USC in the News

The Chronicle of Higher Education ran an op-ed by Barry Glassner of the USC College about the subject of his newly updated book, "The Culture of Fear: Why Americans Are Afraid of the Wrong Things." "We are still a fretful nation. Despite such landmark events as the terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the economic downturn that began in 2007, the American society I portrayed 10 years ago in 'The Culture of Fear' largely continues. Pregnant teenagers, monster moms, Internet predators, and suburban thugs still stalk the airwaves. We shake our heads over the latest mass shooting while failing to limit access to guns among people who shouldn't have them. We fret over the kidnapping of a single toddler while hundreds of thousands suffer abuse or neglect. Atypical tragedies grab our attention," Glassner wrote. "Politicians, journalists, advocacy groups, and marketers continue to blow dangers out of proportion for votes, ratings, donations, and profits. Fear mongering for personal, political, and corporate gain continues unabated. Throughout the opening of this century, Americans have remained inordinately fearful of unlikely dangers."


The New York Times ran an op-ed by Dana Goldman of the USC School of Policy, Planning, and Development and the USC School of Pharmacy and Aaron Edlin of UC Berkeley about health care reform. "Whenever we call our physicians, we can't get in to see them for several months. Our colleagues have a similar experience. This raises a simple question: Who is going to treat the approximately 30 million newly insured?" they wrote. "It isn't just physician practices that are full; nurses are also in short supply. The Institute of Medicine sounded the alarm about a shortage of health care professionals way back in 2002, and pointed out its adverse effects on the quality of care. When we asked one of our doctors if he will care for these newly insured, he said it won't be him -- he is plenty busy already -- unless someone offers him a lot of money. And that is precisely what will happen. Health care is not immune from the fundamental laws of supply and demand. If demand for care rises and supply cannot increase, then prices rise."

Los Angeles Times reported that a nine-member team of doctors and nurses from Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center traveled to Haiti to assist in medical relief after the major earthquake that struck there last week. A second Los Angeles Times story reported that Henri Ford of the Keck School of USC performed abdominal surgery on a six-year-old boy and assisted CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta in removing a piece of brick from a young girl's skull and brain aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier Carl Vinson, docked off the Haitian coast. Ford and Demetrios Demetriades of the Keck School organized the team of Keck School trauma specialists participating in the quake relief efforts, the story noted. The news was also covered by a third Los Angeles Times story and La Opinion.

Los Angeles Times reported that USC computer programmers were among those who organized Crisis Camp Haiti workshops to design improved maps of battered Port-au-Prince neighborhoods, concoct better family-locater services for quake victims, and speed accurate and timely relief information. About 45 of these volunteers met at USC, including USC student Layne Kaplan, who compiled a running report of the workshop on to help communicate with Crisis Camp Haiti sites operating elsewhere.

The Washington Post quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College about the prospects for Democrats if Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is defeated in the special Senate election in Massachusetts. "There's no way that Martha Coakley can lose: Kennedy family members will personally carry Massachusetts voters to the polls to keep that from happening," Schnur said. "More likely is that she wins by a relatively small margin of victory that will be written off as a status-quo outcome by a political community whose expectations for a huge upset were raised beyond all rational levels this past week."

U.S. News & World Report interviewed Warren Bennis of the USC Marshall School about leadership post-9/11. Bennis said the need for collaboration has never been more critical than it is today, given globalization and the difficult choices that business and political leaders face in a post-9/11 world. The United States has unique strengths for tackling those challenges, he said. "We do understand something about freedom; we do understand something about entrepreneurialism," Bennis said, adding that only democracy nurtures a spirit of inquiry and freedom.

Los Angeles ran a Q&A with T।C. Boyle of the USC College about his new collection of stories, "Wild Child." "Even though everything sucks and we'll all be dead soon, there is art, and art entertains us and opens up the world to us. And that's why I love it and that's why I do it," Boyle said. "I just want to communicate with people through my art. I'm doing this in order to explore the world for my own purposes. I'm very happy that people can relate to it. It enriches my life tremendously. But really, I'm just doing this because I have no other choice."
Stuttgarter Nachrichten (Germany) cited USC research on the absorption of information by the brain and the development of compassion.

Democrat and Chronicle ran an op-ed by Susan Estrich of the USC Gould School about opponents of health care reform who are using federalism as an argument against federal government regulation. "Now, you can't keep telling me that health care is the biggest economic issue -- 1/6 of our economy and all that -- and then turn around and say there's not enough of a connection to interstate commerce to require 20-year-olds to have insurance. I can introduce you to some. They are forces of interstate commerce, and as every parent knows, they are not immortal. They get hurt. They get sick. They should have insurance. If that's the worst thing the nanny state ever does to all of us, I'd say a gracious thanks," Estrich wrote.

Hartford Courant mentioned USC President Steven B. Sample in an article that discussed the role of university presidents in the hiring of athletic coaches.

Jewish Journal ran an op-ed by Martin Kaplan of the USC Annenberg School about entertainment and the 10th anniversary of the USC Annenberg School's Norman Lear Center. "It's just about perfect that the week that L.A. Gang Tours launches is also the tenth anniversary of the start of the Norman Lear Center. Ghettotainment, as this kind of dark tourism has been called, was made in heaven for the Lear Center, which tracks how entertainment has been steadily conquering news, politics, policy, commerce, justice, religion and pretty much the rest of reality," Kaplan wrote. "But the point isn't to lament that we're amusing ourselves to death (though there's enough trivialization, vulgarization, sensationalism, celebrity worship and ADD-inducing distractions around to make you fear for the future of civilization). It's also that the power to grab and hold attention -- the Lear Center's big-tent definition of entertainment -- can be harnessed to do good."

Los Angeles Times quoted Jack Lerner of the USC Gould School about clothing company Weatherproof and animal-rights organization PETA using images of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama in advertising campaigns. Both have asserted their legal right to control their public image, the story stated. "You see expansions and contractions in intellectual-property law," Lerner said. "But we've got to be able to talk about celebrities freely, given the time we spend talking about them. If publicity rights start to encroach on our discourse, then it could really be problematic," he added.

Los Angeles Times quoted Mark Benthien of the USC College and the Southern California Earthquake Center at USC in a story on how experts hope the recent Haiti earthquake will convince people in California to better prepare for the long-predicted "Big One." "It's human nature to consider your risk based on your experience and also to deny the risk you have in order to feel safe," Benthien said. "If we didn't think that way instinctively, we'd never leave the house."

Los Angeles Times reported that USC students in the Master of Professional Writing program will read their work January 22 at Book Soup in West Hollywood. USC students Christiana Cheon, Danielle Lenglet, Paul Fisher, Jennifer Mitchell and Lynn Maleh are scheduled to participate, the story stated.

The Argonaut noted that USC's Tsunami Research Center participated in a project to create inundation maps showing the shoreline areas of California that could be affected by a tsunami. The maps, released online by the California Emergency Management Agency, include evacuation routes for use in the event of a tsunami. Angeliki Barberopoulou of the USC Viterbi School provided data and operated simulation procedures for the project, the article reported. "All of the counties now have maps that they can base their evacuation on," she said. "We are now all on the same page on the coast of California." Barberopoulou said the next step is to help educate community members.

The San Diego Union-Tribune quoted Dan Schnur of the USC College in a story about Republican fortunes in 2010. Even if this turns into a big year for Republicans politically, that doesn't necessarily translate into Republican success in California, as the state often bucks national trends, the story stated. For example, in 2006 the national Democratic wave stopped at California, where Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was re-elected in a landslide over Democrat Phil Angelides. "The 2006 elections show that there's no automatic carry-over," Schnur said. "Democrats won back Congress, but Phil Angelides didn't come close to getting elected governor."

Pasadena Weekly quoted Thomas Griffith of the USC Gould School about a temporary anti-gang injunction in Monrovia, Calif., that prohibits anyone within the boundaries of a "safety zone" from activities like drinking in public, loitering and congregating with others. "Gang injunctions are a mixed bag," Griffith said. "There are at least two problems: It is not a crime to belong to a gang, and people can be placed on the gang database improperly. There is no due process," he added. "I prefer not to criminalize legal behavior. Two gang members could be arrested for riding in a car to see 'Avatar.'"

Daily Breeze ran an op-ed by USC student Ariel Rittenhouse, who is documenting her freshman year for the paper. "I can finally say that my first semester of college is over. Even though I've been done with classes for a while, it was not until I received my grades that everything was finished," Rittenhouse wrote. "Once I calculated my GPA, I was relieved. I would be able to attend the 3.1 dinner -- a celebratory event for all swimming and diving team members who earn a 3.1 or higher GPA. That had been my goal from the beginning of the semester and I was shocked that I actually achieved it. Hopefully, I will be able to do just as well next semester."

La Opinion reported that a business administration course for entrepreneurs started January 15 at USC's Galen Center. The free program will last eight weeks, the story stated. A second La Opinion article also covered the course.