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Together Apart: Freshman Colloquium

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By Nicole Black

As technology advances, it is necessary to stop and reflect upon how these new developments will change our world in the future. One example is the ever developing Artificial Intelligence (AI) sector. AI promises faster and more capable computers, and many have predicted that these developments will lead to a takeover of careers in fields such as medicine. But when we take a closer look at what medicine really is, and what aspects make up the role of a doctor, it becomes clear that medicine’s roots in humanity will hold fast. However, this is not to say that Artificial Intelligence is useless when it comes to healthcare. In fact, if implemented in a way that will carefully balance the human aspects of medicine, AI can revolutionize medicine, while still allowing doctors to continue their crucial, and fundamentally human, work.
By Valerie Dao

In “Should schools be reopened?” I wrestle with my conflicting wishes of wanting to meet my new classmates and experience “the college lifestyle”- meeting people virtually does not provide the same interactions as meeting physically- while also wanting to protect my and my family’s health and acknowledging the benefits of online learning. Through reasoning, I decide my stance on whether or not schools should be reopened during the pandemic.
By Lauren Malkoun

My analytical essay will pinpoint specific moments John Milton's epic Paradise Lost to see whether or not he succeeds in his plans to justify God. Milton, the narrator, constantly parallels himself with his version of the character Satan. Although this makes it appear that Milton is of the Devil's party, in reality, this parallel is a vital way the Milton is able to justify God. It is in this comparison that Milton makes apparent God's grace. In the end, in an unlikely turn of events, through the similarities between Satan and the narrator, the ways of God are justified and John Milton's intent that is stated in the opening lines of Paradise Lost is fulfilled.
By Jasmin Wang

Proponents of paternalism generally assume that governmental actions to extend and optimize life are morally good. However, by delving into French philosopher Michel Foucault’s theory of biopolitics through the specific context of public health policies in World War II Hawai’i and drawing connections to COVID-19 America, it becomes clear that the optimization of life prioritizes the interests of the state. It is difficult to imagine a world in which we rebel against the optimization of life, but we must actively resist the way paternalism sacrifices the lives of the most vulnerable to ensure its own health.
By Alice Hernandez

My first ever college writing assignment for my WRIT 150 course prompted me to examine a normative practice in education and to analyze its implications of the underlying values that shape education. Based on my personal experiences, I was immediately compelled to center my paper around the expectation for students in America to recite and adopt the pledge of allegiance. Although this longstanding tradition in education is typically overlooked, my paper argues that the expectation for students to adopt the Pledge reveals the educational system’s underlying value of adherence to authority. By calling upon my own personal elementary school experiences and observations, I claim that this educational norm jeopardizes a student’s freedom and impedes their ability to question the authority of their educators, of educational standards, and of the American state itself.
By Eytan Yoles Stanton

Prior to attending USC, I took a gap year to pursue my interest in regenerative agriculture and environmental design. After working in various alternative agricultural operations I gained insight into the challenges and goals of instituting a regenerative framework for human land-based relationships. On one farm, I learned about Permaculture as one alternative for holistic and sustainable land management. On another farm, I was often challenged or looked down upon for my beliefs. In this scholarly personal narrative, I present why I still believe that Permaculture must be the future of agriculture.
By Isabella Griggs

The fundamental values of Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism vary drastically from one another, as do their approach toward education. Confucianism grounds its beliefs in Humanism, highlighting the importance of being a morally "superior man," developed through continued access to education. Taoism encourages non-interference of the natural order of life, meaning that education should be through "doing" and experiencing rather than studying. The strict laws of Legalism demand the rejection of formal education altogether. This paper explores how the fundamental philosophical values influence the thought systems’ attitudes toward education, and examines the benefits and drawbacks of each.
By Maya Sabbaghian

Tropes of domestic abuse have existed long before even the vocabulary to define them by. One particular notion -- abuse without evidence -- is one of the most harrowing and, sadly, recurring themes that appear in literature, film, and media. Often, this theme can be so restated that it loses its impact on viewers. Leigh Whannell's 2020 horror film, The Invisible Man, offers a new approach to depicting this careworn trope through its camerawork, ultimately pushing viewers to understand the implications of not believing victims of abuse.
By Tushar Gupta

My essay explores the development of an artistic movement that originated in France, with the intention of depicting nature truthfully. Gustav Courbet's paintings were at the forefront of this movement, while Charles Baudelaire and Champfleury were art critics who promoted the ideologies of Realism. A Burial at Ornans captures the mourning of a villager's demise, as members from different strata of society gather for the religious traditions. However, to intrinsically showcase ordinary subject matter, the genre painting defies the conventions established by the authorities.
By Lyme Cho

Should health decisions should be left solely up to individuals? This paper will focus specifically on smoking regarding the ethical implications of prioritizing individuals over the public. Although individual values of freedom are important, paternalism promotes just health outcomes by offering solutions to self-control problems. There are three central claims focused on addressing this debate: intervention, constant vigilance, and subjective health values. Drawing from psychology and philosophy, I discuss the extent of paternalism and autonomy adequately intervening in decisions to smoke, analyzing the role of objective values against subjective beliefs in health decisions.
By Victoria Frank

This creative piece was created for the class The Art of Poetry taught by Professor Christopher Freeman with the prompt of writing a poem incorporating the rhetorical mode of comparing and contrasting. It explores one of my challenges this year, which was starting to choose a major or general educational path as a freshman, as referred to in the line “a major decision.” The two options I compared and contrasted through this abstract lyrical poem are committing to my passion for arts and creative writing or my pull to social justice and public policy. Humanist tendencies heavily influence my collegiate career, but the way in which I approach these interests is unclear. I question whether devoting such valuable years to myself or to others is the right approach to life. Growing up in a time where the future is more daunting than ever, maximizing my time and my privilege to access higher education weighs on my shoulders. While I since have discovered there are ways to incorporate both passions, this poem reflects on a period of great uncertainty that may resonate with other students.
By Aristotle Hartzell

This is an excerpt collage of my photo-notebook assignment for Motion Picture Cinematography. We had to take around 30 photos with prompts about lighting, camera angles, color and various other aspects of photography. I chose these five as I feel they remind me of the last few months starting college online: Contemplating, looking through my childhood home, staying up late, and going on weekend excursions.
By Poorvi Singh

Orientalism is a heuristic that helps one understand how power works in a cultural sphere such as novels or artwork. Saidean Orientalism helps us to map how the relationships between economic, historical and political context, forms of valuation, and power dynamics shape not only the context of art but what was deemed as art in British India, and how this continues to seep into societal values and interactions today. In my essay, I unpack through Orientalism how the British employed colonial art to document the Indian natural world and project white saviorism, categorize South Asians to facilitate colonization and impose the European imagination, and influence coveted Indian artists and the representation of their cities.
By Emily Quintanilla

This short story was a piece I completed for my Freshman Seminar. The goal of the assignment was to change the point of view of a well-known story. I decided to recreate “The Tortoise and the Hare” from the perspective of Timmy, an insecure tortoise. Timmy is extremely pessimistic because he knows better than anyone that tortoises are slow and unlikely to win a race against a hare. However, he ultimately finds inspiration in Tortoise’s unexpected win. I was inspired by children’s books and the original fable. I feel this story aligns with their messages and simplicity.
By Sherman Wu

As a scholastic journalist for my high school career and a current copy editor for the Daily Trojan, I have a strong affinity for storytelling through writing, photography, graphic design, and any medium in between. I believe that being able to arrest an audience’s attention by melding objectivity and subjectivity together is the mark of an artist — and that’s what journalists and artists ultimately seek to accomplish. As a feature and longform writer, I struggled to navigate the demarcation between my writing style and the truthful delivery of the subjects that I write about. In writing this analytical essay, I found myself fighting for my own identity as both an artist and storyteller through my analysis of the technical and theoretical dimensions of photography. My essay argues against art critic Charles Baudelaire and explores the indexical relationship of a photo to its subject in more depth.
By Taylor Simonian

Students from a lower socioeconomic background face an uphill struggle early in our educational system and experience inequities in ways that are often not considered. The educational divide has become even more prominent with the recent Coronavirus pandemic. Throughout my essay, I discuss the importance of education in our society, and how we must recognize the problems that contribute to the inequities in our education system. It is critical to recognize these issues because it is only in that way will we have an opportunity to break the cycle of inequities of education resulting from socioeconomic differences.
By ToriAnn Abe

This collection of poetry is inspired by the many themes of 2020, including family time, political messiness, and a reconsideration of values. Because we are learning apart from each other due to the pandemic, the poems also discuss the role of school in the "grand scheme of life." Among many other reactions, I miss feeling connected to people. These poems are an attempt to make sense of the complicated, even if it might be impossible. If nothing else, I hope to have acknowledged what I’ve observed as this year’s chaos and to have brought some sense of beauty to light.
By Alfonso Aguilar Vazquez

Why did the Spanish show Money Heist became so popular in Mexico? I argue that the show managed to connect with the anti-systemic and anti-capitalistic feelings present in Mexico when the show was released. The show made audiences subconsciously support its anti-systemic message through its suspenseful scenes, strong female characters, and idea of going "from rags to riches" also present in popular Mexican telenovelas. I expand on the implications that the popularity of such anti-systemic shows and films could have, as they increase disappointment in the government and boost acceptance of anti-systemic criminal organizations, that could lead to these criminal organizations taking away power and legitimacy from governments, an issue countries will have to closely monitor.
By Brandon Tran

A letter from my forty-year-old self from the year 2042 addressed to my eighteen-year-old self in the year 2020 right now. In it, future me offers solicitude and support to get through this current pandemic (and all-around difficult year) by offering a story with common underlying themes. The story is essentially a true retelling of my parents’ life and a bit of my own -- from their disadvantaged and impoverished upbringing in the slums of postwar Vietnam to me now attending one of the top schools in the United States on a scholarship. Future me wraps up the letter by applying the themes of my parents' story and my own to the broader tale of humanity -- themes like family, community, hope, and persistence. I postulate that the will to persist is not just a feel-good sentiment. It's a responsibility we have to ourselves and each other. And through that responsibility, we unlock the courage to turn hardship into story, just like this letter does.
By Gabriela Martinez

My paper focuses on my personal role as a witness and activist in my own community. From volunteering with the Newark Water Coalition to protesting for Black Lives Matter, it has been incredibly important that I remain involved in my community and to use my own voice. I also evaluate the role of James Baldwin as both a witness and an activist during his time and the foundation is has laid for present-day activists, like me. It is of undying importance that we record what we bear witness to and to reclaim our narratives.
By Damien Chang

Indigenous peoples—disadvantaged, marginalized, and abused—can be found disjointed and without formal government representation in every corner of the world. The Bishop Estate of the Kamehameha Schools is a unique institution that possesses both the jurisdiction and the financial means, through its vast land holdings and investments, to unite their sole beneficiaries, the Native Hawaiians. Numerous antitrust lawsuits and board-member scandals that have racked the institution in the past few decades raise the concern of how to ensure proper governance and representation for its native peoples. I explore both past and recent controversies surrounding this case through the voices of scholars, columnists, and jurists who offer varying criticisms on the institution. Nevertheless, I hope to also explore the bigger picture behind the Estate itself and why its survival and integrity is so crucial for the people of Hawaii.
By Tiffany Yiji Yoon

The screenplay presents life in “home sweet home” amidst the pandemic while Maggie, a 19-year-old college student, has to balance her life at odds with nature. Juxtaposing Maggie’s friendly banters with the cold interactions with her family questions the face-valued simplicity of learning apart. With only an electronic device and the Internet, you’re connected to a world bigger than the one you inhabit. But at what cost does that come? Having the choice and the desire can be the difference that costs one their sanity: as Maggie’s brother Max cannot be separated from his phone, what would Maggie do to get out of the technology waves that surround her? Or is she now dependent on her new lifestyle with screens as her newly found family?
By Hayley LaBonte

A collection of poems inspired by the emotions I experienced in quarantine, and my desire to be heard, seen, and felt in an increasingly chaotic and isolating world. The idea of the personal and the political, and becoming a witness of change is addressed throughout this collection with a brief reflection and interjections of playwright Tony Kushner's essay "Notes About Political Theatre."
By Jordan Wang

This paper discusses the implications of coercive paternalism and its role in fast food. More specifically, it addresses the fast-food ban in South LA in 2008 to first clear up any misinterpretations with the ban and its true intentions, then talk about the implications of race and social class in the ban, and finally how we can supplement the ban and put society on a path to healthier eating. The main research objective is to determine the extent to which government intervention is needed when it comes to protecting one’s health.
By Raymond Lu

Doping in sports has become increasingly prevalent at the professional and international level, and strict measures have been put in place to prevent this form of cheating. However, aside from affecting individual competitions, what are the widespread and deeper effects that doping has on all sports? This paper analyzes how doping hurts and ruins the inherent value of sports on the amateur and professional level, arguing against recent pushes to legalize performance enhancing drugs. I draw on the works of the philosophers Peter Singer and Julian Savulescu to prove that sports are not just about winning, but rather self-growth, enjoyment, and teamwork. Finally, I propose a solution that can potentially remove doping from sports all together, a solution that involves the audience rather than the athletes.
By Abhijay Raj Paturi

My piece is titled “Aren’t we all witnesses?” The hope is for readers, like yourselves, to better understand how to respond to this question in the title. The inspiration for this piece was Professor Mullins and her TA Anna, who teach the GSEM 110 class, Poem, Plays, and Politics. In this class, we have focused our discussions on defining who a witness is through the works of James Baldwin. In doing so, I was able to further reflect upon my choice to act when I learned of my friend’s suicide. The piece begins and ends with my inner thoughts, some of which that pertain to our current lockdown experience, specifically the repetitive nature of each day. I’ve also lost friends and family to COVID-19 like millions of others. We are all currently witnesses to preventable death, especially those due to racial injustice. My goal with this piece is to inspire even one reader to wholeheartedly fulfill their role as a witness.
By Leslie (Chien) Huang

Being an international student, everything I’ve known about American criminal law has come from TV shows like Criminal Minds or How to Get Away with Murder. However, I took the opportunity to learn more about criminal law in the United States through the GE seminar “Language, Law, and Literature.” We responded to the 2008 Ainsworth article on the invocation of one’s Miranda rights, which I initially wrongly assumed to be a simple matter. In fact, there are very specific linguistic requirements that have to be met for arrestees to properly invoke their rights. However, these specific requirements and the power imbalance between law enforcement personnel and the citizen make it difficult for arrestees to actually invoke their rights. Meanwhile, there are a vast amount of ways for an arrestee to waive their Miranda rights. The exposure to this new knowledge has pushed me to reconsider everything I’ve learned through entertainment media and question how the current legal system can be made more just.
By Yee Young Cher (YY)

My work is a creative piece based on DJ Waldie's Holy Land. In my GESM 120 class LA stories with Christopher Edward Freeman, I aim to emulate Waldie' style of using stories, statistics, and photos to bring the reader closer into the world of LA and its history, and here I am doing the same but for my hometown of Penang, Malaysia. I included personal stories, Malay words, more serious topics, and a general mix of what constitutes my hometown. It is essentially a small but meaningful sample of my life in Penang, made for presentation to someone who is unfamiliar with Penang or Malaysia as a whole.
By Matilda Jarvis

An unusual ode to the Kebab, my writing project is a deep analysis of the Turkish delicacy, its appealing traits and its ever-changing symbolism. I begin by outlining an authentic Kebab experience, highlighting how integral it is to British society. I then go onto explain the three main "appeals" of the dish: it is an amplification of the British palate, its individualistic creation that rejects class hierarchies by bringing power to the minority, and the community it fosters. Throughout, I deeply examine the other debates surrounding this seemingly obstinate dish - Is the Kebab even Turkish? What the deeper implication of cultural culinary adaptation? Has the Kebab evolved into a sinister symbol of Islamisation?
By Ashley Ka

Fair play theory’s appeal lies in its supposed ability to explain political obligation without the problems that arise when relying on consent to ground that obligation. However, I aim to show that the fair play account does not succeed in providing a distinct basis for political obligation, as it relies upon consent. I examine several illustrative variations of Robert Nozick’s neighborhood example to demonstrate that in each case, the presence or absence of consent aligns with our intuitive conclusions about the respective presence or absence of obligation. I find that fair play fails to provide an account of obligation (including political obligation) that provides a useful alternative to consent. Consent remains the driving force behind “fair play” obligations.
By Jake Stemmons

My work looks into what could have happened if Japan had decided to help Germany in their attack of Russia instead of attacking Pearl Harbor. A lot would have changed, and the reason for Japan deciding to attack Russia: Secretary of State Hull does not fall ill. This piece of work analyzes how easily history could have played out so differently and in doing so, investigates what could have happened and why it could have happened.
By Danling Zhou

Chinese international students have wrong image in their home country due to media misrepresentation: they are sometimes depicted as rich, lazy kids who study abroad to dodge Gaokao (Chinese college entrance examination). This wrong image leads to unwise decisions of higher education destinations among new students, disrespect to efforts of current students, and mass insult online during the pandemic. This paper analyzes this media misrepresentation, its causes and consequences, and what is hoped to change.
By Megan Zhang

As race is a widely debated topic with so many nuances and gray areas, this essay is my take on what race truly is. In short, I believe that race is a social construct created by man in order to justify the countless injustices and crimes committed to different peoples throughout the ages. I analyze the historical roots of race, focusing most specifically on America's relationship with race, and how Americans seem to use and perpetuate this concept to justify the genocide of Native Americans, slavery, exclusion, and more.
By Yi-Ann Li

Learning apart, away from my peers and in the secluded little corner in my bedroom, has given me a lot of time to reflect on my past as I enter a new chapter of my life. In the moments I spent alone, even if in front of a Zoom call of one hundred people, I found myself living between the feelings of isolation and cultural struggles I faced from my youth until now. Being a second-generation Asian American who grew up in a predominantly white community, I felt torn between trying to fit into American culture at school and hanging onto the Chinese culture of my roots. The alienation I suffered as a result of trying to balance the two feels awfully familiar to the isolation I felt in these past few months, as I struggled to organize my life and find friends. I tell the story of how it felt to lose a part of myself in my inter-cultural struggles, just like how I feel like I’ve lost a part of my life in these unexpected times as I try to find a community of my own through Zoom calls and Instagram DMs at USC.
By Sophia Hernandez

I associated this untouchable box with politics because politics has a ways been a topic that individuals avoid discussing because it is too controversial. The writers that we studied in class are amongst the few that took on the moral responsibility to express the political climate of their time. I included the works Carolyn Forche and Claudia Rankine as well as encounter I have faces as a person of color in Los Angeles to support my analysis.
By Jihu Lee

In my work, I explore how paternalism is justified when making decisions about health. My main points are that paternalism leads us to make better decisions for ourselves and that paternalism is especially important among health professionals because their decisions will impact the public. Ultimately, I argue in favor of soft paternalism specifically, which works on a basis of respect and compassion for others.