USC in the News 10/6/2009

Los Angeles Times highlighted the fourth annual Los Angeles Archives Bazaar, which is organized by L.A. as Subject, a research collective hosted by USC Libraries. The October 17 event at USC's Davidson Conference Center will showcase artifacts of modern Los Angeles, like photographs from the 1967 gay rights protest at the Black Cat bar in Silver Lake; those images are housed at the ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives, which are affiliated with USC.

The Sacramento Bee ran an op-ed by William Tierney of the USC Rossier School on what the California State University system could be like if the University of Phoenix took it over. "The for-profit university offers a bonus for state legislators weary of years of budget meltdowns," Tierney wrote. "Based on a recent Sallie Mae study, a higher proportion of students at for-profit institutions rely on federal financial assistance than do students at public institutions. With Phoenix's acquisition of the CSU system, lawmakers could look forward to a shift away from subsidizing CSU toward greater federal student subsidies." He added: "Yes, the University of Phoenix has many drawbacks. ... But Phoenix is a proven generator of trained graduates ready to enter the work force. At a time when the California economy needs educated workers and its higher-education system is less able to deliver them because of severe budget constraints, a University of Phoenix's takeover of the California State University system may be more plausible than one might think."

ABC News quoted Lars Perner of the USC Marshall School in a story about loyal Saturn customers who are saddened by the discontinuation of the car make. As many Americans continue to struggle with job losses, foreclosure and declining savings, the demise of familiar brands can add more stress to their lives, Perner said. He added that consumers' attachments to businesses can range from the practical -- an appreciation of low prices or convenient locations -- to the nostalgic.

NBC News' "Today" interviewed Jody Armour of the USC Gould School in a story about interoffice relationships, in conjunction with talk show host David Letterman's recently admitted affairs. "You would think that these lessons would be learned from prior example, but it seems that we keep repeating the same mistakes," Armour said. "Even if the relationship is perfectly consensual between the superior and the subordinate, there's still third parties out there, other employees who are concerned that 'I'm being disadvantaged because I'm not willing to do what the employee who's going to bed with you is willing to do.'"

The China Post (Taiwan) reported that USC and other universities will provide content for a new all-English Internet radio station that will launch this week in Taiwan. Taipei Times (Taiwan) also covered the story.

CBC News (Canada) featured research by Caleb Finch and Eileen Crimmins of the USC Davis School and colleagues, on the effects of the 1918 Spanish flu. The study found that people who were exposed to the flu while in the womb more likely to have cardiovascular problems later in life. "Our point is that during pregnancy, even mild sickness from flu could affect development with longer consequences," Finch said. The research was also featured by New Scientist, Canwest News Service and the Record Searchlight.

The Jakarta Post (Indonesia) cited research by Michael Jerrett of the Keck School of USC on the health risks associated with air pollution. Airborne particles, often found in smoke and emissions from vehicles running on fossil fuels, increase the risk of death from heart disease, the story stated. Earlier research showed links between air pollution and the thickening of artery walls, which may lead to heart attack and stroke, the article noted. "We have convincing evidence that those causes of death, which we might expect from inflammation, ischemic heart disease and lung disorders, are elevated in areas of higher pollution levels," Jerrett said.

The Australian (Australia) quoted Geoffrey Wiseman of the USC College in an article about celebrities acting as advocates and diplomats. Wiseman said that the boundaries of diplomacy are blurring, whereas in the past, lines of influence were distinct: Diplomats' power came from the state, rich people's came from their money, and celebrities' came from their charisma. "When Bill Gates set up the Gates Foundation people said it was a gimmick to divert attention from Microsoft's row with the U.S. government," Wiseman said. "But that kind of talk has gone now. The foundation is more important than the World Health Organization in some areas of policy."

Mail & Guardian (South Africa) quoted Jean Rosenbluth of the USC Gould School about filmmaker Roman Polanski, who was recently arrested in Switzerland in connection with a 1977 statutory rape conviction. Recent allegations by Polanski that his original trial involved misconduct may have brought him back onto the prosecutor's radar screen, Rosenbluth said. "Prosecutors are people too," she added. "If you thumb your nose at them, they might thumb their nose back."

Wired reported that part of the proceeds from an auction of special effects memorabilia will fund the new Stan Winston Visual Effects Scholarship at the USC School of Cinematic Arts. The props, costumes and sets up for auction belonged to the studio of late special effects pioneer Stan Winston, the story noted.

Health quoted Michael Gilbert of the USC Annenberg School's Center for the Digital Future about a study which suggests that children with certain disorders are more susceptible to Internet addiction. "The study's indication that children who are hyperactive or diagnosed ADHD are finding an outlet on the Web makes such perfect sense," Gilbert said. "They can take on an avatar or a different identity, and can contact other kids with the same problems and social inadequacies; they don't have to function in conventional social ways." In a HealthDay News story, he added: "Every day, the Internet becomes more integral to life. It's a tough new problem for psychologists and parents because they can't get away from it."

Houston Chronicle mentioned USC football player Stafon Johnson, who was injured in a weightlifting accident last week, in a story on weight room safety.

San Francisco Chronicle quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College about former President Bill Clinton's endorsement of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom for governor of California. Schnur said that Clinton is political gold for Newsom, because, with the possible exception of President Obama, "there's no more valuable endorsement in Democratic politics than Bill Clinton." In a widely carried Los Angeles Wave story, Schnur added that the endorsement is already paying dividends for Newsom in his race against Attorney General Jerry Brown. KPCC-FM also interviewed Schnur on the subject.

The Christian Science Monitor quoted David Kang of the USC College in a story on North Korea's new readiness to return to stalled international talks about its nuclear program, provided prior negotiations with the United States go well. "The problem has always been sequencing. Both sides agree the deal is nukes for normalization; the problem is who goes first," Kang said. "If the Americans can see a path to somewhere, they might be willing to do something."

Associated Press featured the announcement of a $100 million gift from Patrick Soon-Shiong of Abraxis BioScience Inc. to turn St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica into a cutting-edge hub by linking it with doctors and patients at other hospitals, as well as researchers at USC and UCLA.

Baltimore Business Journal reported that USC received a $10.4 million National Cancer Institute grant to collect genetic data from cancer patients that researchers hope will lead to more effective treatment and diagnosis. The USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center's Epigenome Center will work with Johns Hopkins University to gather the data, the story stated.

Science News quoted John Tower of the USC College about a new study suggesting that the life-extending power of low-protein diets may come from mitochondria. This work "is really exciting, especially because it starts to get to the mechanisms," Tower said. "Mitochondria are very intimately linked to the aging process," he added.

Variety quoted Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development in an article on the fundraising efforts of Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown, who are seen as the gubernatorial frontrunners for the California Democratic Party. "We are talking about California," Jeffe said, referring to the use of filmmaker Roman Polanski's case in the governor's race. "I think it is going to be a minor issue for anyone who is running. The people who are going to be totally up in arms aren't going to vote for a Democrat, anyway."

Canwest News Service quoted Nathanael Fast of the USC Marshall School about a poll that measured people's perceptions of the most influential men, including fictional characters. "People use the most familiar elements of culture to foster common ground in conversations which, in turn, validates these elements and makes them become even more prominent," Fast said. "By capturing our attention and guiding our thoughts and conversations, these figures -- real or not -- are indeed shaping our popular culture."

The Christian Science Monitor reported that KUSC-FM will simulcast Gustavo Dudamel's debut as conductor of the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Walt Disney Concert Hall on October 8.

KPCC-FM highlighted KUSC-FM's broadcast of conductor Gustavo Dudamel's inaugural concert at the Hollywood Bowl. "Huge kudos to [KUSC host] Dennis Bartel for asking Maestro Dudamel, "What kind of beer is that?" in the postgame interview. A wonderful moment," the story stated. San Gabriel Valley Tribune also highlighted the broadcast.

The San Diego Union Tribune highlighted KUSC-FM's iPhone App, one of several that allows users to enjoy classical concerts on their phones.

Los Angeles Times reported that the Sprinklesmobile, the food truck for the popular Sprinkles cupcakes, will be at USC today. In honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, all proceeds from its Pink Ribbon strawberry cupcakes will go to the EIF Women's Cancer Research Fund.

ABC News Philadelphia affiliate WPVI-TV reported that and filmmaker Steven Spielberg will receive the National Constitution Center's Liberty Medal for his human rights work, which includes founding the USC Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education. When the original institute became part of USC, the university broadened its mission and made its Holocaust testimonies readily accessible to educators, students, researchers, and scholars on every continent, the story stated. The institute now also collects testimonies on genocides other than the Holocaust, such as the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Fox News Los Angeles affiliate KTTV-TV cited a USC professor's theory that fluctuations in water pressure related to L.A.'s conservation efforts could be stressing pipelines and triggering recent water main breaks.

NBC News Los Angeles affiliate KNBC-TV cited a story from the USC Annenberg School's Neon Tommy newsroom which stated that, based on an autopsy report, USC student Adrianna Bachan had a high level of alcohol in her system when she was killed in a hit-and-run accident. KPCC-FM and L.A. Weekly also covered the story.

The News & Advance cited the Longitudinal Study of Generations from the USC Davis School in an article about the effect grandparents have on their grandchildren. "Grandchildren who receive more affection from their grandparents have higher self-esteem levels than those who experience little or no affection from their grandparents," the study reported. The research found that the gender of the grandparent makes no difference; emotional closeness with either grandparent leads to higher self-esteem in the grandchildren.

Los Angeles Daily News quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College about former eBay head Meg Whitman, who is running for California governor despite not having registered to vote until she was 46 years old. Whitman could still be elected, but the task has become a little bit harder, Schnur said. "This doesn't kill Whitman, but it leaves a scar," he added.

Daily Breeze ran a column by aging specialist Helen Dennis in which she discussed leading a retirement seminar at the USC Emeriti Center. At the session for retired faculty and staff, Dennis had the attendees consider the meaningful and exciting moments of their academic and personal lives. Dennis also cited James Birren, dean emeritus of the USC Davis School, who has said, "You don't know where you are going if you don't know where you've been."

Daily Breeze ran a column by USC student Ariel Rittenhouse, who is documenting her freshman year for the paper. "Although my journalism and cinema class are the longest ones on my schedule, they are also my coolest classes," Rittenhouse wrote. "All the speakers are very entertaining and give some great advice and insight into their careers. My other classes, Gender Issues, and Writing 140 are very good, too. It is turning out to be my favorite class. My professor, Michael Messner [of the USC College], is wonderful and makes his lectures really fun and interesting. My Writing 140 professor is a great teacher, too, and is really helping with my writing skills. Going to school at USC is absolutely amazing and I love it," Rittenhouse wrote. She also mentioned taking a film class with Drew Casper of the USC School of Cinematic Arts.

The Press-Enterprise quoted W. James Gauderman of the Keck School of USC about the Obama administration reconsidering the federal health standard for ozone to determine if the standard set by the Bush administration goes far enough to protect health. Gauderman, who served on a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advisory panel on this subject, said he is glad that the Obama administration is taking a second look. "Collectively, we looked at hundreds of studies," he noted. The panel was convinced of the harmful effects of ozone mostly by newer studies that found measurable health effects in volunteers who breathed tiny amounts of ozone in laboratory air chambers and by epidemiological studies that correlated ozone pollution with higher death rates, Gauderman said.

The Orange County Register quoted Stan Ross of the USC Lusk Center for Real Estate about Mammoth Equities LLC, which is seeking bankruptcy protection because it can't repay $68 million in construction loans coming due this year. Ross gave context to the story, explaining that in addition to bank financing, $200 million of commercial mortgage-backed bonds are coming due by the end of 2009, followed by $275 million going into 2010. "Since there's no liquidity in the market, there is no known direct source of replacing those commercial mortgage-backed bonds," Ross said.

La Opinion quoted Sherry Bebitch Jeffe of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development about the California gubernatorial candidates. Jeffe said that Republican Tom Campbell, a former congressman and state senator, has less campaign money to work with than some of the other candidates but is the most well-versed in the details of budgets and government. Californians need someone with that experience, she added.

L.A. Observed excerpted an interview from the USC Annenberg School's Neon Tommy newsroom, with journalist Richard Rushfield.

Ventura County Star reported that proceeds from the recent Cure in the Canyons III charity event will fund research at the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and its Lee Breast Center.

Pasadena Star-News stated that ownership issues bedeviling the Pasadena Playhouse are so complicated it would take a USC graduate real-estate seminar to explain them.

Pasadena Star-News quoted Dowell Myers of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development about new data suggesting that Asian Americans have been hit hard by the housing crisis. Asian homeownership dropped 1.24 percentage points to 59.4 percent last year, the largest fall in homeownership among the nation's ethnicities, the story reported. About one-third of the United States Asian population lives in California, which could explain the homeownership drop, Myers said. "Asians are newer into the housing market. They increased [in homeownership] more from 2000 to 2008 than most other groups," Myers said. As newer buyers, they would have been more impacted by the housing crisis than more established homeowners were, he explained.