Elections are about choice. At a basic level, a choice between the Democratic or Republican parties, one candidate or the other. But there are many barriers people face that add another layer of choice. Have to work on election day? It’s a choice between your income or your vote. This year, voters face a new choice. As the COVID-19 pandemic forces social distancing, in-person voting is a health risk. The question becomes: Your vote or your life? Before this pandemic interrupted life and disrup

My first experience with TikTok - the newest and most popular social media platform that has become the epicenter of Gen Z culture and humor - was last Spring. I participated in a survey for my friend's marketing class, where I explored an early version of the app and answered a series of questions. I remember I hated the interface: the constant scrolling with multiple videos responding to one another. It was not quite the TikTok we know today. And, frankly, it made me feel old at 22. Then, months later, I was forced to download the app for a journalism class. Forced might be too strong, but it was part of the assignment and I was not too thrilled about it. My friend Maya, a fellow journalism student, was a huge TikTok fan. She was always telling me how fun the app is and how it is a great way to understand young people (or people younger than me). In the class, we learned about branding and storytelling on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Then I wondered, how could TikTok fit into journalism? To see if I could use the app, I had to first understand it.

In a small library study room, a group of Monterey Park residents was discussing a fender bender that struck one of their peer’s car that morning. Nancy Cheung was walking to her parked car when a driver pulled out of the spot behind her without checking oncoming traffic. That’s when another car struck the driver, who then slammed into Cheung’s back bumper. “Nancy did not have a good day,” said instructor Daisy Lui, who then asked another student, Tony, to recap what had just happened to Cheun

The rain was coming down hard on the roadways. Each drop echoing in the floor-to-ceiling marble meeting room in city hall. Traffic was more of a mess than usual. Still, the rows of seats in the room were nearly filled. A little bit of precipitation couldn’t stop these folks from having their voices heard. Rain in Los Angeles is an unusual occurrence. But so was this hearing. Never before has an oil drill site in LA closed due to this strong of a push from a concerned and dedicated community.

A lot of preparation goes into the long-anticipated Thanksgiving dinner. Preparing the table, preparing the food and preparing yourself mentally to deal with that certain family member with some less-than-agreeable political views. At Thanksgiving this year, we had two rules: Don’t get seconds until your plate is clean, and don’t talk about politics. It is a common rule that one should never engage in politics in mixed company. For me, every family holiday dinner is usually mixed company. I am

It should come as no surprise that across most career fields, there are major disparities in the opportunities, statuses, and attitudes between men and women (hello! I’m sure we all hear the gender gap more than a few times per week). In some careers, the gap is shrinking, as the number of female employees and their achievements in their fields have greatly improved. In the world of technology and computing, however, the situation has been getting much worse. The gap in computing has grown sinc

Most of us have already been inundated with the story of Google's HR nightmare, where engineer James Damore distributed an internal document condemning the “leftist” environment, wherein he felt his conservative view must be hidden out of fear of harassment. But the most astonishing point of the memo was Damore's suggestion that there is a biological difference between men and women that is to blame for the persistent gender representation gap in the tech world. He also denounced Google's divers

“You come into USC with a dining plan, thinking you can use it at the Village because it is part of USC,” Garland said. “But you get there and are turned away. Businesses don’t want to turn away any students. I think they were all misinformed in a way. There was a line outside Greenleaf on move-in day and people tried to pay with dining dollars and couldn’t.”

LAX said passengers can walk or take a free shuttle to LAX-it, a lot adjacent to Terminal 1. FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2016, file photo shows travelers leaving a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport. At the end of the month, travelers will not be able to hail a rideshare or taxi outside terminals at Los Angeles International Airport. LAX announced Friday, Oct. 4, 2019, that travelers will instead have to take shuttles or walk to a special location outside the central terminal

“I definitely don't think we should be talking about individual sacrifice in terms of the type of straw you use,” Professor Sinatra said. “That's not going to solve this. And by putting the emphasis on that you make everyone feel guilty about their individual lives and that is not a mobilization for action. We need to talk about sacrifice in terms of reconstructing our system to create more public transit so that people can use it and it won't be a sacrifice anymore. I have an electric car and h

As support for arts education across the country has declined, one school district is shifting the narrative to make art an essential part of learning. “We focus of arts integration in schools by using arts to teach other disciplines,” said Howard Spector, CEO of The South Pasadena Arts Council “It’s helpful for students with multiple intelligence and who learn differently than just the traditional methods.” Arts integration is learning that is active, experiential, reflective, collaborative a

Taking the Helm at Kartemquin: A Conversation with Jolene Pinder For over 50 years, Chicago-based Kartemquin Films has been a leading voice for social justice in the documentary field. Founder/Artistic Director Gordon Quinn works to develop filmmakers, produce films and advocate for the field of documentary. This collaborative group of socially responsible filmmakers is dedicated to promoting dialogue and seeking justice as they examine and critique society through stories of real people. Kart

The Feedback: Bridgette Auger and Itab Azzam's 'We Are Not Princesses' Since IDA's DocuClub was relaunched in 2016 as a forum for sharing and soliciting feedback about works-in-progress, many DocuClub alums have since premiered their works on the festival circuit and beyond. In an effort to both monitor and celebrate the evolution of these films to premiere-ready status, we reached out to the filmmakers as they were either winding their way through the festival circuit, or gearing up for it. I

This USC graduate looks to empower others with her TEDx Talk about sexual abuse Daniella Mohazab is not just a victim. She is a sister, a friends, a masters student, CEO, and now, an advocate. After graduating USC last spring with degrees in Communications and Media, Economics & Entrepreneurship, she is continuing a progressive masters degree in Communications and Management at Annenberg. In 2017, she founded Happy Pill, a platform of support for women suffering from mental illness. Happy

Housing in South L.A. has been a major ongoing issue. Nearby tenants have been evicted, complexes are planned for demolition to make way for mixed-use development and advocacy across the state has been ramping up for and against Proposition 10 — a measure that could make it easier for California cities to enact rent control policies. The Intersections South LA team conducted a pop-up newsroom on Oct. 17 by setting up a table with recording equipment on Vermont and Slauson avenues to document w

In the past year, USC has hosted a series of events concerned with ending sexual assault and rape on campus. The Consent Carnival, Take Back the Night and Denim Day were all sponsored by student organizations and focused on building awareness of the issue. But for all of the university’s focus on social justice, the question remains how successful the administration has been at achieving justice for survivors of sexual assault. The recent arrest of a USC student for alleged rape is seen as a T