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: Grace Carballo ‘17

Last Saturday, September 24, I had the privilege of attending the inaugural USC Own It women’s leadership summit. Luckily as soon as I heard about it a few weeks ago, I booked my spot immediately, because tickets eventually sold out. To give you an idea of the scale of all this, over 450 students and 65 speakers attended. Own It was started by two Georgetown students in 2013, with the first summit taking place in 2014 and being so successful that it expanded nationwide. The Own It network now encompasses 8 universities including USC, and we are certainly in good company.

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

My friends keep asking me if it’s weird to return to USC after two semesters and a summer program abroad and the answer is a resounding “Yes!” A lot of other folks who were abroad have had similar experiences of reverse culture shock. I saw a line down the bookstore steps and decided to order my textbooks online only to discover later that my peers were in fact waiting for $6 cupcakes to be dispensed from an ATM.

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

With just three weeks remaining before classes start, you may find yourself with very little free time as you finish your summer internships or jobs and start thinking about and preparing for move-in day at USC. But if you find yourself with time to spare, now might be a good time to check out the summer reading list President Nikias proposed last spring as our beautiful campus once again hosted the Los Angeles Festival of Books.

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

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: Grace Carballo ‘17

While all of my USC counterparts are on the homestretch with finals week and the finish line of summer within sight, here in Argentina we are just starting midterms. What a time to be alive!

By: Grace Carballo ‘17

After Perrito Moreno and our short stay in Calafate, Francesca and I hopped on a 3 hour bus to get to El Chalten. We lucked out and were assigned the best seats, front row with a view that couldn’t be beat, but unfortunately a couple nabbed what was rightfully ours and we didn’t have the heart to ask them to move.