Classroom Celebrity Sightings . . . And Other Back-to-School Story Ideas from USC
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (August 17, 2010) — It’s back-to-school time at the University of Southern California, when a caravan of parents lugging laundry baskets and extra-long sheets descends on the USC campus near downtown Los Angeles.
We’d like to invite you to campus during Welcome Week for a closer look at the class of 2014 as most of the 3,471 students who reside on campus move into their new homes. Another 3,200 students live in USC-owned housing in the University Park neighborhood.
USC WELCOME WEEK 2010 BEGINS AUGUST 18, 2010
WHAT: Move-in day for all students living on campus
WHEN: 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday, August 18.
RSVP: Due to parking limitations on campus, call USC Media Relations, (213) 740-2215.
WHAT: Convocation for new students
WHEN: 10 a.m., Thursday, August 19.
WHO: A welcome from new President C.L. Max Nikias, who will address the class of 2014 for the first time.
WHAT: Dive-in movie at the Lyon Center Pool.
WHEN: 9 p.m., Thursday, August 19.
WHO: Freshmen on innertubes and floaties.
VISIT THE NEW STUDENT CENTER OF USC
Whether a fresh-faced freshman or a jaded senior, the new $130 million Tutor Center student union that officially opens Aug. 26 will inspire awe in first-time visitors and promises to become the central gathering place for a new generation of Trojans.
Though it replaces two buildings, much of the old footprint has been dedicated to an outdoor dining and meeting space that helped earn a gold LEED environmental certification. The five-story, 192,000-square-foot campus center becomes USC’s second largest building, eclipsed only by the Galen Center arena. The classic Romanesque architecture that is prevalent on campus is echoed in the Tutor Center, which uses brick from the same Lake Elsinore quarry found in the iconic Bovard Auditorium and other adjacent buildings built in the 1920s.
That’s just the exterior. In the lavish Trojan Family Room, heads tilt skyward toward the top of the five-story dome that is flooded with natural light. The rotunda is filled with plush furniture and the centerpiece is a giant fireplace. Before getting to the rotunda, many will stop in their tracks to gaze at the larger-than-life “Trojan Family Tapestry” by John Nava, who created the processional tapestries at Our Lady of the Angels Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles.
ASK YOUR PROFESSOR FOR AN AUTOGRAPH
The best place for a celebrity sighting on campus is in the classroom. USC might be known for its illustrious alumni — from George Lucas ’66 to Frank Gehry ’54 to Will Ferrell ’90 to Neil Armstrong M.S. ’70. But the professors who inspire future superstars give new meaning to the adage, “takes one to know one.”
At USC, just showing up for a lecture might mean the chance to learn from a winner of the Pulitzer Prize, the Nobel Prize, or an Olympic gold medal. And at least one USC faculty member or alumnus has been nominated for an Oscar every year since 1973.
Current USC faculty members include best-selling author T.C. Boyle, professor of English; David Drew Pinsky, M.D. ’84, better known as TV and radio personality “Dr. Drew,” assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at the Keck School of Medicine at USC; film historian and movie critic Leonard Maltin; chimpanzee expert Dame Jane Goodall, distinguished emeriti professor of anthropology and occupational sciences; and violinist Midori, chair of the strings department at the USC Thornton School of Music.
DIVE-IN MOVIE
A Welcome Week tradition, the “Dive-In” Movie is one of the first social events of the school year and an opportunity to chill out after a day spent taking placement tests and decorating the dorm room. USC students take in free food and a movie at 9 p.m. on Thursday, August 19. And they do it Southern California style: in the pool.
Floating on inner tubes, first-year students scope out a blockbuster summer movie projected overhead — and one another.
SIGN A ROOMMATE CONTRACT
At USC, resident advisors distribute “roommate contracts” for new students who may be sharing a room for the first time. The forms are designed to get roommates talking about common issues before they arise, from designated nap times to taking out the trash to background music when studying. Even the best of friends can make terrible roommates, but talking honestly about potential pitfalls before they arise can help later in the semester when initial politeness fades.
MEET INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
USC has been welcoming students from abroad since the 1890s, and today the university has more international students than any other school in the country. This year, 12 percent of the incoming undergraduate freshman class is from outside of the United States, with China, South Korea, Canada and India sending the most new undergrads to USC.
Surrounded by two plazas, the Von KleinSmid Center celebrates the national diversity of USC students. Home to the School of International Relations, the building is topped with a copper-colored globe and is surrounded by about 110 national flags. See how many you can identify — each flag represents a country that has at least two students enrolled at USC.
Another hub of international students at USC is the Parkside International Residential College, which houses an equal number of international students and domestic students. Parkside, which also hosts cultural events and boasts an international dining hall, is part of a range of special interest housing that has become increasingly popular at USC and at schools across the country.
For example, the Latino Floor at USC houses 32 students and two resident advisors. Specialized USC student housing also includes dormitories just for women in science and engineering, the Rainbow Floor for GLBT students, and a quiet community located a safe distance away from the dorms just for musicians.
For more information about any Welcome Week events, contact USC Media Relations at (213) 740-2252.
Contact: USC News at uscnews@usc.edu or (213) 740-2252
