, told the Daily Trojan the federal government must be more pragmatic about education expenditures.
“We need to be realistic about what we can and can't afford,” Lynch said. “How long can we keep increasing and adding more programs? With everything we do, we have to look at the priorities and ask if it is essential."
Lynch was in Los Angeles on Tuesday touring various nealth and education facilities. She also received an award Tuesday night from Cypress College in Orange County.
In an interview, Lynch said she could not comment specifically on levels of funding for education in the new budget because it will not be submitted to Congress by President Ford until Jan. 19.
She said she and David Matthews, secretary of health, education and welfare, met with President Ford for an hour and a half last week concerning the department's budget. Lynch said she was very pleased and surprised at the amount of knowledge Ford had about the HEW budget.
“He (Ford) is very committed to education. One can't help but not be committed to it. Everything we do impinges on education in one way or another. What we really have to think of is better service for the dollar,” she said.
“We can’t continue to just think the money is there and take it for granted. The money is limited.”
One problem that has developed in education has been the mountingnumberof regulations issued by the federal government with which universities must comply to receive various forms of federal funding, she said.
“There are too many regulations and duplications. The secretary is very concerned about the way we impose regulations. We want to try to work more closely with the states. We sit down twice a week and review new regulations. and we are going to try to work on the old ones. One of the biggest problem areas we have is education.”
She said she also saw a trend away from strict enforcement .of regulations and toward accountability, that is more emphasis on substance than on forms.
“However, when we complain about the bureaucracy we must remember that every time a group asks for and gets a special program it is creating more bureaucracy. So we are really creating a lot of the problem ourselves.”
For many years the emphasis has been on building new buildings at many colleges. Lynch said. She said she believes that the building boom is over and thus additional money might be available to go into other programs.
“There has been strong support for building, but you do not always have to build buildings. Some ofthe most successful programs I have seen were in storefronts,” she said.
Although she could not comment on the funding for federal student loan programs. Lynch did say that the department was planning to intensify its efforts towards cutting down on the default rates in the loan programs.
“The problem in the past has been insufficient people. We are presently setting up an office of investigation that will report to the undersecretary's office. It will investigate fraud in all areas ofthe department.” she said.
(continued on page 3)
Bank takes ownership of University Village after developer defaults
By Alix Riley
city editor
The new year is traditionally a time forgettingrid ofthe Old and bringing in the new. The University Village shopping center proved to be no exception.
The center came under new ownership after the original owner, the Hoover Community Development Co., ran out of funds in mid-December.
The property was foreclosed upon and bids were taken. The highest bidder. United California Bank, assumed ownership. The bank had served as the short-term lender for the project.
David Lewis, project manager for the Hoover Redevelopment Project, said the problems began in early 1975. The center had been plagued with numerous problems, including a carpenter’s strike and various other construction delays.
The developer was unable to make interest payments on the construction loan, as required in the contract, Lewis said.
He said UCB worked with the developer for several months in the hope that the default could be cured. The company was unable to secure additional funds, though, and the lender was forced to foreclose.
Morrie Notrica, president of the Hoover Community Development Co., attributed the problems to rising construction costs.
“We were caught in the inflationary spiral,” he said. “What started out to be $8 million turned out to be $12 million.”
He said there was no way of planning for the effects of inflation.
“If eggs were 39 cents last year, did you think they'd be 79 cents
this year?” he asked. “How can you tell?”
Lewis said there were a number of factors involved in the default.
“It’s a very complicated problem,” he said. “For example, there was the carpenters’ strike in ’74. It’S hard to gear up after that.
“And inflation has had a fantastic effect on all of this, especially in the construction industry.”
He said the effect of the foreclosure will be a positive one.
“I think it will clear up a lot of uncertainty,” he said. “It has turned out very well, considering iw.v it might have turned out.”
Notrica said there was no animosity involved.
“They (the lenders) were very nice. We all just wanted to keep this thing going, to get the center up,” he said.
Notrica said his only involvement with University Village now will be as owner of the 32nd Street Market.
Foreclosure proceedings have been brought against the owner of another shopping center in the Hoover Redevelopment Project (Daily Trojan, Jan. 6), the Campus Shops, located across from campus on Vermont Avenue. However, Lewis said the two shopping centers had entirely different problems.
“The Campus Shops problem was related to a lack of management on the part of the owner,” he said. “In University Village the owners of the project were very much involved, very concerned. There was just a lack of money to complete the project.
“I don't feel this is related to the viability of the center.”
(continued on page 9)
Norman Topping seen recently as ‘Bicentennial Minute’ narrator
Someone has come between Rhoda and Phyllis—and unlikely as it may seem, that someone is Chancellor Norman Topping.
Topping was seen nationwide on CBS’ “Bicentennial Minute” series Monday when he hosted the nightly 60-second segment.
Topping’s “Bicentennial Minute” featured the adoption by New Hampshire of the first constitution in the colonies on Jan. 5, 1776.
The segment was taped Nov. 18.
Topping said he was asked to do the show by CBS executives. USC’s Unversity Affairs Office had submitted to the network a list of university per-
sonnel to be considered as hosts of the series, he said.
As compensation for his appearance in the series, Topping said CBS agreed to donate money to a nationwide scholarship fund for private colleges and universities. The chancellor said he would contribute to the fund, and that CBS would also donate on a three-to-one matching basis.
As for the “Bicentennial Minute,” Topping conceded that he was not a devotee of the nightly series.
“I’ve only seen two or three,” he said. “I don’t watch much TV except for sports and news.”
HERE IT COMES—The football or finals? That's the question as these students enjoy a game of touch football before settling down to the rigors of after-
Christmas finals. Classes end Tuesday and finals begin next Thursday. DT photo by Mike Ito.