By: Grace Carballo ‘17

USC WCA (Women of Cinematic Arts) launched the first annual feminist media festival on September 15th and I was thrilled to be there to witness the Opening Ceremonies. The goal of the festival is to produce art and connections, in the name of equality. It is, after all, widely known that the film industry has racial and gender biases. In general, there is a significant lack of diversity in terms of content creators as well as a related lack of representation on-screen of women and people of color, particularly in meaningful roles.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Sexual assault is a widespread problem on college campuses across the country and unfortunately, USC is no exception by any means. According to the 2015 survey by the Association of American Universities (AAU), among female college students, 23% said they experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact (ranging from kissing to rape, carried out by force or threat of force, or while they were incapacitated).

by: grace carballo ‘17

rupi kaur is a writer and artist, now based in toronto, who graced usc with her presence last thursday to kick off mental health awareness month 2016.

By: Anna Lipscomb ‘19

For all of the spring admits there - whether you’re currently one or you were one in the past - you know how difficult the wait can be. I’ve been in your shoes. But trust me, it’s worth it. Before you know it, you be here and start leaving your mark on the university. Here are my top tips to make the wait fly by quickly.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

If you find yourself trying to evade this question, though it comes up quite often when you’re a senior, know you’re not alone. It’s not too late to take some steps down the path well-traveled, the career path. The Career Center is chockfull of wonderful resources that can help you wherever you may be in your journey. If I could go back in time I would’ve been a regular in their office starting my freshman year. But hindsight is 20/20, as they say, so all I can do now is soak up all their advice and knowledge and connections before I graduate in May and encourage my brother (class of 2020) to check it out much earlier.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Recently, a student asked your hardworking friends at Trojans 360 to create a guide to USC’s libraries and I have volunteered my services for the task. As it turns out, there a lot more libraries available to met than I ever realized. If you want more information about the hours of these libraries or the services available, the USC library website has a whole lot of info.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Campuses across the country recognize that extracurricular involvement increases student retention; basically, students are much more likely to continue their higher education at institutions where they feel a sense of belonging and purpose. To find smaller communities within our huge student body, to pursue new and exciting interests, to get to know new and different people, or to find people with similar beliefs - there’s no end to the reasons to get involved at USC.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

The first lesson is that almost every word that has an S or a C is “Trojanized” to have both and you shouldn’t fight it, but rather laugh and promptly accept it. Soon you’ll be doing it, too. I’m writing this post for my biological brother but since we’re all Trojan Family, the whole class of 2020 is more than welcome to my unsolicited sisterly wisdom. As a rising senior, I’m practically of a different generation than you young folks and my life experience is worth its weight in gold. I would give my right arm (dominant hand and objectively a critical component of my “good side”) to be able to have 4 more years of college like you young grasshoppers get to, especially if I could relive it knowing all I know now. In preparation for writing this letter I looked through my old photos from 2013-2014 (a simpler time) and can’t even believe how good we had it/have it at USC.

Best: Grace Carballo ‘17

Hey! Thanks so much for your questions; it’s definitely one I was asking myself just three short years ago. There’s a lot of options for fitness on campus and it really just depends on what you’re interested in!

By: Judy Lee ‘17

Sometimes I sit there, miserably, and wonder what could possibly make me feel better. A slice of cake/pizza? Usually. But sometimes, there are voids that can’t be filled by anything other than your childhood. Here are some things that sounds really nice to have right now.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

It’s important that you know, both for accuracy of pronunciation and the sake of the rhyme scheme that Jujuy is pronounced “Hoo-hooey”. And our road-trip through the northern part of this province in Argentina was nothing short of breathtaking.

By: Ayman Siraj ‘18

The biggest fear for any international student coming to the U.S. for the first time is not being able to adapt to U.S. culture. It’s true that cultures are different as you transgress borders. When I was learning English, I was at a British School in Saudi Arabia and it led to a few funny encounters with my friends here in America. One such instance: My friend Tim and I went grocery shopping and I was like, ‘Tim, should I grab a trolley?’ Tim burst out laughing, and I didn’t understand why. He responded that it’s called a shopping cart here. While I wasn’t wrong, Tim and I at that moment realized that even though we speak the same language, there are subtle differences in word usage between different countries.