Minority scholarships could be out the door
Tomo Chien
February 18, 2025
Good morning. It’s Tuesday, and voting has officially started in the Undergraduate Student Government elections. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
The U.S. Department of Education ordered colleges to axe race-specific programs like cultural dorm floors, special graduation ceremonies, and certain scholarships — or risk losing federal funding. It’s unclear how USC plans to respond to the order. The university did not reply when asked for comment by the LA Times.
2.
Sweetgreen will open in the USC Village, offering a healthy fast-casual competitor to the popular CAVA. The salad chain will replace Greenleaf’s 3,196 square-foot lease, making the USC location one of Sweetgreen’s largest restaurants in the country.
3.
The National Labor Relations Board rescinded a Biden-era memo that argued that student-athletes are employees of their universities. The move essentially kills any chance that college athletes will unionize in the near future, like some attempted in a now-dead effort at USC.
4.
Drivers, beware: LA officials started issuing $293 tickets this week to drivers who park in bus lanes along Wilshire Boulevard and La Brea Avenue. The tickets are issued by bus-borne cameras, making it highly likely you’ll get fined even for a quick stop.
5.
Chad Bianco, the gun-toting, cowboy-hat-wearing, mustachioed sheriff of Riverside County, announced his candidacy for governor in 2026. The one-time member of the far-right Oath Keepers and longtime Donald Trump brown-noser is the first serious Republican to enter the race, perhaps underscoring the strength of the California GOP.