By: Karla Leung ‘22

Dulce Founder James Choi graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in Accounting ‘05, then went on to work at Ernst and Young. Whenever he had the time, Choi would help out his mother at her Swiss Chocolate shop in Palo Alto, but pursued accounting at Ernst and Young to financially provide for himself and his mother. However, when his mother started battling ovarian cancer, she wanted to follow her dream of starting a bakery in Little Tokyo. Neither Choi nor his mother knew how to run a bakery, but Choi agreed when his mother got a business partner on board. When his mother’s bakery business partner dropped out, Choi decided to put in his 2-week notice at Ernst and Young to open their first Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo in 2011. A few years later, they opened another at the USC Village in 2017.

By: Antonia Le ‘22

When many people think of conspiracy theories and conspiracy theorists, it’s likely that they think of some forty-year-old guy, still living on his parents’ basement, posting about how lizards are controlling the world on websites such as 4chan or Reddit. However, this image can be as far from reality as the lizard people conspiracy theory is. In fact, at USC, the faces behind the conspiracy theories are people just like you and me. Meet The Rabbit Hole Club. Started this semester, this club meets every Wednesday in VKC 259 in order to debate conspiracy theories, have a good time, and figure out how to do some good in the world.

By: Karla Leung ‘22

If you watch enough television and see enough movies, it’s likely that you’ve seen a scene filmed on USC’s campus without even knowing it. Here are a few of the most notable films and TV series filmed on campus!

By: Talia Walters ‘20

Dear USC, I love you, but we’ve got some things we need to talk about.

By: Antonia Le ‘22

I never thought I’d be kind of person to ride around USC on a scooter. In fact, during my first semester at USC, I walked to every class. I was a transportation purist, intent on achieving my daily 10,000 steps. Everything changed when I registered for classes for the spring semester. Against my best intentions, I found myself having a class in Taper Hall ten minutes after my class in Kaprielian Hall ended. According to Google Maps, it takes 11-13 minutes to make the trek, and that’s without anything going wrong. How was I supposed to get from KAP to THH in ten minutes? So, not wanting to be late for class every day, I decided to get a scooter. It’s one of the best decisions I’ve made since coming to USC. In fact, I believe that scooters are the best way to get around campus.

By: Camila Grases ‘21

It’s always exciting to receive your acceptance letter in the mail, but sometimes, it can be overwhelming when you find yourself with an unplanned free semester. So what are your options for the fall semester? Fortunately, USC provides plenty of options for those students.

By: Antonia Le ‘22

Every time I tell somebody that I am taking a 400-level Math class as a freshman, their eyes go wide. I don’t know if they think that I’m smart or insane, or some combination of both. I’m not even sure what I am. What I do know is that my particular class, Math 430 - Theory of Numbers, has challenged me in ways that no other math class has before. I spend twice the amount of time on my Math 430 homework that I do on my calculus homework, and at this point, I’ve begun arranging my schedule around Math 430. Taking a 400-level math class as a freshman, and one as difficult as Math 430 at that, is like diving into the deep end of a swimming pool with no swim experience. If you’re planning on taking a 400-level math class next semester, here are some things I wish I knew before taking the plunge into upper-division math:

By: Antonia Le ‘22

I’m going to keep it real with you: I had no idea what a freshman seminar (not to be confused with a mandatory GESM) was until a flyer was handed to me during orientation before my first semester at USC. I had planned out my four years at USC before I had even made my first tuition deposit, and nowhere in my four-year-plan did I leave a spot for a freshman seminar. That is, until a piece of paper landed in front of me telling me that there existed a 2-unit class at USC called “Writing to be Read.”

By: Karla Leung ‘22

USC is an incredibly busy and bustling campus; walk down Trousdale during the afternoon and it seems like every single student is walking down that street too. Getting away from the crowds on campus can be difficult at times, but I have a few favorite places to get away and relax.

By: Talia Walters ‘20

I want to make it clear that the “standard” study abroad options aren’t bad. The key is that your comfort zone is something that only you are able to measure, and decisions based off of that are yours alone. I just don’t think the image of a great, vast world filled with billions of people who aren’t the cookie-cutter USC student is well-presented to students traveling abroad.

By: Antonia Le ‘22

Let’s face it, with midterm season still in full swing and finals season edging closer every day, going to the gym is probably one of the last things in your mind. Even if there was all of the time in the world, many USC students do not take full advantage of the fitness opportunities available to them. Right on USC’s campus, there are two state-of-the-art fitness centers, the Lyon Center and the USC Village Gym, that students can walk in and use for free. It’s normal to have anxiety over going to the gym (especially if you’ve never gone before, or have little knowledge of the machines), but there’s no better time than the present to start your fitness journey. Gym memberships will only get more expensive once you graduate, so if you wanna make the most of your USC experience, here’s some tips for getting over gym anxiety and living your best life.

By: Sumaya Hussaini ‘22 and Ann Nguyen ‘22

“They’re taking someone else’s spot.”

For years, the sentence was uttered in reference to affirmative action — admissions practices that provide equal access to education and are preferential toward groups that have been historically underrepresented, disadvantaged, and/or discriminated against. However, the same sentiment was recently expressed by the general public in response to college admissions scandal, in which the children of wealthy celebrities and prominent business leaders were accepted to USC and other elite universities through illegal means of bribery and fraud.