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USC Annenberg hosted its latest “Lunch with a Leader” event this Wednesday afternoon, featuring a conversation with Tevi...
11/06/2025

USC Annenberg hosted its latest “Lunch with a Leader” event this Wednesday afternoon, featuring a conversation with Tevin Tavares, an award-winning filmmaker, director and producer from Oakland, California.

“Today, we are thrilled to welcome … a visual storyteller whose work seamlessly webs art and advocacy,” said Rafiq Taylor, who works in public relations for the Charlotta Bass Journalism & Justice Lab, which hosted the event.

Taylor called Tavares an upcoming and “distinguished voice of the industry” who has directed critically acclaimed music videos, short films and high-profile commercial campaigns. Many of these have been featured by notable outlets, including Variety, Forbes and The New York Times.

“Before we get in, I want to go around and ask everybody how they’re feeling today — get some energy in the room,” says Tavares upon receiving the mic.

After a few words from audience members, the event moderator, Emily Nichols, opened the conversation that led Tavares to share what keeps him inspired throughout his projects and career.

“I realized that my job is to tell the stories that will impact the next generation.” He underscored that the main motivation for his work comes from the feelings it brings to others.

Read more at the link in our bio.

📝 Karla Cruz 
📸 Sarah Goldstein

Last month, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced it would cut around 600 people from its artifi...
11/06/2025

Last month, Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, announced it would cut around 600 people from its artificial intelligence division. But the changes in the AI industry signal something larger than a worsening job market.

According to Axios, the layoffs affect Meta’s AI product, infrastructure and research team, yet its core innovation and development team, housing the recent elite recruits, will not be affected.

Marco Papa, senior lecturer in Computer Science at USC Viterbi, said the job cuts indicate that the industry is shifting focus from research to development. Furthermore, he added, to keep up with rapidly advancing technologies, higher education should equip computer science students with hands-on experience applying the latest tools, rather than focusing on academic research.

“Resistance is futile,” Papa quoted an iconic Star Trek phrase when commenting on the tech industry. “Watch what’s happening, maybe five years from now. If you resist it, you’ll be thrown out.”

This past summer, tech companies, including Meta, began a round of talent poaching. Mark Zuckerberg offered top researchers nine-figure compensation packages to join Meta’s AI labs. The recruitment supports the company’s development of “superintelligence,” aiming to create AI that surpasses the human brain.

But now, after igniting a talent war among industry leaders, Meta will cut around 600 jobs from its AI division.

A***n Parab, a master’s student in computer science, said the lack of job security is concerning, so he is trying to familiarize himself with the cutting-edge skills that are in demand to enhance his competitiveness.

Read more at the link in our bio.

📝 Laury Li
📸 Tomoki Chien

11/06/2025

On Thursday, the California African American Museum ( ) hosted to discuss her debut book A Dream Deferred: Jesse Jackson, and the fight for Black political power. Reverend Jesse Jackson’s daughter, Ashley Jackson was also in attendance for the conversation.

Phillip’s discussion on power, politics, and the unfinished work of the civil rights movement reminded audiences why telling our stories — and telling them truthfully — still matters.

📹 .gayle

C’s may get degrees, but would you still eat at your favorite restaurant if it got an average grade on its health inspec...
11/06/2025

C’s may get degrees, but would you still eat at your favorite restaurant if it got an average grade on its health inspection?

Rock & Reilly’s was forced to shut down on October 10 after a routine inspection by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) found live cockroaches in the dishwashing area.

This led to the restaurant receiving an “imminent health code violation,” according to an emailed statement from the LADPH. Rock & Reilly’s was directed to “discontinue operation for a minimum of 48 hours to effectively eliminate the cockroach infestation.”

The violation didn’t stop students like Macarthy Mahoney, a senior majoring in computational neuroscience, from returning after the restaurant’s reopening.

“I’ve never seen a cockroach here,” Mahoney said. She described the environment as “clean” and a great place to do schoolwork.

Rock & Reilly’s reopened on October 12 with a grade of C after a reinspection found the vermin problem had been fixed.

A statement from the LADPH said that “after the public health permit was reinstated on 10/12/25, the operator of Rock & Reilly’s… requested an Owner Initiated Inspection (OII) so they may have an opportunity to improve their letter grade.”

The OII was conducted on October 21, and the restaurant scored an A with one minor violation.

Read more at the link in our bio.

📝Nora Rakoci, Tyler Kuslaka, and Krisha Sikka
📸 Nora Rakoci

When the Dodgers became back-to-back champions, the man holding the World Series Most Valuable Player award was pitcher ...
11/06/2025

When the Dodgers became back-to-back champions, the man holding the World Series Most Valuable Player award was pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto. This marked a proud moment for Japanese Americans in Los Angeles – yet tension has grown in the community after federal agents appeared in Little Tokyo earlier this year.

On Saturday, Yamamoto threw 2.2 innings of relief and earned the series-clinching win just a day after starting Game 6. His endurance on the mound not only secured the Dodgers their third title in six years but also represented something larger: the growing visibility of Japanese American identity within American culture.

This visibility stands in stark contrast to events that took place earlier this year. On August 15, armed federal agents made an appearance at the Norman Y. Mineta Democracy Plaza outside the Japanese American National Museum (JANM) during a conference held by Gov. Gavin Newsom about California’s redistricting initiative.

As the press conference began, more than 75 Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents swarmed the sidewalks, arresting at least one passerby.

“The events that are happening today to immigrants just show that there’s been this long trajectory of discrimination and prejudice, othering of immigrants in this country, throughout our nation’s history,” said Kristen Hayashi, Director of Collections Management and Access and Curator at JANM.

Read more at the link in our bio.

📝 Jaclyn Jacques, Jasmine Ying, Nora Rakoci, and Shaun Shpall
📸 AP Photo/Brynn Anderson

Proposition 50, a state ballot measure to redraw California’s congressional districts for the upcoming election cycle, w...
11/05/2025

Proposition 50, a state ballot measure to redraw California’s congressional districts for the upcoming election cycle, was projected to pass as polling places closed Tuesday night.

As of Tuesday evening, over 60% of California votes cast approved the measure. In Los Angeles County about three-fourths of voters cast their ballots in favor of the new map as well. 

In early August, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced state Democrats would move forward with their plan to draw new congressional maps for the state in an effort to gain control of the House of Representatives by flipping up to five Republican-held seats. The map would last through the 2030 midterm elections. 

This announcement was in response to state leaders in Texas moving forward with their own redistricting, which was backed by President Donald Trump and approved in their State Senate that same month. The new map sought to maintain the narrow Republican majority in the House by gaining five seats. 

Read more at the link in our bio.

📝 Anya Motwani
📸 AP Photo/Jeff Chiu

11/04/2025

First-ever Second Gentleman of the United States Doug Emhoff sat down with USC reporter Lily “Pickle” Coleman on Election Day 2025 — a conversation about breaking barriers, amplifying civic duty and why every vote matters. 🗳️🇺🇸

Find the full interview on USC Annenberg Media’s YouTube Channel.

USC students have multiple options for casting their votes on or near campus in the upcoming California statewide specia...
11/04/2025

USC students have multiple options for casting their votes on or near campus in the upcoming California statewide special election on Tuesday.

Gov. Gavin Newsom called for this special election solely to hold a vote on Proposition 50, a legislative constitutional amendment that would adopt a new congressional district map. According to PBS, the map was drawn by California’s state legislature in response to Texas’s redistricting over the summer. In August, the Texas state legislature passed newly drawn maps that are designed to enable the state to elect more Republicans to Congress during the 2026 midterms. California’s Prop. 50 aims to combat this by adopting a map that creates more favorable districts for Democrats, resulting in the state sending more Democrats to Congress in 2026. Typically, states redraw congressional district maps every 10 years after a census takes place, but Texas began its redistricting efforts after a push from President Donald Trump.

USC students who are California residents can vote in person or by mail. During the 2024 general election, Annenberg Media reported that some students waited an hour or more to vote in person in the USC Village — although turnout for special elections is typically lower than it is for general elections.

📝 Olivia Giangeruso and Logan Aghai
📸 Jason Goode

Interim President Beong-Soo Kim’s email — which was addressed to USC faculty and staff — outlined some of the structural...
11/03/2025

Interim President Beong-Soo Kim’s email — which was addressed to USC faculty and staff — outlined some of the structural changes being made to the university following the more than 900 layoff notices they have issued since July.

“Almost all schools and units have now completed their budget-related layoffs, and we do not anticipate any additional layoffs for the remainder of 2025 beyond what may already
have been communicated locally,” Kim wrote.

This email outlined a reduction in the school’s operating expenses as they work towards eliminating their ‘long-term deficit’ by the end of the fiscal year. Kim also wrote that USC expects to provide merit increases for FY27, “although the process for determining the size of the merit pool will not be completed until early next year.”

This is a developing story.

📝 Tamara Almoayed and Katie Simons
📸 Jason Goode

10/30/2025

The price tag for Trojans this Halloween might be scarier than the outfits themselves. Hear what students are dressing up as this year and how much they’re spending.

🎥 Christopher Apy

USC has hidden the classroom locations for Gender and Sexuality Studies courses from public view out of safety concerns,...
10/29/2025

USC has hidden the classroom locations for Gender and Sexuality Studies courses from public view out of safety concerns, according to a Dornsife spokesperson.

Since late September, the locations of Gender and Sexuality Studies classes have been hidden from the publicly facing Schedule of Classes website. The same change was also made to Web Registration, the internal class enrollment system for students.

A Dornsife spokesperson told Annenberg Media the change was not due to any specific incident but “out of an abundance of caution.”

DPS Assistant Chief David Carlisle confirmed this, saying they have not heard reports of increased hostilities towards gender-based studies students.

“Faculty and students in the Gender and Sexuality Studies Department recently shared general safety concerns in light of heightened rhetoric nationwide,” a Dornsife spokesperson said. “This is a precautionary step to support our community’s safety and well-being. We continue to work closely with university colleagues, including the Department of Public Safety, to foster a supportive learning environment for students and faculty.”

Read more at the link in our bio.

📝 Jiali Yuan
📸 Jiali Yuan

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We keep the USC community current on the news and topics that matter to them the most.

USC Annenberg Media is a student-run news organization at the University of Southern California. From social videos to Snapchat news shows and television broadcasts, our innovative converged newsroom runs on many platforms to keep the USC community informed and connected. Annenberg Media’s platforms provide the USC community with news that matters to them in thoughtful, deliberate, user-friendly formats. Twitter: twitter.com/annenbergmedia Instagram: instagram.com/annenbergmedia Twitch:USC_Annenberg_Media WeChat: @AnnenbergMedia YouTube: youtube.com/annenbergmedia Sports: twitter.com/AnnMediaSports Dímelo (News & media for Latino communities): facebook.com/justdimelo/ Intersections South L.A.: facebook.com/southla