Blind Item Of The Day

look - if you can't work hard enough to not get a D in high school in order to get a free ride at a good school to possibly play for national championships and maybe go to the nfl- then you are not only a dumbass, but an idiot.

hell, you show up in high school most of the time you'll get a C.

You have to work at doing so bad at high - prize recruit or not, its not a good way to start off your adult life - and if you can't cut it in some high school english class or whatever, chances are you don't belong. No sympathy.

Where's 13-9 when you really need him?

I could use some of his Bruin snarkiness right about now. He would add just the right touch of Bruin pseudo-superiority to this post.

Agree with jamfan - if you can't get a D to get into college on a full ride scholarship you are an idiot.

Oh and 13-9. (I figured I'd save him some work)

I posted this on another thread, but felt compelled to post again here. It's not exactly on topic, but is related to the constant bashing we get from the Bruin Nation handful that seek to belittle and disparage. Just trying to educate(for those than can be educated) whenever possible.

I would like to dispel some of the old and tired myths UCLA faithful feel compelled to perpetuate about USC. I do want to point out that I believe UCLA is a good school and respect it as a top notch academic institution. However, I know many members of the UCLA brainwashing program do not respect USC and continue to sling disparaging (and false) remarks about USC at every opportunity.

One of the most egregious myths advanced is that USC is a wealthy school full of rich (and I guess by natural extension - spoiled) kids. One can only assume this has to do with USC being a private school. Well, being a private school simply means that USC does not have direct support from the state for its operations. This means USC must charge a much higher tuition than public supported schools. However, USC has one of the largest aid programs in the country to counter balance the cost and help families from all economic backgrounds afford a USC education. In fact, a college board assessment revealed that median family incomes at UCLA were higher than those at USC. This is not to say that USC has solved a major issue in higher education - rapidly rising cost, but USC for many families can be less expensive and more affordbale than UCLA's. So if USC is not full of wealthy elite and in fact has a very economically diverse student body, why the myth?

Being a private institution does have its advantages. USC is a very entrepreneurial school. It can be creative and innovative in developing academic programs that provide a unique and enriched environment that is unmatched at UCLA. USC was able to get a 100 million dollar gift for a Bio medial research center from a UCLA graduate - the donor apparently was frustrated with UCLA's bureaucracy and wanted to see his investment go to a school that could maximize his investment. So I guess in terms of academic enrichment, USC students are quite wealthy.

Another myth is that UCLA is a superior academic school. Rankings in general are a bit of a sore subject to many education experts since they tend to over generalize a schools strengths. Case in point, USC's Annenberg's school for communication and its school of Cinematic Arts are considered the best in the country in their respective fields. For students wanting to study these fields, this would mean USC (for them) is better than an Ivy League education. But, since rankings and stats seem to be an integral component of how people view the overall academic ability of their schools, I will play along. In the recent US News and world report ranking, USC's undergraduate ranking was (27 - UCLA 26th). Many undergraduate and graduate programs were ranked well ahead of UCLA's (such as engineering). Not exactly numbers to substantiate the claim that UCLA is a "superior" academic school Further, USC recent freshman class was "academically" superior to UCLA's in terms of SAT scores.

Now lets move beyond the stats to the intangibles - like USC's average classes are smaller than UCLA's. USC has a lower (read better) faculty to student ratio. USC has launched many innovative programs including the renaissance program that rewards students who excel at two or more widely separate academic disciplines and encourages students to take minors or double majors that cross disciplinary lines. Integrating research as the core experience from freshman through post docs is rapidly becoming the signature of a USC education. Reducing or eliminating the sit and listen model so prevalent in education today towards a learner centric model that treats every student as a contrbutor and director of their own educational path is USC's focus. USC is also rapidly growing its highly successful residential colleges where student live with senior faculty members in a residential environment. USC has worked aggressively to create a very unique educational experience that has yet to be recognized and appreciated within the academic community.

Finally, myth #3 that USC is in a dangerous area (or as many like to say in a "ghetto"). USC is located in a working class neighborhood on the southern tip of downtown Los Angeles. While the location is not Beverly hills, it is a diverse neighborhood where people of all backgrounds work and live together. In fact, the area has been changing and becoming more gentrified along with downtown Los Angeles. The fact that USC is not in an affluent neighborhood is one if its greatest strengths. USC integrates real world issues and challenges into its curriculum. Participating in the community and working to solve many challenges in urban life are very much part of the academic fabric of USC. Students come to USC not only to learn the theoretical constructs of our modern world, but to be active participants. This makes USC location not only unique, but very much an asset.

A USC education cannot be watered down into a simple set of old and tired adages and the common rankings of the day have not caught up to the ground breaking and innovative approach USC is taking in redefining education. The pursuit of new discoveries, team and independent research, integrating community involvement within the learning process and a diverse community that spans a rich array of socio-economic, cultural and political boundaries is what defines a USC education.

and we win National Championships in a football...

Conrad:

Don't waste your breath on anything to do with BN. Nestor is an angry young troll, works in DC for some right-wing think tank or something, and is well-versed in the nasty rhetoric of Limbaugh, Coulter, etc.

I really don't think they are any UCLA fans, just SC Haters. I mean UNC fans "hate" Duke as much as UCLA fans "hate" USC, but Duke hatred isn't integral to being a UNC fan. It is to being a UCLA fan. It's built into their DNA. Kind of pathetic, it shows in the general apathy of most UCLA students, but it is what it is.

Nice words conrad. Does anyone else kind of feel like its Gallipp, if you look back at the kids who signed Feb 07' Only one is from LA and he is not considere "elite," If you go back to Feb 06' Then There is a So Cal Elite talent. I know academics are a force at Servite, does anyone have an inside scoop this is pure speculation of course, going of the commit dates.

13-9

To all you bruin chumps, and yes I'm lumping you all into one obvious catagory, be advised...YOU ARE LIVING IN A GLASS HOUSE...act accordingly.

A glass house? Sorry, we don't lose our recruits to felonies, rapes, drug dealing, pointing pellet guns at students, prostitution, or D's at Fig Tech, or anything else USC football is known for.

USC is a fantastic school, but your football program is no better than an NFL program. It has all the victory and glory that go with that, as well as all the detritus.

Hey RB...did the feds find all the body parts your school was selling out of the back door at the medical school? Maybe you didn't know about that. It was national news....but one has to be able to read to get the full story.

RB, here is a link to the story, if you can find someone to read it to you.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/09/ucla.cadaver.suit/index.html

ReelBruin:

Yes, you did, a few years ago, two UCLA recruits were involved in an armed robbery and never enrolled. The hollier than thou attitude of Bruins is a bit silly, considering DeShawn Foster, the parking scandal, Justin Medlock, last years assualt charges of two reserve linemen. They aren't as high profile as the USC issues, but UCLA football does not register more than a blip east of Corona.

BTW: I see that Dorrell hired Eric Scott and are aggessively going after kids from the LA inner city. Watch your off-field issues grow as a result.

good posts here...

Desmo is right...UCLA has a lot of skeletons in their closet, the biggest being justin medlock and the parking scandal. But it's never talked about and no big deal is made out of it. Why?

Because no one gives a shit about UCLA, hahaha

But I gotta admit, if whoever this is can't get a "D" in a class maybe he should go someplace else.

We have all had those "hard teachers" once or twice and you just gotta buckle down. If he doesn't want to, hey, he can always go to Miami of Florida.

I think ReelBruin and others are (rightly so) victims of the media's laser like focus on USC football. Yes, there have been some embarrassing transgressions by members of the USC football team, but they are not representative of the entire team nor of the program as a whole. I'll bet if you focused on every action of every player on any other college team you could dig up just as much junk. With USC's success comes attention and scrutiny that you will not see at other schools.

The real unfortunate aspect of this sensationalized style of reporting is that we are witnessing one of the greatest programs in college football and all we get to read or hear about is how some numskull player allegedly did something wrong again.

But then again how boring is it to consistently read about young talented student athletes striving for and achieving excellence under the tutelage of a true great coach?

Well stated Conrad.
Figh ON

I'm so sick of this NFL crap, are you kidding me... Have you, blinded by 13-9, bruins forgotten about Papa G aka Sam Gilbert??? A little someone your beloved John Wooden would like to forget... Look it up, I don't have time to educate you... Bottom line, that entire run of basketball championships is a fruad!!!

13-9 is a homo