From the Editors

We’re humbled to take on the role of the second-ever co-editors for the Daily Trojan Magazine — the first to be both women. Since its introduction to the Daily Trojan in 2023, the magazine has morphed into a dynamic platform for long-form journalism. It has grown immensely even within our three semesters here at USC. 

This month’s magazine takes on recurring themes at the backbone of our publication, while embarking on new and fresh beginnings. 

Recently, the University has gone through unprecedented change — from layoffs to a new interim president to security changes and beyond; it’s fitting that our six contributors have chosen to write stories that all tie into a theme of “Trojan community” in one way or another. 

While focusing on USC, we are opening our magazine to embrace the countless other stories that our writers have to share. 

Last semester, the magazine introduced “The Back Page,” a playful ending to the magazine, embracing the writer’s creativity and ending on a sweet note after often intense stories. This captivates the energy of the Daily Trojan Magazine — dynamic, thoughtful and multilayered. We are honored to continue with this spirit.

The articles for this month have all been written by returning Daily Trojan staffers. Their commitment has been unwavering, taking on tight deadlines and eagerly presenting multiple fleshed-out pitches, even after a summer away from writing for some. It has been a privilege to work alongside these writers: having started at USC the same year as most of them, this has been a collective experience of growth and learning. 

In this month’s magazine, Dor Peretz reimagines learning in the era of artificial intelligence; Miranda Huang unpacks the summer’s “Love Island” craze; and MJ Manning looks into accessibility in USC’s historic buildings. 

In this month’s version of The Back Page, Sammy Bovitz offers a lively explanation of USC’s General Education program. Framing this month’s magazine with our cover story, Maria Laguna dives into the lives of USC’s security guards and how, day and night, their role impacts our community. 

Plus, Mallory Snyder presents some of the underrecognized faces of USC in her photo essay. Yiquan Feng characterizes the irony of jumping into the new year in her cartoon, and Bennett Christofferson gives us an exuberant reboot of his Daily Trojan Magazine crossword. 

We’d like to offer deep gratitude to all of the artists and photographers who helped make this magazine a reality, led by Art & Design Director Lucy Chen as well as photo editors Ethan Thai and Tai Sandhu.

We also could not have navigated this new journey without the guidance of former magazine co-editors Sammy Bovitz and Fabián Gutiérrez. Finally, we’re incredibly appreciative of our Fall 2025 editor-in-chief, Nathan Elias, for his fundamental role in guiding the making of this magazine. 

This magazine is the start of a new chapter, yet a continuation of the ones before. We look forward to uplifting more student voices this semester — including the future work of our new staff writers — and building a bridge between writers and the rest of the USC community through long-form stories.