The Ghetto?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Southern California
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<p>Hi redski59:</p>

<p>Wow! This thing automatically sends you emails when someone posts. I got 5 emails on ghettos.</p>

<p>Cambridge Learner's On-Line Dictionary asserts that a ghetto is “an area of a city, especially a very poor area, where people of a particular race or religion live closely together and apart from other people.”</p>

<p><a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=32775&dict=CALD%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=32775&dict=CALD&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Cambridge Dictionary of American English says that a ghetto is “a very poor area of a city in which people of the same race or religion live, or a part of a society or group that is in some way set apart.”</p>

<p><a href="http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=ghetto*1+0&dict=A%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://dictionary.cambridge.org/define.asp?key=ghetto*1+0&dict=A&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Ghetto: A section of a city to which an ethnic or economically depressed minority group is restricted, as by poverty or social pressure. </p>

<p>USC has been in a ghetto for at least 30 years, maybe longer. I readily admit that many fine universities are in ghettos. </p>

<p>I cannot account for “the parents of 35,000 students” but I am fairly certain that most of the parents do not read the Daily Trojan as faithfully as I do and thus, do not know what really happens there.</p>

42

<p>Hi EasttoWest:</p>

<p>I believe that I indicated in my post that those were the FIRST FEW hits of the Daily Trojan. I simply went to the Daily Trojan, typed in robbery on the “Advanced Search” feature. There were over 200 hits. I was not writing a paper and I really did not want to invest my time reading all 200 hits particularly when I already read most of them.</p>

<p>In addition, the search feature does not work properly because I used it before and received no hits when I knew that stuff was there. The dates also appear scrambled.</p>

<p>Here is some recent stuff, mostly from last semester. The murder was in 2004. Again, this is a quick random search. I hope these links work.</p>

<p>A USC student was found dead, with multiple gunshot wounds downtown during the weekend according to the Los Angeles Police Department.</p>

<p>Maxwell Hazlett's body was discovered early Saturday morning near the intersection of 2nd and Emerald streets, said Detective Mario Mota of the LAPD, which is less than half a mile away from his apartment in Promenade Towers on Figueroa Street.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2004/04/07/News/Student.Shot.Killed.Downtown-653454.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2004/04/07/News/Student.Shot.Killed.Downtown-653454.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Two USC students came face-to-face with a gang fight while on a regular trip from campus to Target at 3 p.m. on Nov. 5.</p>

<p>"We heard five or six gun shots," said Kristen, one of the students, who declined to give her last name. "When it happened, I ducked immediately. You don't really know what to do in a situation like this."</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/04/28/News/Three.Gangs.Around.Usc.Area-942822.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/04/28/News/Three.Gangs.Around.Usc.Area-942822.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A student reported that a perpetrator lunged at her from the doorway of a third floor lounge as she walked down the hallway of Elisabeth von Kleinsmid Memorial Residence Hall on Friday. The student screamed and fled to her room. She contacted DPS and officers responded to conduct a search but were unable to locate the suspect.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/04/15/News/Roundup-926469.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/04/15/News/Roundup-926469.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Four robberies were reported on late Friday night and early Saturday morning resulting in the arrest of three suspects, who police believe are responsible for at least two of the incidents.</p>

<p>Three alleged victims from two of the robberies described the suspects as three Hispanic males who were driving around the USC area in a white 1990s-era Honda early Saturday morning.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/04/04/News/Four-Robberies.Hit.In.One.Night-910798.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/04/04/News/Four-Robberies.Hit.In.One.Night-910798.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A 22-year-old man reportedly wielding a knife was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon at the corner of 28th Street and University Avenue at 2:45 a.m. Friday morning</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/03/28/News/Argument.On.Row.Leads.To.Knife.Assault-903730.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/03/28/News/Argument.On.Row.Leads.To.Knife.Assault-903730.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>The Department of Public Safety escorted an ex-felon pretending to be a USC student off campus Saturday evening after a group of students uncovered his false identity, according to several of the person's close friends and acquaintances.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/03/07/News/Felon.Lived.With.Fluor.Residents-887052.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/03/07/News/Felon.Lived.With.Fluor.Residents-887052.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A student was mugged by a suspect with a shiny sharp object Friday at 6 p.m. while in the rear carport area of a non-USC apartment complex located on 30th Street.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/02/14/News/Student.Mugged.Outside.Of.Apartment-862543.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/02/14/News/Student.Mugged.Outside.Of.Apartment-862543.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A female student was sexually assaulted late Thursday night while walking home alone after attending a nearby party.</p>

<p>The Department of Public Safety released a crime bulletin early Friday morning and posted notices on the outside of every apartment building along 29th Street and Orchard Avenue, where the incident occurred.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2004/04/12/News/Student.Assaulted.On.Walk.Home-657100.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2004/04/12/News/Student.Assaulted.On.Walk.Home-657100.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>-A juvenile approached a student from behind on Wednesday at 7:43 p.m. and grabbed hold of his backpack as he was walking his bike near 30th Street and Orchard Street. Three more juveniles approached and one of them attempted to force the student to the ground. Fearing for his safety, the student threw down his bicycle and fled on foot. DPS officers responded and conducted a search, but were unable to locate the juveniles. The incident was reported to Student Affairs.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/02/25/News/Roundup-877725.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/02/25/News/Roundup-877725.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>A USC student was struck and killed by a hit and run driver while crossing the street at Adams Boulevard and Portland Street Thursday afternoon.</p>

<p><a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/02/11/News/Student.Killed.In.HitAndRun-861179.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/paper679/news/2005/02/11/News/Student.Killed.In.HitAndRun-861179.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>Why are you spending so much time with this?</p>

<p>And, fyi, you can change your settings so you don't get emails when people respond.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Why are you spending so much time with this?

[/quote]
If he's at UCLA, then it's justified.</p>

<p>bob, I know exactly what a ghetto is by the dictionary definition. (I'm glad by the way that you took your time to look in higher-quality dictionaries; I applaud you for that :)) But USC is not an area where "people of a particular race or religion live closely together and apart from other people." USC is a diverse school with different races of different religious beliefs, we don't live apart from other people. The areas north and west of campus are full of students, faculty, and staff. On the South, we have the California Science Center in Exposition Park and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles, which are both visited by millions of tourists annually. Everywhere in America, there is crime; it is unavoidable. Why don't you pick up your local newspaper and take a look at the crime log? You might be surprised to find that something happened down your street that you didn't know about.</p>

<p>And btw, if you are a USC student, you would know that parents and students know of every crime around campus after it happens; DPS emails us everytime something happens. No need for The Daily Trojan to tell us.</p>

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<p>"Maxwell Hazlett's body was discovered early Saturday morning near the intersection of 2nd and Emerald streets, said Detective Mario Mota of the LAPD, which is less than half a mile away from his apartment in Promenade Towers on Figueroa Street."</p>

<p>2nd and emerald is nowhere near USC. USC is on the 32nd st block, thats 30 city blocks away from where that murder went down, genius. if a USC student happens to die but not anywhere near campus, it doesnt really count as a USC crime. nice try.</p>

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<p>another thing, search for campus crimes at upenn, yale , columbia, nyu, and uchicago. i think that will give you something to do, as its obvious you dont have much of a life anyway.</p>

47

<p>i agree w/MrTrojanMan,</p>

<p>at 1st, it seemed as if you wanted fellow Trojans to be informed as knowledge is better than not</p>

<p>now it just seems like your trying to make USC seem as it being in the Ghetto w/flawed logic </p>

<p>obviously you would rather spend more time on posting the negative instances rather than focus on all the positives</p>

<p>on a day to day basis, the Campus and the surrounding communities around SC is very diverse and the majority are upstanding people trying to make a living as is everyone else</p>

<p>if you are trying to somehow justify that because of these incidents of crime, USC is "unsafe," your sorely misinformed</p>

<p>Crime and bad things happens, that's a part of life bro, its happening this very instant, perish the thought but it does, its all of matter of how you perceive things...please take your negativity, misinformed, unintelligent, jealously somewhere else</p>

<p>BTW, why are you spending so much time on this?...were you somehow hurt because you’ll never be one?</p>

48

<p>Hello MrTrojanMan:</p>

<p>What? You’ve posted here over 400 times and you say that I don’t have a life? </p>

<p>Why don’t you tell the relatives of the dead student as well as all of the other relatives of USC students, who were raped, robbed, or murdered off campus that “it doesn’t really count as a USC crime.” </p>

<p>I’m sure that prospective parents would appreciate your compassionate and thoughtful remarks. Oh, by the way, if your child goes off campus for a hamburger and is injured or killed, sorry, “it doesn’t really count as a USC crime.” </p>

<p>You’re remarks are truly insightful. </p>

<p>I never went to those other universities so I don’t particularly have an interest in their stats.</p>

<p>Typical infantile behavior: You can’t deal with essentials so you attack the person. Are you actually in college yet?</p>

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<p>Bob,</p>

<p>Redski59 has a good point when he notes that every serious crime reported to USC's Department of Public Safety is immediately reported to USC's community (anyone with an @usc.edu domain) via email. If you're concerned and tyring to inform us of how potentially dangerous the surrounding community may be, that's commendable but essentially a waste of time.</p>

<p>USC and DPS are extremely forthcoming about crimes that appear near campus or merely involve USC students (the Maxwell Hazlett case is a poor example as he was walking at night in downtown which is far worse than University Park). Included with each "crime report" email is a checklist of tips students can take to minimize the chances of this happening to them. To my knowledge from speaking with friends at UPenn and Yale which are arguably as unsafe, they are provided with no such service. If anything, while some of the tips might be considered common sense, they've forced me to become much more street smart, a necessary quality for life in any major urban area -- not just USC's.</p>

<p>And again, while I stress that what you're doing is commendable, I take issue with your statement the parents likely don't read the DT and have no idea what's going on. To reiterate, USC has always been extremely forthcoming regarding safety (perhaps even too forthcoming convincing some, such as yourself, that the area may be more dangerous than in reality) and offers mandatory seminars for parents and students to attend while at Orientation regarding safety.</p>

<p>Furthermore, because University Park is so saturated with students and the DPS presence is always so... well, omnipresent, you'd be hard pressed to find students who would report anything other than feeling safe in USC's neighborhood. Just look at the litany of posts pointing out how safe USC is. It's not as though I, USChicka, Afterhours, MrTrojanMan and others don't value our well-being; I'm sure that if we genuinely felt unsafe, we'd report it. But we do not. </p>

<p>Of course there will be incidents in a neighborhood dominated by students who are statistically more well-off than their residential counterparts. But with an enrollment of 31000, getting a serious crime report (at most) weekly seems quite good.</p>

<p>Lastly, and this is just a minor gripe but a gripe nonetheless, if USC's neighborhood is a ghetto, then the entire Los Angeles Basin south of the 10 freeway/west of 405 is a ghetto as the demographics in this entire area hardly fluctuate. Considering this area is about 350 square miles (as computed by knowing LA is 750 square miles, subtracting 350 for "the Valley," and another 100 for basin areas north of I-10, yet adding back 50 for separate LA basin cities not factored in the original 750 like Inglewood and Lynnwood), this defies your definition as I doubt that many would consider a 350 square mile parcel of land spanning many districts and separate cities to be a single neighborhood. These are merely the demographics of Los Angeles. </p>

<p>Come on Bob, many of the students here who have responded to your posts live right here in University Park. I'm writing this from my UP apartment. Who do you genuinely think has a better grasp on the dynamics of the nieghborhood - the students who live there day in/day out and walk home from the library at 4am? Or a person whose grown, understandably I might add, paranoid from reading the newspaper?</p>

<p>If I based my judgment of the world merely from news reports, I'd think the sky was falling down.</p>

50

<p>"Why don’t you tell the relatives of the dead student as well as all of the other relatives of USC students, who were raped, robbed, or murdered off campus that “it doesn’t really count as a USC crime.”</p>

<p>Regarding that, I think what MrTrojanMan was trying to convey was that the person in reference was not only killed off-campus, but far from campus -- and the sole reason it was reported in the Daily Trojan was because he was a USC student. If I'm a UCLA student and I get mugged downtown, 15 miles away, far from Westwood, should I be counted as part of UCLA's neighborhood crime statistics simply because I'm a UCLA student?</p>

51

<p>Hello uschicka :</p>

<p>I don’t understand your question. There were 5 emails in my mail box. Someone asked me a direct question and someone else asserted that my casual citations were obsolete. Should I ignore them? </p>

<p>I read the DT everyday so it only took me a few minutes to collect and address the questions. Are any of my citations false? Do any of you have any FACTS to argue?</p>

<p>I’m amused by some of you who said that I’m spending too much time on this issue, particularly by those of you that have several hundred posts on this forum compared to my few. </p>

<p>What you’re really saying is: “Shut up, you’re enlightening your fellow USC Trojans with tangible information. Crime at USC is our little secret.” </p>

<p>Galileo Galilei! You've been there. What should I do?</p>

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<p>Furthermore Bob, I suggest you read the entirety of your articles instead of cursorily perusing them for the most damning statements. To quote more of the article from your link <a href="http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/pa...ea-942822.shtml%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.dailytrojan.com/media/pa...ea-942822.shtml&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>"Armstrong said he is surprised that there are not more gang-related crimes on members of the USC community and their property because it is such a nice school.</p>

<p>When looking at South Los Angeles, LAPD's Southwest Division, which covers USC and the surrounding area, is considered the "Beverly Hills" of the region, said LAPD Senior Lead Officer Gary Cantu.</p>

<p>He said the property value and quality of life has increased compared to neighboring divisions as USC has worked to better the community."</p>

<p>I also take issue with this, Bob:</p>

<p>"What you’re really saying is: “Shut up, you’re enlightening your fellow USC Trojans with tangible information. Crime at USC is our little secret.”</p>

<p>If you're suggesting that USC students neither receive emailed crime reports for every crime that happens (from mugging upward) nor read the Daily Trojan, nor engage in discourse with others regarding neighborhood awareness and that you're somehow leading us out of Plato's Cave to open our eyes, then arguing with you is absurd. </p>

<p>There's crime in our neighborhood? By golly Bob, we must inform of this! HEY EVERYONE, THERE'S CRIME IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD! DID YOU KNOW THAT? THERE'S CRIME IN OUR NIEGHBORHOOD EVERYONE! </p>

<p>I feel so enlightened now! What's next? Do you plan to inform us, and this is tangible information no doubt, that the sky is blue? </p>

<p>HEY EVERYONE, THE SKY...</p>

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<p>You know, if I wanted to be an agitator or troublemaker, I would have posted here a long time ago. The original poster said, “One of my mom's friends went to USC and they said that it was in the ghetto.” </p>

<p>Since I knew full well that USC is in a ghetto, I posted several definitions that supported that position. </p>

<p>Some of you retorted with, “you definitely don't have to worry” and “it’s not that bad” and I “didn’t notice anything,” so I posted some newspaper articles. Had some of you properly articulate the situation instead of making deceptive and misleading remarks, I would have moved on.</p>

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<p>wait so let me get this straight, do you attend SC?</p>

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<p>boballende</p>

<p>trying to justify yourself by saying “o well, i at least waited a bit to point out these statistics” doesn’t make you any less an agitator...what you are trying to accomplish is basically to point out the negatives w/out even attempting to point out any positive aspects and by definition, that is a “troublemaker”…go look it up in a dictionary if it helps</p>

<p>USC is in a ghetto in comparison to what?...obviously you are comparing it to some other school correct?...what school would that be exactly</p>

<p>no you didn’t “just post newspaper articles”…what you tried and do was increase this mother’s as well as fellow Members of CC and all the students at USC that they should be un-proportionately be afraid of going to school at SC which is not the case…basically what you were attempting to do after more than once, was point to the strictly negative aspects w/out properly looking at both sides of the issue…that by definition makes you wrong</p>

<p>about people saying “you define don’t have to worry” and “it’s not that bad” for the most part, they don’t have to worry to the extent as you would want them to…basically its like w/the security around USC seems to be very good…and as stated earlier, there seems to be descriptions of all reported incidents to keep students aware of these instances...one person stated that they chose not to attend SC because of a situation she encountered on a visit to SC…that to me, was a brash decision because your education should come before anything else and that’s why most people move across the country at times to find the best education they can</p>

<p>now what you were trying to do (good effort) was basically pointing out the negatives and then trying to justify yourself by saying "hey, at least i waited a bit longer to be negative"</p>

<p>state both sides of the issue or just stop posting altogether</p>

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<p>Bob- I wasn't telling you to just ignore the emails. If you go under your personal College Confidential settings, you can check whether you want to receive an email when someone responds to a post in the thread you are participating in. For example, I changed mine so now I am not informed each time there is a new post. </p>

<p>And we were not saying you are spending too much time on the computer or on this website. We obviously have a lot more posts than you. We were saying that you are spending a gosh darn lot of time trying to prove your point, posting a lot of quotes, links, and whatnot. We, on the other hand, are just USC students who are trying to answer whatever questions potential students might have truthfully and thoroughly. We don't go on to schools' forums to post about their bad neighborhood repeatedly. It was understandable that you might want to alert people as to the area, but it has been done already. No need to keep going. </p>

<p>We aren't trying to say that nothing happens here, Bob. We're not saying, "What! Those links are untrue! Don't let any innocent Trojan eyes see these horrid ideas!" We're just saying that all USC students are notified of these events. They are not kept secret in any way. DPS does a great job patrolling our area, but when these events occur, they want everyone to know and keep an eye out. They want us to be safe, and they inform us of these events as they occur. Students know that their neighborhood isn't Pleasantville. Over 30000 students attend USC. No one would go here if the area was truly that dangerous all the time. We posters love USC and do not feel constantly threatened or worried. We live our lives and are enjoying ourselves- the so-called awful neighborhood does not detract from this.</p>

<p>By no means were we saying that you shouldn't be aware of your surroundings at USC, nor, I think, were we giving misleading answers. We all admitted that the area is not the best, and that you should be cautious. No one denied this. We just don't see the need of living in fear that you may be attacked any second. This stuff happens, but if you take precautions, it most likely won't happen to you.</p>

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<p>If such crimes did occur, its best that we know about them and learn from them. Therefore, I am not against Bob posting such information. However, that by no means lessens the significance of USC as a top-notch university. Columbia is located in a ghetto as well, but that doesn't stop them from being an Ivy League.</p>

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<p>bob is obviously a troll account looking to start drama.</p>

<p>That is all that needs to be recognized.</p>

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<p>Themegastud:</p>

<p>Since you have some knowledge of philosophy, you’ll understand why I won’t waste much time debating you when your statements are full of logical fallacies.</p>

<p>I knew full well that redski59 made a false statement when he declared “you would know that parents and students know of every crime around campus after it happens; DPS emails us everytime something happens.”</p>

<p>You plainly confirm that his statement was false when you shrewdly but notably reworded his argument by omitting “parents” from his statement and adding “from mugging upward” in order to create an illusion that his original statement was truthful. </p>

<p>redski59 never said “every serious crime reported to USC's Department of Public Safety is immediately reported to USC's community.” That’s your intentional misrepresentation.</p>

<p>redski59’s assertion is false. USC does not email every crime to students and parents. </p>

<p>You also go off on a red herring proclamation discussing boundaries and comparing other universities to USC. That’s irrelevant. I belonged to USC. Stick to the topic: Is USC in a ghetto neighborhood? The dictionaries seem to think so. My answer, as well as the answers from a few others, is yes. </p>

<p>You also attempt to whitewash the disagreement by flinging out a tongue in cheek all-embracing “USC has crime” confession so that people won’t take time to carefully review the finer points. It’s akin to a drunk driver admitting to being drunk so that no one will take the time to notice the dead bodies he just ran over up the road. </p>

<p>In addition, some of you affront these crime victims by insinuating that the only time people are attacked is when they were stupidly walking alone late at night. The stories clearly prove that some of these people were attacked during daylight hours. </p>

<p>The fair and balance argument seems disingenuous. Prior to my posting, I noted that other posters were assailed and bullied for calling USC a ghetto. Some of you even complained when someone said, “it is not that bad but I know the Ghetto and YES USC is in the Ghetto.” </p>

<p>The only time it really became somewhat fair and balance was after I posted the stories. And still, EasttoWest wasn’t happy with those citations so I posted more. </p>

<p>I can understand why some of you sensibly don’t want others to think that you’re getting a degree from a “ghetto university.” You don’t want to depreciate your degree and you certainly don’t want your friends to think that you’re going to a “ghetto university.” That’s understandable. So in order to protect your investment, diploma, and your own self-interest, some of you attempt to censor negative comments and in the process, you’re disrespecting others who might want to know about the community.</p>

<p>I posted a few random articles on crime at USC…merely a few random articles and some of you guys went senseless. The bottom line is that some of you don’t want people to make up their own mind.</p>

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<p>boballende,</p>

<p>now you're being just ridiculous. "ghetto university"??? Like I already said, the surrounding area in no way,shape or form diminishes the status of USC as one of the finest universities in the USA. Otherwise, Columbia would not be where it is today. Otherwise, USC would not climb the rankings year after year. To base a schools quality of education on where its located is just about as stupid, and BRUIN may I add, as anyone can get. If that's what you base your logic on, then technically Pepperdine should be the best university right now. And i wonder, how far would a "MALIBU DEGREE" take you? Furthermore, unlike UCLA, the cost of our education is not ghetto. The quality of our education is not ghetto. Thats whats most important. We go to college to get an education. That's what we're getting, quality education. We aren't simply numbers like the UC students are. You are sheep brought in, and sent out--plain and simple.</p>