Students can help reduce pollution


When we agreed to attend university in Los Angeles, a smoggy skyline was the catch to palm trees, beaches and year-round good weather. But air pollution remains much more than an ugly stain on the Southern California aesthetic — and more, even, than an environmental issue. Research conducted by USC and Children’s Hospital Los Angeles […]

Congress must close Guantanamo


Opponents of Guantanamo Bay, the high-security detainment facility in Cuba used to house detainees believed to be connected with the War on Terror, decry the prison as a violation of civil rights and an  unignorable failure of justice. A report released last week by the Government Accountability Office indicated that U.S. prisons could safely absorb […]

NDAA section ban defends civil liberties


The public uproar earlier this year over unconstitutional provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act pushed Congress to pass Amendment 3018 last Thursday, banning a key provision of the NDAA that authorized indefinite detention of U.S. citizens. Despite partisan shortcomings, Congress has shown that it can rally members of both parties to prevent the abridgement […]

What should the university’s approach to security be?


The last year at USC has been marked by two major violent crimes: the tragic killings of two graduate students in April and the shooting on Halloween night. USC was also marked by increased security measures, both on and off campus. The Los Angeles Police Department added extra patrols in addition to 30 officers, a […]

Media needs more independent outlets


On Wednesday, British Prime Minister David Cameron came out in support of an “independent regulatory system” to oversee Britain’s scandal-torn media. In the last two years, one of the biggest scandals dealt with Rupert Murdoch’s global media company, News Corporation, which came under fire for phone hacking, bribery and other desultory journalistic practices. Though Cameron’s […]

USC needs a stronger recycling culture


At last Saturday’s football game, dozens of student volunteers for USC Sustainability’s Tailgate Waste Diversion team learned the hard way that the university lacks waste consciousness. If USC worked to develop a stronger recycling sensibility, however, it could have an incredibly positive environmental and community impact. The need for more effective waste management has never […]

The wealthy’s taxes must be raised


Billionaire investor Warren Buffett wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on Monday, describing how the wealthiest Americans have been “leaving the middle class in the dust.” Buffett suggested that a minimum tax rate of 30 percent should be enacted on Americans making more than $1 million each year. Buffett’s comments come as Congress prepares […]

Marijuana debate clouds reality


The arguments claiming that decriminalizing marijuana will end the influence of Mexican drug cartels and bring in billions of dollars in tax revenue are incessantly echoed in America — and both were strategically used this year to successfully convince voters to legalize the drug in Washington and Colorado. Students, especially, have been quick to embrace […]

Students must continue Ron Paul’s ideas


Many people, Democrats and Republicans alike, dismiss Texas Rep. Ron Paul as a crazy old man whose support for the sale of unpasteurized milk and call for a return to the gold standard render him and his ideas unworthy of serious consideration. But luckily, an increasing number of young people have looked past this flippant […]

What should the media’s role be in the Petraeus scandal?


This week, China elected new members of their Communist leadership. More than 1 million Israelis had to sleep in bomb shelters because of the Gaza conflict. President Barack Obama began the first week of his second term. But the news that received the most extensive media coverage this week? Former CIA Director David Petraeus’ extramarital […]