Collegians Muff Two Efforts to Revise Hollywood Sign

In the battle of the Hollywood sign, the score last week was:

Los Angeles police--33.

Pepperdine--0.

USC--0.

The second collegiate attempt in two days to fool around with the Hollywood sign ended late Friday with the arrest of 20 Pepperdine University students bent on some sort of fraternity prank.

On Thursday, police arrested 13 USC students gearing up for Saturday’s big game with UCLA. The Trojan fans intended on draping the sign to make it read “USC.”

The intentions of the Pepperdine students were less clear.

Authorities said they were not sure what was up.

At Pepperdine, members of the Lamba Omega Sigma fraternity, who had apparently staged the attempt, were on a retreat and could not be reached.

Part of ‘Hell Week’

However, Pepperdine sophomore Mindy Terrell, a Lambda “little sister,” said Saturday that a group of Lambda pledges left the university’s Malibu campus Friday night.

“We just had our ‘Hell Week,’ ” she said, referring to the final frantic week before new fraternity pledges are initiated. “I would assume they would put up a Lambda sign.”

Eric Feldman, another Pepperdine student, said his roommate, Lance Hester, who was one of the arrested students, left for the Hollywood sign with a group of Lambda pledges about 8 p.m. Friday night.

“Shoot, it had something to do with the rushes. This is the end part of ‘Hell Week,’ ” Feldman said.

Turned Over to Police

Park rangers from the Griffith Park station stopped the Pepperdine students at 10 p.m. and then turned them over to Hollywood police, according to Lt. Dan Watson.

“They weren’t trying to alter the sign or cause any damage,” he said. “It’s not a serious offense to be there, but because it’s a landmark that attracts people who might cause a hazard up there, we have to take a strong enforcement stance to discourage that sort of thing.”

Watson said the students, 18 men and two women, were booked on suspicion of the misdemeanor charge of trespassing in a mountain fire district and released on their own recognizance.