SCampus Student Guidebook

2008-09 SCampus (PDFs)

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Need Cash?

You can sell your textbooks for extra cash that will surely come in handy during the holiday season. Check with the bookstore for the dates at the end of the semester.

“That steady clikita-clack heard on Doheny Library’s ground floor toward semester’s end is the merry noise of frantically punched typewriters rushing those this-is-the-last-chance-you-have term papers through. An uninflated dime procures one of these swift machines for a half hour. Hunt and peck specialists who find even this steep, might induce a sweet lassie to type two-pages for a pound of candy. ($1.20)”
– SCampus 1953-54

Student Services

Residential Education

Section PDF

Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs: Denzil Suite
Director of Residential Communities: Carol Schmitz
Office for Residential Education
Student Union 200
(213) 740-2080
www.usc.edu/student-affairs/ResEd

Residential Education provides a student-centered, academically supportive residential environment that challenges students to explore their commonalities and differences. This is accomplished with the support of staff and faculty who help foster an educational community in which all members are respected and valued.

Residential Communities

Residential Colleges

USC has five residential colleges, providing an opportunity offered by only a few universities in the U.S. These programs allow residents to live alongside USC faculty. Each building has a faculty master and sometimes several additional live-in faculty members. These individuals are an important part of the building’s academic and social life, hosting dinners and lectures, leading excursions into Los Angeles’ rich cultural landscape or participating in student-oriented activities.

Our residential colleges house residents of all class standings, but are primarily for freshmen.

International Residential College at Parkside: Michael Waterman, Master
Arts and Humanities College at Parkside: Kyung Moon Hwang, Master
Birnkrant Residential College: Thomas Gustafson, Faculty Master
New Residential College: Stan Rosen, Faculty Master
North Residential College: Florence Clark and John Wolcott, Masters

Academic Special Interest Communities

There are 12 interest-based special interest communities at USC. Resident faculty members and visiting scholars develop significant relationships with students while continuing to teach and conduct research.

These communities include:

Annenberg House: Annenberg Multimedia Program
Arts and Humanities Residential College: Art and Architecture Floor and Music Floor
Centennial Apartments: Occupational Therapy House
Fluor Tower: Quiet Community Floor
Hillview Apartments: Residential Faculty Program
Honors House: Residential Faculty Program
New Residential College: Cinema Floor, Wellness Floor and WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering Program)
North Residential College: Business Floor
Marks and Trojan Hall: Deans’ Halls
Terrace Apartments: Law Program
Pardee Tower: Great Outdoors Floor

Cultural Special Interest Communities

These communities foster understanding and respect for different cultures and faiths among residents.

These communities include:

Century Apartments: Rainbow Floor
Fluor Tower: Somerville Place and the Latino Floors
Parkside Apartments: Muslim and SChalom Floors

Residential Education Staff

The Residential Education staff lives in USC housing alongside students to help them get the most of their living and learning time.

All housing facilities (with the exception of Seaver Hall on the Health Sciences campus) have a staff of Resident Advisors (RAs), typically consisting of one RA per floor or wing. RAs support students’ academic success, assist residents in working through personal problems, and ensure that university policies are followed.

Residential Coordinators and Area Directors are also part of the Residential Education staff. Residence Coordinators are graduate staff who oversee a residence hall or apartment building and supervise the RAs.

Area Directors are full-time, professional staff members who live in university housing and supervise an entire residential area. You can contact the Area Directors at (213) 740-2080.

Residential Education Programs

Food for Thought

Resident Advisors are encouraged to apply for funding to offer a meal program that includes a faculty member and up to 13 participants. Events are held at an off-campus restaurant, campus eatery or a faculty home.

Faculty Entrée

Faculty Entrée (FE) is a university-wide program open for all students to treat a USC faculty or full-time professional staff member to a meal on campus. FE provides $10 stipend cards to any student who requests one from the Office for Residential Education.

Students are responsible for their own meal cost; vouchers are only valid for USC faculty or staff members.

Discover ‘SC

Discover ’SC exposes students to the cultural, intellectual and multiethnic facets of Los Angeles and its surrounding area. Programs may include museum trips, city tours, outdoor activities and theatre or music performances. Students obtain information about events from resident advisors, event flyers and Daily Trojan ads.

A discounted ticket and complimentary bus transportation to the event are available for one low price in the Office for Residential Education. Costs are based on the ticket price for the individual event. All students purchasing tickets must ride the bus. For more information, call (213) 740-2080.

Student-Developed Programs

A variety of student-developed programs are offered in USC’s residential communities. For more information regarding specific events, contact your residential advisor or visit www.usc.edu/student-affairs/ResEd.

North Area: Mardi Gras and the Ed Wood Film Festival
South Area: Deans’ Dinner, Snowball, Friday Night Scream and Spirituality Series
East Area: Community Block Party, Gender and Sexuality Week
West Area: Thursday Night Live, Players Ball, Westside Wellness Week, Cardinal Gardens Diversity Month
Parkside: Soiree Spectaculaire, Reel World Series, Project Black Canvas, Persian New Year, Reel L.A., Indus Valley Week, IHOF (International House of Fashion), Performance Café and Language Tables

Student Government Groups

University Residential Student Community

The University Residential Student Community (URSC) serves all students who live in university housing by providing them with ways to enhance and contribute to their residential experiences. URSC is made up of four boards: Executive, Advocacy, Funding and Programming. At the beginning of each year, building government elections are held within each housing unit or community and one representative is chosen for each of the URSC boards. Among URSC’s many annual events are Dive-In Movie and Welcome Dance during Welcome Week and the Spring Fling. For more information about URSC, call (213) 740-6467, email ursc@usc.edu or visit STU 200-I.

Building and Area Governments

Representative student governments exists in all the residential communities. These are affiliated with URSC and advised by Residential Education staff. These groups create such events as Spirits at Troy (a Halloween program for local schoolchildren) and Save Tommy Night (on the eve of the USC-UCLA football game), and participate in intramurals and other ongoing events.