Who We Are
Common Sense Carolina is a non-partisan student advocacy organization at the University of South Carolina. We are students, researchers, and concerned members of the university community who believe that the people paying for this institution deserve a voice in how it’s run.
Why We Exist
Students and families fund more than 50% of USC’s operating budget through tuition and fees. Federal research agencies fund billions more. Yet students have no meaningful representation on the Board of Trustees, no say in how fees are set, and no recourse when Student Government fails them.
We exist to change that.
What We Do
Investigate — We dig into how tuition dollars are spent, how Student Government operates, and where the university falls short of its promises to students.
Advocate — We push for concrete reforms: lower fees, transparent budgets, professional management of student organization funding, and meaningful accountability in student elections.
Inform — Through published research and reporting, we give students the information they need to demand better from their university and their student representatives.
Our Principles
- Non-partisan — We don’t endorse political parties. We endorse accountability.
- Evidence-based — Every claim we make is sourced, documented, and verifiable.
- Student-first — Our loyalty is to the students paying the bills, not the administrators spending them.
- Transparent — Our work is public. Our methods are open. Our funding is disclosed.
Our History
Common Sense Carolina grew out of years of investigative reporting in The Daily Gamecock, USC’s student newspaper. After documenting systemic failures in Student Government funding, election fraud that went unpunished, and university spending that prioritized administrators over students, we realized that journalism alone wasn’t enough.
Students needed an organization that could take the findings and turn them into action — advocating for policy changes, supporting reform candidates, and holding power accountable beyond the news cycle.