Sure, Google and ChatGPT can help you with your school projects – but seeking medical advice from them is definitely NOT recommended! A medical evaluation by a licensed professional is not only the safest route, but always the best.
FAMILY MEDICINE
• General Check-ups
• Ear, Throat & Sinus Infections
• Thyroid Conditions
• Allergies
• Blood Pressure
• Diabetes
• Medical Weight Loss Treatment /Weight Management
WOMEN’S HEALTH
• Pap Smear
• Pregnancy Testing
• Breast Conditions
• Contraception
• Infectious Diseases (STDs/Vaginitis)
• Physicals
• Skin & Eye Infections
• Depression & Anxiety
• Heart Failure, Atrial Fibrillation
• DVT (bloodclot) diagnosis and treatment
• Pre-op Clearance
• Geriatric Care
• Preventive Medicine
• Blood Tests
• Hyperlipidemia (HLD)
• Minor Injuries
• Care Coordination
TABLE OF CONTENTS
STATE OF THE UNIVERSITY
President Amiridis discussed enrollment, infrastructure and more in his address to the university.
06 AI USE ON CAMPUS
Students and faculty discuss use of university-offered ChatGPT and its place within the classroom.
08 SHRIMP RESEARCH
USC’s Baruch Marine Institute researches shrimp migration and life cycles.
11 FRIENDSHIP ACROSS
POLITICS
Cornel West and Robert P. George spoke at an event held by Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse.
14 COCK HOCKEY
South Carolina club hockey joined American Collegiate Hockey Association for 2025-26 season.
Eight former Gamecocks competed in the 2025 WNBA playoffs this season, the most of any university in the WNBA.
18 NIKE PARTNERSHIP
Coaches and student athletes share thoughts on USC’s partnership with Nike.
20 MIKA HABEL
Junior midfielder Mika Habel has stepped up as a captain and a scorer for the 2025 season.
22 FRAT BASKETBALL
Twelve South Carolina fraternities join the national Greek Basketball Association.
25 FARMERS MARKET XCHANGE
Farmers Market Xchange offers baked goods, local produce, deli selections and more.
17 FORMER GAMECOCKS WNBA 28
Art and design students and faculty give input on AI’s place in art.
30 PERFORMATIVE MALE CONTEST
Students participate in a performative male contest amidst national trend.
32 REVIEW: ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest film features standout performances and a spectacular score.
35 FRESHMAN HOUSING
A column about new off-campus housing options and overcrowding for freshmen living on campus.
37 ATHLETIC FEES
A column criticizing the new athletics auxiliary fee for going against the university’s student-ticketing tradition.
38 GEN Z DESENSITIZATION
A column about how social media plays into Gen Z’s political fatigue.
COVER PHOTO BY: Jack Bradshaw
Amiridis talks enrollment, research, infrastructure in State of the University speech
COLIN ELAM | NEWS EDITOR
Record enrollment, research and new infrastructure are a few of the topics University of South Carolina President Michael Amiridis covered in his annual State of the University address on Wednesday, Sept. 17.
The university broke another enrollment record in 2025, admitting 7,800 freshmen and bringing the total Columbia campus population to 40,200, Amiridis said in his speech.
Starting next year, the number of high school graduates in the country will start to decrease, lowering the rate of college applications, according to Amiridis. From 2025 to 2041, the population of high school graduates will enter a period of steady decline, resulting in a 13% decline over that period of time, according to the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
“Many higher education institutions across the country are worried about this change,” Amiridis said. “But in South Carolina and beyond, the brand of USC is very strong and is becoming stronger every year. We have established a great reputation, and all indicators suggest that we will go against the trend.”
After his speech, Amiridis told reporters campus enrollment is expected to hold steady around its current number.
Students are not the only group rising in numbers. Since August 2024, 162 new faculty have been hired at USC, Amiridis said.
“At a time when some other universities are freezing new hires or even eliminating some positions, we’re attracting excellent colleagues at all ranks from across the country,” Amiridis said.
The university brought in a record $323 million in research funding, and over the past three years, the amount of sponsored awards increased by 36%, Amiridis said.
“The numbers indicate that the university is doing very well in a shifting and uncertain funding environment,” Amiridis said.
Last spring, the National Institutes of Health announced a cut to indirect funding rates, among other shifts in federal funding.
“We will see how this is going to affect us versus others, but I expect that the numbers overall across the country will be lower,” Amiridis said after his speech.
Some recent grants include a $5 million award from the federal Department of Education for a project seeking to better prepare students from low-income backgrounds for college, and a $1.3 million grant from the NIH to study the identification of language and reading disorders in bilingual children, Amiridis said.
The university began the semester having completed a few infrastructure projects.
With the new Garnet Station dining hall open, USC served 17% more meals on the first day of class when compared to last year,
according to Amiridis. A new pedestrian bridge will make the walk from South Quad to the rest of campus shorter and safer, he added. The completion of the Science and Technology building’s East Tower will add “state-of-the-art” classrooms, lab spaces and study spaces, Amiridis said.
Despite the challenge of handling parking in an urban environment, USC has made recent improvements to transportation, including the new guidance system in the Bull Street garage, expanded shuttle services and an increased number of issued parking passes, Amiridis said. In October, the
renovation of Thornwell Residence Hall will wrap up, allowing residents of the soon-tobe-demolished McBryde Residence Hall to move in, Amiridis said.
McBryde’s demolition will pave the way for a modernized residence hall with 900 beds, and a new wing to the neighboring Honors College will add an additional 180 beds, Amiridis said.
“This is a period of turmoil in higher education and a lot of challenges,” Amiridis told reporters after his speech. “Despite this, we’re hitting records every year, and I’m very proud.”
An audience waits for University of South Carolina President Michael Amiridis to give his State of the University address on Sept. 17, 2025, at Russell House. Amiridis talked about USC’s enrollment record, research funding and new campus infrastructure in his speech.
PHOTO: COLIN ELAM
14,000 students, faculty access ChatGPT through USC-OpenAI partnership
KELLY GRADY | ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Over 10,000 students, approximately 38% of the undergraduate population, and 4,000 faculty have registered with USC-provided ChatGPT as of Sept. 15, Executive Director of IT Service and Customer Engagement Liz Shirkey said.
At the beginning of the school year, USC’s Department of IT announced the university’s partnership with OpenAI to provide free access to ChatGPT for all students, faculty and staff.
STUDENT USAGE
The Daily Gamecock interviewed 40 students and found that 43% had signed up to use university-offered ChatGPT programs.
Third-year civil engineering student Chase Staley uses universityprovided ChatGPT “a couple times a week” and is hesitant to use it more than that.
“Putting your whole faith in AI is something that you probably just shouldn’t do, especially around engineering, when it’s (something) that takes people’s lives into consideration,” Staley said. “I’d rather have myself do the calculation, rather than be reliant on AI to do it.”
First-year political science student Benjamin Nguyen, who hasn’t used university-offered ChatGPT, said it should only be offered to specific majors such as those in STEM fields. He compared potential ChatGPT access for STEM majors to the College of Information and Communications’ access to tools in the Adobe Creative Cloud, such as Photoshop.
Nguyen does not support using AI for writing-heavy fields such as political science, he said.
“I just feel like (AI) kind of takes away from the human aspect of it,” Nguyen said. “I don’t like AI in writing. I don’t like AI in art, anything creative, anything that’s related to humanities. I just feel like it takes away from that.”
“You have a person to
Out of the 23 students interviewed
However, fourth-year film and media studies student Lucky Jones said AI could provide endless ideas in creative fields.
who said they had used USC’s ChatGPT, six said they primarily used it to create practice problems or study guides to prepare for quizzes and exams.
First-year aerospace engineering
to provide him with example problems and simplified explanations.
ingrained in education, fourth-year cyber policy and ethics student Allison Chipps said ethical concerns may arise due to lack of comprehensive regulations and ethical guidelines.
student Noah Elliott said he uses AI
“It’s really a gray area right now because there are so many laws and regulations that have not been made for AI,” Chipps said. “I think that as universities, schools (and) people in general start to use it more, they need to come out with ways that are not going to allow AI to be used in ways that it should not be used because it is still so new.”
AI IN THE CLASSROOM
From English to computer science, professors are implementing USC ChatGPT in their classrooms across disciplines and in a variety of ways.
Associate English Language Professor Michael Gavin has embraced AI in his classroom. This semester, Gavin is teaching a special topics English class that focuses on the linguistic foundations of AI.
“I really believe that you can’t understand (AI) theoretically unless you also have a practical sense of how it works,” Gavin said. “I want to make sure the students get lots of experience … There’s both an intellectual foundation, but then also the practical hands-on element.”
Gavin also created a custom GPT for his students to use in his Enlightenment literature class, he said. Dubbed Scriblerus, it is the fifth-most-popular GPT within the USC ChatGPT system as of Sept. 29. Gavin encourages his students to work with Scriblerus as a tutor, he said.
Sharon Gumina, an information technology instructor, said she permits students to use AI in her programming classes but requires them to acknowledge they used AI and disclose all their interactions with the chatbot.
“What I’m trying to teach students is you need to be transparent when you use AI to prepare them for the workplace,” Gumina said.
Gumina said ChatGPT has also been helpful in identifying mistakes in her students’ programming, as it finds bugs in their code quicker and streamlines their work.
“You don’t see your mistakes as rapidly as somebody else will. So now, instead of having to rely on another human being, … they can go to AI to help them with debugging,” Gumina said. “In the old days before AI, we could sit and stare at our screen for eight hours and not be able to identify an error … So it has reduced frustration and allowed them to focus more on learning.”
FROM ADMINISTRATION
The university decided to provide students with free ChatGPT access to level the playing field and provide equal access to a normally paywalled service, Shirkey said.
“The president and the board felt like it was really important that all of our students have access, and equal access, to an AI tool,” Shirkey said. “Employers are really looking for AI fluency and literacy in graduates, and it’s really
As someone with over 30 years of experience in cybersecurity, Gumina said. “It’s just another technology. It’s not going to be able to replace human creativity and our ability to visually process ... It’s more of an assistance to me, and I don’t think we’re going to stop it.”
ChatGPT servers outside the university, which OpenAI can use to train its large language models.
“Using the USC account ensures that your data isn’t being used to train models, which some of us have varying degrees of privacy concerns (about),” Shirkey said. “For me, I really don’t like tools that train on my data, so I prefer to use the USC tool. I would really focus on the security and the privacy aspects of it if there were students who were on the fence about using the USC-provided account.”
According to USC’s contract with OpenAI, the company will not be able to view, store, monitor or use data entered
to a press release from the university. The statement pledged to uphold high ethical standards for academic use of AI, including “protecting the privacy and intellectual property of our community of users while ensuring the preservation of academic integrity in the classroom.”
Gavin said he had designed his class prior to USC’s deal with OpenAI, but he was able to use USC’s ChatGPT platform for his English classes.
“It made my work a lot simpler to have a system where I could create stuff and share it with (students), and it would all be both free and have a little bit better privacy protection,” Gavin said.
DESIGNS: GRACE DE PEÑA
USC Baruch Institute researchers join study of Lowcountry shrimp, rising temperatures
KELLY GRADY | ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
Researchers from USC’s Baruch Marine Institute, as part of the Lowcountry Shrimp Collaborative, have begun publishing their research on the impacts of rising water temperatures in Lowcountry estuaries on the life cycles and migratory patterns of penaeid shrimp.
The study found that rising temperatures have created expanding ranges for penaeid shrimp, leading to increased populations farther north and longer shrimping seasons.
The collaborative was comprised of researchers from various marine science facilities across the Southeast, including the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the University of South Carolina Baruch Marine Institute. From late 2021 to mid-2025, the Lowcountry Shrimp Collaborative collected field samples and analyzed historical data sets of shrimp migration patterns dating back nearly 40 years.
The Baruch Marine Institute’s field research lab is located on the Hobcaw Barony reserve in Georgetown, South Carolina, and is part of USC’s School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment.
The focus of the collaborative’s research was white, brown and pink penaeid shrimp, three species of shrimp sought by commercial shrimpers in the Lowcountry. The collaborative studied how rising water temperatures were affecting shrimp development and migration.
Fourth-year marine science doctoral student Liam Batchelder joined the program in late 2022 as part of his PhD research with the Baruch Marine Institute.
“This project was collaborative and worked with multiple universities and worked with state agencies,” Batchelder said. “I was really excited to be part of this team, studying shrimp and other organisms and how they’re being influenced by changing environmental conditions.”
The project was funded by a federal grant from the National Estuarine Research Reserve Science Collaborative, a department of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Baruch Institute research affiliate Robert Dunn and Assistant Director Matt
Kimball worked as principal investigators on the project and contributed to the research proposal that earned the collaborative its funding. Dunn and Kimball joined the Lowcountry Shrimp Collaborative in late 2021.
“We, in our proposal, linked up with other researchers in the Southeast ... who were working on similar research questions,” Kimball said. “‘How do animals with complex life histories use these estuaries?’ or ‘How do they complete their life cycle?’”
SCDNR Associate Marine Scientist
Michael Kendrick served in a supervisory role throughout the collaborative’s research, but SCDNR as an organization worked on all stages of the project.
“We had field biologists in the field helping to collect the samples ... We were heavily involved in both the data collection, data analysis, report writing, manuscript writing, leading the publication of a manuscript,” Kendrick said. “We’ve really been an active collaborative participant in this project, and I’ve been really excited to be able to be a part of what’s been a fantastic team.”
Field analysis was performed in three national estuarine research reserves: North Inlet-Winyah Bay, ACE (Ashepoo, Combahee and Edisto Rivers) Basin and Sapelo Island in Georgia, Batchelder said.
National estuarine research reserves are protected sites and relatively untouched by the effects of human activity, Dunn said.
“Those are sites that are selected for protection, for research, for stewardship, for education, and so because we’re working in those places, they’re special,” Dunn said. “We were fortunate that we were working in mainly fairly pristine locations relative to a lot of the coastline.”
The researchers spent a few days each month in the field, collecting samples of water and estuarine organisms from all three national estuarine research reserves, Batchelder said. They would then identify and analyze their samples back in a lab setting.
“The majority of my work was done in the field ... If there were things that we couldn’t identify, we would bring them
back, and I would have to identify them under the microscope,” Batchelder said. “Ideally, what you end up with is a bunch of Excel files of numbers, and those will have counts and those will have identities of different species.”
The collaborative also worked with commercial shrimpers from the Lowcountry to determine how these environmental changes would impact the industry, Batchelder said.
Kendrick said the changes in shrimp populations could indicate change across other estuarine species.
“Something that we hear from commercial fishers often is that things are different now than they used to be,” Kendrick said. “(Shrimp) distribution across the estuary at different times of the year is different than they used to be, and that has important implications for shrimpers.”
Batchelder hesitated to judge whether rising temperatures and climate change were going to positively or negatively impact penaeid shrimp, but said their migration patterns and ranges would likely continue to change as rising temperatures would allow
the shrimp to stay in estuaries for longer into the winter.
“It’s definitely going to change where we find shrimp, not just in South Carolina, but all the way across their range. We’re seeing shrimp farther north than we ever used to see them,” Batchelder said. “There’s enough of them now in the Chesapeake Bay and (off) the coast of Maryland and Virginia that they’re actually able to support small fisheries. That was never possible before.”
Looking forward, Kendrick said the Lowcountry Shrimp Collaborative was just the beginning of future estuarine ecosystem research.
“I think the research team has been really great at working collaboratively and putting their heads together to try and understand the state of the shrimp resource across the state and across the region,” Kendrick said. “There’s a number of different avenues that we’ll be able to jump off from, using this project, using this team as a starting point to help us even further understand ... some of these things that may help us to, maybe in the future, better forecast potential changes to shrimp population that may be informative to members of the public.”
PHOTO COURTESY OF LIAM BATCHELDER
Three shrimp sit on a wooden board to be measured. Researchers at USC’s Baruch Marine Institute, working with the Lowcountry Shrimp Collaborative, have begun releasing findings on how rising water temperatures in Lowcountry estuaries are affecting the life cycles and migratory patterns of penaeid shrimp.
In conversation: Professors Cornel West, Robert P. George discuss faith, friendship across political differences
KELLY GRADY | ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR
The newly-founded Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse held its first guest speaker event, featuring theologian, philosopher and political activist Cornel West and legal scholar and philosopher Robert P. George, on Sept. 12 at the Darla Moore School of Business.
George is a conservative and West a socialist, but the two have been friends for over 20 years despite their opposing political viewpoints. The pair travel the country to discuss their relationship and co-authored “Truth Matters: A Dialogue on Fruitful Disagreement in an Age of Division”, which was published in January 2025.
During the event, George and West discussed their faith, importance of the pursuit of knowledge and of challenging oneself with different ideas and political views.
They opened the discussion by addressing the recent assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10 and its indication of rising political violence and polarization around the country.
“(Kirk’s death) is a tragedy for the country that has a palpable significance,” George said. “It throws into stark relief the extreme polarization we now experience as a society, where so many people are losing the ability to think of and regard each other as fellow citizens with whom we disagree, but rather (have) fallen into the (deadly) trap of regarding and treating one’s fellow citizens … as enemies to be destroyed.”
West discouraged political violence and likened Kirk’s murder to a personal tragedy, regardless of his political views.
“Murder is murder ... human beings are precious,” West said.
George said the way to rid oneself of false beliefs and seek truth is to listen to others, even when their views do not align with one’s own beliefs.
“If we are willing to tolerate (opposing views), but merely tolerate, not listen … we’re not going to get anywhere because we’re only going to be confirmed in the beliefs that we already have,” George said.
George and West emphasized the importance of learning for the sake of learning and that
sacrificing assumptions leads to personal growth. “There is no maturation, growth, development ... there is no life without death,” West said. “Any time you let an assumption go, that’s a form of death. Any time you wrestle with a better assumption, that’s a form of rebirth.”
Both men said that it is imperative to desire the truth and the importance of resisting the urge to appeal to those in power to gain favor with them.
“When you’re invited into circles of great power and influence … it can ruin you. It’s a dangerous drug,” George said. “But we need to form people … who can resist that.”
West said his Christian faith helps him to continue seeking truth and resist temptation to appease those in power.
“I’m a Christian, and when Jesus says, ‘Follow me,’ it means that you go in the midst of public life … But what you’ve got your eyes on is this beloved community that you are trying to enact in your work and witness,” West said.
During a time of political polarization, it can be easy for people to become disconnected from a diverse array of ideas, which can lead to hostility, George said.
“Polarization is manifest in the way people are putting themselves into silos,” George said. “And once you’re in those silos, it can become all too easy to begin to think of yourself as in a cold civil war with your fellow citizens.”
Nadege Keller, a teacher at a Columbia high school, who attended the event, said she thought universities were “essential” to fostering civil discourse.
“It would be better for all of us if we could just talk to one another, even if we strongly disagree,” Keller said. “I have a lot of friends who I disagree with, and I learn more from them than I do from my friends who agree with me.”
National Fellowships Coordinator Heidi Bretz, who attended the event, said she had heard of West in a college religion class and viewed the topic of civil discourse as important and timely.
“I think the university holds a really unique and kind of central place in civil discourse, because it is the place where a lot of ideas are born and refined,” Bretz said. “It’s a great opportunity for people to come together and to engage with really tough conversations.”
Philosophy professor and Interim Executive Director of the center Christopher Tollefsen hosted George and West because the center wanted to introduce the concept of people who disagree yet remain civil and friendly with one another.
“It’s important that we bring the best possible representatives of a wide variety of different positions, so that they can give the best arguments and the best evidence for what they think, and do it in a context of freedom where people can speak their mind with integrity,” Tollefsen said.
Tollefsen said he couldn’t be happier with the result of the event.
“I think that we’re going to be seeing the fruits of what we’re doing tonight for many years to come,” he said.
PHOTO: KELLY GRADY
Cornel West (right) speaks on stage with Robert P. George (center) and Interim Executive Director of the Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse Christopher Tollefsen (left) during the center’s first event at the Darla Moore School of Business on Sept. 12, 2025.
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South Carolina club hockey moves up in leagues as players see new opportunities ahead
While the college football season rages on and the weather starts to cool towards the winter, hockey is quietly carving out its place in the heart of South Carolina.
The South Carolina club hockey team is taking the steps to reach new heights to begin the 2025-26 season as the sport and its fandom continue to grow in the Southeast.
Over the summer, the club hockey team, branded as “Cock Hockey,” agreed to join the American Collegiate Hockey Association. The team spent the past two seasons playing in the Amateur Athletic Union club-hockey circuit. The decision, effective this season, marks Cock Hockey’s return to the ACHA after a four-year hiatus.
The Gamecocks hoisted the AAU Division I trophy on March 10, 2024, in the inaugural season of AAU clubhockey in 2023-24 after going 18-4-1 and defeating the Buffalo University Bulls in West Chester, Pennsylvania.
Senior center and Team Captain Jake Puskar said joining the ACHA offers the chance for Cock Hockey to achieve the feeling of winning a national championship again.
“It’s so much more fun to win with all of your best friends, all your teammates,” Puskar said. “We’re definitely chasing that
Cock Hockey moved into Division II of the ACHA to form the Southeastern Conference Hockey League in partnership with the Atlantic Coast Conference to make a sub-division with five other conference foes. Those opponents include the Alabama Crimson Tide, the Auburn Tigers, the Georgia Bulldogs, the Ole Miss Rebels and the Tennessee Volunteers, all schools who are NCAA members
“Just a super good opportunity for our program, not only this year but for the future,” said Benjamin Riccitelli, senior defenseman and Cock Hockey director of finance. “It’s a super respected league, and there’s a lot of better competition
Since its founding in 2001, Cock Hockey was a previous member of the ACHA Division III before moving to the Collegiate Hockey Federation after the 2019-20 season. The Gamecocks are back in the ACHA in Division II after two years in the CHF and two more years in AAU.
Despite moving into a new league with a set division, Cock Hockey still has the autonomy to schedule its own games, according to Brendan Flaherty, club president and senior defenseman
The team is scheduled to mostly remain in the area, including several out-of-conference teams, such as the Wake Forest Demon Deacons and the North Carolina Tar Heels, along with the annual matchups with the Clemson Tigers. Flaherty said that Cock Hockey eventually hopes to travel to play new teams, but it will come at a cost.
“It definitely opens up our schedule for more possibilities of playing different opponents we’ve never played,” Flaherty said. “The ACHA is definitely a little bit more expensive ... This year, we kept our schedule relatively similar.”
As a club-level team below the NCAA, Cock Hockey is completely player-funded, according to Riccitelli. Each player makes a one-time payment per season of $2,500 to fund travel costs, equipment and renting ice time, according to Sara O’Briant, Cock Hockey director of philanthropy and public relations.
“It really shows the dedication that our team puts in,” Riccitelli said. “It’s a huge financial burden for college kids to pay this money for the team, but it really shows what family we are.”
Cock Hockey has done its part to cut the difference on home ice. The Gamecocks play at Flight Adventure Park in Irmo, South Carolina, informally known as “The Plex.” The Plex has capacity of 600 people, routinely selling out as fans fill
BRENDAN DOUGHERTY
PHOTO: SEBASTIAN GODUN
FILE — Senior defenseman Brendan Flaherty shoots the puck away from a Florida player during South Carolina’s game on Sept. 26, 2025, at Flight Adventure Park. The Gamecocks defeated the Gators 4-2, scoring three goals in the third period.
up the bleachers and line the boards
Flaherty said The Plex sells out in 20 to 30 minutes for most home games, especially against SEC opponents,
team, it’s just the fans that come out,” Riccitelli said.
The team relies on its regular season record to qualify for the ACHA regional tournament, beginning on Feb. 20, 2026. If the Gamecocks win the regional tournament, they will qualify for nationals, beginning on March 12, 2026.
While the playoff structures of both divisions are similar, the ACHA offers a new challenge. Cock Hockey could face any Division II team across the country in the ACHA playoffs, including talent from the Northeast that it’s never seen before.
and will sell out in just five minutes against Clemson. Flaherty said the team prioritizes scheduling games against SEC opponents to generate immediate hype from
“That’s the best part of playing for this
“It’s a new challenge, more teams that we aren’t used to facing in the past when we get to the end of the season, but it’s something we know we’re ready for,” Flaherty said. “We know we’re one of the top teams in the country when we play at the best of our game.”
Puskar said because the ACHA is more “notable” than the AAU, the move could bring new talent to Columbia. While the team cannot offer scholarships below the NCAA level, junior winger and Club Vice President Enzo Fanelli said the prospect of eventually playing more northern teams could influence the college decision for young players in its favor.
“I think a lot of people were a little discouraged that we don’t play a lot of
makes it a lot more interesting, and I feel like a lot of guys like the vibe that we give.”
Cock Hockey also has a player recruitment file interest form on its website.
The College Hockey South conference, the largest hockey conference in the Southeast, is a fellow AAU division that is fully reclassifying to the ACHA. Flaherty, an Orangeburg, New York, native, said the Southeast continues to grow when it comes to club hockey.
“There’s 10 rinks within 30 minutes of my house,” Flaherty said. “You come down here, and there’s four rinks in the whole state.”
Puskar credited the success of the few National Hockey League teams for helping create a market for collegiate club hockey in the Southeast, noting the back-to-back champions Florida Panthers. According to Puskar, the Southeast is becoming an area for hockey lovers, providing a tangible medium for the Gamecocks to thrive.
“Hockey in the South is booming,” Puskar said. “There’s a market here. There are fans that love watching us play, love watching our games because they love hockey.”
While the sport becomes more popular in the South, Cock Hockey is not satisfied with the club level. Puskar said he expects the growth to continue and eventually lead to the NCAA’s expansion for the Gamecocks and their opponents.
“There’s a market for it, and I think it’s going to keep growing,” Puskar said. “I think at the end of the day, we’re going to see D1 hockey here at this school and all across the SEC, and I can’t wait for that.”
PHOTO: SHALA GUESS
FILE — Junior center Carson Skove races a Florida player for the puck on Sept. 28, 2025, at Flight Adventure Park in Irmo, S.C.
DESIGNS: JOSHUA LESTER
Eight former Gamecocks appear in 2025 WNBA playoffs
The 2025 WNBA playoffs started on Sept. 14, with eight former Gamecocks tied for a league-high with UConn (8) and Notre Dame (7). The eight players are on five different teams: then-No.
2 Las Vegas Aces, then-No. 3 Atlanta Dream, then-No. 6 Indiana Fever, thenNo. 7 Seattle Storm and then-No. 8 Golden State Valkyries.
Forward A’ja Wilson is on the Las Vegas Aces, guards Allisha Gray and Te-Hina Paopao are on the Atlanta Dream, forward Aliyah Boston and guard Bree Hall are on Indiana Fever, guards Tiffany Mitchell and Zia Cooke are on the Seattle Storm and forward Laeticia Amihere is on the Golden State Valkyries.
In the first round of this year’s playoffs, Atlanta was upset by the Fever 2-1 to advance to the semifinals. Boston led the team in rebounds, averaging 9.7 per game over the three games to help lead the Fever over the Dream.
Despite the loss, Gray was optimistic and said the team was moving in a “great” direction.
“We proved a lot of people wrong this year,” Gray said. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to play as well and be in the position that we are in.”
The Aces also advanced after defeating the Storm for the third time in four years. Wilson led the team in scoring, with 29.3 points per game, and blocks, with two per game.
After the loss that eliminated the Storm from the playoffs on Sept. 18, Mitchell said she’ll use the offseason to regroup.
“Just take some time for me,” Mitchell said. “The season’s kind of been a whirlwind and one that I haven’t had in a very long time or honestly ever.”
Amihere and the Valkyries were eliminated in the first round 2-0 by the No. 1 seed Minnesota Lynx.
The teams left after the first round of the playoffs were the Aces, Fever, Lynx and Mercury. The Aces and Fever have faced each other once on Sept. 21 and will continue for a best-of-five series as each hope to make the 2025 WNBA Finals.
For the Fever, this would be the team’s first chance to make it back to the finals
since 2015 and Boston’s first chance at a WNBA championship. A finals appearance for the Aces would be the third in four years and a chance for Wilson to win her third championship in her WNBA career.
The second round started on Sept. 21, and the Fever won 89-73 on the road against the Aces.
Both Gamecocks struggled to score efficiently, with Boston shooting 33% from the field and Wilson shooting 27% from the field. The two former Gamecocks contributed in other ways too, as Boston led the Fever in assists with five, and Wilson led the Aces with 13 rebounds to secure a double-double of 16 points and 13 rebounds.
AWARDS AND RECORDS
Several Gamecocks set records and took home awards in the 2025 WNBA regular season.
Gray set the single-season scoring record for the Dream with 745 points, while also hitting 93 3-pointers en route to the Dream’s franchise record of 30 wins this season.
Gray was one of two players in Dream history to hit 90 3-pointers within a season and became the 37th player to make 400 career 3-pointers.
She also became the only guard in WNBA history to be named the WNBA Eastern Conference Player of the Month three times. Only 10 other players have been able to accomplish this feat, including her former teammate Wilson.
Wilson ended up winning two awards: the league’s MVP award for the fourth time in her career and Defensive Player of the Year award for the third time.
With her fourth MVP, Wilson becomes the only player in WNBA history to win the award four times, breaking what was a four-way tie between her, Sheryl Swoopes, Lisa Leslie and Lauren Jackson.
Wilson was presented with her fourth MVP award during practice before the Aces’ game against the Fever. She thanked the team for helping her throughout this season.
“It has my name on it, and it’s going to be that,” Wilson said. “But this one is all of
us. There is no that without each and every last one of you guys.”
Wilson also led the league in points per game for a second consecutive season and blocks per game. She ranked second in rebounds per game and fourth in steals per game. Her performance over the season helped the Aces win 16 straight games to end the season, the second-longest streak in WNBA history and a franchise record, to clinch the No. 2 seed.
REMAINING GAMECOCKS
Dallas Wings guard Tyasha Harris, Los Angeles rookie forward Sania Feagin and Chicago Sky center Kamilla Cardoso were on teams that did not make the playoffs. Harris played on the Wings for her sixth season in the WNBA and averaged
4.6 points, one rebound and 2.6 assists per game out of the five games she played this season.
Feagin was drafted in the 2025 WNBA Draft with the 21st overall pick this past offseason. She saw limited time, averaging 4.8 minutes a game, 1.3 points per game, 0.7 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game. Due to the Valkyries joining the league as an expansion team, the WNBA regular season increased the number of games from 40 to 44 games. Cardoso entered her sophomore season and played in all 44 games this season.
She missed six games last season due to an injury in the preseason. She averaged 13.6 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and 1.2 blocks per game this season.
JAYDON FORD | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
FILE — Junior forward Aliyah Boston rushes past the Clemson defense and starts her sprint toward the basket on Nov. 17, 2021, at Colonial Life Arena.
PHOTO: SYDNEY DUNLAP
South Carolina coaches, student athletes react to new partnership with Nike for 2026-27 season
WILL MILLER | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
For the past 18 years, as students or fans watched any South Carolina athletic event, they were greeted with the Under Armour logo right on the front of the Gamecocks’ uniforms.
However, beginning in summer 2026, students will see the interlocking U and A replaced with a swoosh, the signature logo of the Nike brand.
While Under Armour provided South Carolina athletics with classic uniforms, such as the “Tribute to Cocky” for women’s basketball and throwback football jerseys similar to ones worn by George Rogers, players and coaches are excited to make the move.
BREAKING DOWN THE DETAILS
The University of South Carolina announced a new sponsorship deal with Nike on Aug. 22 that will go into effect on July 1, 2026, and will last through 2036.
The details of the contract include $70 million in merchandise and $5 million in cash. Nike also agreed to work with the men’s and women’s basketball teams to provide them with A’ja Wilson apparel.
A bonus of up to $230,000 is awarded to the school if any of its major athletic teams, such as football or basketball, are able to win the national championship.
Nike will replace the school’s current sponsor Under Armour, who has been the school’s sponsor since 2007. Under Armour could have matched the deal proposed by Nike but elected not to, according to Athletics Director Jeremiah Donati. This will not be the first time the Gamecocks have worn the famous swoosh logo, as both the men’s basketball and women’s soccer teams wore Nike uniforms in the early 2000s, according to The State newspaper.
Before the announcement of the partnership, South Carolina was the final remaining SEC school to be outfitted by Under Armour, as Auburn announced its own deal with Nike in 2024.
Beginning in 2026, 11 of the 16 SEC schools, including South Carolina, will wear the signature check mark on their uniforms.
COACHES’ THOUGHTS ON NIKE
With the switch coming, many different players and coaches have spoken about the switch in apparel. Head football coach Shane Beamer said in an August press conference that the response from his team had been positive following the announcement.
“A lot of excitement. Certainly grateful for our partnership with Under Armour for so many years, and they’ve been a great partner and a great friend to Carolina Athletics,” Beamer said. “But the response from our team and the response from recruits has been really, really, really positive.”
Beamer said the brand change has played a role in recruiting.
“It’s something that has come up with some recruits that we’re recruiting right now,” Beamer said. “One of the questions in my office with some recruits on official visits was what the apparel contract looks like going forward.”
Other coaches, such as women’s basketball head coach Dawn Staley, took to social media to share their feelings on the new partnership.
Staley’s relationship with Nike goes back nearly 30 years. In 1998, she released a shoe of her own called the Nike Zoom S5. Twenty-seven years later, Wilson revealed her own signature Nike shoe this February.
PLAYERS PRAISE THE SWITCH
Junior wide receiver Nyck Harbor said recruits typically favor Nike over any other brand provided.
“Nike has been one of the favorite brands for a lot of people. So that’s just going to bring a lot of good things to us,” Harbor said. “So that’s just bigger for us, bigger for the university. Glad they got it done.”
Junior defensive back Brandon Cisse, who transferred in from North Carolina State this offseason, said that Nike is the best there is, and he is excited
to see what the brand has in store for the Gamecocks.
The Wolfpack is partnered with Adidas; if Cisse chooses to remain with the Gamecocks for his senior year, he will have worn all three of the major brands in his college career.
Sophomore defender Yvan Malarte said he and the rest of the soccer team are looking forward to the change in brands next season.
“Everyone is really excited about that,” Malarte said. “It’s my favorite brand. I love Under Armour, but Nike is another step. I’m really happy.”
While some South Carolina student athletes are looking forward to the switch next season, others, such as graduate student athlete Luke Doty, are disappointed they won’t be able to wear the new uniforms next year. Doty said he is excited for the returning athletes.
“Everybody is really fired up,” Doty said. “It’s a cool opportunity for the guys that are still going to be here. Under Armour has been a great partner up to this point, and it’s going to be cool to see that Nike check on the jerseys.”
PHOTO: AUGUSTA LEWIS
FILE — Senior outside hitter Alayna Johnson spikes the ball over the net during a match against Campbell on Aug. 30, 2025. Johnson totaled nine kills and helped the Gamecocks defeat the Camels 3-0.
Junior midfielder Mika Habel brings veteran leadership, talent to South Carolina men's soccer team
With the South Carolina men’s soccer team beginning its season with a 3-2 start, junior midfielder Mika Habel has emerged as a key player on and off the field.
Habel enters the season as one of the three captains for the team, alongside sixth-year defender Andrew Goldsworthy and senior midfielder Alexander Stjernegaard. South Carolina head coach Tony Annan said the leadership displayed from the captains has been important this season.
“(Goldworthy and Habel) were here last year. They had a really good year, probably the best year in the program’s recent history,” Annan said. “So them leading the way, leading the culture and leading the team is hugely important on and off the field.”
The 2024 South Carolina men’s soccer team went 10-5-2 last season. This marked the first time since 2016 that the Gamecocks recorded a winning record and won double-digit games.
Junior midfielder Jonah Biggar, who was also part of the 2024 squad, credited Habel for his inclusive leadership.
“He makes everybody feel involved, and he shows that he cares for each and every one of us,” Biggar said. “He’s not a leader that tears you down, but builds you up.”
While on the field, Habel has been one the Gamecocks’ most consistent scorers in the midfield. He is one of three South Carolina players that has found the back of the net twice this season. Habel also scored a crucial go-ahead goal in the 75th minute during South Carolina’s 3-2 victory over the College of Charleston on Aug. 21 in its season opener.
Habel said the Gamecocks set up their scoring opportunities based on a combination of aggression and strategy.
“We try to attack aggressively, and that includes everyone from every position. So, if there’s a chance to get behind the line, you do it,” Habel said. “I try to execute what the coaches taught us and get the ball in the net.”
Habel said the Gamecocks are not content with their two defeats this year,
and their goal is to improve in every practice and every match.
“(It’s) not ideal because we lost two times.
But we want to win every game. That’s the goal. That’s the standard here,” Habel said.
“We want to improve every game, but most importantly, (we don’t want to) look too far ahead and keep our standard high.”
Habel, originally from Regensberg, Germany, has spent his entire collegiate career with the Gamecocks. Habel said he has enjoyed life at the University of South Carolina and his time in the South.
“I love the city. People say I’m a little bit Americanized now because there’s not one German teammate here,” Habel said. “The people, the culture, the South here in America and this school of South Carolina, I don’t think it gets much better.”
After missing a bulk of the 2024 season due to multiple groin surgeries, Habel is back on the field for his junior season. He said the injury was a tough time for him, and he is glad to be back out on the field to compete with his team.
“You always want to compete with the team, (and) unfortunately I couldn’t do that because of those injuries,” Habel said. “It means the world to me to be back out with the guys … and most importantly play games and win games.”
When available, Habel has been one of the most reliable assets in the South Carolina program. Since arriving in 2023, Habel has been in the starting lineup 20 times out of his 23 career appearances.
TANYON ZIOLKOWSKI | MEN’S AND WOMEN’S SOCCER BEAT WRITER
PHOTO: EMILY DANIELSKI
12 South Carolina fraternities join growing Greek Basketball Association
JAydon ford | ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
After competing in an intramural basketball league in his freshman year, second-year risk management and finance student Mark Laughery has stepped into a bigger role: organizing a team for Phi Sigma Kappa as they join the Greek Basketball Association this year. The Greek Basketball Association was started in 2022 at the University of Indiana by Beta Theta Pi member Michael Bales.
Greek basketball on campus, according to fourth-year political science student Will Karikas, a member of both Phi Gamma Delta and the IFC.
“The IFC account got a DM from the GBA asking if we wanted to expand,” Karikas said. “And I was all for it.”
Laughery said his fraternity’s president asked him to recruit their team over
now competes against more fraternities, with a regular season of eight games instead of four.
Laughery also said joining the GBA has made the league more professional. Every team designed a customized jersey that has the fraternity’s name on the front. Players in the league also select their last name or nickname as well as a jersey number to go on the back.
“It’s just so much more official,” Laughery said. “First off, having the jerseys with our frat letters on it is a lot better, as well as the fact that it’s one league with all the fraternities.”
Bales recruited Dallas Mavericks Minority Owner Mark Cuban to sponsor the league. Cuban was a part of Phi Lambda Phi at the University of Pittsburgh before transferring to the University of Indiana where he graduated in 1981. Phi Lambda Phi wasn’t an active fraternity while he was at the university, but he has visited both schools’
Cuban served as the majority owner of the Mavericks for 23 years, including when they won the 2011 NBA championship. Over the two decades, the Mavericks saw an overall increase in game attendance. The state of South Carolina is home to two schools participating in GBA, as Clemson joined shortly after the Gamecocks in the spring. Karikas wants the rivalry to transfer to the GBA level through an annual game against Clemson.
“Our plan is to hopefully talk to
Clemson and have the winner of our two leagues play each other, either here or there, switching off each year,” Karikas said. “Hopefully at a bigger venue and make it a big event.
REGULAR SEASON
The 12 USC fraternities participating are Phi Sigma Kappa, Phi Gamma Delta, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Pi Kappa Phi, Beta
FILE - Tyler Flynn, a third-year finance student of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brings the ball up the court against a Beta Theta PI member at Blatt PEC on Oct. 1,2025. Both these teams are a part of the Greek Basketball Association.
Designs:
Ransleigh Baldas
PHOTO : Justin brown
Theta Pi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Pi Kappa Alpha, Chi Psi, Theta Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Sigma Chi.
Each team is assigned to one of three divisions. Teams in the same division will face off twice, along with two out-ofdivision games each.
As of Oct. 4, Theta Chi (6-0) is leading Division 1, Sigma Phi Epsilon (7-0) is leading Division 2 and Chi Psi (4-2) is leading Division 3.
The games are split into two 15-minute halves. Free throws are also rewarded on every team foul after eight fouls in a half. Every game also features two referees, as well as scorekeepers that track the players’ minutes and other statistics such as points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
At least every other week, the social media team posts the top players’ statistical rankings and league standings on the @gba.southcarolina Instagram page. Players within the league leave playful or encouraging comments about their teammates’ performances.
PLAYOFFS
Playoffs are set to start after the eight games of the regular season. The top 10 teams at the end of the season will compete in single-elimination games.
If any teams end the season with the same record, the tiebreaker will be point differential. Karikas also said the league will implement a play-in similar to the one the NBA adapted in the 2020-21 season.
“Seven through 10 will be in a playin, and then ... we’ll have a straight, single-elimination playoff,” Karikas said. “It’ll be three rounds: a quarterfinals, semifinals, finals.”
Laughery is optimistic about the playoffs, as it adds more to the competition, he said.
“I’m looking forward to when we get to playoffs and when it feels like you’re playing for something,” Laughery said.
The winner of the playoffs will go on to compete in the GBA’s first-ever national championship in November in Memphis, Tennessee. Sixty-four teams compete in the national tournament, and 30 of those 64 will be the winners of each school’s playoff tournament.
South Carolina players on teams that miss the postseason will still have a chance at taking home individual awards.
“We’re going to do an all-star game at the end of the year, before playoffs, as well as some (awards) like MVP, defensive player of the year, rookie of the year,” Karikas said. “I’m going to send out a
competes for Phi Sigma Kappa, also voiced similar concerns about what could be improved within the league.
“There are a lot of change-ups on who you’re playing, when you’re playing, where you’re playing the day of, which is kind of hard to organize with students,” Chiffriller said. “And hopefully, we can get some indoor courts because it is hot out here.”
GROWING THE BOND
While the league is working to make improvements after some obstacles with
“I feel like everyone’s together and meeting each other more, so we’re able to actually talk to each other and share over basket ball,” Karikas said.
Fourth-year finance student Joey Mitchell plays for Chi Psi, which currently leads its division. Mitchell said he looks forward to continuing the league and potentially winning the championship for South Carolina this year.
“Everything’s been good so far, and I hope we could do it in the future years, and hopefully we win it all,” Mitchell said.
organizing and refereeing, some fraternity members have liked the overall decision of joining the GBA.
“I think that it brings out competitiveness between the teams but also within the team,” Chiffriller said.
“It is a good way for people to vent out some pent-up frustration, and by the end of the game … everyone’s always feeling good.”
Joining the GBA has allowed members of different fraternities to interact with one another.
FILE - Kurt Lesho, a third-year finance student of the fraternity Sigma Phi Epsilon attempts to stop Jake Solomon, a Beta Theta PI second-year undeclared student, from a made basket in the Frat Basketball League at Blatt PEC on Oct. 1, 2025. The Greek Basketball Association holds basketball games for different fraternities at different schools.
PHOTO : Justin brown
courtyard pool & hot tub w/ jumbotron TV
sport court with basketball & pickleball courts
fitness center, wellness center w/ meditation rooms, yoga studio & saunas
study lounge with group and private study pods
golf simulator & content creation studio fully furnished studios to 5-bedrooms
VIP
+
Farmers Market Xchange provides local produce, baked goods
ISABEL RODGERS | ARTS & CULTURE WRITER
Located in the Vista, the Farmers Market Xchange offers a spot to buy local produce, enjoy a freshly-brewed coffee or sit down to a homemade meal.
The Farmers Market Xchange first opened on Sept. 1, 2023, founded by Neset Hikmet, USC professor and director of the Applied Sciences Center for Applied Innovation and Advanced Analytics.
Neset Hikmet started the market to meet the need he saw in the community for reliable, local produce during COVID-19, he said. His family had a farm, Tom Creek Family Farm, and he knew a farm-to-market store could provide what people were lacking, he said.
Since it first opened, the Farmers Market Xchange has evolved and now sells far more than produce.
“It is a micro farmers market that encompasses both a cafe, a vegetable stand, a deli store, a charcuterie, a bakery, sandwich stand,” Neset Hikmet said. “It’s all in one, like a Swiss Army knife (of) farmers markets.”
The market developed into what it is today as it grew in popularity, not only as a spot for students and professionals in Columbia alike to shop, but also to socialize, Neset Hikmet said.
“It’s evolved (into) more of a community place rather than a business place,” Neset Hikmet said. “Many people enjoy coming and sitting, grabbing a cup of coffee … So we kind of veered towards more sandwiches and coffee and similar products, more so than lots of vegetables from our farm.”
The Farmers Market Xchange does as much as it can in-house, such as making its own bread and sandwiches and roasting its own coffee beans, Neset Hikmet said. For products that the market does not produce independently, they work with local partners who share a commitment to quality products, he said.
USC Aiken alumnus and Hikmet’s son, Ali Hikmet, runs the business. Ali Hikmet fills in wherever needed to keep the business running smoothly, he said.
As the business has grown beyond only offering fresh produce, a commitment to supplying as many healthy products as
possible remains the driving factor behind everything else, Ali Hikmet said.
“(The Farmers Market Xchange) is more of a farm-to-table type of store that focuses on healthy eating, healthy living,” Ali Hikmet said. “We make sure that all the products that we source have no preservatives or no antibiotics.”
Returning to the basics has helped the market to grow in popularity as it seeks to provide healthy goods to health-conscious students, Neset Hikmet said.
First-year USC graduate student Aidan Reilly finds the Xchange welcoming, calm and spacious, he said.
“It’s just a nice, welcoming, friendly environment, whether you just want to get a quick bite to eat, or you actually want to get your shopping done, or both at the same time to be efficient,” Reilly said.
Reilly first heard about the market from a friend who bought bread from it, which is still his favorite thing about the market, he said.
“Students that shop here, if you ask about specifically students, they come for the sourdough, they come for the bagels, especially, they come for the sandwiches,” Neset Hikmet said.
Ali Hikmet said some of the most popular products at the market are raw milk and yogurt, free-range eggs, sandwiches and bread.
“If you go to any retail store, they have the most ingredients in there when it’s just three main ingredients when you’re making bread,” Ali Hikmet said. “So, we just decided to kind of focus on taking out all those additives that are in there.”
Among the market’s regular clients for bread is the USC football team. Neset
Hikmet specially makes high-protein, organic bread, croissants and bagels for the team every week, he said.
Freshly brewed coffee sourced from Central and South America, among the cheapest in Columbia, is another draw for the market, Ali Hikmet said.
The market’s daily lunches, served from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, are also popular, with about 70 people coming to enjoy the freshly-made meal every day, Ali Hikmet said.
Every Monday, the market serves a Mediterranean-style meal that reflects Neset Hikmet’s Cypriot heritage, he said.
Open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Farmers Market Xchange offers a variety of goods to the Columbia community, from health-conscious shoppers to students looking for a new study spot.
FILE - The interior store area of the Farmers Market Xchange artisan market on the corner of Lady and Lincoln Street on Sept. 9, 2025. The store offers artisan delicatessen and fresh, handmade breads, as well as fresh produce from its farm.
PHOTO : JACK BRADSHAw
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ARTS & CULTURE | FEATURE
‘It’s
not going away’: AI’s place in art, design classrooms
cj Leathers and miles shea | Arts & Culture editor and aSSISTANT ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
As universities across the nation build partnerships with artificial intelligence companies, some USC students and faculty said the technology’s gone from being controversial to just another tool, even in art and design.
Though automated art isn’t a new phenomenon, it’s more widespread and accessible than ever before. Some fear AI will wipe out design entirely, while others hope it simply enhances human work.
On June 20, USC announced a partnership that gave all students free access to ChatGPT. That includes the service’s DALL-E image generator.
Jason Porter, a senior visual communications instructor, doesn’t see much of a point in banning his students from using AI and tries to integrate it into all his classes.
“Regardless of what I think about it, it’s happening,” Porter said. “AI is a fantastic tool, and I think if we’re not engaging with it, we are missing out.”
“I still feel like that there’s a heavy pushback,” Mack said. “I’ve noticed it’s become more accepted in spaces like engineering, programming, stuff that’s STEM and logic-based.”
AI has become increasingly common in many fields. Research firm Copyleaks’ 2025 AI in Education Trends Report found that 90% of students have used it for academic purposes.
As for faculty, Graphic Design and Illustration Professor Marius Valdes said he’s cautiously optimistic, tempered by concerns about the unpredictability of AI’s rapid development. While AI does not currently have an established place in his classroom, he will allow it, as long as there’s a good reason.
“My new attitude this year is that, if you are using it, I just want to be made aware of why,” Valdes said. “I can then ask the question, ‘Well, could you have done that without it?’”
A NEW NORMAL
Valdes said the rise of AI reminded him of the internet gaining a foothold when he was a fresh college graduate looking for a job.
“Half of my classmates had an opportunity to go work at CNN interactive, and I was like, ‘What’s that?’” Valdes said. “But look where that went. Everybody now is online 24/7.”
Valdes is far from the first to compare AI’s rapid advancement to that of the internet. In a recent study, independent research firm MacroStrategy Partnership estimated the “AI bubble’s” impact at 17 times as large as its .com predecessor.
Porter said that while he initially found AI somewhat concerning, it’s quickly become just another aspect of his daily creative life.
“The idea of a new technological tool that can produce something different, I hopped on board immediately,” Porter said. “Once I realized what it could and couldn’t do, it became a lot less scary.”
AI, Mack said.
people understand Spanish through translation but don’t understand the rules of it.
“We all know if you understand anything about another language, written speech is different from spoken speech,” Duvall said. “Nine times out of 10, whatever you say based on what AI has told you what to say is not going to make sense to the Spanish listener because of all of the rules that you don’t understand about spoken language.”
The growth rate for each generation’s technology has only increased and continues to do so, Chi said. She compared the public’s reactions to the rise of AI to its reactions to cellphones.
“It’s like if you gave a smartphone to people living in the 18th century or 19th century, and they’re probably going to go nuts,” Chi said. “So, I think that’s kind of how we feel right now, because AI just kind of jumped out of nowhere, and then (became) advanced so quickly.”
AND THE BAD
ILLUSTRATION: MEGAN GOURLEY
Media Arts and Studio Art Instructor Catherine Chi said that while AI is readily accessible to students, there’s still a long road ahead before they all understand how
THE GOOD
The implementation of AI in art will allow for art students and others outside of art to understand artistic rhythm quicker, said Shekeese Duvall, CEO of OTR Media Group and adjunct professor for the USC School of Visual Art and Design.
“If you’re generating a cat, what do you want that cat to look like?” Duvall said. “You have to have exploratory language around its color, what his nose looks like, the size of his claws, its wrinkles on his face, its eye color, all of these things that an artist is going to play with when drawing.”
Although Duvall said AI tools make it easier for people to hone their basic artistic skills, many often overlook structural rules. Duvall compared it to when
Lana Burgess, director of the McKissick Museum and clinical professor of art history and museum studies, played a key role in SVAD’s exhibition “Generations: 100 Years of Art at USC at the McKissick”.
Students had to conduct their own research about artists that have come through USC and determine their importance to not only the university, but their relevance in the development of art.
She said she worries that AI may take away from students’ ability to think deeply, which will ultimately have negative effects on art history.
“I’m hesitant,” Burgess said. “I think it’s taking away the opportunity to develop some of those critical thinking skills that are really necessary to do anything in life.”
Burgess’ students spend time researching to understand the works they study and preserve accurate artist information. They sifted through records and archives of the McKissick Museum and the South Caroliniana and Thomas Cooper Libraries to illuminate USC’s art history.
unique artifact,” Burgess said. “You can’t replicate that tactile experience, at least not that I understand at this point.”
traditionally research-andwriting-heavy, and generative AI can’t replicate those fundamental skills.
Generative AI can be useful for idea development, but information can often be overlooked or missed, Burgess said.
“Not everything is digitized yet, so not everything is available, and it takes developing those investigative skills, as well as formulating your own research questions, to make original contributions,” Burgess said.
That same critical thinking and inquiry extends beyond research to designers who are testing how it can aid people’s lives, Mack said.
Mack is in the graphic design and illustration program and said he is often around classmates that don’t trust AI and its potential influence. If people don’t continue to question AI and its uses in
“We need to use it as a large language model, collaborate with it and help ourselves come up with better, more informed ideas and ultimately, better design.”
THE HUMAN ELEMENT
Companies as large as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s, along with USC, have been testing the waters of fully AI-generated advertising and design. Marvel Studios opted for AI over a designer for the intro sequence of 2023’s “Secret Invasion”, a television miniseries.
Mack said when he notices brands using generative AI instead of human-made work, it gives him a bad feeling.
we don’t feel like paying someone or don’t feel like it’s worth our time,” Mack said. “That, to me, spells doom for good design.”
Second-year art studio student Tiwaii Funchess, who is a tattoo artist, said that a digital tool can’t take his job quite yet.
“Some people in the industry use AI for their tattoo designs,” Funchess said. “A computer can’t do a tattoo.”
Valdes said that if AI art does truly become commonplace, its flaws will elevate human art’s quality.
“What makes us human is when you can see the human hand and the human thought,” Valdes said. “The stuff that looks like it was created by a human is
Mack said there are still many important questions to answer before the art and design world fully embraces the tools.
“If it’s not checked by people who are willing to ask questions, then yeah, it is going to get out of control,” Mack said. “As a designer, I feel like it’s my job to work with and understand all of the up-and-coming technology.”
All things considered, Valdes said he is optimistic about the future of artists working with AI without being replaced by it.
“I’m excited to see how it’s creatively used,” Valdes said. “I firmly believe there will be innovators who will do great things.”
‘Performative male’ contest comes to USC
MILES SHEA | ASSISTANT ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR
On the evening of Saturday, Sept. 20, the Horseshoe was filled by people with Labubus, tote bags, feminist literature and vinyl records. They were there for USC’s very own performative male contest, which brought together a large crowd and 22 contestants hoping to win over the audience.
Characterized by their love of matcha beverages, the music of Clairo and flannel, the idea of a performative man has become well-known. Performative male contests have been popping up on campuses all over the country, from as far as UC Berkeley to the University of Alabama and UNC.
USC’s version was organized and hosted by Morgan Thomas, a thirdyear supply chain operations and management student, who was inspired by seeing those previous contests on social media.
“Over the summer, I was chronically online,” Thomas said. “(This trend) was a fun way for everyone to connect and express themselves.”
The contest had to be postponed 30 minutes from its original start time of 6 p.m. due to rain. There was no guarantee of strong attendance, but as the new time drew nearer, more and more spectators and contestants arrived, which was gratifying for Thomas.
“I really appreciate how many people showed up,” Thomas said. “It felt very welcoming but also fun, like building a community on campus.”
Trying their best to align with the ideal image of a performative male, contestants claimed to study fields such as women’s and gender studies, feminism and environmentalism. One contestant wasn’t a college student at all, Sam Siceloff, a third-year student at Dreher High School.
First-year biology student Sarah Noonoo heard about the event on Yik Yak and came to support her friend, first-year jazz studies student Santi Balagtas. She said it was hard to make a prediction based on the strong lineup.
“I have no idea,” Noonoo said. “Everybody’s doing a really good job, so I don’t know who’s gonna win.”
First-year art studio student Stella Drill isn’t male, but felt compelled to compete anyway.
“I’m a performative man at heart,” Drill said. “I may be a woman. I won’t let my sex stop me at achieving what God has given to me.”
Some competitors, like first-year international business student Ryan Kapoor, learned about the event only 30 minutes before it started. Secondyear vocal performance student Peyton Kakouras said he found it hard to tell how much other contestants had to prepare.
“I can’t tell if some people actually are trying, or they dress like this every day,” Kakouras said.
Contestant introductions had their highs and lows, from Kakouras and Balagtas breaking out into “Fly Me to the Moon” and inviting the crowd to sing along, to Siceloff briefly drawing boos when he referred to “Wuthering Heights” as “Withering Heights”. He then recovered with a guitar performance.
Second-year art studio and psychology student Karina Jarrin said contestants fit the bill from the very beginning.
Each contestant presented their case, with some even handing out free flowers and other products to boost their chances.
After some final questions from the crowd confirming music taste and feminist literature knowledge, voting began, with the winner being determined by who got the loudest cheers. Though there were many competitors, the audience picked their champion in just a few quick rounds.
Balagtas, equipped with matcha, wired earbuds and a Labubu hooked to his jeans, emerged victorious. Along with those props, his musical talents and putting a spotlight on USC Jazz Girls Day, his professed love and respect for the many women made him stand out.
“It feels great,” Balagtas said. “But really, all the real winners are all the women here.”
First-year chemistry student Alexis Walters, who coached Balagtas and led his support team, consisting of several women such as Noonoo along with a nonbinary member, said her longtime friend’s words were far from merely performative.
“That first guy was a very good example of a performative male,” Jarrin said, “because he just kept talking.”
After each contestant received a free keychain from Thomas’s own tote bag, the first stage of the competition lasted around an hour.
“He’s always been very respectful towards women,” Walters said. “I think having that authenticity really helped.”
Walters said the event was a strong example of students coming together.
“The USC community is great. I’ve seen a lot of people who wouldn’t normally come together come together at this competition,” Walters said. “Even though it was delayed, everyone still showed up. Everybody had a good time.”
Though he didn’t win, Kakouras said he still had a great time and hoped the event would help people feel comfortable being themselves, regardless of labels others may apply.
“It’ll show people to be more confident,” Kakouras said. “Express who we are on the outside.”
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Review: ‘One Battle After Another’ balances great performances, great score, political timeliness exceptionally well
JAMES PERKins | ARTS & CULTURE WRITER
Veteran auteur director Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest film, “One Battle After Another”, reveals its political relevance as it opens with a raid on an immigrant detention center, an issue that is constantly making national headlines. The film, a loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel “Vineland”, follows former activist and pyrotechnic Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) in the search for his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) after being forced into hiding and on the run. After a sequence of Bob and his partner, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), participating in the exploits of the leftist revolutionary group “The French 75,” the film jumps ahead 16 years.
After the time jump, Bob and Willa are living in the fictional town of Baktan Cross, hiding out in the woods in a constant state of paranoia. Despite this, they continue trying to live relatively normal lives, as Willa trains in karate and Bob attends parentteacher conferences perpetually under the influence as a coping mechanism for his constant fear. As he proclaims later in justification of his poor memory, “I am a drug and alcohol lover.”
Eventually, this existence is disrupted when Bob’s past catches up with them, and they are forced on the run and into deeper hiding from the military forces led by Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), on the pretense of hunting down the former
revolutionaries but with his own nefarious motivations truly driving his hunt. Despite his flaws, Bob cares about and loves his daughter deeply. The film creates an exaggerated scenario of the worries of a single father wishing primarily to guide and protect his daughter, and the sense of futility that can come with that scenario. There is no shortage of memorable performances in “One Battle After Another”. It has become expected of DiCaprio to give great performances, and he delivers as the constantly-stoned protagonist. Infiniti’s debut performance as his daughter is just as impressive. She balances her character’s complex situation as a teenager beginning to learn the truth
of her mother’s past and constantly living in the shadow of the admittedly justified paranoia of her father.
Penn’s performance as Lockjaw is overthe-top in the best way possible. Penn nails his character’s unique blend of being pathetic and insecure yet intimidating. He won’t let anything stand in his way of becoming a member of the racist secret society, inexplicably named the Christmas Adventurers Club.
Benicio del Toro’s performance as community leader Sensei Sergio St. Carlos highlights many of the comedic moments of the film with his deadpan delivery and untroubled persona in the face of chaos. He is a joy to watch on-screen, especially when he acts as a guiding force for Bob, with both in a race against forces much larger than themselves. As he describes his community role beyond being a karate sensei, he explains that he has a “bit of a Latino Harriet Tubman situation going on.”
Despite having so many major characters present and subplots occurring simultaneously, the film is able to juggle all of these moving parts with ease. These various aspects, along with Radiohead guitarist and composer Jonny Greenwood’s tense, piano-heavy score, culminate in a literal roller coaster simulator of a climax that doesn’t let the viewer breathe until the very end with a uniquely tense take on a car chase.
As chaotic as a synopsis of the film may make it sound, its scenes are woven together so masterfully that it ends up being a remarkably-quick-feeling 161 minutes. Each scene is so intricately constructed and executed that it’s impossible not to get absorbed into this world and be in a state of constant waiting to see what insane thing will happen next.
Anderson’s most recent film paints a damning yet hopeful picture of modern America, with supremely entertaining and re-watchable results. Memorable performances, both from blockbuster mainstays and film newcomers, combined with the film’s exceptional cinematography, score and timeliness make “One Battle After Another” a mustwatch, preferably on the big screen.
design: jack bradshaw
Column: USC housing boom leaves first-year students behind
This year’s incoming class stepped onto a campus full of disarray. Rising housing costs and construction delays have left the USC housing scene in shambles. As each school year passes, seemingly more and more apartment buildings are erected and open their doors with shiny, state-of-the-art accommodations, while first-year students are required to live in old, outdated dorm rooms that rarely see improvements.
While it’s fantastic that upperclassmen are provided with this extensive list of options, USC’s focus on upperclassmen seems to be at odds with the current reality of
the student housing situation. The class of 2029 comprises of nearly 8,000 firstyear students, the largest incoming class in USC history.
Gateway 737 is the latest example of a concerning question: Has USC chosen extravagant projects over the minimum living standards of its first-year students?
Located on Gadsden Street near Colonial Life Arena, the building offers nearly 1,000 beds across 15
also here at USC, it would seem reasonable for incoming students to expect adequate housing with modern features and living spaces, something the university has notoriously not provided to all students in recent years.
This fall, students who were assigned rooms at the brand new Thornwell Residence Hall had to begin their semesters living in McBryde, with a planned relocation taking place sometime within the next few weeks. Although, the timeline for Thornwell’s completion remained unclear until very recently.
The uncertainty of the situation diminishes the supposed benefit of a “temporary” setup and increases stress for first-year students. It’s important to consider the impact such a situation can have on these students’ first-year experience.
unique floor plans while offering amenities such as a resort-style pool, exclusive study spaces and a fitness center.
The housing crunch has only deepened with construction delays and half-finished renovations. Thornwell Residence Hall’s renovation was supposed to be complete by the beginning of the semester, yet it remains incomplete, effectively leaving the class of 2029 out to dry.
This development raises concerns about USC’s commitment to funding new upperclassmen housing projects through affiliated foundations and their timely completion, while neglecting freshman living situations.
The planned demolition of McBryde Quadrangle, the formerly all-boys dorm, was supposed to take place in summer 2025. However, it still stands, serving as a monument to the university’s almost comical approach to first-year housing. For the first time, female students lived in the building, segregated from their male peers on a hall-by-hall basis, with extra beds added in order to accommodate the large influx of new students.
For many of these students, it feels like a punch in the gut from the university. With college tuition costs not only increasing in the United States but
In a statement, USC Internal Communications Manager Collyn Taylor said, “We understand the need for more on-campus housing, which is why we’ve committed to adding over 1,000 beds to the heart of campus with a new residence hall where McBryde currently sits.”
Prolonged occupation of an outdated dorm widely criticized for its dated decor and poor cleanliness can potentially undermine students’ mental and physical well-being, as well as foster feelings of resentment for the university’s seeming lack of funding and care for first-year student housing. This predicament serves as a seriously jarring contrast for a school that loves to boast that it provides the “No. 1 first-year experience.”
USC’s shiny new housing options for upperclassmen only highlight the contrast between its attention to detail when it comes to older and younger student housing. Temporary options and cramming large numbers of students into buildings that have stood since the 1950s not only leads to stress and poor mental health among the affected students but serves as a comical reminder of the shortcomings of the university’s housing system and philosophy.
RYAN HARLOW | OPINION WRITER
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Column: USC’s hidden new athletics fee disregards tradition
Sofie Kurzawa | Opinion Writer
USC has long prided itself on letting students scan into football games without paying at the gate. However, this convenient aspect of the home game experience now comes with a hefty price tag, one that many students didn’t realize they were covering.
In June, the USC board of trustees approved the 2025-26 fiscal year budget, which introduced an annual $300 athletics auxiliary fee. This fee is in addition to the existing student ticket fee of $104 for full-time students and $172 for part-time students, increasing the annual cost of “free” entry to more than $400 a year.
In a statement, USC Internal Communications Manager Collyn Taylor said, “The auxiliary fee is designed to continue student access to athletics events/ticket lottery, address increased event/program operating costs, and enhance the student experience across multiple USC sporting venues.”
Taylor also said enhancements will be made to “student centered in game activity and promotions, facility upgrades and additional support for health/safety staffing at athletics events.”
At first taste, the fee is digestible. Students can continue to enjoy watching athletics without paying before each game,
COMIC:
and collegiate teams can stay motivated by a roaring student section — all while funding much-needed renovations and acquiring talent for our teams.
But the change charges hundreds of dollars a year to every student, including those who rarely, or never, attend games. If the university wants full stands and fair bills, it needs clear communication, opt-out options and public reporting on how this money improves the student experience.
It’s no secret that college is expensive. Between paying for tuition, housing and meal plans, many students find themselves scraping for gas money and a coffee every week. Having an extra $150 in their pockets each semester could make all the difference.
With over 650 clubs and organizations, many students may have chosen USC because they looked forward to spending their time pursuing interests outside of tailgates and frat parties. Although South Carolina’s Division I and SEC status for athletics pulls in many applicants, it’s not a given that every student is all-in on game day.
The price tag on athletics becomes even more unfathomable when you consider how much funding other student activities
get from the school. A prime example is club sports teams, a pastime that hundreds of South Carolina students partake in, but still have to fundraise on their own for competitions. This begs the question: Why are students forced to pay the price that school sports demand when their activities are blatantly ignored?
Additionally, why should students who don’t care to attend athletic events have to pay this fee too? Students who don’t go to games owe the school the same amount as those who attend every game, effectively subsidizing everyone else’s entertainment without having a say.
Admittedly, this is a clever way to get students out of their dorms to support school sports. If they’ve already put a down payment on their tickets, they’ll want to maximize their profits and enter game ticket raffles at every given chance.
In comparison to other SEC schools, South Carolina still has arguably one of the smoothest processes for students to get football game tickets. At the University of Georgia, students pay $80 to enter a raffle for a “package” that determines which games they can scan into. For a seemingly more stressful experience, students have fewer options in choosing the games they can attend.
The best way for both parties to get what they want comes from transparency and flexibility in options. South Carolina should take the reins in clearing things up. This starts with notifying students and parents about the new fee and informing them of its purpose and implications.
The university should also provide a way for students to opt out of this new fee altogether. At the very least, the university could explore alternatives, such as separating the new fee from the original student ticketing model and providing a raffle system that allows students to enter on a game-by-game basis.
If South Carolina is going to silently slip new costs onto students’ bills, it owes everyone a full accounting of where their money is going.
If USC takes these steps, it could improve relations between students and the school’s athletics. If students can see that the money they’ve invested in Gamecock athletics is helping to improve the gameday experience, a sense of pride will be instilled in them.
But, at the end of the day, the surest way to keep students cheering in the stands is to take the price tag off their pride and off their bills.
Column: Another crisis, another scroll: Gen Z’s political numbness problem
least daily. That constant connectivity has a cost — dulled emotions. When you see the same content over and over, it begins
In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General warned that social media poses “a profound risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.” The advisory pointed to design choices that prioritize novelty and speed over reflection. Effectively, the system rewards our shortest attention — then trains it like Pavlov’s dog. The result is fatigue. Many young people cope by conserving energy and focusing on content instead of community. They seek control, not meaning. In the process, their ability to reflect, and often to act, gets weaker. If people lose faith that they can influence governmental decisions, participation quickly dissipates. Trust is on the floor, and the floor is already low. According to the Pew Research Center in May 2024, only 22% of Americans said they trusted the federal government. For students who’ve grown up watching institutional failure play out in TikTok videos and Twitter threads, that distrust is embedded in the interface itself.
But weakened reflection is only half the problem. When people do engage, the feeds ensure they’re not even looking at
Among Gen Z and younger adults more broadly, social media platforms and independent creators now rival and often surpass television and traditional news outlets as primary sources of information. And when news feels unreliable or fragmented, civic motivation, or the willingness to vote and show up, drops. And the result is already visible at the ballot box. According to CIRCLE, the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, youth turnout in 2024 fell by three points, with only 41% of 18- and 19-year-olds voting. By contrast, about 75% of older Americans cast ballots, according to the
Across age groups, men in the U.S. remain more likely than women to identify
with the GOP; the Pew Research Center’s 2025 National Public Opinion Reference Survey shows that even Gen Z (ages 18-27) reflects that pattern. Research from Ofcom, the United Kingdom’s communications regulator, further describes a fragmented “manosphere” ecosystem in 2025 that most strongly appeals to socially isolated young men.
Awareness of controversial figures such as Andrew Tate — a British-American influencer known for promoting hypermasculine, anti-feminist views — is extremely high among teen boys, according to a 2024 YouGov survey. Meanwhile, many young women’s feeds center around themes of safety, rights and well-being according to Ofcom’s 2024 Children’s Media Literacy Report.
The problem is that different feeds mean different definitions of “urgent” for each group. In our classrooms and dining halls, these algorithmic echo chambers create a campus where students attend the same university but live in fundamentally incompatible information realities.
What still cuts through
But numbness doesn’t always win.
Sometimes a call-to-action breaks through it and triggers action.
In June, 33-year-old Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor in an upset. Teen organizers insisted his victory wasn’t a fluke; they’d spent months talking in climate clubs, running multilingual canvasses and building youth-to-youth online outreach that spoke directly to their peers.
Now Mamdani is carrying that momentum into a full mayoral campaign, leaning on a base of younger voters who often feel ignored by traditional politics. He has drawn surprising support from young men — a cohort that many studies find has tilted rightward in recent years across multiple countries.
The same pattern is visible closer to home. In January 2023, USC student activist Courtney McClain organized a march against racist culture on campus after a viral TikTok video sparked outrage. Students rallied from the Horseshoe to Russell House, and McClain followed up months later by leading students to the S.C. Statehouse to protest for more administrative support and representation for students of color. The viral moment grabbed attention, but the sustained organizing converted outrage into action.
These moments don’t erase the larger trends of fatigue and apathy, but they do show that when campaigns meet young people where they are, with authenticity and persistence, political engagement can still break through.
When feeds help
Of course, social media isn’t all bad. When the stakes are concrete and the facts are settled, it can be a force multiplier. In a single day of internet “blackouts,” Wikipedia’s banner sent 162 million people to its page about the Stop Online Piracy Act and the Protect IP Act, and petitions amassed millions of signatures. And in a randomized 61-million-user Facebook experiment, social “I voted” prompts produced an estimated 340,000 additional real ballots — modest per person, but massive in aggregate. And even here at USC, when the stakes are personal and the mechanism is simple, social campaigns can mobilize extraordinary support. In March
2025, USC’s MIND club launched the #SpeakYourMIND Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised over $370,000 for mental health nonprofit Active Minds.
The campaign, started by Club Founder Wade Jefferson after losing two friends to suicide, went viral with participation from head football coach Shane Beamer, Peyton Manning and even Jenna Bush Hager from the “Today” show.
The point isn’t that feeds can never move people; it’s that we’ve built a system that trains us to scroll past everything that matters until we can’t tell the difference between a celebrity challenge and a constitutional crisis. And the scariest part is that we’re getting comfortable with this new normal.
IllustrationS: Abby Short
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