The Inner Circle of the Fringe Circles

By AnnaLiese Burich ‘17

We all know that USC is famous for its Greek scene and athletic teams. And that’s great, it’s our mark. Fight On! Go Greek! Those organizations rock and give homes to countless Trojans.

Yet, in the words of the late Billy Mays, “But wait! There’s more!” I am neither Greek nor an athlete, yet I have an incredibly large community and social life. I came in freshman year not knowing which way was up or down, and quite literally stumbled into my group of best friends—and into my favorite organizations and social groups. Now, two years later, I have a social network that spans countless different student groups and organizations—most of which most students probably don’t know much about.

I now present to you the secrets of my non-mainstream success. I now present…the subcultures.

*Disclaimer: I should tell you right now that these are in no particular order; I am in no position to rank groups. I’m just the giver of good news. Don’t shoot the messenger, man.

*Second Disclaimer: I should also tell you that I am not all-knowing; I’m not about to pretend that this is an exhaustive list of all of the subcultures. These are just the ones I have intimate knowledge about that you maybe/potentially/sort of may not?

The control room where the live cutting, graphics, and computer magic happens.

1)  Trojan Vision

This comes first because it’s first in my heart. <3 And, also, the group that sends me my biweekly paycheck. <33 I stumbled into this puppy the first week of freshman year, and it’s all been up from there. Here are the basics: Trojan Vision is a student-run television station right off of campus (the Robert Zemeckis Center, at the corner of Fig and 32nd). Check it out sometime. There are 13 shows, some live and some scripted, with a range of subjects broad enough to tickle anyone’s fancy. There’s a debate show, a cooking show, a celebrity gossip show, a sitcom, a live sketch comedy show, and more. Me? I work on CU@USC, the 30-minute-interview show. I am the Executive Producer/Showrunner, to be exact—that’s how I bring in the big bucks. We’ve had the likes of Tom Hanks and George Lucas on, yet no one really knows about Trojan Vision. It’s the tragedy of the century, I tell you! The best way to do Trojan Vision is by joining CTPR 409, a 2 or 4 unit class, in which you get to produce and crew for live television in state of the art facilities. Plus, best of all, you get to join a big happy family. What could be better? You get friends, professional experience, and fun—and all without the price of hazing. 


  A very non-professional stalker pic.

2) Improv

USC actually has quite the comedy subculture, something I wouldn’t know about had one of my best friends not stumbled into the improv troupe auditions the first week of freshman year. With zero comedy experience, a miracle occurred, and he made it on Second Nature, one of the three main improve troupes on campus. Lest his lack of experience makes Second Nature sound illegitimate, let me set the record straight: some of the hardest laughs I’ve ever 
had in my entire life have been a product of one of their shows. And I’m not an easy laugher. Comedy movies? I’ll maybe laugh once. I, in fact, frowned throughout Bridesmaids (please don’t stop reading because I said that). I have a soul, don’t worry—I’m just picky. I love smart comedy, and Second Nature consistently delivers. They perform every Friday at Ground Zero at 11; thus, I am at Ground Zero every Friday. Call me a groupie, but I couldn’t be happier with my Friday night tradition. My roommate and I head over, grab a milkshake, sit with the other groupies, mingle afterward, say hello to the troupe, then head to a party as a group. It, in a strange way, is a like a frat—a comedy frat. I also know plenty of folk in the other two main troupes on campus, Comedus Interruptus and The Merry Men, so I go to quite a few of their shows too. Each has their own style, and therefore their own flavor. In my experience, people seem to become loyal to one troupe, based on who they know/comedy style preference. I’m a Second Nature gal, but I wholly respect the others. I implore you to find out which troupe will steal your heart. My frat theory stands—you know which one you belong to right away.

My beautiful former roommate performing in Tommy’s Place with her band, Gypsum.

3) Thornton School of Music

I know what you’re thinking: this is a school, not an organization! Is she crazy? Everything she has just said has been illegitimated! But au contraire, mon frère. Thornton is effectively a social group; it’s a small group of people who participate in various social activities that just so happen to involve music. Freshman year (are you sensing a trend here?), I had the good fortune of having a Studio Jazz Guitar major as a roommate and a Saxophone major as a best friend. Thus, I met plenty of their friends and friends-of-friends, and we eventually started getting invited to events. But you don’t need to have an in to become part of the crowd! Thornton kids are funny in that they like to play music; even funnier in that they like to play music in front of a crowd. That’s right, they have plenty of live performances in and around campus almost every night of the week. In any given week, there might be a pop performance on Tuesday in Ground Zero, a Latin performance on Thursday in Nature’s Brew, a jazz performance at a house on 29th on Friday, and an indie band performance at another house on Saturday. Go to enough of these, and you’ll start to see the same people in the audience. Go to even more, you’ll start to chat with those people. Then, you’ll go to an after party with them, and boom! You’re in. And, added bonus, you’ll start to meet the musicians. It’s nice knowing that one day when I’m old and gray, I’ll be watching a movie and all of the sudden recognize the soulful sax of my freshman-year-best-friend. Because these Thornton kids will succeed, because, believe it or not, Thornton is one of the best music schools in the country. Whiplash good (except obviously more humane).

So, my friends, there is your completely un-exhaustive list of some things that are sort of cool outside of the Greek and athletic scenes. Check them out, don’t check them out—it don’t matter to me. I’ll be there and havin’ a great time. But if you do decide to join, we always welcome more friends. We’re just those sorts of people.

Promo shot for CU@USC!!!! Look, we are happy and friends! Join us!!