...and their memories

Jeffrey Bechthold
As for the big issues and memorable people. The biggest issues -- or stories -- in sports, as I recall were the death of Hank Gathers (he'd started at USC then transferred to Loyola Marymount, then died on the court). I was sports editor at the time and probably screwed up a little by letting news take too much of the coverage. The other major story that I recall was when Rodney Peete, the tremendous USC quarterback, was stricken with measles the week of the 1988 USC-UCLA game. He was in the hospital early in the week and went on to play in the game, in which the Trojans beat Troy Aikman's Bruins. I suppose the people I remember most of all were sports people. When I started, Ara Najarian was sports editor. I thought he was a terrific columnist. Scott Wolf was also there at the time and really made an effort to kind of show me the ropes. Later on in my tenure, Chris Wiley, Dan DeNeve (who got me in trouble with some of the coaches with a column calling USC the "University of Serious Chokers"), John Tamanaha and Chuck Mazet were memorable co-workers. The other guy I remember being around all the time was the cartoonist ... his name was Dan Povenmire and he wrote a daily comic strip for many years (well over four). He even printed books of his strip and illustrated a segment of a Tommy Chong movie. The one story line of his I specifically recall is when the main characters stole a USC tram and drove it to the world's largest McDonald's in Barstow. I also recall some of the production people quite well. Ron Flores was always there at night. I think I went to a bar he owned in Eagle Rock a few times -- the Big O (for Occidental College). In those days, we still had to physically paste up the text and photos and then tape the lines onto the page, etc. You had to figure out exact photo sizes, etc., and shoot them at whatever percentage. I'd imagine it's much easier know doing all that on the computer. And Darlene Hard (a daytime production person). We always found it extremely interesting that Darlene was a many-time Grand Slam tennis champion, primarily in doubles and mixed doubles. I bet she won more than a dozen grand slam titles years before. Add your own memory

Kristofer Chun
As for events at school... Gulf War #1: What I remember most is that how great it was to have both sides represented well on campus. Those who supported our every effort and those with the signs "No Blood for Oil" I covered many rallies/protests for the DT and have some great shots in my porfolio from the experience. But the DT lost a great photographer because of the war. Rocco (can't remember his last name Eddie might) was in the National Guard. No he didn't die, but he was called up and had to leave school for a year, I don't think he ever returned to the DT. Riots: I remember studying (cramming) when a security guard escorted me out of the library to a van and took me back to my apartment on the Wednesday the Riots started. We all went to the roof of Troy Hall to look at the fires burning. I remember thinking HOLY SHIT, tomorrow is stop day, but I have 2 finals on Friday -- this is BAD. I need to learn a semester's worth of information in two days and there is no way I can study now. At graduation, I remember my friends posing with National Guards men and thanking them for being there. Magic Johnson HIV announcement: I was walking back from class and someone walked out of TSC and said "Magic has AIDS." I walked in and he was doing his press conference. I honestly think it was the quitest I ever heard campus. The days at the DT: The photogs and cartoonists were always banished to the back corner. I remember everyone having a crush on Tracy Wilson. And hanging out with Larry and Dan. Ignoring (Chief Photog) John. Having to shoot "Trojan on the Street" was the worst assignment you could get. Senior year I had to take too many classes (one semester I took 24 units) because I needed to make up some GEs that I had been putting off. Therefore I had to give up the photography. As my dad put it. "I'm paying for 4 years if you want to take five that is fine, but your dime" I had a lot of incentive to finish. Glad you have put the effort into this site. It is great to hear what is going on with the crew. Add your own memory

Michael Culross
Sez Dan Povenmire: Culross looks like a fern died on his head. Add your own memory

Manuel "Manny" De La Rosa
While I worked on the Daily Trojan, I bailed out Editor Leef Smith in the summer of 1990 when Joey Wagner left as sports editor of the Summer Trojan. Add your own memory

Jun Falkenstein
In terms of the DT, I don't specifically recall any big events that were going on during my 2-year stint drawing the comic 'Spaz N Wallace'. I drew that and also lots of illustrations for the paper, as well as writing one article (an interview with a famous animator). I just remember hanging out with all the other cartoonists during the printing deadline times and having fun. Other friends of mine wrote for the paper too if I recall. Debbie Townsend I think, Leann Bonin, Sammy Buck (we were all film majors). Bobs Gannaway I still know (he did a strip called Buckaroo Bobs) and he works for Disney TV as a writer. Dave Kuhn I still know (He did a short lived strip I forget the title of but it had a kangaroo in it) he is also in the animation biz. I didn't know Dan Povenmire super well but I know he went into the animation biz too. Hrm ... maybe I will have to go look at some back issues! Add your own memory

Trisha Fike
She wrote 60+ articles, mostly film reviews and interviews with actors and directors, for the paper as a freelance contributor. Add your own memory

Ruby Gonzales
I worked only two or three semesters at the Daily Trojan. I chose the features section because reporters there got $15 [per semester] compared to what the cityside guys got. It prepared me for the salary I'm getting now. But who is complaining..... When I first worked at the DT, Leif was the head cheese, Roger Teft was city editor and Anita McDonnell was my features editor. Robin Rauzi was the features editor when I quit the paper. She used to write a column for the paper which was mostly about being from Ohio and her film classes. In 1989, the J-school still had these old typewriters and this space cadet of a woman who handled internships. The DT relied on computers where you had to hit two keys to hyphenate and justify a story. So folks would say, ''Have you h and j'd your story yet?'' I worked in features and mostly did fluffy stuff with one exception. I wrote one story about private colleges charging way too much for tuition. It was somehow tied in to the price fixing scandal at the Ivy League schools. When I was at USC, there was a scandal about the student elections being rigged, a rapist preyed on women who lived near school, the Loma Prieto earthquake struck and the wall fell down in Berlin. Plus there was a big brouhaha over the parody papers issued during Homecoming week. The Daily Bruin's editor was a Latina. The DT's parody of the Daily Bruin listed an editor-in-chief with an incredibly long Latina name. Something like Maria Theresa Luisa Juanita etc. There was a rumor that it contained wetback in Spanish as well. I never saw that. Their DT version said USC cheerleaders were known to carry mattresses on their backs and had an airhead interviewing Mark Harmon. There was talk of canceling the parodies. Debbie Townsend made a memorable exit when she graduated. She left a message on the board at the DT, ''I hate everyone and I love no one.'' Michael Utley came on board the DT just before I left it. He later worked for the Whittier Daily News, which is one of the sister papers of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. I don't think he stayed with us long. Julie Chen was at the DT during my first semester there. She had long hair then and a great voice which I always thought was perfect for radio. Sorry I've rambled on and on. Add your own memory

Craig Hausman
Craig says he loved "spending time with Kay Kusumoto (now married to Chris Kabel, one of Shawn Pogatchnik's Standpoint proteges - he'll be thrilled with that label), Angel Kim, John Burman, Liane Bonin, Debbie Townsend, Melissa Morrison, Dana Mitroff, Fred Levy, Robert Moran and so on, was truly a privilege. Of course, the larger cast of characters included Dan Povenmire, Jori Bieze, Leef Smith, et al. Thanks for a fun trip down memory lane!" Add your own memory

Alan Hoffman
Again, not much to add you probably don't already know ... the last days of the Atex system, Ron in the typesetting room, manual paste-ups, trying to invent info-graphics on a Mac SE with a 9" screen. Our big earthquakes were the Whittier 5.9 (10/87), Loma Prieta 7.1 (10/89). I didn't interact much with the other staff, because I was mostly doing graphics after everyone went home. One interesting thing is that there were several of us -- Leef Smith, Shawn Pogatchnic, Eric DiGiovanni, and probably a couple of others I'm forgetting -- who were at one point freshmen in the marching band, but didn't stay on because we all separately decided we hated it. I ran into Kate Berry a couple of years later, working at Investor's Business Daily, but we didn't stay in touch. And, I have a great memory of attending a SPJ convention in Cincinatti with a couple of classmates, including Kyra Phillips, who I am not surprised to see anchoring on CNN. The red hair is a bit surprising, however. Add your own memory

Aric Johnson
I was at the DT about the same time as you, started about 1990 and worked through 92 or 93. Did the Gulf War, that was fun. Glen Justice and Petula Dvorak were there too. Taught me a lot. [While at the DT I] did a story on paper mills, bought a term paper and had it graded. The paper cost $140 and was pretty crappy. Add your own memory

Ben List
My memory of things DT is a little fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure I was the art director for at least a few months there before Larry Stone came on... pretty sure... Add your own memory

Anita McDonnell
I just filled out the form to update my little blurb. I wanted to let you know I have the quote list from one of the years I was there . . . maybe 1990? I'll have to dig it out after the wedding (in 34 days), but I will get it to you. I also forgot to add Columnist to the list of positions, right after Managing Editor. I did my (usually horrifically long) column from Spain as a study abroad student. Add your own memory

Chris Rogness
Don't keep in touch with my old USC buds much anymore, and that's too bad. Hopefully I'll hear from some of 'em.I was a graduate student in print journalism from August of '90 to when I finished my master's in May of '92. I worked at the Daily Trojan because the person teaching the copy editing class at the time (Ann Connors, I think?) required all of us to work there for one semester. I liked it and kept editing and writing headlines during my tenure at USC, and did a bit of writing as well, but that was over a decade ago and my memory has faded. Add your own memory

Greg Sandoval
I was a staff writer on DT, one of the only sports staffers to win best city news story for piece on Todd Marinovich (I should send Todd some flowers, the stories I did on him helped make my career). During the riots I found the guys who shot the Reginal Denny beating and brokered it for them. Made some cabbage and then Times Sports hired me in Nov. 1992. Add your own memory

Travis "Nep" Smith
Probably my best memory of the Daily Trojan is the time George and I literally dove into the sports office to hide from something in the city room, and Matt White, without asking a single question, looked up from his keyboard, saw us, and reached for his baseball bat. We turned and ran so fast, our shadows had to catch up. To this day, there's no doubt in my mind that he was going to bludgeon us to death if we interrupted him from filing his column on time. p.s. He's an Air Force special attack guy now. Add your own memory

George Stankow
My best memory of the DT (at least, the best one for public consumption) didn't even happen there -- during the 1992 riots, I was constantly on the phone with various members of the staff, checking to make sure everyone was all right, spreading information, planning for a special issue if we survived.... Because of the DT's reporting network,, I got to tell my dorm floor that finals had been canceled, about a half hour before the announcement filtered its way through official channels. Add your own memory

Tiffany Tai
I first wrote for the DT sometime between my freshman and sophomore year, under Glen Justice. My most vivid memory: those section meetings in Glen's apartment with the x-rated wallpaper. I had a blast writing for the DT, though for the most part I kept to myself. Many thanks to the awesome guidance of Glen, Petula, Oscar and Roy (I forget his last name). Add your own memory

Michael "Mutley" "Mike" Utley
Mike Utley (the golfer) first started gaining noteriety in 1989 when Mike Utley (the USC student) was a snot-nosed, first-semester DT staff writer. The city editor at the time, Roger Somebodyorother, clipped out an L.A. Times sports headline that read: "Who Is Utley and How Did He Get Here?" Roger taped the headline to the top of the city desk computer and left it there all semester. Then he gave it to me as a souvenir. For the next 10 years, I had that headline taped to the top of every computer at every newspaper I worked for. God's honest truth! Add your own memory

Christopher Wyatt
I wrote opinion pieces. Go figure, the topics seem to have been: Israel, Iraq posing a threat (Gulf War followed), AIDS, and other such unresolved geopolitical drivel. Nothing changed, I guess. I graduated in December of 1990, so I missed any real fun in LA. I never time anything right. The feature articles were the typical profiles of celebs on campus, health issues, and would USC ever get a new stadium. It seems the Raiders and USC wanted a major overhaul for skyboxes. Why I was given the assignment, I have no clue. Maybe there was a shortage of sports reporters that week. Add your own memory

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