OPINION: Students should consider existing USC resources


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Search the phrase “University must” on the ​Daily Trojan’​s website. In seconds, 1193 related articles pop up. Headlines like “University must address students’ alcohol use disorders” and “University should offer resources to improve financial literacy” are compelling, but USC is not obligated to implement additional resources when they already have resources to address said issues.

It is unreasonable to ask for an expansion of resources when so many that USC offers are underused. Students should also be held responsible for seeking out resources when they need help or checking what’s available before asking for more.

Take, for instance, AlcoholEdu, a program that aims to educate students on safe drinking practices. I know many people — myself included — who mindlessly clicked through the course. It is ignorant to request that the University do more to combat student drinking when students themselves do not take USC’s resources seriously to begin with.

Among students and in the Daily Trojan’s opinion section, another frequent request is the expansion of mental health resources. When my dad passed away in November, only​ one ​person recommended going to a USC-related therapist, with a disclaimer that the therapist was meant to provide relief to students in Greek life. I did not even look into the opportunity because it just created more work for me — I needed to look up the therapist, find where he or she practiced on campus, assess the status of his or her practice, carve out time for the meeting and take the time to ask if I, a non-Greek life member at the time, could even use this resource.

I would have happily spoken with a professional, but it was too troublesome to seek out a stranger at a busy and stressful time in my life. While I cannot speak for the entire USC community, I’ve never heard any of my peers speak candidly about the great support they have received from any of USC’s counseling measures. Students are not sharing the resources they have used.

It’s understandable that many students desire confidentiality in matters like mental health treatment, but the death of a loved one is just one example of an appropriate time for people to share what resources are available. USC needs to assess whether its resources are being used properly before even considering expanding certain departments within USC.

Money that could be put toward underused resources should be diverted to ameliorate students’ daily issues — reducing the cost of tuition, increasing community security, funding clubs and organizations to reduce membership costs and offering stipends to students living in expensive off-campus residences due to the shortage of University housing.

USC offers many valuable opportunities that most students are unaware of. Students tend to overlook the Language Center, the writing and math centers, Career Planning, Student Counseling Services and Sexual Assault Resource Center, among so many others.

Another issue is that these resources have not been optimized to be truly useful to students. It is illogical to try and expand resources that are ineffective in their current states.

“In spring 2018, I tried to use a registered dietician [at Engemann] to help get me out of a relatively serious eating disorder, but it took a couple months to even get to her because the health center has so much red tape … I had to jump through,” said Anora Denison, a junior majoring in English. “[The dietician] was good at her job, it was just really hard to actually access her.”

That was Denison’s second attempt at accessing student resources — the first time was in Fall 2016 when she was denied mental health counseling because she was not deemed sick enough.

“It was isolating and frustrating to have reached out and be turned down,” Denison said.

One viable solution is to have the University host a resource fair to promote awareness of the many free services USC has to offer.

With cost of attendance reaching over $75,000 per year, students should be making the most of their tuition dollars, and USC must continue to improve and better promote its existing resources before it makes any further expansions.