Originally from Rockland, NY, Liz Folie is about to graduate from USC with a major in International Relations and a minor in Theatre Arts. She is a USC WYSE mentor and a member of Sigma Delta Tau sorority. She spends her free time hanging out with her cat, Ronan, who followed her home once after leaving a party. “Carver girls are … [Read more...] about Carver Girls Are Tough
Free to Die: The Sexist Paradox of Women’s Suicide Terror
Francesca Bessey is a junior studying international relations and French at the University of Southern California. She is a journalist and activist around issues of peace and conflict resolution. On September 1, 2004, 32 Chechen separatists infiltrated an elementary school in Beslan, Russia, taking 1300 people hostage. By the end … [Read more...] about Free to Die: The Sexist Paradox of Women’s Suicide Terror
Chasing the Unicorn: Around the World
When tackling the idea of the "universal myth," perhaps it's best to consider the idea of whether or not there are actually universal myths. Sure, many cultures share overlapping deities -- the shape-shifting monkey god in both Indian and Chinese buddhist tradition, the virtual copy/paste between ancient Greek and Roman societies, the trickster gods of Norse and Native American … [Read more...] about Chasing the Unicorn: Around the World
Chasing the Unicorn: The Good, the Bad and… That’s It?
In most realistic fiction, there exists a fuzzy line between what's "good" and what's "bad." Anti-heroes slip between those distinctions and end up challenging the viewer or reader's basic assumptions. That isn't a bad thing -- in pushing definitions to new boundaries, we challenge ourselves to reconsider what we might take for granted, or have never questioned to begin … [Read more...] about Chasing the Unicorn: The Good, the Bad and… That’s It?
Chasing the Unicorn: Formative Fiction
A friend of mine asked me the other day, what do I consider to be great examples of sci-fi/fantasy world-building universes? At the time, I didn't really have an answer for her -- for where could I start? But now that I've had some time to think about it, here are my picks for the most interesting, inspired, and inspiring unreal worlds I've had the pleasure of … [Read more...] about Chasing the Unicorn: Formative Fiction