A new space, a new era

Since I started writing for the Daily Trojan nearly three years ago, no two semesters have been even remotely alike.

In fact, I could say the same for my entire USC experience, as could many other rising seniors. Ever since that fateful day in March 2020 when it felt as if the world stopped, mere months before my high school graduation, I’ve taught myself to forego any expectation that pops into my subconscious — you just never know what could happen.

So when I saw my first article I wrote for DT on the front page of an “online print edition” in January 2021, I had no choice but to be ecstatic. I was grateful to be publishing my writing at all. Even though the world was falling apart, I still had writing as an outlet. At least one thing was normal.

But it wasn’t possible to grasp what my DT experience could truly look like until I stepped into the newsroom for the first time. The first in-person semester was quiet and masked, but somewhere in my gut I knew it would grow into something more.

And it did. Next thing I knew, I took the leap and applied to be a news editor. That second semester was a little less quiet, but still masked — and even started virtually because of the omicron variant. I’d sit in my little bedroom in Cardinal Gardens, longing to return to the newsroom that I was starting to call home. When we could finally work in person again, I tested positive for coronavirus and had to quarantine for another week. It was one of the most unconventional introductions to DT’s masthead that I could have asked for.

But eventually things started to return to ‘normal,’ and the newsroom grew busier over time as I rose through the ranks and joined the managing team last semester. By then, it felt like the bustling atmosphere I can only imagine it was before the coronavirus pandemic.

That was, until the universe threw yet another curveball: We have to leave the newsroom we’ve spent so much time nurturing. It’s only to the other side of the Student Union’s fourth floor, but it might as well be miles away.

When I decided to run for editor-in-chief, I knew the move would be quite the hurdle, but it only fueled my fire. I worked for countless hours after long production nights to perfect my platform, staying in the newsroom until just before Shryft ended at 2 a.m.

Because, after all, a change of scenery makes room for a fresh start — a new era.

I’ve seen just how much work people have put into this publication: spending more time in the newsroom than in their own apartments, debating what may seem to an outsider like the most unimportant, minuscule word choice or comma placement. I believe this work should reach as many people as possible.

That’s why one of our priorities this semester is expanding the digital section. Over the summer, we’ve changed our Instagram and website design to be more up-to-date with the current online landscape, and we’re experimenting with more interactive content.

With the help of digital managing editor Jonathan Park, we’ve changed the “audience engagement” section to the “social” section to further expand our reach. One editor, Vishwas Gondesi, will focus on Instagram posts, and the other, Zaina Dabbous, will focus on short-form video content through TikTok and Instagram Reels. Hopefully, these changes will ensure that more people will have access to coverage to keep them up to date on the goings-on of USC and the surrounding area.

But that doesn’t mean any less attention will go toward print. We’re expanding on initiatives started last semester to make sure writers have more of a say in the editing process and to make the production process smoother for print section editors. We’re also organizing more workshops, trainings and guest speaker appearances so that our staff is fully equipped to produce high-quality work and can take what they learn with them post-grad.

We’re also expanding the diversity, equity and inclusion section to include a DEI committee. Last semester, the Daily Trojan staff was 36% white, while the same is true for only 25% of the USC population. Also, USC reports that more than two-thirds of students qualify for need-based financial aid, while only 33% of last semester’s DT staff received such aid.

No organization can successfully or accurately implement DEI strategies without a set of diverse perspectives behind them. The committee will help us reach out to cultural and other registered student organizations on campus in an effort to diversify recruitment. Members will also scan our coverage and stylebook to make sure we are accurately representing the USC student body, and conduct surveys and interviews to make sure that our internal operations reflect this. While we can’t remedy these discrepancies in one semester, we hope that creating the committee will put us on the right track.

We’re also welcoming the addition of our monthly Daily Trojan Magazine — the brainchild of Park and features editor Jason Pham — to showcase stories that are begging to be told in more than our typical 750 word limit. We’ve recruited a data editor, Razan Asmar, to encourage more investigative reporting and to improve data visualization in print and online.

And through it all, I will ensure that our new newsroom is capable of holding this growth — that everyone who steps inside of it will feel welcome, encouraged and inspired.

Although this semester is sure to be different from the rest, it’s nothing that we, as young adults growing up in this tumultuous world, aren’t used to. I’m confident that I and the rest of masthead will shape the next era of DT into exactly what it’s meant to be.