By: Judy Lee ‘17

Valentine’s Day is sweeping across the world, and the fair land of Troy is no exception. Here are some insights into love, grand romance, and Valentine’s Day…brought to you by USC Yik Yak.

By: Paul Samaha ‘17

A few months ago, I was sitting in Nature’s Brew café studying. I saw that the Undergraduate Student Vice President Rini Sampath was calling me, and I could only think two things: this is either something really good, or terribly bad. Thankfully, it was the former. Rini Sampath explained to me on the phone that she was running for president with Jordan Fowler as her running mate. Rini asked me if I would be interested in being on the Rini Jordan “core 5” team and help them with the PR for their campaign. As someone who looks up to both Rini and Jordan with immense respect, I was so stunned and honored that I screamed “YES!” before Rini could even finish her question.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

The word “midterm” is in fact a misnomer, because though we are still in the first few weeks of the semester and not the middle, I have 2 next week. Still, like stoplights and spiders, they are a necessary evil, and as a freshman I learned how to come out of these trying times relatively unscathed.

By: Mark Love ‘16

The Row. Aside from Tommy Trojan himself, the Row may possibly be the most famed site at USC. I’ve had the luxury of attending a few Greek parties — without actually rushing any of the fraternities— and the experience was like no other. The raging house parties with boundless amounts of alcohol pretty much mirrored a modern American Pie movie. But besides the rowdy soirees, the Row lauds itself for promoting brotherhood and sisterhood throughout each perspective fraternity and sorority. Many actives proclaimed they have created bonds that will prosper far beyond the barriers of USC. However, a recent scandal in one of the sorority houses disputed the claims of affability and enforced the superficial reputation that hovers over the Greek life.

By: Judy Lee ‘17

There’s been a lot of talk about sexual assault and domestic violence with Valentine’s Day and the upcoming movie, Fifty Shades of Grey (which is a whole other can of worms), as there should be. In my opinion, these are morose and heinous topics, but also a reality of the world we live in. By keeping silent, victims will continue to be hurt and abusers will not be stopped.

By: Lauren Brose ‘15

Rini Sampath and Jordan Fowler are the first all-female running ticket in USC and Pac-12 history. Despite a discouraging remark from a fellow peer–– who expressed her concerns of having two female student leaders––Rini and Jordan have received an overwhelming amount of support from both men and women, Greek and non-Greek students alike. They’re also the most endorsed ticket in USC history, currently standing tall with 48. I had a chance to meet with them after their debate and discuss platform points, USG background, and how these two accomplished women came to become partners in crime this USG election.

By: Lauren Brose ‘15

Valentine’s Day is this weekend and I will be spending it alone this year. I have no issue with it, as I don’t believe v-day is synonymous to S.A.D (single awareness day). Like every major holiday, it is not defined by the man or woman you wake up and go to bed thinking of, but instead being in the company of people you love.

By: Hannah Kim ‘15

What is the Third Space? It’s not something you can slap onto your resume. It has no place next to your GPA and your Adobe Photoshop fluency. That’s because it’s a paradigm of thought.

By: Kelly Kinas ‘17

After being inspired by two Buzzfeed articles about a woman not wearing make-up for a week here and another woman wearing makeup for a week here, I decided to create my own challenge. For one week, I would not wear makeup and write down what happened because it’s only science if you write it down. The next week, I would wear a full face of makeup every day and also write down what happened throughout the days. This would be Monday through Friday.

By: Samantha Romero ‘16

It’s Wednesday, the middle of the week and one day closer to the weekend, but most importantly it’s farmer’s market day at McCarthy Quad.

By: Mark Love ‘16

This week marks the beginning of election season on campus. Prepare to see gaudy promotional signs with smiling candidates plastered on them. Look forward to the propositions and promises that the electoral candidates will declare that will hopefully benefit the school. And keep your ears open for at least one Obama­esque speech to commence. Basically, for the next seven days,candidates will compete to gain the votes of their fellow peers. However, these political hopefuls must adhere to the codes of conduct while running for a position. USC has contrived the Election Codes, a series of rules that each candidate must abide by during election week.

By: Judy Lee ‘17

Let’s be real here: no one actually knows what it means to dress “business casual”.Now, “business professional”—that’s a bit more straightforward. So, let’s start with that!