Parking and the illusion of equal access
USC quietly raised permit prices, increased fines and expanded enforcement — changes that hit lower-income students the hardest.
Research, Advocacy, and Results
Tracking our advocacy efforts from investigation to outcome.
Core Advocacy
Analysis & Commentary
The legislature is using a hostile takeover of higher education
South Carolina provides 13% of USC's budget yet elects 80% of its governing board. Students and families fund more than half of operating revenue, yet have no representation.
USC's mandatory DEI-like workshops will kill student organizations
Only 3% of 727 student organizations are fully compliant with new mandatory trainings. At this pace, most organizations could face consequences next spring.
Taking Tiger Burn away from Greek Life was a mistake
I designed three Tiger Burns. What started as a 15-foot wooden cat became a 32-foot behemoth. Yet somehow, watching my mathematical masterpiece burn, I felt nothing.
America's graduate funding mess is a national security risk
The Trump administration has targeted over 4,000 grants for termination to more than 600 universities, targeting between $6.9 and $8.2 billion in funding.
South Carolina's $1M liquor insurance rule is killing Columbia's nightlife
Insurance premiums have skyrocketed anywhere from 100% to 1,000% across the state. For small businesses operating on razor-thin margins, that's a death warrant.
USC paid $1.5 million for a tool that can spy on students
USC's version of ChatGPT has had all of its useful features removed. The most concerning feature is that administrators can view user interactions.
Assembly Street is a danger to pedestrians
On April 2, Assembly Street killed someone. Nate Baker, a 23-year-old USC student, died at a stretch of road that compromises the safety of all who use it.
USC's love/hate relationship with concrete
Instead of an inspiring welcome, students are greeted by a grim, gray maze of blocky towers and concrete plazas — an industrial park aesthetic that undermines the university's historic legacy.