Pepperdine University - Promenade Yearbook (Malibu, CA)

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crime increases at seaver It seems like every time I pick up the Graphic, there's another story about crime at Pepperdine. It's getting ridiculous, said one Seaver College coed. Seaver, like so many universities today, has found itself plagued by countless incidents of theft, vandalism, and at least two accounts of sexual assault. As in anywhere the population goes up, so does the crime, suggested Dick Bargas in November, then director of Campus Safety. (Bargas resigned in March.) Malibu is changing too. They're catering to a different character of students. Five years ago they would never have built a MacDonald s, but now the town is catering to the kind of people who frequent these places, such as students. Two separate accounts of sexual assault have been reported in the past year. Theft has been another problem at Seaver. Numerous car batteries, weather car covers, cameras and other possessions have been reported stolen from vehicles at Latigo and Seaver park- ing lots. Final exams were stolen in December when six of Seaver College's division and professor's offices were broken into. Dr. Bob Gilliam, professor of psychology, said he returned from the weekend of Dec. 9 to find his top desk drawer had been pried open and keys from three filing cabinets were gone. He believed exams for Man and Society were taken, In March, $400 worth of top sirloin steaks were stolen from the cafeteria, according to SAGA Food Services director Tracy Kelly. Only 65 of 350 steaks used for the Saturday night meal remained when Kelly discovered the theft. worth of merchandise was stolen from the campus bookstore. There were no signs of forced entry, according to bookstore manager Shirley Jensen and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputies. The stolen articles included a Technics stereo receiver, five cameras, four lenses, and a flash attachment, according to Sgt. Ed Propersi, the investigating deputy. Thievery, car vandalism and assault are not as frequent at Seaver as dormitory destruction, however. Horseplay, resulting in major destruction of dorms XI, XII, XIV and Upsilon is out of control, housing director John McClung said in November. Allen Nelson, men's resident coordinator, attributed the problem of dorm vandalism to student immaturity. It's ornery meanness and viciousness on the part of these guys, he said. They're taking out their frustrations on inanimate things. It is beyond my comprehension to understand mentality that operates like a child.’ Student Government' Association (SGA) president Rod Gaudin said the problem is very serious at a November SGA Assembly meeting. I know of one guy who picked up a chair and threw it through a wall because the Cincinnati Reds lost a lousy baseball game, he said. Lt. John Cominski, campus safety officer, said he felt the solution to campus crime is for stronger disciplinary action on behalf of the university. I truly believe the university needs to crack down on punishments and be stricter with violators, he said. After the sexual assault in March, Rick Ellison, new director of campus safety said, We immediately 'beefed up' all security measures since the case in hopes of reducing further occurrences of this nature. As a step toward alleviating the problem of exam thefts and cheating, the Seaver College Code of Academic Ethics was established and passed by a student body vote in a March 28 SGA election, 441-116. news 25

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24 news Crime increase at Seaver includes: (l)thefls of steak from SAGA Food Services, and (2)a theft in the bookstore.

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tuition raised for fall 1979 Tuition rose 9.2 percent at Pepperdine University for the year beginning with the fall 1979 trimester. The decision was made by the Board of Regents' Executive Committee in a unanimous vote in Februrary. Inflation was the main reason for the increase, reported the committee. Tuition will not rise one penny more than it has to, said Dr. Howard A. White, university president, in a meeting with the Student Government Association (SCA) Assembly in October. Actual rise from the 1978-79 cost of SI 31 per unit is to S143 per unit. Housing costs were also increased six percent. Room and board jumped from SI,020 to SI,085 per trimester. If the Financial Aid Office repeats its past record of a 10 percent increase, the students will gain in the total picture, since overall school expenses have risen only eight percent. The administration in the past has approved my budget, said Isreal Rodriguez, director of financial aid. White said Pepperdine will do its best to provide appropriate financial aid for every student who can show that he needs it. A tuition increase, said White, is necessary to pay the university's bills. All we know, said the chief executive. is that if we (Regents) had not raised tuition enough to pay our bills, we would have gone broke, and then what would anyone's degree be worth to him if he is a graduate of a school that has gone broke because it couldn't pay its bills. Inflation in the United States has increased 9.5 percent, a 1.5 percent greater increase than the eight percent at Pepperdine University. The inflation in our economy takes into consideration the increased costs of all goods and services. Pepperdine is a labor intensifed organization, said White. Wages are going up some. We will stay within the President's guidelines, but we must pay people some more money or we'll lose good people. All energy costs are going up very rapidly. All of the things we buy including salaries for employees, electricity, gas, insurance and all the expenses that we have, have gone up very dramatically. The SGA office refused to take an immediate stand on the tuition increase. SGA president. Rod Gaudin commented, Pepperdine has set a SI million increase, so far as fund raising is concerned for the operational budget, it's just to balance the budget. It is an increase from S3.5 million to $4.5 million, so they put the burden on themselves to raise the money. 26 news