Your USC degree is, probably, worth it
Tomo Chien
April 19, 2024
Good morning. It’s Friday, and I’m reading the schedule for this weekend’s Festival of Books: protest included. Onto the five USC, Los Angeles and California stories you need to know for today.
1.
A report found that the average USC student makes a decent, OK, pretty good return on investment from their university degree. The report — which has its flaws, but is nonetheless one of the better datasets available — says the typical USC graduate earns a $170,000 return on investment 10 years after graduation. UCLA grads earn $211,000; Harvard, $275,000; and Stanford, $360,000. But compare that to the California Institute of the Arts, where graduates typically lose $116,000.
2.
Some 300 protesters marched through campus yesterday, decrying USC’s decision to bar its valedictorian from speaking at graduation — the first large demonstration in response to what has become the latest flashpoint in the domestic conflict over the Israel-Hamas war. In other news: USC’s top lawyer said in a faculty senate meeting that the uproar caused by the decision to cancel the speech “was not unanticipated.” University leadership remained mum when asked to elaborate on the safety concerns it cited when it made the call.
3.
An activist group said it gathered enough signatures to place a tough-on-crime measure on the November ballot. The measure would repeal a controversial California initiative called Proposition 47, which lowered penalties for low-level drug possession and property crimes in an effort to reduce overcrowding in state prisons. Critics say Prop. 47 has led to runaway theft and addiction — though the statistics don’t necessarily support that claim.
4.
Speaking of things you should look out for in November: A measure that could crack down on corruption in LA’s scandal-plagued City Hall is winding its way toward the ballot. A city committee approved the new rules — which double penalties for violations of the city’s ethics code, tighten conflict of interest rules and protect the independence of the city Ethics Commission — and will now send them to the full City Council. If approved, the measure will sit on the November ballot for your consideration.
5.
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art — world-renowned for paintings from artists like Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock — just started selling bongs in its gift shop. But these aren’t your everyday pipes. The ceramic devices look more like museum pieces than something to smoke out of, and the gift shop, apparently, doesn’t sell the requisite weed (bo-ring). They also retail for as much as $195. “We currently sell bar items quite well and, this being San Francisco, thought we could make room for cannabis accessories,” the store’s buyer said.
