The Springfest headliners that weren't
Tomo Chien
April 01, 2026
Good morning. It’s Wednesday, and these are the five USC, Los Angeles, and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
USC’s Concerts Committee identified the Chainsmokers and Wallows as potential headliners for this year’s Springfest concert before landing on Ty Dolla $ign, two sources told Morning, Trojan. The Chainsmokers had a scheduling conflict and DPS vetoed Wallows because the band has a history of distributing alcohol at concerts.
2.
A Huntington Park City Council member is facing growing calls to resign over allegations that he sexually assaulted a USC graduate student in the Village parking garage. In a now-dropped restraining order petition reviewed by Morning, Trojan, the woman accused Arturo Flores of pressuring her to get inside his car then putting his hands down her pants.
3.
The newly appointed president of the College Republicans of America has a history of spewing racist, homophobic, and sexist comments online. Kai Schwemmer, a BYU student who leads a sprawling organization with a chapter at USC, has claimed gay men are “weaponizing” gyms “to give you AIDS” and celebrated that he’s “0% Jewish.”
4.
A Cornell professor has turned to a quaint technology to curb her students’ AI use: manual typewriters. Grit Matthias Phelps, who teaches German language, assigns an in-class essay written on typewriters once a semester. “What’s the point of me reading it if it’s already correct anyway, and you didn’t write it yourself?” she said.
5.
The voluminous canon of think pieces on Gen Z’s sex life is growing by the day. “The Reason Gen Z isn’t dating,” wrote The New York Times, is that the “social environment fractured and courtship norms broke down.” OK. Don’t they know we’re actually the kinkiest generation ever? And that we’re great at bedroom multi-tasking?
