A Newbie’s Guide to USC Culture by Katie Francel

We all know how it feels to walk into a brand new school for the first time. The nervous butterflies in your tummy that flutter as your kneecaps jitter. Well, take that and multiply it to 100, because you just got into ‘SC baby, and you’re a Trojan now!

To help you escape those jitters, and impress your peers, here’s a how-to guide to the culture you will see at USC:

• Bird/Lime/Spin

If you see any of these lying around, know that an SC student won't be far away. We can bet that they're flocking to these things to make it to their 10am on time.

• "The Row”

This is an important one. You will be spending many nights with your pals discussing which frat party on "the row" you're going to attend. Because whats USC without a party scene anyways? Get familiar with which fraternity and sorority is located where, so you are prepared to reference it at any given moment. 

• Beer Die

Are you even a frat bro if you don't die up? Every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (and even sometimes Thursdays) you are going to see fraternity brothers playing this notorious game on their front lawn while blaring extremely loud music (if it's ZBT, it will likely be Wonderwall on repeat). If you plan on being a fraternal brother, you'd better get good at this game, and fast!

• "The 90"/"Ditos"

If you hear any kid say one of these words, you're in for one heck of a night. The 901 Bar and Banditos are both hotspots for USC kids when they have no frat parties to go to, but they still want to rage. Bonus: order an AMF to impress the experienced veterans. Just be careful, you probably won't remember this night!

• Juul

Ahhh, whats being a college student if it isn't for an extremely overpriced nicotine addiction? Here at USC, students don't waste their money on gross cigarettes. Instead, they opt for the more expensive, candy/fruit flavored Juul's to get their fix. If a kid asks you if you have a Juul pod, and you say no, you'd better be ready to watch them run to CalMart at 12am to grab a pack faster than the top athlete can run a mile.

• Gucci Belts

You can't walk down the row without seeing at least one girl wearing a Gucci belt. That's self explanatory, duh! 

• Mr. Brightside by The Killers

Know it, learn it, love it. You're going to be singing along with it at every fraternity party you go to for the next 4 years. You'll probably hear 12 different remixes of it tool. Don't even bother trying to resist.

• Bonus Lingo:

- "Just Venmo me bro”: you owe some dude cash. Download the Venmo app, and prepare to

empty your bank account, usually on nights you can't remember. You'll be waking up in the morning to an unpleasant call from mom and dad.

- “Yo meet me in campus center”: you're probably about to dish on this week's hottest gossip, head over to the tutor campus center, accompanied by Seeds, The Habit, Panda, and more!

- "Dude, I was so browned out last night": essentially, browned is the lesser version of blacked. So, your pal definitely doesn't remember most of his night, but he still has some recollection. Hey, it's better than nothing!

Now you’ll never be caught un-educated about anything USC related. So go for it, take a step on campus. You are ready to impress!