Lower level should not mean second rate


Sunday was a day of firsts. The Saints won Super Bowl XLIV, the broadcast became the highest rated television show of all time, and CBS aired a new show after the game called Undercover Boss. Undercover Boss is a CBS reality show in which a CEO or company executive goes undercover as a lowly, entry-level […]

Letters to the editor


Recruitment of 13-year-old athlete is out of bounds As a longtime college counselor, former admissions officer and high school teacher, I was appalled to read that USC’s football coach has made a scholarship commitment to a 13-year-old, and that he has done the same thing before at another institution. It violates every principle of sound […]

Fake candy hearts found at USC year round


Despite being married to an attractive older woman, Ashton Kutcher recently voiced a surprising opinion. “I hate Valentine’s Day,” he said. I couldn’t agree more. The rose bouquets, candlelight dinners and inevitable movie dates to see Dear John. Barf. But while a romantic trip to The Lab (or the 2-9) might be just enough to […]

Shedding light on an overlooked friend


Light is responsible for your visual perception of everything: the blueness of the sky, the glistening morning dewdrops on spider webs and the readability of words. Without light, we would be blind to all beauty, to all ugliness. It seems obvious, yet we hardly ever take the time to look at light itself, look not […]

Global warming does not have political ties


On most mornings, I leave my apartment looking forward to the day ahead of me. I swing open the front door and mount my bike, eager to ride through campus on a beautiful Southern California day. That is, until I notice a haze dulling the morning sky. Alas, I try to convince myself that it’s […]