Issue: Summer 2003

Editor’s Note

“In times of global uncertainty, emergency and war, life away from home can be unnerving for many college students. But a strong, surrounding sense of community can ease the weight of anxiety sparked by crisis, said Rabbi Susan Laemmle, USC’s dean of religious life. And, for this reason, there is ONEUSC.”

This is from a story written recently by Gia Scafidi of the USC News Service, describing a USC program begun in the wake of the 9/11 attacks and reborn during the anxious times surrounding the war in Iraq.

ONEUSC offers interdisciplinary teach-ins, community conversations, non-denominational prayer services and online chat rooms where students and faculty can freely express their ideas about the war.

“Learning isn’t all about the classroom. It also takes place on park benches and in concert halls and book salons,” said Laemmle. “ONEUSC actualizes the Trojan Family. The program’s foundation rests on the fact that the university should be a cohesive community, especially during times of crisis.”

“The importance of ONEUSC lies in its essential reminder that we share common ground as a community devoted to freedom of speech and to respect for the informed opinion of others,” added Philippa Levine, USC’s academic senate president and a professor of history.

In a letter to the USC community, Levine and Provost Lloyd Armstrong, Jr., wrote: “Universities have a critical role to play in times like these – fostering debate, allowing space for a variety of views and helping students explore the abundance of issues at hand.”

“If we must have this war,” Laemmle said, “then let’s learn the most we can from it.... If we, as a school, can get through a war, stimulating reasoned thinking and promoting freedom of speech, and still hold fast as a community, it says a lot.

“And if we can do that here in Los Angeles, one of the most diverse places in the world, we could set the example and lead the way elsewhere.”

For more on ONEUSC, go to (www.usc.edu/oneusc).

– Susan Heitman