By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Between you and me, I’ve had a pretty rough day. This morning my laptop refused to turn on and since then, I’ve been rather bitter. (Please learn from my mistakes and back up your computers!) Also, s/o to the Laptop Loaner Program for enabling me to write this post. There’s one person who is getting me through these dark and stress-filled times. No, not my mom. Although she’s a constant source of comfort. It’s John William “Will” Ferrell. With Springfest shut down before the headliners and the USC administration forcing Lil Bill’s Bike Shop to move off campus, many USC students, myself included, have been feeling disappointed and frustrated as of late. (Sign the petition to show how much Lil Bill and his shop mean to this campus)! There’s one person who won’t let us down, one person who will always be our ‘Buddy,’ one person willing to be our Anchor(man) when our metaphorical ship veers off course. And that person is Will Ferrell: USC’s 2017 commencement speaker!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Friday, I met some amazing and inspiring peers at the Diversity Networking Mixer at SCA through several rounds of “speed dating.” The event was hosted by Acción Latina, USC WCA (Women of Cinematic Arts), African American Cinema Society, the Asian American Cinema Association, and Queer Cut, the School of Cinematic Arts’ diversity organizations.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Tuesday, USC’s School of Cinematic Arts aired a pre-screening of ABC’s new miniseries, “When We Rise,” which officially premieres next week on February 27. Queer Cut, the LGBTQA Student Association of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, hosted the event, which my friend and I were very excited to attend. All SC students, faculty, and guests had the opportunity to attend, but if you missed it, I highly encourage you to watch when it airs on Monday. If the rest of this post doesn’t compel you, then maybe the trailer will. ABC provided feedback forms for those in attendance to fill out after the screening. Fortunately, one of the co-presidents of Queer Cut reminded everyone that leaving sections of the form blank was absolutely fine, as ABC seemed to view gender as a binary concept. The feedback forms were definitely not made with this specific screening in mind.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Many people have compared the presidential election debates this year to reality television.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

On Tuesday, the Sol Price Center for Social Innovation hosted a social innovation seminar called “Delicious Social Innovation” with representatives from 5000 Pies, With Love Market and Café, and Everytable.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

If you’re anything like me, you are pretty pumped to have access to the Spring 2017 schedule of courses. There’s just so much potential and so many courses to choose from; my roommate and I were literally counting down the days before its release two weeks ago. Even if you’re not quite on our level of excitement, I want to make sure you’re aware of the amazing 2-unit courses available to you, regardless of your major. The Courses of Interest page conveniently details courses chosen by the designated departments for students who are not majoring in that particular subject but who might find them enjoyable and beneficial. Nothing like being well-rounded and multi-interested, am I right?

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Tuesday Rebeca Lane, dubbed “one of the fiercest voices of Latin American hip hop”, spoke to a captivated audience in Bovard, answered questions (in Spanish and English), and performed some of her powerful raps in an event arranged by USC Visions & Voices titled, “Somos Guerreras: Feminism, Hip Hop, and Guatemala.” She was interviewed by fellow musician, Maya Jupiter (pictured below) to start the conversation and performed with DJ Francesca Harding, who is also immensely talented. My little brother, Nick (Class of 2020) and I were among the many in attendance looking to learn more about Rebeca Lane, hear some of her latest music, and get an inside-look at her form of “artivism”.

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

If you have extra room in your schedule, want to add a 1 or 2 unit course, and/or want to learn a new skill and stay fit in the process, look no further than the PHED department! There are 23 Physical Education courses being offered this Fall 2016, so you’re sure to find one that fits amidst your other courses, no matter how busy you may be.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

Now that I’m ~almost~ a senior in college, I can truthfully say I’ve done my fair share of studying in my day. Some of it was productive, some of it was fueled by procrastination, some of it was downright intolerable, but it doesn’t have to be. As I begin my midterms this semester in Argentina, I’d obviously rather be doing something else, but at least I feel like I know how to prepare and tackle the tasks at hand. This ain’t m first rodeo.