Student newSpaper of the univerSity of Southern California SinCe 1912 | www.dailytrojan.com | vol. 180, no. 11 | wednesday september 11, 2013
InDEX 4 · Opinion 5 · Lifestyle 8 · Classifieds 8 · Crossword 12 · Sports
Twerk it out: the dance craze
gains momentum. PAGE 5
Back to basics: uSC gears up to
play Boston College. PAGE 12
CampuS
by daniel rothberg
daily trojan
“Fag.” “Yeah, but she’s a slut
anyway.” “Mexicans are lazy,
though.” “Don’t Jew me.”
These are just a few of the phrases
that the Women’s Student Assembly,
an advocacy group that falls under
Program Board, included on fliers
leading up to an Wednesday event
intended to explore discussions of
race, class and gender. The posters,
which sparked conversation
among some and offended others,
were meant to depict insensitive
language that some students face
regularly.
“We wanted to start a discussion
around the way some people
experience discrimination every
day and bring awareness to that,
because a lot of people hardly ever
experience language that targets
or offends their entire community,”
said Kaya Masler, a director of WSA.
The advertisements were posted
around campus, though many were
taken down by Monday. Neither
WSA nor Program Board was
responsible for removing them,
Masler said, though she speculated
that it was possible that individuals
had removed the signs.
The Division of Student
Affairs oversees advertising at
USC. According to the division’s
regulations, as outlined in SCampus,
content of printed material cannot
contain “fighting words,” speech
that, “considered objectively, is
abusive and insulting rather than a
communication of ideas.”
Several students said they felt
the signs encouraged discussion
and a dialogue about slurs. Jennifer
Joseph, a senior majoring in human
performance, said that though she
Provocative signs spark
discussions on campus
The signs were put up to
advertise a student workshop
on race, class and gender.
| see SIGnS, page 3 |
aCademiCS
by grace kim
daily trojan
USC ranked 23rd on the 2014 U.S.
News and World Report National
University Rankings, tying with
Carnegie Mellon, UCLA, University of
Virginia and Wake Forest University.
Both USC and UCLA increased their
rankings after tying for 24th place
last year.
“Universities that tie for the same
place can be alike in some ways. For
instance, USC and UCLA are both
fairly large, research universities,” said
Jerome Lucido, research professor
of education and executive director
USC ties
with UCLA
in rankings
This year, U.S. News and
World Report ranked USC
23rd in its list of top colleges.
| see rAnkInG, page 2 |
leaderShip
by eric wendorf
daily trojan
USC Undergraduate Student
Government held its first
open house Tuesday night to
recruit new members for the
2013-14 school year. Students
who attended the event at the
USG office in the Ronald Tutor
Campus Center received pizza,
Red Bull along with information
about USG’s various programs
and committees.
Representatives from USG’s
Senate, Program Board and
Executive Cabinet attended the
event and met prospective
members. USG Senior Director of
Communications Olivia Diamond
organized the event.
“It was exciting to see a lot of
new faces out here ... We want
everyone to know that joining
USG is a great opportunity; it
lets you make what you want to
happen at USC happen,” Diamond
said.
Student applicants arrived
with various ideas on improving
on-campus events, such as
concerts and social gatherings.
Some students had already
attended open meetings that
USG’s Program Board held last
year.
“I like the meetings the
Program Board has, and I want
to get more involved,” said Jesse
Torres, a sophomore majoring in
electrical engineering. “Most of
all, I want the student body to
be entertained, and [for there to
be] a good atmosphere around
campus.”
Other students, particularly
freshmen, said they were
interested in USG because of
previous experiences they had
participating in high school
student government.
“Student government was sort
of the peak of my time in high
school,” said April Sandoval, a
freshman majoring in business
administration. I learned a lot
about myself as a leader, and I
want leadership to be a part of my
college experience as well.”
The open house is USG’s second
major recruitment event this
week, following a promotional
event near Tommy Trojan on
Tuesday afternoon.
“I’m really pleased with the
overall turnout,” said USG
President Christian Kurth. I
think of all the recent years, this
is the biggest turnout we’ve had,
especially for the first night.”
USG officers will host a second
open house Wednesday night for
students who were not able to
attend the first. USG officers are
optimistic about the upcoming
event.
“Tomorrow we’re expecting
even more people. We’re looking
for students who are involved
and ambitious,” Kurth said. “I’m
hoping to break some records
with applications.”
USG hosts open house for new students
Students interested in joining Undergraduate Student
Government had a chance to ask officers their questions.
food
by matt lemas
daily trojan
Tapingo, a food ordering app
geared toward college students, has
just launched at USC.
Tapingo, which calls itself an
“Online & Mobile Food Directory,”
allows students to place meal delivery
and takeout orders either online or
via their smartphones to eateries in
the local area. The app is compatible
with both the iPhone and the Android
operating system.
Students can use Tapingo at
USC to order and pick up food from
eateries at the Ronald Tutor Campus
Center, Starbucks and Coffee Bean.
The app accepts discretionary funds
from school IDs, as well as credit or
PayPal. Students can also use Tapingo
to order food to be delivered from
local restaurants, including Pizza
Rustica and Viztango Cafe.
With the slogan “Great Food. Less
Waiting,” the service advertises its
ability to allow users to avoid long lines
and wait times. Users have the option
to either call ahead and pick up or
have the food delivered right to their
doorstep. Orders are customizable,
and the app remembers preferences,
Tapingo
introduces
app to ’SC
Students will now be able to
order food for either pickup
or delivery on campus.
| see tAPInGo, page 2 |
joseph chen | Daily Trojan
recruitment · Greek Senator Logan Heely answers questions from
Jeffrey Tao, a freshman majoring in architecture at USG’s Open House.
mollie berg| Daily Trojan