2008 Move-In Day at USC

It was a gorgeous, sunny Southern California day today at USC.

Here's a sparkling fountain opposite Tommy Trojan (click any photo to enlarge):


I don't think I fully appreciated Southern California's palm trees until a friend from Pennsylvania kept marveling over them on a visit here.

We attended a welcome back picnic on McCarthy Quad. Below: some Frisbee players on the quad, with Doheny Library in the background:


Over at the practice field, we glimpsed several sky-high photographers shooting photos of the football team, including these two:


The Lot is the temporary food court, erected in a giant tent, which is serving the campus while the new student center is under construction:


The news here today was that La Salsa is out and Baja Fresh is in.

Here's a shot of the Harold Lloyd Soundstage on W. 34th Street:


Fans of 20th Century entertainment greats will recognize other famous names on several campus buildings, including the Carson Television Center, (Alfred) Newman Recital Hall, Spielberg Scoring Stage, and Sinatra Hall.

Great progress has been made on the new building for the USC School of Cinematic Arts, funded by George Lucas:


You can glimpse the Cinema building's future Academy Courtyard:


The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also contributed to the building. George Lucas has commissioned a statue of Douglas Fairbanks Sr. for the courtyard. Fairbanks was a founder of both the USC Cinema School and the Academy. Fairbanks gave the school's first lecture on cinema in Bovard Auditorium.

A pretty old fountain which looked very refreshing on a warm day:


United University Church:


Unlike some California campuses, USC is military friendly. I love this door topped with an Air Force ROTC emblem:


It's hard to believe that our daughter is over halfway to her degree. We can't say enough good things about her experience thus far at USC. We now understand why members of the Trojan Family are Trojans for life.

The L.A. Times posted a slideshow of move-in day at USC (click on the title of this post), which accompanied an interesting article on the relatively new phenomenon of spring admittance.

Previously: 2007 and 2006.