Students must possess street and book smarts


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It’s important to be aware of your surroundings wherever you are, but this is especially true for Trojans given our university’s location. In light of recent events on our campus, both on Halloween and last spring, it seems appropriate to address the issue of safety when going out at night. No matter how you go […]

Disney buyout should benefit Star Wars films


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This week unquestionably saw the biggest entertainment news of the year with the announcement that Disney bought Lucasfilm for the blockbuster-worthy sum of $4.05 billion. The deal has plenty of long-lasting, far-reaching implications, but the vast majority of them have to do with one simple fact: From this day forward, the Mouse owns Star Wars. […]

Long-distance couples should weigh options


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There are two kinds of long-distance relationships: hard ones and harder ones. I’m not going to lie, I get called a pessimist quite frequently. Apparently, my advice on love can be a bit hard to swallow. To make things perfectly clear: I am not a pessimist. I love love. I love relationships. I love weddings, […]

Cloud Atlas presents race as a non-issue


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I should be writing about horror movies today, but there’s something more pressing going on in the film world than ghouls and ghosts and paranormal activity. The role of race and identity in Cloud Atlas takes precedence. Stay with me — I know this sounds like a communication/film term paper, but race has long been a […]

Artist brings touchy topics to public space


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As the day slowly begins, an eye-catching red, white and black bus comes to a lurching halt at a stop right across from the University Village. If you noticed this bus, you actually noticed the work of a veritable artist, albeit on quite an unusual canvas. The careful placement of words and choice of colors […]

Halloween costumes should reflect individuality, creativity


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Halloween: the holiday that involves sugar binges and discovering ways to scare yourself and others. It is also one of those rare holidays that’s meaning changes with age. Much like Valentine’s Day, where we went from trading cartoon valentines to our kindergarten classmates to offering roses and chocolates to our college sweethearts, the spooky festivities […]

Horror masters move beyond screen


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The calendar not only forecasts the changing of the seasons but also our annual culture patterns. With summer blockbusters and barbecues long gone but the winter still a ways away from sweeping everyone up in the holiday spirit, it’s a special time indeed. Nights are cooling, leaves are changing (although perhaps not in Los Angeles) […]

Patience proves key for lonely hearts


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Every now and then, an inspirational quote comes along and knocks your socks right off. Trying to find some inspiration and guidance in my life, I googled “quotes about love” and this Dr. Seuss gem popped up: “You know you’re in love when you can’t fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.” […]

Enjoyable films don’t need to be highbrow


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Last year I reviewed Breaking Dawn — Part 1 for the Daily Trojan, and I took a lot of flak for it. Twi-hards can be pretty vicious when they’re hiding behind an anonymous comment system. I won’t deny that my words were harsh, but I have — embarrassingly enough — read all the books and […]

Art should impact multiple generations


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With November slowly approaching, the presidential election has sent the general public into a flurry of frenzied energy and constant debate. From Facebook statuses to Twitter updates, the entire country is spilling their thoughts onto the world wide web for all to see. And with every election, the political climate changes and citizens find a […]