University of Southern California
Volume LXVII, No. 94_Los Angeles, California___ Tuesday, March 18, 1975
MIDNIGHT MELEE—While no one can agree on what	scene. This photo was taken shortly before police
touched off the near-riot Thursday night, some students	marched down the Row and arrested many of those
say that the police overreacted in their response. Some	failing to clear the streets after their order. DT photo by
observers counted about 80 uniformed officers on the	Ed Moy.
University won’t give support to students who were arrested
BY LARRY TUCK
Senior Staff Writer
The university will not give any support to the 21 students arrested in connection with Thursday night’s disturbance on the Row. a university administrator said yesterday.
James Appleton, vice-president for student affairs. also said that if an investigation shows that any university regulations were broken, charges may be brought before the Row Judicial against the students or fraternities involved.
“If a student is involved in a violation of the law. we don't want to intercede for them at all,” Appleton said.
“Once the police are called into a particular situation. then they are going to have to respond to whatever violations are occurring. . . and the university would not want to interfere with that."
Appleton also said that the university will conduct its own review of the matter to see what—if
any—university regulations might have been broken
“It is obvious that we will want to review all ofthe students who were purported to be involved in that situation, and if it looks like there was a particular house that was involved as a house, either in that situation or earlier in the evening, then we will guarantee a review of that also,” he said.
“Even though the civil authorities act. if the matter is related in any direct way to the affairs of USC, it is not double jeopardy for us to also review the matter on campus.”
President John R. Hubbard's office indicated that the Appleton interview was to be considered a joint statement from university administrators.
Appleton and John F. Lechner. director of Cam pus Security and Parking Operations attributed much of the problem to excessive drinking on the Row earlier in the evening. Witnesses confirmed that some of the students involved in the early stages ofthe confrontation were drinking when the first police units arrived.
Referring to the two students who were arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer. Lechner said. “If they were so drunk they didn't know what they were doing, they deserved the treatment they
got.”
He said that he thought the police handled the incident as well as could have been expected. “At least nobody got shot,” he said.
Lechner said that as of Friday afternoon, the university had formulated no particular plans to deal with similar incidents in the future. Under the circumstances, the police had no alternatives to making the sweeps to remove students from the street, he said.
Mel Clark, a Campus Security officer, said that he. Mannes. and Lt. Douglas Van Pelt of campus security “talked themselves hoarse' trying to set students to leave the street before the sweeps.
Lechner said a similar incident occurred about
(continued on page 5)
Daily
Trojan
Athlete collapses, dies after sprints
BY STEVE IIESS
Xssocialf* Kditor
George Stewart, a defensive lineman for the varsity football team, died late yesterday afternoon. apparently of a heart attack.
The 20-year-old junior from Pasadena had been running sprints at about 4:10 p.m. with other team members just before he collapsed in the locker room in Heritage Hall.
Doctors from the Student Health Center and the team physician were on the scene moments later applying resuscitation and other life-saving operations.
Members of the Los Angeles Fire Department Rescue Squad were called and arrived moments later. They also attempted to resusciate Stewart using electric shock and closed heart mas sage.
Doctors at California Hospital, where he was taken, pronounced Stewart dead on arrival.
Stewart and several other football players had been on the practice field running wind sprints for about 45 minutes before he and David Lewis, another varsity player, left the field
According to a spokesman. Stewart and Lewis left the group on the practice field and went into the weightroom for a workout. Stewart left after a few minutes and went to the locker room.
Joe Grotsky. a junior, was in the locker room when Stewart collapsed. 'It seemed like he must have had more than one attack." Grotsky said
“He was getting undressed in the locker room and just fell down,” Grotsky said at the hospital.
"I thought they iLAFD paramedics) would be able to bring him around." (irotskv
added as he left the hospital
Assistant football coach Skip Husbands and head trainer Jack Ward arrived in the locker room moments alter Stewart < ol lapsed.
Paramedics and others tried to revive Stewart for nearly an hour before he was rushed to the hospital. Dr. R.M. Jepsen. emergency room doctor, pronounced Stewart dead on arrival about 5:45 p.m.
Dr. Jepsen was quoted as saying that a heart failure for someone Stewart's age was "extremely rare." He said that he had seen it in children before.
GEORGE STEWART
but that it was unusual.
Stewart played as a defensive tackle this past season and was awarded a varsity letter. He also played in the 1975 Rose Bowl A graduate of Pasadena High School in 1972. Stewart was named to an All-CIF team football team and also received ;i Los Atigeles Times award as the Lineman of the Year. He was named an All-League tackle in the San Gabriel Valley League during his senior year.
Row residents say police officers overreacted
BY NANCY SHINABAKGAK and
LARRY TUCK
Phil Arciero was standing in the street by the Sigma Chi house, drinking beer and talking to three friends
Half an hour later more than 80 cops were standing in his place. Phil was sitting in the holding tank at Southwest Division.
And for both Phil and the Row the party was over.
“I made the decision it was an unlawful assembly. There were a lot of drunks out there and they needed the message it was time to go to bed,” said Sgt. Dave Walts of Southwest Division
The Kappa Sigma fraternity was involved in an egg fight early Thursday evening. The fraternity quieted down and several members were close observers of the later "Midnight Melee” between the police and the Row.
“It’s really stupid Just a couple of things happened wrong. There were a couple of hotheads on both sides and they just flew off the handle. Still, we need the police as much as they need us,” said Ted Robinson, a senior in finance and member of Kappa Sigma
Rus Goldberg, a junior in psychology and pre-med, was sad but optimistic about Thursday night “It's 1984 on the Row,” he said. Big Brother and everything. Now our rapport with the police is very strange. There were just hotheads on both sides.”
Some students complained that the police were looking for a fight.
“On Thursday night, ifthe cops were not there, we’d all have gone back to our houses,” said Phil Juarez, a sophomore in business and Phi Tau vice-president.
“Thursday night was an overreaction by the police,” said Wes Seastrom, a junior in business. "We heard an officer tell us that if they (the police) had their way, they would go into each house and beat the shit out of those fraternity people."
Marc Kelly, a freshman and undeclared major said he wished the police had left the situation alone.
“Generally, it would have died down he said. But people just got curious.” Walts and Lt. Jim Williamson of Southwest Division directed the police. Walts said the Row mood was unusual.
"It was unnatural and very out of place.
I	went up to several frat brothers and asked them to cool down. Butthis is crowd
psychology and people loose their sense of identity in a crowd.
“Normally we have outstanding rapport with the Row. There is an occasional isolated incident. But as a group, our relations are very’ good." he said.
After the police buildup on the Row. the situation was serious enough to order the crowd to disperse, Walts said “When we have that type of crowd we have what we consider riotous activity. There was name-calling and throwing things. We advised them to leave and go home because the show was over,” Walts said.
The police had not created an incident. Walts said.
They weren’t overreacting to the situation either he maintained.
“What we do in these cases is that we meet force with force. If we receive resistance we use the force necessary. No students I saw resisted arrest. They didn't like it but they didn't resist it," he said, The police would not have hesitated in using more force, Walts said.
“Ifthey had stood their ground and said they wouldn’t go and violently resisted, then we would have used force.”
Walts was hopeful police and Row rela-
tions would improve, after all the hearings are over.
I’m sure our relations will improve. We have better things to do than chase stu dents up and down the Row."
No official version on how the disturbance began is available But from con versations with Southwest and Metropol i tan police officers, administrators. Cam pus Security officers and students, here is one rundown:
About 8 p.m. an egg fight broke out among the Phi Kappa Taus. the Delta Tau Deltas and the Sigma Chis. It turned into a fist fight and Campus Security called Robert L. Mannes. dean for student life. He stopped the fighting and calmed down the students.
The Row was quiet for three hours. Then Los Angeles police officers drove down the Row.
Accordingto membersofSigmaChi. Phi Kappa Tau and Kappa Sigma, who said they saw the disturbance begin, the first person arrested Thursday night was Phil Arciero. He was standing in the street talking to several friends. When the police car pulled up The students were instructed through the car s loudspeaker to leave the street. (cont.nued <*. poge 5)