By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Do you live to eat? Are you not yourself when you’re hungry? Or, maybe you’re just a college student who just moved off campus. Either way you look at it, you are going to have to go grocery shopping to cure your ‘hanger’. Eating out, ordering UberEats, or bumming food off of your friends all the time can become expensive and pretty annoying.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

It’s said college is the best time of your life. When else can you party on Thursday, have 24-hour access to a library and, if you have a meal plan, eat unlimited food with one swipe of a card? Despite the luxuries and freedoms of being a full-time college student, there is nothing quite like being ‘college broke.’

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Did you take a foreign language this semester? Maybe it was Spanish, Korean, or French, like myself? Well, that’s great! Kudos to you. Personally, learning languages has been a huge challenge for me over the years. I’ve taken French since the 4th grade and I have always had problems retaining what I’ve learned after the school year ended. And as you may know, summer is typically the time that most of what you have learned during the semester wears away. So I’ve decided to pull from my failures and tell you the best ways to stay fluent, or close to it, over the summer.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Anyway you frame it, preparing for finals can be stressful. Whether they come in the form of your normal tests, essays or other types of projects; these assessments are of the utmost importance because they reflect the hard work you’ve put in all semester and play a major role in your final grade. Personally, I’ve found myself stacked with studying, finishing projects, writing essays and completing other important personal tasks during this time. In addition to the stress there seems to be an attitude amongst many professors that their class assignments are the most important. Despite these tensions, here are five pieces of advice you can take into the next few weeks in order to reduce your stress and get your stuff together during this stressful time.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

“Office hours” is a popular phrase on college campuses. It is mentioned in almost every syllabus and always comes up during conversations about school with family members, alumni, or academic counselors. Office hours are times that professors or teaching assistants (T/A) set aside to be available to their students. A student may go to see a professor or a T/A during office hours because they don’t understand class material, want guidance in the course, or to pursue a topic in more depth than it was covered in class. Going to office hours seems like a pretty simple key to success, but if you’re an introvert or a shy person like myself meeting with your professor seems to be uncomfortable and scary. I’ll be honest, it was not until midterms of my first semester to feel 100% comfortable talking to my professors. I initially was very anxious and scared that I would have been disturbing the professor or asking “stupid questions.” However as time went on, I developed coping strategies that helped me to overcome my office hours jitters.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Podcasts and radio media are making a comeback and USC students are ahead of the curve. You can find students on campus not only producing their own content; but playing a wide variety of music, discussing the latest pop-culture gossip, or interviewing interesting people around campus. Finding the right podcast or radio show to get into can be a daunting task, especially if you don’t have hours of time to spare or the patience to sit through a crappy show. So what is the solution? Read the list below and get acquainted with following shows. I’m sure they will have you hooked instantly.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

This past Saturday, the Black Student Assembly (BSA) hosted Gearfest on McCarthy Quad - showcasing black artists, black-owned businesses and other local artists. After a very stressful week of midterms, Gearfest was the perfect pick-me-up and a fun-filled break from studying. As I walked around the festival, I saw that there was something different was offered at every booth. The running group, BlackListLA, had a booth set up promoting their various fitness activities around Los Angeles. I visited Ugly Betty Boy Crush: a jewelry store that sells stackable bracelets. Ugly Betty Boy Crush even had Mardi Gras-themed jewelry just in time for the revelry next week. The vendors at the festival were a great way to promote black business and introduce students to black entrepreneurs in the LA area.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

Every February we celebrate Black History Month, and recognize the achievements by black Americans and their role in US history. And now, thanks to USC’s Black Student Assembly (BSA), you don’t have to wonder about all the events set up to help everyone celebrate and learn more about Black History.

By: Ellice Ellis ‘20

This past Monday the USC Black Staff and Faculty Caucus honored the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with its 36th annual Dr.King Celebration at Tommy’s Place. I attended the event which featured performances by USC Students; Celeste Butler, Elshaddai Mulugeta, M.C Omete Anassi, and a powerful lecture from guest speaker and actor Gerald C. Rivers. These performers praised Dr. King calling him a timeless prophet and a true visionary; along with sharing their talents with USC students, faculty, staff, and guests of the university. When the celebration started I was happy to hear the students and faculty singing the black national anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” by James Weldon Johnson; a song that for is not often performed at many events around campus. The event went on to be the pinnacle of black excellence not only showcasing student talent but acknowledging the words and important messages that Dr. King had to share.