Decrease in major crimes reported since fall
BY STEVEN HAWKINS
Staff Writer
Reported crimes against persons and property have substantially decreased since September of last year, said John F. Lechner. director of Campus Security.
But despite the decrease in reported cases of burglary, bicycle thefts and assaults, Lechner also announced an increase in petty thefts and a general increase in “smaller crimes.”
Campus Security records only represent violations reported to that department and may vary from records at the Southwest Division of the Los Angeles Police Department, he said.
Lt. Matthew Hunt, press relations officer at the southwest division, said there has been a slight decrease in crime in the precinct and that "it's possible this could carry over to the university.”
In September. 48 burglaries were reported. while only five were reported to
Campus Security in March Bicycle thefts dropped from 24 in September to two in March.
No cases of assault and battery or assault with a deadly weapon were reported during either February or March, while four cases occurred during the last two months of 1974.
An increase in the amount of petty thefts supported Lechner’s belief in a rising frequency of smaller crimes. Petty theft jumped from seven instances in September to 40 last month.
He said carelessness and neglect account for many smaller crimes. Six such cases, such as stolen wallets and purses, were reported Wednesday.
Lechner attributes the decrease in certain crimes to increased patrols on the Row, increased public awareness in general since the murder of two students on the Row last September, the performance of Campus Security and other factors.
The number of “suspicious persons” questioned by Campus Security increased from 61 in September to 70 in March, but Lechner said this was an insignificant change.
“Suspicious persons” are people found by Campus Security officers on campus either at inappropriate times or in inappropriate places, he said.
From the September-to-March time period, auto burglaries remained constant, and auto thefts decreased from six to one.
A Campus Security unit always patrols the Row, he said. Another unit has been added to patrol the area during the 16 hours in the evening and late night.
Lechner pointed out that additional patrols have not been instituted elsewhere on campus, so he is hesitant to attribute a drop in the crime rate only to increased patrols.
He said he is afraid the marked de-
crease in crimes will cause people to return to their previous states of complacency. He also said the decrease in crime could be interpreted by some to indicate an excess in manpower, leading to cutbacks in security budgets.
As an added security measure, a direct-line emergency telephone system, has been installed at Campus Security headquarters on campus. Fraternities and sororities can arrange with the telephone company for connection with the system.
Two sorority houses have arranged to be connected with the system at this point, but Lechner said he hopes to see others take advantage ofthe system soon.
He said the system will provide a ‘ psychological security blanket’’ for houses on the Row and should prompt more students to report crimes in progress or crimes they have witnessed.
Daily m Trojan
Volume LXVII, Number 109
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California_
Thursday, April 17, 1975
Frosh applications show no increase
university.
Last year the university accepted approximately 80% ofthe applicant pool, down from well over 90% the previous year.
Dolen said, however, that the percentage of acceptances was not relevant to the quality of the applicant pool.
The Admissions Office has caught up with the backlog of applications it experienced at the end of the fall semester and
is 2% ahead of where it was at this time last year. Dolen said.
The office had accumulated a tremendous backlog of applications when a computer program failed to work as planned. As a result, letters of acceptance were sent late. Dolen said, however. that he thought the delay in sending the letters would have a negligible effect on the students’ decision to attend the university.
Election commission says two PAC candidates violated code
BY ESTHER RODRIGUEZ
The Student Elections Commission decided Wednesday that Jerry Papazian. a Row candidate for the President’s Advisory Council, and Mike Abell, a commuter candidate, violated a section of the Election Code by participating in campus media.
Some programs are already full and not accepting any more applicants: cinema, the graduate psychology program, physical therapy, occupational therapy and pharmacy.
Dolen said he could not comment on the quality of the applicant pool. He said high school grade-point averages were inflated across the country, and that SAT scores were lower across the country and at the
BY MARJIE LAMBERT
Campus Editor
For the first time in several years, the number of freshman applicants for the fall semester has not increased over the previous year's applicant pool.
Total applications are up 77c but most of the increase is in transfer applicants.
About 73% ofthe freshmen applicants have been accepted, but only 325 of about 5,500 applicants have been rejected. About 1.200 applicants have not been either accepted or rejected, or are to be considered by the Experimental Admissions Program.
The trend at the university in recent years has been an increasing freshman class and applicant pool.
Richard Dolen, assistant to the dean of the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, is handling much of the admissions work. Dolen would not attribute the change to any particular factor, except to say that the economic position of the country was poor.
However, freshman engineering applications are up 50% and Dolen says that any general theories about the economic position of the country should apply to engineering as well.
Dolen would not attribute the
The commission defined a campus medium as any publication by a recognized campus group or any publication distributed in the university community, or a publication that has as its essential audience the university community or segments thereof.
The university community includes, but is not restricted to, the Row, the campus, and adjacent commercial or business establishments.
Abell, a junior in public relations and sports editor of the Row Run, was reprimanded by the commission. The commission concluded that Abell
International week provides activities
Straining muscles and South American rhythms were part of Wednesday’s activities during this year’s Von KleinSmid International Festival.
At left, dancers enjoy the brass sounds of the Columbian Boys, a musical group, during a noon concert.
At right, Bob Strahan, a senior in ROTC, strains with his Navy comrades in a tug-of-war against several international students. The Navy won the contest.
An international night concluded Wednesday’s activities. Dancers, singers and actors from 14 countries participated in the program held in Bovard Auditorium.
The festival began Sunday night with a screening of Visconti’s film, The Stranger.
An international food fair and fashion show was held in Alumni Park Monday. Students in 11 booths served foods from more than 25 countries to students, faculty and guests.
The festival is dedicated to Rufus B. von KleinSmid, the fifth president ofthe university, who was a strong supporter of cultural exchanges between the United States and other countries. Von KleinSmid is credited with bringing the first international exchange student toCalifornia and the university.
failed to fulfill his responsibility as a candidate and have his name removed from the staff box.
Papazian, a sophomore in public relations and coeditor ofthe IFC Report, was warned by the commission against any further participation in the IFC Report until after the election and was limited to 50 campaign posters.
The commission took custody of the 150 remaining April issues of the IFC Report. The issue contained a commentary and endorsement of several Row candidates and was distributed at USCaleidoseope on Sunday.
Both candidates were told that failure to heed the sanction warning or commission decision would result in further action by the commission.
David Blackmar, a member ofthe USC Commuter Students and a junior in philosophy, who brought charges against Abell, said he felt the hearing was fair.
situation to an 11.3% increase in tuition effective next fall, although studies by the Office of Institutional Studies have shown that cost is the major reason accepted students do not choose to attend the university.
Next year’s budget for financial aid has been increased by more than $2 million over this year's budget, but the university overspent in that department this year. Next year’s budget is only about $500,000 over what was actually spent this year.
Education experts have predicted leveling off and then a decline in college enrollment about 1980. due to declining enrollment at the high school level, but Dolen questioned whether this or high school recruiting affected the situation.
The applicant pools for freshmen, graduate students and the professional schools are about the same size as last year, but transfer applications are up from about 1.900 to about 2.500.
Dolen said the university had placed a bigger emphasis on recruiting transfer students this year than it had in the past.
He speculated that while there is room for additional enrollment at the upper division level, the courses and facilities in some lower division areas may have reached capacity.