USC Media and Public Relations

The Washington Post ran an op-ed by Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College about political conventions’ usefulness, or lack thereof. Public interest in the conventions has flagged, Schnur wrote. “Watching this year’s conventions was a little like watching a basketball team practice without an opponent on the court,” Schnur wrote. He proposed that the Republican and Democratic conventions run simultaneously, which would force the parties to adjust their message and respond to criticism, giving voters a better public argument.

Los Angeles Times featured research by Victoria Cortessis of the Keck School of USC and a colleague, finding that young men with certain types of testicular cancer were more likely to have smoked marijuana. Reuters reported that in the study of 455 California men, those who smoked marijuana were twice as likely to develop the cancer. “This is the third study consistently demonstrating a greater than doubling of risk of this particularly undesirable subtype of testicular cancer among young men with marijuana use,” Cortessis said. The research was covered by another Los Angeles Times story, CNN, The Australian (Australia), Herald Sun (Australia), Forbes, QMI Agency (Canada), Indo-Asian News Service (India), The Atlantic, MSN, NBC News San Francisco affiliate KNTV-TV, HLN, International Business Times, L.A. Weekly, Boise Weekly, The Inquisitr, GlobalPost, The Desert Sun, Latinos Post, RedOrbit, Science Codex and ScienceDaily.

Mashable ranked USC as No. 5 on its list of top 10 schools in social media. USC’s Facebook page is used to field student questions and highlight upcoming events, and posts there garner hundreds of likes, the story noted. Mashable reported that USC is mentioned five times per minute on Twitter, and praised the responsiveness of the university’s Twitter accounts. “Whether it’s thanking a perspective Trojan for visiting the campus, or wishing a recent scholarship winner luck, they treat each tweet as a chance for positive outreach to individuals in the community,” the story stated.

Toronto Star (Canada) featured a study by Mariana Stern of the Keck School of USC and colleagues, finding that men who eat a lot of pan-fried meat have a greater risk of prostate cancer. “It’s interesting to see how many people are shocked to see how diet can have an impact on cancer,” Stern said. “They know some things are bad for cholesterol and heart disease, but they’re not thinking of them as a potential risk factor for cancer.”

Gizmag featured the Mosely Snowflake fractal, which is made out of nearly 50,000 business cards and is currently on display in USC’s Doheny Memorial Library. More than 300 students and volunteers assembled the fractal, based on a design discovered in 2006 by engineer and origami practitioner Jeannine Mosley. “Our community has brought this object into being for the first time,” said USC Libraries Dean Catherine Quinlan. “Before this project, this beautiful and enigmatic fractal existed only digitally and in the imaginations of mathematicians and artists.” The fractal’s construction was led by Margaret Wertheim, a USC Libraries Discovery Fellow. “The snowflake fractal resides at the boundary of mathematics, engineering, and physical making,” Wertheim said.

Asian News International featured a study by Thomas Valente of the Keck School of USC and colleagues, finding that popular high school kids are more likely to smoke. The study found that students who think their friends smoke — even when they don’t — are more likely to smoke. The research was also covered by Toronto Star (Canada), United Press International, GlobalPost and CBS Radio Lanham, Md., affiliate WNEW-FM.

The Huffington Post included USC Dean of Religious Life Varun Soni in a slideshow about the September 11 terrorist attacks and religion. “After 9/11, I realized that religious pluralism is not a luxury but a necessity, and that I needed to translate theory into action and scholarship into practice,” Soni said.

The Huffington Post featured the event “The Underground: From the Streets to the Stage,” part of Visions and Voices: The USC Arts & Humanities Initiative. The story noted that Bovard Auditorium was filled to capacity for the performance, which featured a street dance style developed in South Los Angeles.

KPCC-FM’s “Brand & Martinez” featured “Barrios to Burbs: The Making of the Mexican-American Middle Class” by Jody Agius-Vallejo of the USC Dornsife College. Vallejo said that this group is different from prior waves of immigrants in that today’s immigrants start out further behind, in low-wage jobs, and take a slightly longer climb to the middle class. The first generations to reach the middle class maintain strong ties to poorer relatives or communities, she said. “They have to manage these relationships where they’re constantly being asked for financial and social support,” Vallejo said.

International Business Times highlighted research by Jonathan Taplin of the USC Annenberg School, who began conducting a Twitter Sentiment Analysis last year at the Annenberg Innovation Lab. Mining hashtags on Twitter and assigning emotions to them made it clear that viral, pop culture events unify conversations, but don’t unify us as a culture, Taplin said. “We don’t have a shared culture anymore in any sense,” he said. “Yes, we’re all talking about the same things, but we’re looking at them from a partisan point of view.”

The Huffington Post highlighted research by George Salem of the USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, on how certain yoga poses may actually be adding to rather than relieving stress. Salem studied different postures, and noted that the Warrior Pose, generally taught as being useful for balance control, is not nearly as useful as the Tree Pose.

The Hollywood Reporter ran an obituary for Bob Lambert, chairman emeritus of USC’s Entertainment Technology Center. David Wertheimer of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, the center’s executive director, called Lambert the “father of digital cinema.” He added: “Bob had a rare talent for helping people see through the challenges of the present and focus on the horizon.”

The New York Times quoted Dan Schnur of the USC Dornsife College about Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax initiative.

USA Today quoted Michael Barr of the USC Viterbi School about airplane turbulence and the need to keep seat belts fastened during flight.

Los Angeles Times quoted Michael Barr of the USC Viterbi School about crowd safety at air shows.

Associated Press quoted Mark Latonero of the USC Annenberg School about technology being used to track child prostitution online.

The Press-Enterprise quoted David Belson of the USC Viterbi School about a case in which a group of physicians asked a Corona hospital CEO to resign.

North County Times quoted Richard Drobnick of the USC Marshall School about investment in clean energy.

The Australian (Australia) reported that Jeffrey Cole of the USC Annenberg School would be a key speaker for the Wesfarmers biennial senior management meeting.

Daily Mirror (U.K.) mentioned research by Valter Longo of the USC Davis School finding that occasional fasting could reduce one’s risk of developing cancer.

The Globe and Mail (Canada) cited USC research finding that pathological liars have more white matter and less gray matter in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.

L.A. Weekly mentioned USC was included in a list of hipster colleges.

NPR News Athens, Ohio, affiliate WOUB-FM highlighted research by Behrokh Khoshnevis of the USC Viterbi School, on how giant 3-D printers might be used to construct lunar bases.

The Press-Enterprise mentioned a report being administered by the USC Annenberg School on how air pollution affects young athletes.

KQED-FM mentioned that the Reporting on Health collaborative is an initiative of the California Endowment Health Journalism Fellowships, a program of the USC Annenberg School.

KPCC-FM mentioned an upcoming City Council meeting about the streetscaping around USC.