New Trojans explore USC’s Student Equity and Inclusion Programs spaces

New Trojans Cielo Barroso Espidio and Fernanda Morales Soto were happy to find seats inside a crowded La CASA space on the fourth floor of the Gwynn Wilson Student Union building on Thursday. The two freshmen from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences had only recently met, but they stuck together as they navigated a bustling open house event inside the space on the University Park Campus that for more than five decades has been a home away from home for Latino students at USC.

“It’s just nice to have an area to study with a community you feel comfortable with,” said Barroso Espidio, who is from Portland, Ore. “We are all at this prestigious university and can collaborate and accomplish things together.”

Morales Soto, who is from San Jose, had already visited La CASA during an orientation and connected with the vibe of the space. “It’s really important in higher education to be around other Latinos who are very well-accomplished and have such drive,” she said.

Student Equity and Inclusion Programs hosted the joint open house for its six centers — Asian Pacific American Student Services, Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs,First Generation Plus Success Center, La CASA, the LGBTQ+ Student Center and the Veterans Resource Center — and two Culturally Affirming Lounges — Native American and Pasifika Student Lounge and Middle Eastern North African Student Lounge. Staff members were on hand to answer questions, and fellow students who already frequent the spaces were also present for swag giveaways and to snack on an array of Sprinkles cupcakes.

“Today’s a fantastic day,” USC Vice President for Student Life Monique S. Allard said as she made her way around the various spaces. “It’s the start of the semester, so it’s a wonderful time for us to connect folks with each other, with university resources and with the communities. It’s good to see students wandering in and out of all of the cultural and resource centers, making friends, grabbing a cupcake and just having a good time.”

More room for students to belong

During the 2023-24 academic year, the various centers and lounges saw 62,704 visitors. After a series of renovations last year, the spaces were tripled in size from 5,000 to 15,000 square feet. The changes have resulted in less cluttered areas for Asian Pacific American Student Services, La CASA, the LGBTQ+ Student Center and the Native American and Pasifika Student Lounge. The larger student spaces also now connect with shared kitchens and meeting rooms, an arrangement that has paved the way for more interaction between the different student groups.

Each area honors specific cultures and identities through artwork and other features, but all have one common design element: Stenciled on the wall of each space in large letters are the words “You Belong at USC.”

Student Gamma Posselt of the USC Viterbi School of Engineering sought a sense of belonging when they dropped into the LGBTQ+ Student Center on Thursday and chatted with a staff member and a fellow student. The nonbinary first-year student is part of the USC Trojan Marching Band but has been worried about finding “other people like me.”

“Finding this space has definitely helped assuage those fears,” Posselt said. “It makes me feel a lot better just knowing that there’s a place for me to be myself in a way that I can’t be in other places.”

Places to make memories

Graduate student Daniella Lake of the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism, who is new to campus, paid a visit to the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs open house for a cupcake and to socialize.

“I was really involved in my community back at UC Berkeley and I want to tap into the Black community here,” Lake said. “I only have one year here, and I want to meet people and feel a part of it. Even if it’s just coming here to do homework, this could be my way to feel connected to the community.”

Standing nearby, CBCSA student employee Annmarie Easy said Lake had come to the right place.

“I always say, ‘Don’t be scared to just walk in and say hi,’” said Easy, a USC Dornsife political science major. “This is where I’ve met all of my friends, including some who have become mentors. It’s meant a lot to me and all my best memories are here.”

Junior Sophia Hou of the USC Marshall School of Business dropped into APASS for some swag. A transfer student from Pasadena City College, she’s grateful the various Student Equity and Inclusion Programs spaces are located in the center of campus.

“They are very accessible, and I think I’ll be visiting a lot,” Hou said. “I feel like the more often I go, the more I will feel connected with the people. They also have phone chargers, which is very important.”