Mascots of Troy
Sponsor: USC Class of 1997
USC’s first official mascot was formally elected in 1947 – a mongrel that had roamed the campus since 1940 and thrived on bologna sandwiches and car tires. His penchant for chasing cars and sampling their sidewalls earned him the moniker George Tirebiter. Over the years, USC has had a number of mascots, some official, some unsanctioned, but all memorable. This station introduces them – dog tags, eccentricities and all.
Student Media
Sponsor: David Brubaker
The College Review. The humor magazine Wampus. KSCR radio. The Daily Trojan. Trojan Vision. Whatever the medium, USC students have always found ways to express themselves, and this station traces the exuberant history of student print and broadcast media, including those that served as a training ground for such prominent media figures as humorist Art Buchwald and L.A. Confidential executive producer David L. Wolper.
A Communications Powerhouse
Sponsor: USC Class of 1991
USC was a pioneer in broadcasting, offering Southern California’s first television course for college credit and becoming, at one point, the nation’s only private educational institution to own and operate a radio station on both the AM and FM band. More recently, it has been at the vanguard of distance learning. This station documents many achievements in mass communication and the importance of these milestones in establishing USC’s distinguished reputation in the field.
An International University
Sponsor: USC Class of 1993
Although USC started as a regional university, almost from the beginning it was a mecca for students from foreign lands. Very early class photos show Asian students and during the 1910s, a Japanese-language edition of El Rodeo was published. When President Rufus B. von KleinSmid was inaugurated in 1922, the university convened a Pan-American conference on education, attracting 400 delegates from 25 countries and laying the foundation for its emerging role as a center for academic programs with an inter-national focus. This station traces USC’s long-standing commitment to international students and studies.
Teaching and Learning
Sponsor: USC Class of 1994
USC has long been a center of educational innovation, experimenting with new technologies, teaching methods and ways to deliver instruction to students. From the rigid curriculum of its early days, when electives were not permitted before the junior year, to the “University of the Air” broadcasts on radio in the 1930s, to today’s tech- nology-enhanced classrooms, this station explores the university’s changing approaches to teaching and learning.
Campus Life
Sponsor: USC Class of 1996
Student life at USC has changed radically over the decades. Sometimes incomprehensible by today’s standards, many elaborate and changing rules, regulations and rivalries formed the code of behavior between the classes. In the early 1900s, for example, only juniors and seniors could wear corduroy pants on campus, and freshman women were prohibited from wearing hats. Violators were dunked in a large vat of water. This entertaining station unearths the often wacky traditions that governed the conduct of yesterday’s Trojans.
Public Service
Sponsor: USC Class of 1992
USC was always a university with a heart, but during the past hundred years community service has been institutionalized in increasingly sophisticated ways. In 1972, two undergraduates proposed that USC students tax themselves to fund scholarships for low-income students. They named the fund in honor of USC’s president, Norman Topping. From Troy Camp, founded in 1948, to the Joint Educational Project, founded in 1972 and one of the nation’s first service learning programs, to the Good Neighbors Campaign, inaugurated in 1994, this station celebrates USC’s tradition of public service.
A Changing Campus
Sponsor: USC Class of 1995
Almost since its founding, USC has been building and rebuilding itself to meet the demand for facilities to keep pace with its academic programs. During the 25-year tenure of President Rufus B. von KleinSmid, the university erected 19 new buildings. In the early 1950s, the administration acquired the land along University Avenue and received permission from the city to close the street to through traffic. This station explores the forces that have shaped – and that continue to shape – the university’s physical environment.
USC School of Medicine
Sponsor: Michael R. Lombardi
USC’s renowned School of Medicine was not always located across the street from Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center. Especially during its early years, the school had many homes, including a former winery. This station follows the medical faculty’s perambulations, culminating in the university’s acquisition and development of what is today the Health Sciences Campus.
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