University of Southern California Top Questions

Frats are most popular Im involved in the history group, and I never go. Yes they leave dorm doors open Athletic events - football very popular. Guest speakers - yeah sure. Theater - never been Dating scene - Same as everywhere else Closest friends - meet with cell phone awake at 2am on a Tuesday, I'm probably at a party somewhere or maybe coming back from a bar People party a lot Fraternities/sororities are very important to certain people, other people don't care. Depends on what you want in college, the party scene is similar either way Last weekend - went to a party on Friday, a huge party with a band on Saturday, and completely and totally relaxed on Sunday April 20th Saturday w/o drinking - you dont have to drink at parties and theres plenty of non-drinking activities on campus and around. I mean you're in Los Angeles Off campus - go to beaches or explore LA

The most popular groups on campus would have to be the Football team and Greeks. I am personally involved in VSA, a small group of, naturally, Vietnamese people who get together, mostly socially to engage in different activities. Students in dorms most definitely leave their doors open. Athletic events, guest speakers and pretty much everything are VERY popular. I met my closest friends firstly through classes and secondly, my largest circle of friends came from VSA. There are SOO many traditions at USC you cannot begin to list them all. Last weekend I attended USC's annual Springfest with Lupe Fiasco and I also attended UVSA's annual Friendship Games! UVSA is the umbrella of 13 different Southern California VSAs to network and make friends.

A tradition that happens every year is the Senior Fountain Run. This is where all the seniors run from fountain to fountain and play in them. Every year, though, the administration tries to shut down some of the fountains so that the seniors can't play in them, but they always find a way around it.

If you play football or basketball you're a god. Everyone wants to suck your dick, guys and girls both. It's no wonder Matt Leinart stuck around another year. Nobody realizes it's the nerdy engineering kid who'll own the team those guys end up getting their paychecks from. I feel fraternities and sororities are overly emphasized. Everyone forgets they were all accepted to USC before anyone ever went Greek.

Choosing your dorm can make all of the difference freshman year. Apartments are a bad choice for freshmen, it's harder to find friends. New-North is perfect for those looking to join the Greek system/party. Marks Hall/Trojan Hall change slightly every year but are consistently more academic/quieter. Parkside is quiet/antisocial. Everything else is somewhere in between, but I think being on campus is important freshmen year. Football gamedays are an incredible experience. Even if you don't think you're into football, buy tickets and go anyway. No student should miss this experience, and no event will fill you with more Trojan Pride. Sadly, every other sport suffers from nearly zero student support. Guest speakers/events are interesting. I've seen Spike Lee, Barack Obama, Ron Paul, Quincy Jones, and Tom Brokaw all speak for free. Spike TV hosted the Video Game Awards from the Galen Center, College Jeopardy filmed from the Galen Center as well, the Emmy's were right across the street (until this year), and free concerts are common. The school also pays for students to see musicals like Avenue Q and Wicked. The Greek System is prevalent and vocal, but not totally necessary depending on your gender. For girls, the Greek System is pretty much completely unnecessary and for rich spoiled girls. Any girl can get into any party. For guys, the Greek System is vital if you want to go to parties on the Row (the best place to go to parties generally). The standing rule Row-wide is "Know a bro... or be a ho" for getting into parties. I love my fraternity, Theta Chi, because it offers the partying/brotherhood/leadership outlet of a fraternity, without the bullshit hazing/humiliation/stupidity that comes with most of them. Brothers are expected to put school first and treat all brothers equally regardless of seniority. It's small enough so that I know every guy very well, and every guy in the fraternity is a quality guy.

USC has a very strong social life. I enjoy how USC can be a respected university but still knows how to have fun. However, there is too much emphasis on white greek life on USC. They are only 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the population, yet they are representative of the whole university in most media. Minority greeks are not as supported by the university, as well as other organizations that are non-greek. Although a strong social life, I head an organization on campus and in recent years, student involvement has fell off EVERYWHERE. When I came here, most student orgs were very strong. Nowadays, the same orgs have dwindled in numbers. Some have even disappeared. I think today's student keeps to himself more, that is, until the weekends.

Greek life applies to about 1/4 to 1/3 of the student body... but it never feels like you're left out if you're not involved. Just about everyone is involved in some other organization on campus, and these vary from dance groups to community service to cooking together. Athletic events are huge at USC. Football is part of the school life in fall. Just about everybody goes to the football games. The other sports don't receive quite as much attention, but the school definitely puts a lot of money into athletics. USC gets a lot of guest speakers through the School of Cinematic Arts, Annenberg Communications school and also Marshall Business School. We have a lot of free movie screenings on campus as well. If I am up at 2 am on a Tuesday morning, which is quite often, I am studying or doing homework. Sunday through Thursday are work days. Thursday through Saturday tends to be more for relaxing. I feel like the best motto to fit USC is "work hard, play hard" I am not to involved in the party scene, so in turn I actually end up going out a lot to various places around LA on weekends and as relaxing activities. The LA metro system is not the fastest, but it can let you go anywhere you want to with a bit of planning and patience. Last weekend, I went to Santa Monica by bus to enjoy a movie, the beach, and shopping all together. My friends and I take advantage of the Visions and Voices arts events that take us off campus. USC's Visions and Voices initiative pays for all the tickets and expenses and offers us a great opportunities to see plays, musicals, ballets, and various other performances. Traditions: Conquest carnival before the big game against UCLA. Welcome Week -- lots of fun activities including fairly well known musicians and other performers. Home football game tailgates all around campus -- a sea of cardinal and gold.

One group I am involved with at USC is called A Community Place. It is a community service organization that gives out food to the poor and homeless in the community three days a week. It is nondenominational although it gets a lot of support from the University Religious Center. On Thursdays we pack sack lunches and on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday we pass them out from 11-1. This organization has given me a chance to learn about the surrounding community, which is not particularly affluent, but is culturally rich and historically important. The three-seven hours I spend working with ACP are some of the best of my week. Whether or not students in dorms leave their doors open largely depends on the dorm. Certain dorms are known for always having their doors open and with other dorms it depends on the year. In my dorm, I have my door open the majority of the time and as do the majority of the people. I walk in and out of my neighbors room and they do the same. It is very friendly without being too loud. Fraternities and Sororities at USC make up about 25{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the social life. It is definitely not necessary to be in one in order to have a social life. People not in the frats or sororities can go to the parties or they can go to parties that are not put on by Greek life at all. Or they can not go to parties at all. I personally don't drink and I find plenty to do without drinking. I know people and am friends with people who go out and drink, but I also have many friends who do not. We usually will see a movie, go out to dinner, go to a sporting event, explore Los Angeles, or hang out in our hallway instead of going out and drinking. As I have said before, there are so many people at USC that you will be able to find people who have the same penchant for partying or for not partying that you do. Off campus there are so many restaurants, shops, and concerts around in the wonderful and expansive city of Los Angeles.

USC Helenes is the best group on campus! We're the official hostesses of USC, and we have a very strong presence on campus-- involved in community service and pretty much everything else USC has to offer. If you're bright, friendly, into serving others, and want to make a difference- this is the place for you. I have made my best friends in Helenes, and if you ask any of us what our favorite organization is, we will tell you it's Helenes! Athletic events are by far the most popular events. Some people party 7 days a week and twice on Thursdays. I had one semester where I went out more than I usually do, but I still could never keep up with some of these kids. They work hard and play hard. I can only handle both in moderation, so if you found me up at 2 am on a Tuesday, I would probably be working on a movie or watching one.

Greek life is very visible on campus, but by no means the only way to participate in campus life. I think one reason they're so visible is purely because they all wear their sorority's/fraternity's T-shirts. Other students may be equally involved, but you just don't know until you talk to them. But when you do, you find out they're a tour guide who works in the Student Body Government and volunteers with Troy Camp, too. Or, they do JEP and dance in the Repertory Dance Company. There are so many ways to be involved. Primal Scream is one of my favorite things each year. It's during exam week each semester, and it's just a way to let-loose. Things done in the past have included free chair massages, a ferris-wheel on campus, and free Subway. The band also plays every night from 10-10:15pm, and the campus housing sponsors some kind of cookie/ice cream/candy/soda thing each night. I also love Save Tommy Night. Each year before the UCLA game Tommy Trojan is wrapped in foam and duct tape for protection. Bounce houses and other huge toys are set up, and people play while "keeping guard." Football games are a big deal. I love walking to the games in the sea of cardinal shirts and people tailgating. Even alumni come back to join in the fun! I always left my door open in my dorm, but the apartments are more closed. But then, in an apartment, you have more roommates... so it balances. And all campus housing has activities for the dorm/ apartment as a whole, so it's easy to get involved and meet people.