Category Archives: college

Adult Responsibilities, college, Food, health, lifestyle, student life, technology, USC

Useful Apps and Tools to navigate life

By Liane Chu

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

As students, we are all looking for ways to make our lives at USC more streamlined and convenient. Once the semester begins, time usually gets away from me, no matter how organized I am. However, I have started incorporating some apps and tools into my daily life to stay on top of things and generally help me navigate life on campus better. Below are a couple of these apps and tools that help me accomplish that goal!

Photo by Dylan Gillis on Unsplash

1. USC Schedule Helper

This is a chrome extension developed by a USC student that is a life saver when going through USC course registration. This extension will let you view how many spots are left in a class before registering and shows if the class conflicts with another class already added to your calendar. If a section is full, you can sign up for email alerts to notify you when a spot opens up, which is particularly helpful if you want to get into a popular class but don’t want to spend time continuously checking Web Registration to see if a spot has opened up.

2. Coursicle

Similar to the USC Schedule Helper, Coursicle is an app that helps with the course registration process. You are able to search for a class, view recent professors who taught the course, the times the sections are offered, the average class size, and more! Download the app or checkout the browser version here.

Photo by Levi Elizaga on Unsplash

3. USC Campus Dining App

Tired of waiting in line for food? Well now you can place an order, pay ahead of time, and pick up your food whenever it’s ready! The app works for 18 USC Campus Dining locations including Fertitta Café, Burger Crush and Seeds Marketplace. You can pay with credit card, USCard, Dining Dollars, or meal swipes. Once your order is placed, you will be notified when the order is ready for pick up! This is particularly helpful if you only have a short break between classes and want to maximize your time spent studying. Learn more on how to download the app here.

4. LiveSafe

LiveSafe is a mobile safety app managed by USC DPS that allows users to contact emergency responders with a click of a button. The app works for both the University Park and Health Science Campus. Once you make an account, the app will allow you to contact DPS or 911 instantly, anonymously report suspicious activity, and have your friends and family virtually escort you with the SafeWalk feature. You can check out some fo the features of the app and download it here.

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college, Food, friends, L.A. Life, student life, USC

Three Best Eats at the USC Village

By Connor Brown

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

The USC Village is home to many restaurants and retail stores, and offers enough variety to suit anyone’s taste. The Village is an incredibly convenient location for USC students given its proximity to campus, and is one of the best spots to grab lunch in the immediate area. It isn’t just the dining hall, dorms, and Target, but a bunch of good eats too! Here are my top three favorite eateries in the Village:

  1. Cava
Photo by Jez Timms on Unsplash

Cava has been my most frequented Village location (besides Trader Joe’s) since I arrived on campus three years ago. It offers big bowls of Mediterranean food at a relatively decent price in a build-it-yourself style that offers complete customization. You can think of it as Chipotle for Mediterranean food, though I think this chain is much better than Chipotle.  I usually go for a rice bowl with some lettuce, then load it up with hummus, kalamata olives, pickled onions, and cucumbers. There are many different protein options, and I tend to go with either the harissa honey chicken or the falafel. Suitable for a wide variety of diets, Cava is a great place to grab a meal between classes or meet with friends and chow down. It’s always fun to meet a friend there, order your bowl, and head on over to the Great Lawn to chat and eat on the grass, enjoying the California sun and afternoon vibes. 

  1. Il Giardino
Photo by Nerfee Mirandilla on Unsplash

Hungry for pasta? This is the place for you! Il Giardino is the home of Italian food at the Village, and offers a number of different types of pasta and sandwiches. Whether you like to keep it simple and roll with spaghetti with tomato sauce, prefer a hearty bolognese, or want a pasta and fish dish, Il Giardino has got you covered. I’ve yet to try their sandwiches, given my affinity for pasta, but I have heard nothing but good things. They have fun Italian sodas as well, their fridge always holding a number of different flavors of San Pellegrino, which pair well with whatever entree you get. If you’re craving Italian food and don’t want to have to go far to find something good, Il Giardino is a solid spot. 

  1. City Tacos
Photo by Krisztian Tabori on Unsplash

When I heard Trejo’s Tacos in the Village was closing, I thought it would be missed. While there are an abundance of tacos spots around LA and near USC, having a tasty taco joint in the Village was wonderfully convenient. City Tacos opened a couple months ago in the same storefront where Trejo’s used to be, and I’ve been impressed with my first couple of visits there. They have a lot of tacos. I mean — a lot. Whether you’re looking for breakfast tacos, fish tacos, carne asada, chicken, al pastor, or something else, City Tacos will probably have what you’re looking for. They even do California-style burritos that come with french fries inside, which as a native Californian, my definitely totally completely unbiased opinion strongly approves of. I’m looking forward to trying more from City Tacos, and recommend you give it a try as well!

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athletics, college, entertainment, exercise, New Experience, student life

More than a Pre-Med student: My Introduction to Ballroom Dancing

By Richard Petrosyan

Edited by Natalie Grace Sipula

[3 minute read]

As a current senior at USC, I am nearing the end of a busy collegiate career as a pre-medical student in neuroscience. As such, I am beginning to reflect on what I’ve done throughout college not only to achieve my academic and extracurricular goals, but also to enjoy the journey. Even though much of my time has been devoted to my studies and extracurricular interests aligning with my intent to follow the pre-med track, I remember one of my most valuable experiences that allowed me to take a break from my routine. Recently, I took a class in Ballroom Dancing with the USC Kaufman School of Dance, an unforgettable semester-long experience that will stay with me beyond college. You might be wondering why this was such an impactful experience for me, so let’s take a trip down memory lane and delve into why I enjoyed this class so much and why you might want to consider taking this course.

Photo by Dom Fou on Unsplash

When I came to my first ballroom class, I had absolutely no experience with dancing. Sure, I had danced at parties and at home before, but ballroom dancing? To me, this was movie material, with attractive Hollywood actors dressed like there’s no tomorrow, moving about with grace and elegance. So needless to say, the bar was high. But what made it more challenging was that boys and girls had to partner with each other. The prospect of close contact with one another made us all shy at first, as none of us knew each other and ballroom dancing was uncharted territory for us. Fortunately, we had a remarkably warm and welcoming teacher who put us at ease through his humor and many activities encouraging us to get to know each other. We’d gather in circles and would regularly switch partners so as to feel comfortable working with everyone. 

Teamwork was really important in this class. As we learned new dances, from the waltz to the tango, getting used to the moves demanded collaboration between students. The first step was to hear the teacher describe the moves, but it was easier to watch him perform them with the TA. It required a whole new level of understanding to repeat the moves on my own. Surprisingly, it felt particularly difficult to repeat my moves alone but easier to do it jointly with my partners. It was a bit like when math rules are easier to apply in calculations rather than to recite word for word. Mutual understanding between partners helped us make faster progress and, before we knew it, we were making each other spin, bend, dip, and jump at a head-spinning speed. Full choreographies were exhausting, but the endorphins and the mental satisfaction were worth it. As a group, upon attaining a certain level, we even acquired the taste of ballroom dancing so much that we’d organize to practice and have fun outside of class, which produced some memorable moments.

Photo by Preillumination SeTh on Unsplash
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