Kim makes history — quietly
Tomo Chien
February 11, 2026
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and these are the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
Beong-Soo Kim is the first person of color to serve as USC’s permanent president. If you missed that fact, it was by design: USC has downplayed the milestone, a decision that Kim insisted has nothing to do with Trump-era anti-DEI attitudes. “I would rather be judged ultimately based on what I end up doing,” Kim said, “not just that one part of my identity.”
2.
Drama at the student government debate! In a classically too-serious moment, Jad Kilani and Jeremiah Boisrond, one of the presidential tickets, accused a competitor of “serious” violations of election rules, and pledged to file a “formal complaint.” The violation in question: letting a student government member hold one of their campaign signs.
3.
A new narrative podcast follows several USC professors who lost their homes in last year’s wildfires. The three-episode special season of Electric Futures, which is produced by USC, is available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. You can skim this story with portraits of the professors if you don’t have time for the full series.
4.
In case you missed yesterday’s alert: A USC sophomore was arrested on suspicion of intimate partner violence Monday afternoon at Nemirovsky Residential College in the Village. Sa Lang Enoch Chang, 19, was released on bond early Tuesday morning, police records show.
5.
A new dating service has taken Stanford University by storm, garnering signups from nearly 2 in 3 undergraduates. Date Drop matches students based on compatibility quizzes and “drops” new matches every Tuesday evening. The service is available at several schools but not yet USC.
