My Experience Traveling to China as a First-Year Business Student
By: Adriana Bernal Martinez ‘20
I remember the day I got this little red and yellow box in the mail. It was in late March of my Senior year of high school. I was coming back home from Debate practice at around 6 and at the sight of two little boxes just chillin’ on my doorstep, my breath caught in my throat. I wasn’t really sure what they were about whatsoever, but they seemed rather important and they had the colors of the school I had just committed to on them, so. I was anxious and excited and maybe a little teensy bitsy sweaty but upon opening them, I learned one thing and one thing only: I was going to China.
Jazz Appreciation Month
By: Lilly Kate Diaz ‘20
I can probably spend hours, days, and even years (as I’m sure many other musicians and educators of jazz have spent) describing and defining what “Jazz” is. I found this really great clip and the people who are interviewed describe jazz and what it is to them (and its origins). All of their definitions, in my opinion, are correct!
Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Denim Day
By: Lilly Kate Diaz ‘20
Did you know that in the United States, April is Sexual Assault Awareness month? Spread awareness by participating on Denim Day (April 26th, 2017).
Meet Joy
By: Joy Ofodu ‘18
Hi, I’m Joy! It’s a wonder that anyone would want to read my fanatic raving (or hot tea) about USC. Anyone who knows me will tell you I bleed cardinal & gold like it’s my job (and as a product of Admissions, I suppose it is).
USC’s First Feminist Media Festival
By: Terry Nguyen ‘20
On Sunday, April 2, the Women in Cinematic Arts hosted its first ever Feminist Media Festival. Although this was an inaugural event, the organization hopes to host more festivals in future years to improve inclusivity and diversity within an industry predominantly represented by cisgender white men. The USC School of Cinematic Arts is diverse in its student demographics — the school’s demographics reveal that it is 50% female. Unfortunately, the film industry does not reflect these numbers, as only 3% of women direct the top films of the field. Such events like the Feminist Media Festival aim to create and build a network of feminist filmmakers to pave the way for the film future.
Visions and Voices: Anarchy in Asian America
By: Terry Nguyen ‘20
On Friday, March 24, USC Visions and Voices hosted a panel discussion with four prominent Japanese American directors and producers called “Anarchy in Asian America: Sex, Punk and Transgressive Cinema.” The three directors whose works were featured are Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, and Jon Moritsugu; the panel was lead by producer Marcus Hu, who dubbed the directors the “bad boys” of Asian American cinema. The three had met in the 1980’s and have been in contact since, but haven’t had a chance to host a full panel together due to their busy schedules.
4 Freshman Dining Hall Food Hacks
By: Terry Nguyen, ‘20
As a dorm-residing freshman, it is easy to complain about the culinary scene of the dining halls: The food is too bland, they serve the same options weekly, the cooked meat sometimes looks suspicious, they added cheese into your omelette again — you get the point — the list can go on and on. Nevertheless, as your days at the dining halls are coming to an end, you realize that you have developed some clever food hacks over the past months dining at EVK, Parkside, or McCarthy. It is an acquired skill, and dining hall food is also an acquired taste, especially after months and months of the same salad bar with the same offered options of condiments. You learn to look past EVK’s strange-looking edamame, and un-avocado-like “avocado” sandwich spread. The period of super salty kale and sauteed greens are also fading into the memories of first semester. As a soon-to-be sophomore, here are a few easy food hacks to make the most of your time at a dining hall before that all-you-can-eat privilege is replaced by an apartment meal plan — or, no meal plan at all.
Why the USC Memes Page is So Iconic
By: Terry Nguyen ‘20
What do you meme you haven’t heard of USC’s meme page? For the latest college trend this past semester, students are turning to a new fascination within internet culture: college-related memes featured on Facebook meme “pages” within a university subculture. As meme culture continues to grow in popularity, college campuses are adopting their own, specific brands of humor. USC is no exception. USC’s page, titled USC Memes for Spoiled Pre-Teens, takes its name inspiration from UC Berkeley’s — UC Berkeley Memes for Edgy Teens. UCLA consequently named its group UCLA Memes for Sick AF Tweens, but the Trojan meme-makers would like to believe pre-teens are arguably cooler than “sick af” tweens. But the real question is: what makes USC’s meme page so iconic? An average USC student’s humor consists of more than simply bagging on UCLA students; it’s a combination of poorly Photoshopped Nikias memes, the slow burn torture of rising tuition, and the strange neo-Gothic pointy structures that guard USC’s gates.
LKD: The Blogger
By: Lilly Kate Diaz ‘20
Hi, all! My name is Lilly Kate Diaz (aka LKD aka Lilly-Kate). I am a First-Year/Freshman (and First Gen!) student studying English with an emphasis in Literature (soon to be minoring in IT).
The Best of USC Radio Shows and Podcasts
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.
Reviewing the Freshman Dorms: 2016-2017 Edition
By: Adriana Bernal Martinez ‘20
Next year, we’ll have McCarthy Honors College in The Village to consider as an additional option to the already present freshman dorms – but for now, I’ve taken upon the task of getting the scoop on current USC students’ reviews of their residence halls and suites for the 2016-2017 year. Here’s to hoping that this post compiling facts and feedback from the people that were in your shoes last year can help you incoming Class of 2021-ers a little bit in your housing preferences! It’s coming up a lot sooner than you think.
Air + Style: Music Festival Recap
By: Terry Nguyen ‘20
What originated as a snowboarding competition 21 years ago in Innsbruck, Austria has grown to be a global event that merges the latest music and the sport into an unforgettable two-day experience. From Feb. 18 to Feb. 19, Air + Style brought the world’s best snowboarders to downtown Los Angeles’ Exposition Park and rising artists, like Grammy-award winning DJ Flume and USC alumnus ZHU. Despite rain or shine, the festival went on for both days from 2 p.m. to 11 p.m., and crowds gathered enthusiastically between the Winter and Summer stages throughout the course of the afternoon into late evening. Their energy did not quell between the sets, as hundreds of people bunched towards the front of the stage, anxiously awaiting their favorite artists.
Visions and Voices: Free Outgoing
By: Anna Lipscomb ‘19
Last Thursday (2/16), USC Vision & Voices took students to the East West Players in Little Tokyo to see a production of Free Outgoing. Based on a true incident that occurred in India, the play captures the unraveling lives of Deepa and her family after she is involved in a sex scandal that goes viral online. When it feels like the world is against them, Malini, the mother and head of the household, must make a decision to protect the family’s future.
Commemorating Remembrance Day for Japanese Americans
By: Terry Nguyen ‘20
The diverse city of Los Angeles contains boundless opportunities to immerse yourself in unfamiliar cultures and their traditions. February, although mostly celebrated as the month of love, is also Black History Month and in this stormy political climate, a significant and relevant time to commemorate the Day of Remembrance for Japanese Americans. On Feb. 19, 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, issuing the order to legally contain Japanese Americans in separate internment camps on American soil. The Day of Remembrance should be made aware of, and while we shame this period of American history for its discriminatory legislation, we should also strive to commemorate and understand the stories of those affected by this Executive Order. Below are a few events, exhibits and destinations you can visit if you want to further your understanding of American history and the effect of EO66 on the lives of many Japanese Americans.
Say What You Need to Say
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
Yesterday on Trousdale, there was a lot going on, so you may have missed the Postcards for Representatives table sponsored by USC Delta Phi Epsilon and Trojan Advocates for Political Progress. I stopped by in a bit of a hurry on my way to class and got a postcard to send to my representatives and some really helpful information about the Day of Action that I’d love to pass along to all of you.
10 Trojan Inventors You Should Know
By: Anna Lipscomb ‘19
Did you know that February 11 was National Inventors’ Day? Let’s take a look at a few of our notable Trojan inventors.
Meet the Blogger, Adri
By: Adriana Bernal Martinez ‘20
Hi there! I’m Adriana, Adri for short, and I’m a First-Year student studying Business Administration at the Marshall School of Business and minoring in French.
USG Presidential Debate: The Big Questions
By: Terry Nguyen ‘20
On Feb. 1, USC Annenberg Media hosted a town hall-style debate for the Undergraduate Student Government presidential and vice presidential candidates. The three presidential tickets for this year’s election – Austin-Morgan, Million-Vorhoff and Rachel-Rebecca — feature a diverse range of candidates from all aspects of the student body, and the topics they touched upon in their limited speaking time illustrated the goals and unique personalities of each platform. The questions were submitted by members of the undergraduate community, and topics such as tuition transparency, sexual assault prevention and diversity initiatives were raised. Each ticket was given approximately one minute to respond, and moderator Cole Sullivan selected the order in which they would answer. To those who did not tune into the USG presidential debate, here are a few important questions raised by members of the audience to the three presidential tickets and their responses:
Women’s March Los Angeles
By: Grace Carballo ‘17
Last Saturday, millions of people around the world took to the streets to march for women’s rights, our human rights. The New York Times assembled a photo from each city’s Women’s March, from Nairobi to Lima, Tel Aviv to Sydney (and, of course, dozens of U.S. cities). I get chills each time I scroll through the images of the different demonstrations (and not just when I catch a glimpse of the Antarctica march). What a tremendous display of unity: women make up over half of the world’s population and will not be silenced.
6th Annual USC Latino Student Empowerment Conference
By: Brandon Le ‘18
For the past 6 years, El Centro Chicano has been holding an annual conference to help empower Latinx students, and help them find their individual paths to success.